It seems to be the season for computer ponderings...

[guenievre]

I may be turning to the dark side.

Or possibly the light side, depending on who you ask.

I haven't actually owned my *own* computer for years, as the work laptop I'm typing this on had many advantages. ( I have about as much control over it as I would one I owned, and it gets upgraded on a reasonably consistent basis, and of course the ever important, I didn't have to pay for it portion of the experience. )

But...See, y'all know I'm in love with my iPhone. It practically makes me breakfast in bed. More on this later.

I've realized that I rather like having a desktop computer these days - most of the functions formerly served by having a laptop at home, like reading my email from the comfort of my couch or bed, are now served by my phone, so when I want a "computer" computer these days, I've been using Pandora. The catch here is that Pandora is Nick's baby - he built her from scratch, and he's not entirely happy with me having sort of appropriated her for my own use.

Thus me acquiring my own desktop to share my desk with my sewing machine would be a Good Thing. And here we come to the Dark Side.

Did I mention my love for my iPhone?

I'm pondering a Mac. Specifically a cute little Mac Mini, ordered from Amazon bundled with the extra memory (soucyn says he can put it in fairly easily, and it's well under half the cost of ordering it from Apple with the memory pre-installed. ($60 vs $150 seems a nobrainer there). That, and a 20" HP monitor (is it sad that I can get THAT cheaper through Amazon than through work??!?!) and I should be all set, though I haven't decided on new keyboard/mouse yet.

I'm sort of conflicted over this though. I've never owned a Mac, but they appeal to me. That said, I'm afraid I'll hate it and will have paid a significant premium over getting a Windows box - for instance, I could get an HP desktop with better specs and the same monitor as the one I'm looking at, for the price of *just* the Mini without any peripherals or even the memory upgrade. So that tradeoff for a user experience that I'm not *absolutely* sure I'll love is... scary.

And yet... I *adore* my phone. And I wouldn't have believed that the user experience there would make it nearly as cool as it is - certainly the Helio phone I had *before* my iPhone had similar specs, better in some areas, and yet it sucked. So maybe it's worth it?

Oh, and of course to further complicate things, there are rumors that prices on iMacs are falling soon. So that's a temptation, but not MUCH of one, because even with the price drop, it'd still be outside my budget. Sexier than the Mini and not-matching monitor, though.

So... reassure me? talk me out of it and into something else? Either way...

Comments

FWIW....

[shalmestere.livejournal.com]

I use a Windows box at work, and an iMac at home. I much prefer Macs :-)

[fiberferret.livejournal.com]

It depends on how your brain works. I was clueless with PC's and always had to call friends for help and barely used any of the features. My mac, WOW, everything makes sense to me, I don't feel like a tech idiot anymore. I'm guessing that if you learned to use your phone pretty easily then your brain will work with a mac.

[lady-guenievre.livejournal.com]

I think that's one of the reasons I'm dithering - I'm one of the people that get called on PC's, rather than the callers, but there's a certain geeky beauty about the macs...

[siderea]

I don't do Windows. Macs at home, macs at work. (I have to put up with PCs in internships. :P)

Is there some way for you to try before you buy? Rent maybe?

Also, be aware that not all software you're possibly accustomed to using exists on the mac, e.g. MSAccess.

Other than that, it's wonderful to switch. I inadvertantly converted my sweetie when I brought my Powerbook on vacation with us. He was impressed, and he bought his own at his next upgrade point. He keeps a PC desktop around for work, but has really been digging the mac laptop.

[dr-zrfq.livejournal.com]

be aware that not all software you're possibly accustomed to using exists on the mac, e.g. MSAccess.

<snark>Though why anyone would want to have anything to do with M$Access escapes me. G$^#%@n P-o-$#!+ software...</snark>

If you're willing to spend the cash you can get M$Office for the Mac. That was its original platform, after all... but I find the non-M$ equivalents suitable for my own purposes. YMMV.

[siderea]

Though why anyone would want to have anything to do with M$Access escapes me. G$^#%@n P-o-$#!+ software...

Well, yes. :}

If you're willing to spend the cash you can get M$Office for the Mac.

