So, without starting a flame war, let me tell you where I'm at with this.
I have several computers in my life, some I spend more time with than others. They are all Window's computers of some sort or another and I'm frustrated with each of them for a variety of reasons.
They fall into two groups work and home. There's nothing I can really do about the work computers they are NT (don't ask), 2000 Pro and about to be XP. At home we have a desktop and a laptop, occasionally linked via USB and running 2000 non-pro aka junk. The primary user at home is the spousal unit who teaches University, I just use them to look at Flare, etc. and check e-mail.
Our hero the Professor doesn't care what operating system is used as long as one can make decent presentations w/ graphics (maps and stuff mostly), very simple web page creation, and general paperwork duties. She has been carrying the laptop to and from class and having frequent troubles with the OS crashing, etc. I'm thinking of moving the entire homefront to Mac OS X. I don't really need to transfer files from work - as that is not encouraged anyhow, and I have a work laptop to tote around as needed. She is working on course work from home as she works for the Univ of Maryland, Iceland Division which is no bigger than you might think.
I'm really thinking that if we sell the laptop, turn the desktop in our son's "game computer" (he's three) and buy a Mac laptop followed in some months by a desktop model we'll be happier.
Linux has also been considered. But I think I would end up spending to much time providing tech support. Prof is good at using programs but has very little patience for driver problems, etc.
Thoughts?
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
If my car keeps breaking down, do I:
A). replace / fix the malfunctioning part(s) B). head to garage to have it serviced C). trash it and buy a new one
NT5 is a rock-stable OS. Works fine for most people I know, including some former Mac junkies. I'd avoid Linux unless you're planning to set up a (web)server / generally mess around / kill your free time.
Examine the cause, then make a decision.
[ June 14, 2002, 02:25: Message edited by: Cartman ]
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
I have had extremely few problems with Mac OS X since I started using it in February. (I've been a Mac enthusiast for six or eight years.)
In fact, Apple has just launched an advertising campaign that is specifically addressing the issues of converting from Windows to Mac:
For pretty much all everyday uses, the matter of a platform is not a problem any more. There are Mac versions of just about everything, from Microsoft Office to Adobe products to all your internet browsers.
If you're going to consider a laptop model first, I'd strongly recommend the iBook -- the kind that I currently own. It's not a top-of-the-line model (it still uses the G3 processor, while the more expensive TiBooks use the G4), but it's perfectly capable of running OS X in all its glory and capabilities, and doesn't cut short on any of the features or connection ports, like Ethernet, USB, and FireWire. It's a bit small (especially the screen), but I've never had a problem with that -- and it's light! (Only 4.9 pounds.) Also, it's relatively cheap for the kind of capabilities that you'd be getting. For general, home and school (everyday) usage, the iBook is definitely the way to go.
Good luck to you in your search!
Posted by DeadCujo (Member # 13) on :
I agree that NT5 is great, I have a near-final beta of it on an old Celeron that's been working great since I first installed it. I don't use it very often, but it works nonetheless. But for some reason, 2000 Pro wouldn't install on a nearly identical system, hrmph. I run XP Pro on this one with several servers open (dns etc.) and it runs without a hitch.
Posted by Tahna Los (Member # 33) on :
Mac?
NOOOOOO!!!!
*dashes out*
Posted by Nim Pim (Member # 205) on :
Mac?
Farkfarkfarkfarkfarkfarkfark!
I sell Mac in my work, one customer buys one 2day! I get teh paid, weeee!!!
Posted by Aethelwer (Member # 36) on :
I have a TiBook, and it's super-cool and awesome.
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
TK: I've been using both MacOS and Win9x-2K for some time now. As it happens, I am working on constructing my dream PC.
Now I'm a fairly technical person, and kind of enjoy getting my hands a little dirty, but I'm thinking Lady Professor Toadkiller may not be that way. Being a practical person, she probably expects that her machine work mostly all the time and if it doesn't, that it could at least calmly and politely explain why this is happening. For ease of use and friendly interface, you really can't beat the Mac. The only thing would be software. You're going to have to get all new software on top of whatever hardware you wind up getting.
As MinutiaeMan mentioned the iBooks are very nice, and the Titanium PowerBooks (TiBooks) are preposterously cool (even warranting an appearance from the omnipresent if enigmatic Frank.) On the desktop, these new iMacs may look kind of funny, but they are infused with crazy crazy processor oompf and are pretty damned awesome machines. The eMacs are sort of weird looking, but really cheap considering. The thing is if you compare prices straight across, it might seem that the WinTel market is quite a bit cheaper. However, this may be misleading. Knowing that MHz is not a completely accurate reflection of processing speed, there is also the matter of how much time you actually spend doing work on the system. I have found that I spend an awful lot of my time just trying to get my PCs functioning correctly. My Macs have had very few problem and do wonderful things like tell me what's wrong and never make me configure IRQs through the BIOS. Now I'm a geek, and such things facinate and bewilder me. But I also have a business to run, so almost all of my work work is done on my Macs. What I'm getting at is that while my Macs may have cost more initially, I've actually saved some money (and avoided a great deal of frustration) in terms of productivity and time management.
