apple mac and all that......

[dmcgoldrick]

hi, lots of threads going round and round and throwing in apple mac as some sort of comparison..........
well most people who are using a relatively new mac would never go back to a pc even if they were giving them away......is a mac worth it.???or course it is !!!!!!

if you dont know why then go to a mac store then go to pc world et al.....

nothing to do with 'price', but quality service and value. it took apple a long time to get to this position but for now their stuff is unbeatable.....

same with cars......lots of contradictions and what is made where, but if you want a merc it costs at least 3 times a 'family saloon'.......is it worth it ???
of course it is !!!!!!!

ebikes are no different in this respect.......you make your choice and pay the market price.....there are enough options on the market now to suit all pockets. are the top of range premium bikes worth it ???? of course they are !!!!!!

 

[Synthman]

My first computer over 12 years ago was a G3 Powerbook, when nobody else could afford them! It ran Mac OS 8.6. Unfortunately I only realised then that many programs I wanted to run on it were for PC only. So 3 years later I bought a Win XP machine, just to run Flight Simulator, BVE, and music production programmes. I still have both machines, the G3 just about works. It always used to crash and lock up, especially on the Internet. I wouldn't really use a Mac again unless someone gave me one as a gift. They're too expensive over the PC equivalent, and not suited to what I want to use it for. However I prefer the operating system and the layout over Windows. Never upgraded from 8.6 though.

 

[dmcgoldrick]

My first computer over 12 years ago was a G3 Powerbook,.............. They're too expensive over the PC equivalent,

 

[dmcgoldrick]

My first computer over 12 years ago was a G3 Powerbook,.............. They're too expensive over the PC equivalent,

hi, i did say a recent mac !!!!!!!!!

'expensive' completely wrong ...by the time software is put onto a pc to come anywhere near the pre installed package on a mac.....the pc actually comes out more expensive......
i am involved in audio visual , photography, and music recording at professional level..........believe me there is no comparison with the end result and the speed this can be done on a mac.....

my very point is just looking at initial 'price' of items does not relate to value to the user.

 

[Synthman]

Any PC comes with the Microsoft "works" package. I was shocked the only program my G3 came with was a notepad editor, as my mate bought a Mac laptop 2 years before and ClarisWorks came with it. I had to fork out around £80 extra for AppleWorks 5 just so I could do basic typing, spreadsheet graphics etc.

As for music, I tend to go for the hardware route for production and recording, though there are two very simple programs I use on the PC by Acoustica that I use both for putting beats down, and for the recording and mixing. They're very simple programs and cheap too. I only use analogue synthesizers, so its only right that I get analogue 4 track to record as well. I hate digital when it comes to sound!


My understanding on the PC vs Mac debate is that it ends up in a flame war so I'm gonna stop now mate!

 

[dmcgoldrick]

Any PC comes with the Microsoft "works" package. I was shocked the only program my G3 came with was a notepad editor, as my mate bought a Mac laptop 2 years before and ClarisWorks came with it. I had to fork out around £80 extra for AppleWorks 5 just so I could do basic typing, spreadsheet graphics etc.

As for music, I tend to go for the hardware route for production and recording, though there are two very simple programs I use on the PC by Acoustica that I use both for putting beats down, and for the recording and mixing. They're very simple programs and cheap too. I only use analogue synthesizers, so its only right that I get analogue 4 track to record as well. I hate digital when it comes to sound!


My understanding on the PC vs Mac debate is that it ends up in a flame war so I'm gonna stop now mate!

good call to stop this........like i said i am using the machines professionally , and you are clearly using as an amateur looking at your reply and the software you use. regards

 

[Synthman]

The funny thing is I actually agree Macs are better for those kind of things. I used to make cockpits and paint-jobs for flight sim aircraft on a Mac. I still type letters and contracts on the Mac too. I know "professional" musicians who record on PC equipment. Like I said earlier, I'm old skool, not impressed by digital equipment at all, would love to cut out the computer completely from my music but cannot afford any more hardware at the moment. I blew it all on cool vintage synths! I might be amateur, but when it comes to sound I know what I want to hear! And I can use the shift key, do Macs not have them any more?

That last comment was meant to be a joke, please don't take it as an insult.

Just out of interest, what is the current Mac OS and what software comes with it?