Yes, but it doesn't contain MSAccess. This is one of those little non-obvious gotchas, which is why I mention it. You can by the very same package in "Mac version", and one of the things you expect to have in there is missing.

(Those of us who want desktop dbs use Filemaker Pro which eats MSAccess' lunch so hard there are no words.)

[baiacou.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but OpenOffice is available for Macs and their database app works quite happily with Access databases.

[siderea]

What is the status of OO? I was under the impression it required X? Is that still true? I know that NeoOffice was a fork some exasperated Mac developers went off to make, and it never ran well for me.

[lady-guenievre.livejournal.com]

M$Access isn't an issue for me, and honestly *much* of what I'll be doing on this will be in the cloud anyway. (Google owns my life, to some degree).

There is an old MacBook running 10.3 at work, but I'm guessing that'd be about like playing with a Win98 computer to see if I like Vista?

And of course there's the Apple Store, and I've been impressed with the *small* amount of time I've spent on the Macs there, but I haven't been over there when I really had time to kill.

[siderea]

No, it's reasonably close from a user-experience point of view; that would be a good intro.

[dr-zrfq.livejournal.com]

I had a MacBook as my work machine before I got laid off. I liked it just fine. My mom has an iMac -- when her old machine died, she was convinced to go Mac by my son, my two brothers-in-law, and me -- despite the fact that at the time *none* of us had Macs.

Now, for *my* money, I'd talk to my kid, get parts online or at Micro Center, and put together a Linux box (most likely Ubuntu). I can make a kickass machine for lots cheaper than any Windoze box out there (much less a Mac), and it has the added advantage of not touching M$ (which I won't have, yes it's a bit of a religious issue).

[lady-guenievre.livejournal.com]

Linux is really just NOT an option for me - maybe for a machine to play with, but not a this-is-what-I-use-all-the-time sort of thing.

I get your point, I'm just not quite that interesting in tinkering with something, in this particular case.

Though I did briefly consider trying to put together a Hackintosh.

[caiterina.livejournal.com]

I'm a mac junkie. I have two computers at work, a macbook pro and a pc. The macbook pro also travels home with me in case i need it for work. I MUCH prefer my mac. Did i mention everyone in my department (okay, 6 out 7 ) has a mac and a pc in our office. Did i mention we're a computer support department? ;) We support over 300 pcs, and about 15 macs, so we have some need to have knowledge of mac, but we find many advantages to mac. You do know, that if you were crazy enough- you can install Windows OS on your mac as long as it has the intel chip. There's a pre-installed program called bootcamp on the Mac that lets you install XP or Vista and then you can boot into windows. Or, if you're willing to shell out some money, there's VMWare fusion or Parallels desktop that allows you to run windows under the MacOS. (they're only about $50 in case you were wondering). That being said however, most programs that run on windows, run on Mac. I feel like i get more bang for my buck too. I get 4 G of ram on my mac and approximately the same processor speed and things seem to run faster (actually there are tests that windows runs faster on the Mac than on a pc-clone). Sure i paid a bit more, but apple care's protection plan is awesome, and macs also have huge resale value. My old powerbook, was worth about $200-300 after being 3 years old. Most pcs are worth about $50 at that point. Oh, and i talked my folks into getting an iMac. Have you checked out the imac prices versus a mac mini and a monitor?

yes..i'm a diehard mac fan...going back to hide in my closet

[baiacou.livejournal.com]

Yes yes yes... amen to all of this. My experience exactly - I also have Windows installed on my Mac so that I can test websites on PCs.

[siderea]

actually there are tests that windows runs faster on the Mac than on a pc-clone

Ayup: The fastest Windows Vista notebook we've tested this year (through 10/25/07) is a Mac. Try that again: The fastest Windows Vista notebook we've tested this year--or for that matter, ever--is a Mac.

[baiacou.livejournal.com]

Ever had your PC crash at an inopportune moment? Then you need a Mac.

I was raised using Macs, switched to PCs for most of my worklife, and am now back to Macs. I am thoroughly bi-platform-lingual. There is no question in my mind that Mac is the better product. Besides, once you start syncing your life with your iPhone you will not know how you lived without it. That integration is so smooth you could use it as a sexual aid.