Now as for your kid's machine, if your PC is slightly old now, it's not going to be up to playing the big fast games by the time that's important to him. Just know that every two years or so any computer you spend $2000 on is going to be worth about $500. It sucks, but it's true.
[ June 17, 2002, 12:54: Message edited by: Balaam Xumucane ]
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
True, but if you have a Mac, there's a good chance the game he wants to play won't even be available.
quote:My Macs have had very few problem and do wonderful things like tell me what's wrong and never make me configure IRQs through the BIOS.
To be fair, most people who own a PC never go near the BIOS. I haven't had to for years.
Posted by DeadCujo (Member # 13) on :
BIOS is fun!
Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
i'm in my bios all the time. my bios and i are on a first name basis. and about macs being fast, all i've got to say is "yeah right". my [email protected] gHz Pentium IV with a 600 mHz fsb and 400 mHz DDR ram blows away a dual gHz G4 system in photoshop 7, on the same filters. believe me, i've tried it on both.
The G4 is a respectable processor compared to a pentium III, but it is rather behind the times compared to the Pentium IV, and even the long in the tooth Athlon. Once Hammer (AMD X86-64) and Prescott (Intel hyperthreaded pentium IV) come out, i doubt that Apple will even be able to sucessfully lie about performance anymore. Motoralo does not have the tech or the infrastructure to compete with the big dogs. they have too many other products to worry about. apple laptops are cute, though.
p.s. i haven't had to configure an IRQ manually since windows 3.1, and i could imagine anyone else having to unless there was some crazy problem.
[ June 18, 2002, 12:32: Message edited by: EdipisReks ]
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
So, you call your BIOS "Basic"?
Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
well, considering that its an award bios on an EPoX motherboard, its anything but basic. in fact, the programmers at award probably did a better job on their bios than apple did on os 9.
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
"Un-Basic" then???
Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
i prefer "advanced".
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
quote: my [email protected] gHz Pentium IV with a 600 mHz fsb and 400 mHz DDR ram blows away a dual gHz G4 system in photoshop 7, on the same filters. believe me, i've tried it on both.
I worry when penis envy ends up with people arguing about the speed of filters in Photoshop.
Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
What's a "[email protected] gHz Pentium IV?" Sounds a bit compensatory.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Wild guess is that he's got a 1.6GHz P4 that he's running at 2.4GHz.
"i prefer 'advanced'."
AIOS?
Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
0V3RC70CKxx0r1n9 15 wick3d 1337!!! Y0U Mu57 937 50 much l4dy53x!!
The sun, it burns my eyes!
[ June 18, 2002, 19:33: Message edited by: Ultra Magnus ]
Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
quote:The sun, it burns my eyes!
then put your blublockers back on.
quote:0V3RC70CKxx0r1n9 15 wick3d 1337!!! Y0U Mu57 937 50 much l4dy53x!!
i did until my girlfriend left me. you might remember that thread in the officers lounge, assuming your could read it through the blublockers.
quote:AIOS
what, the All India Ophthalmological Society?
quote:I worry when penis envy ends up with people arguing about the speed of filters in Photoshop.
well, you do that for the sake of your penis. i just try to talk in a language that mac people will understand. since apple is always comparing photoshops speeds, and all. this was a conversation about mac's, the last time i looked. also, in my experience, those who bring up "penis envy" are the ones who are probably less endowed in the "phallic art supplies" department.
[ June 18, 2002, 19:48: Message edited by: EdipisReks ]
Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
Like, ouch, yo.
Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
damn straight. not all of us are as vulnerable as The Boring Wussy Cunt (if i may quote Dat's name for you know who).
[ June 18, 2002, 19:58: Message edited by: EdipisReks ]
Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
Dude, press shift once in a while. You know, you're not a moron, you spell right, and we'll all have picnics and laugh with bunnies if you'd simply punctuate, if only to differentiate sentences, or shit. It's not that hard, I don't think.
Bunnies and Picnics.
[ June 18, 2002, 20:01: Message edited by: Ultra Magnus ]
Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
quote:if you'd simply punctuate, if only to differentiate sentences,
no, i do punctuate. i don't capitalize. maybe you should figure out what you mean to say before you try giving advice to people.
Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
You do have a little penis.
Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
heh, must be nice back there in preschool. when you grow up, maybe you can come play with the big boys.
[ June 18, 2002, 20:28: Message edited by: EdipisReks ]
Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
"there", fucktwat.
Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
i fixed it before you replied, shit for brains.
Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
Ouch.
Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
and shouldn't it be "'There', fucktwat"? use the shift key and we'll laugh with the bunnies.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
As in "Nooooo...it's not STUUUpid...it's adVAAAAANNNced..!"?
Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
"mom!!!! dexter's playing with my doll's again!!!!"
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Wrong show.
"GIR!! Reporting for DUTY, sir!!" "'GIR??'...What does the 'G' stand for?" "Iiiii don't KNOOOOWWW..... WWWWWWWWWWHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWheeheeheeheeHEEEHEEEHEEEHEEE!!!!"