P.S. To go back on topic, you don't always get what you pay for. My friend used to be a milkman, and one night on the rounds he told me he bought a professional torch for £40 that didn't even last the round, yet he bought a cheap one in the pound shop that was still going after a few years.

 

[Streethawk]

Currently Macs are on OSX Snow Leopard, although OSX Lion is due very soon. All new Macs get iLife '11 which includes iPhoto, iMovie and perhaps most interestingly for you, GarageBand. So a photo editor, movie editor and audio program. All of which are quite well respected consumer level packages.

 

[Rad]

I'm onto my second mac. Bought a G3 iMac in 2002. Replaced it with an intel iMac in 2009. I love them. Would never go back to a PC. Can't say what the current spec is but I believe the current 0S is 10.5 Snow Leopard which is soon to be replaced. The software bundled with mine was essentially the iLife package which contains iTunes, iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto, and Garageband (that's all I can remember while sitting at my work PC). There's no office suite anymore, but that's probably because there are so many free cloud based Suites that can be used.

Yes, they are expensive compared to an equivalent PC. But the design and the way they work is just beautiful.

 

[tillson]

Any PC comes with the Microsoft "works" package.

Well there is a very good reason not to buy a PC, just avoiding this hateful piece of software is a massive bonus . However, I do know a lot of people who do use it successfully and like it, I could never get on with it though, endless updates, crashing, lost work...awful.

I have used PCs from the mid 80s until last year. In the early days, we used to pull them apart and write software on them to control test environments and all sorts of things. I have always liked PCs, but as the mountain of software updates start to grow, the things slow down, lock up and generally start to become unpleasant to use.

More out of frustration than anything else, I bought a beautiful 27" iMac just over a year ago. It is still as slick and pleasant to use as the day it came out of the box. I don't think that it has locked up once and I certainly haven't lost any work. iWork (Word processor, Spread Sheet and Presentation Software) costs about £40 and is bliss to use. Coupled with an iPhone and MobileMe account, it just about caters for all my computing needs. Once you've had Mac, there's no going back .

I must admit to installing Parallels and Windows 7 as I very occasionally use Memory Map and an accounting package that isn't available for the Mac. Frustratingly though, because I boot Windows so infrequently, it always says Installing Update 1 of umpteen zillion, Please Wait and do not switch your machine. Some things never change.

 

[10mph]

hi, lots of threads going round and round and throwing in apple mac as some sort of comparison..........
well most people who are using a relatively new mac would never go back to a pc even if they were giving them away......is a mac worth it.???or course it is !!!!!!

if you dont know why then go to a mac store then go to pc world et al.....

nothing to do with 'price', but quality service and value. it took apple a long time to get to this position but for now their stuff is unbeatable.....

I am new to this area and I am trying to decide which electric bike to buy. Everybody says go and try - which I have and I am impressed so far. But how do I know who are the Mac stores of electric bikes and who are the PC Worlds? I have not found any side by side comparative testing of bikes and service a la Which? testing.

 

[Biged]

Overpriced, over-hyped (always by mac users)
My sons mac-book won't even connect wirelessly to my Netgear router no matter what settings we use, he's been to the apple store and we have tried everything they suggest, still no joy.
They use the same components as PC's now, so where is the benefit?
I have built my own PC's for years, i put in the hardware i want and just transfer the software that i prefer, updating as required. This costs me a quarter of the price of any mac.
Oh and by the way....long live Android!

 

[Mussels]

same with cars......lots of contradictions and what is made where, but if you want a merc it costs at least 3 times a 'family saloon'.......is it worth it ???
of course it is !!!!!!!

ebikes are no different in this respect.......you make your choice and pay the market price.....there are enough options on the market now to suit all pockets. are the top of range premium bikes worth it ???? of course they are !!!!!!

I have a luxury car from the Mercedes stable and I also have a base model Korean car, they both do the job of moving people and stuff from A to B in comfort and I don't really care which I drive. Is the premium worth it? Not really unless you spend several hours a day in it and want to look good, service from car dealerships is pretty much the same for all family car brands.
I also have a PC because I don't work in the media and Macs have a limited choice of software. I don't have any Apple gadgets as they are all restricted in functions to make them simple, though some may argue it's done to make customers spend more money.
I do have a premium ebike though so I'm not always a tightwad.