[lady-guenievre.livejournal.com]

Wow, I almost snarfed my drink on that one. As I mentioned to siderea, Google already owns a LOT of my life, so the iPhone sync there is already not bad.

One of the programs that appeals to me though is "Things" - have you tried that? I've been using the phone only version, which is ok, but the Mac-only version looks like the hotness.

[heike.livejournal.com]

It depends a lot on the person. I am equally comfortable using Windows, Ubuntu, or a Mac. I use a Mac a lot less, so if I am out of practice it takes a little longer to get used to the differences, but once I do it's fine. Now I must admit my main use of Macs was in school where they had insufficient memory, so the computers didn't work well. But that was a memory issue, not an interface issue.

[tigersfan.livejournal.com]

Basically, its like this, there are two main reasons to NOT get a Mac. If neither of them really apply, or you are willing to deal with them, then it's hard to say "get a PC".

First is the price, if you can afford the extra cost or are willing to get a slower/less powerful machine for the money, than you'll be ok in that department.

The second is that there is still a good deal of software (games esp.) that wont run (or won't run well) on a Mac. Yes, you can put Windows on your Mac to get around this, but what is the point then? So, you need to look at the software you currently use (actually use, not, "its installed, but I never use it") and ask yourself if you are married to it, or if you'd be willing to give it up or find an alternative.

For example, Digsby (if you still use that) does NOT work on Mac OS. Yes, their website says that's coming soon, but it's said that for more than a year now. There are other multi-protocol IM programs out there for Mac, but for some, this type of thing might be a deal-breaker.

[tigersfan.livejournal.com]

As another example, Chrome is not yet out for Mac either. (That would be a deal breaker for me). The software issue is changing, and more and more things run well on both, but it's still a significant enough of an issue that it bears thought, that's all I'm saying.

[lady-guenievre.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I haven't gotten into Chrome at all; tried it in when it was first out and wasn't all THAT impressed. That said, there are some Open Source variants thereof that ARE Mac-ported.

I'll be more impressed by Chrome when they enable extensions.

[luciab.livejournal.com]

The thing I like best about my Mac is all the malware that is designed for Windows. Heh.

[absolutlilith.livejournal.com]

I've been almost exclusive Mac for 5 years now (but I refuse to buy an iPhone because AT&T service is horrible where I live). The only drawback to OS X is that the only two computer games that work on it are Warcraft and Starcraft. You can't even play MSN web-browser based games. BUT.... Macs rarely, if ever, crash (my iMac has crashed exactly twice in almost four years), and for personal use, they're a breeze. Organization and file storage/clean up is much better than anything Microsoft has to offer, too.

Unix FTW!

For memory, check crucial.com. I got two 1gb sticks for my iMac for $33 total (s&h included). The only problem with Minis is that they can't handle graphics very well; they're not meant for photographers or photoshop users, but other than that, they're great to start with.

[lady-guenievre.livejournal.com]

Crucial is in fact the maker of the sticks that Amazon bundles with, and that sounds like about the same pricing - ~$60 for 2 2GB sticks, free shipping with the computer.

And have you looked at the newest gen minis? they actually put a real graphics card in them, so I thin k they're supposed to handle graphics better than previous gens. That said, i'm not a huge photography person, and probably won't be putting photoshop on.

[skippyclese.livejournal.com]

I've got a mac mini that I used mostly for finale. Since my main desktop doesn't do flash, the mini ends up being the platform on which I watch video and flash things. For the little bit that I use it, I've been very happy with it.

[francesca-la.livejournal.com]

I think Drea went all Mac in the last year and loves it. I think the impetus was her love for her phone, too. My sister's always been a Mac user and we sometimes have trouble with the attachments I send. I imagine, however, that folks here are a bit more computer savy and have overcome this barrier. My sister's also in Germany and her computer has died twice and had to go away somewhere to be fixed and it stays gone stretches of time. This has never been explained to me in a way that made sense. sigh. That was a ramble, the point of which was ... you might want to talk to Drea who's very happy with her Mac.

macs

[gianetta.livejournal.com]

Please keep us posted on your decision - I've been thinking about the same thing. I used Macs in school, but have used PCs exclusively since ~1996. I probably should go to the store and play with some of them. . .