[ June 18, 2002, 20:37: Message edited by: Shik ]
Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
well, same show, different episode.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
No, wrong show.
Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
nevermind then, but i distinctly remember dexter saying "Nooooo...it's not STUUUpid...it's adVAAAAANNNced..!", and the "UUUUU" is a pretty good text equivalent of dexter's pronunciation of words incorporating a long "u" sound.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
:::sighs::: Kevin McDonald, as the Purple Tallest, on "Invader Zim."
Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
ah, thank you for clarifying. i only know kevin mcdonald's stuff from "kid's in the hall", so i didn't recognize the reference.
Posted by Aethelwer (Member # 36) on :
Keeping in mind that I study microprocessor architecture, provide some legitimate technical reasons showing why you feel that the G4 is "behind the times." Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
quote:Keeping in mind that I study microprocessor architecture, provide some legitimate technical reasons showing why you feel that the G4 is "behind the times"
well, the biggest problem with the G4e is the short floating point pipeline. in itself, this is a good thing. being able to crunch more numbers per given clock cycle is great, when you are comparing 2 different processors clock cycle to clock cycle. however, the G4e is also hurt by this. the shorter pipeline disallows the G4e from easily scaling in clock speed. the Athlon, and to a much greater degree the Pentium IV, have long pipelines and thus can scale higher in clockspeed. through this, the longer pipelined processors scale to higher clockspeeds and can make up for the lack of instructions per clock cycle. In the case of the Pentium IV, its much greater clockspeed allows it to outpace a G4e that is running at half the clockspeed in pure throughput (assuming that the pipelines are kept full during the comparison)despite the fact that the pipelines in the G4e are much shorter than those in the Pentium IV (i believe the G4e's FP pipelines are 6 stage and the Pentium IV is 20) and the instructions per clock being very heavy in the G4e's favor.
The current Pentium IV and Athlon XP have very strong data prefetch logic built in which can give a boost of up to 30% in certain cicumstances, generally when the data being fetched is no longer within the L1 or L2 cache of the processor. The branch predictors of the Pentium IV are much better than those on the G4e, but doesn't matter too much as it is it just prevents the Pentium IV from taking a 19 cycle hit, which the G4 doesn't have to worry about. The cache of the Pentium IV is also considerably more advanced than that of the G4e, and the current northwood Pentium IV has more than the G4e does.
The G4e is much less advanced than the Pentium IV and Athlon when it comes to the FSB. The FSB of the G4e is a single pumped 133 mHz FSB. The Athlon has a double pumpled 133 (equivalent of 266mHz single pumped under ideal situations) and the Pentium IV has a quad pumped 133 (which equals 533 under ideal situations). bottom line is that the Athlon and the Pentium IV can retrieve information much more quickly than the G4e due to the fact that the buses are faster. the memory of the Athlon and Pentium IV are alos much superior, but that has more to do with the platform than it does with the processor. however, i doubt that the G4e could take advantage of DDR RAM of Rambus any more than the Pentium III could, since they both have similar FSB schemes and speeds.
just to look at the platforms themselves, the chipsets Apple uses do not have the same advantaged od V-link (on Via chipsets) or hyper transport (on AMD and nVidia chipsets), so information does not travel between the northbridge and the other components as they do on the Athlon of Via chipset equipped Pentium IV's. i forget what intel uses, but they have similar tech. also, components for the Apple platform are highly lacking. the Geforce4 just came out for the Apple platform (well, it was announced, who knows when it will be available) and it is a generation old on the PC. RAM tech sucks for the apples as well. the Apple platform in general is based on tech than Intel and AMD has moved away from (single pumped FSB's, sdr ram, long floating point pipelines, etc). basically, the G4e highly resembles the older Pentium III in several ways, and the G4e is actually outperformed heavily by the Pentium III at similar clockspeeds in Specf tests, despite the newness of the G4e and Apples claims of a superior floating point unit. SpecIn scores were similar between a 1 gHz Pentium III and a 1 gHz G4e, with the G4e being slightly faster at integer tests. The pentium IV at 2.53 gHz considerably outperforms the fastest G4e, as does the 1.8 gHz AthlonXP, in both Specin and Specf and real world tests.
is that good enough?
[ June 18, 2002, 23:37: Message edited by: EdipisReks ]
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
My. You do have a small penis. Well, perhaps someone will think it's cute someday.
Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
much the same way your stunted mangina and low IQ will someday be found cute.
Posted by The New CaptainMike (Member # 709) on :
ohhhhh my gosh
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
It's important to you, Rex, isn't it? Feeling superior. Aserting that your platform is superior. That, even for your platform of choice, your machine is bigger and faster and better than nearly everyone elses. You take pleasure in the fact that, nevermind anything else, at least in this one thing, you can be assured that your CPU is towering over all of us. Blazing along at 2.4GHz with its advanced memory architecture, and 'long'er FP 'pipeline', you are an enormous monument of potency and strength and your remarkable virility shames us all.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
Honestly people, diversify, spread your emotions around rather than concentrating them into bitter letters and words of hate.
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)