 

[tillson]

Overpriced, over-hyped (always by mac users)
My sons mac-book won't even connect wirelessly to my Netgear router no matter what settings we use, he's been to the apple store and we have tried everything they suggest, still no joy.
They use the same components as PC's now, so where is the benefit?
I have built my own PC's for years, i put in the hardware i want and just transfer the software that i prefer, updating as required. This costs me a quarter of the price of any mac.
Oh and by the way....long live Android!

Macs aren't to everyones taste. It's mainly the price that puts people off. Having used both, personally, I prefer a Mac.

They do use most of the internal junk that PCs use, but they are quite stylish and I suppose you have to pay for that. I think it was Steve Jobs who stated that It is the software that makes Apple products great. For me, this is where they score highly. They just work, no fuss.

Ps. For me, Kalkhoff are "Mac Bikes"

 

[10mph]

Ps. For me, Kalkhoff are "Mac Bikes"

That is what worries me. I dont want to pay Mac prices if I can get the range I need out of a 'PC' bike.

Biged, I note from your post http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/7449-first-impressions.html#post93666 that you are a new Agattu owner and your wife has an even more expensive Dover. Where there no PC priced bikes which would meet your needs?

 

[bode]

I understand that the appeal of Macs is that they usually work well "out of the box". However, for a lot of people the appeal of a PC is that there is a huge variety of (sometimes quirky) software and tweaks available, and more possibilities for fiddling about -- if that is what appeals to you. And it is possible to shun the majority of Microsoft products.

I guess there are parallels in the ebike world.

 

[Ultra Motor]

I personally used PC's for years. Then after countless blue screens, freezes and other bits an pieces (even on the new ones!) I decided enough was enough. My Blackberry also wasn't able to keep up with the amount of work its was doing and was very frustrating to use. Both almost found their way out of my window!!

I went to a Mac store, bought a Macbook Pro and a iPhone and haven't looked back! I use them both for work and am also an amateur photographer so use them both for editing and design work. I use the Apple iWork software and use their Numbers software (equivalent to Excel) for all business work. I built our whole P&L in it amongst other files. I would never look at going back to a PC, Mac's are so stable and much more intuitive to use and I notice more and more people using them. My colleagues use PC's and have so many problems.

But this is my opinion and I know they aren't for everyone!

 

[indalo]

How bizarre! People on a bicycle forum involved in the interminable arguments of the respective merits of computer operating systems and design.

If Biged is suggesting that Macs are somehow inferior to PCs running Microsoft software just because he can't get online wirelessly, then he has a problem so far unresolved. One can have problems with anything in life, even a Mac, but my experience is somewhat different from Biged's.

10 years ago, I bought my first Mac and I'm still using it now. It has performed faultlessly and when I persuaded myself in 2003 that I also needed a laptop, I had no qualms about paying the rather daunting price for a G4 Powerbook. When I managed to break my laptop, (my fault) I immediately bought another one second-hand from ebay, saving a lot of money.

Suspecting it would cost a packet to have my original laptop repaired, one day I decided to strip it down and have a go at fixing it. To cut a long story short, £22.00 got it up and running again. Since then, all 3 of my sons have moved over to Mac equipment and we all run iPhones. One of my sons has had several disasters with laptops, iPhones and their incompatibility with swimming pools, concrete (impact angle and velocity are crucial!) and the classic closing of the laptop with pen on keyboard. For him, phone and laptop, plus the new iPad, are essential tools of his working day and the Apple stores around the world have provided fantastic service when he's been stuck.

Now, I'm not suggesting that people receive inferior service from Microsoft repairers or that computers running software by Microsoft are inherently inferior as I occasionally use one that I built myself. It's fine and much better than when it left HP new but I prefer my Macs.

Value for money? That's always a difficult one and some forum users have touched upon that very topic relative to electric Bikes. I suppose it's primarily a subjective thing, driven in many cases by economics before anything else.

Perhaps we should get back to bikes on here and leave computers to other people on other forums? I would, in closing, just like to wish Steve Jobs well as I understand he has decided to step down again temporarily from his position as CEO at Apple Inc. on health grounds. It was only his vision, drive and determination plus the eMac, if anyone remembers them, that saved Apple from bankruptcy not so many years ago.

Regards,
Indalo

 

[Mussels]

It was only his vision, drive and determination plus the eMac, if anyone remembers them, that saved Apple from bankruptcy not so many years ago.

Jobs couldn't have saved Apple without Microsofts help.

 

[Rad]

Windows wouldn't exist without Mac OS