I can see quite a few of you guys are IT pros and know your shit so I'd really like some informed opinions. I've been windows all my life, but all my Mac friends are going nuts for Jaguar. They're saying it's super stable and you don't have to get patches for your patches. I don't do graphics, just use Office, Quicken, and some trading programs that would have to run in emulation. Should I consider switching?

 

Well, my opinion will be HEAVILY biased...

I have two Macs, one PowerBook and one Dual Processor G4 desktop. Both running Jaguar. After spending 10-12 hours a day on a Wintel PC running 2000/XP, it's pleasure to come home to my Macs.

Jaguar is simply amazing. No two ways about it. From a programming aspect, I enjoy coding on a Mac much more... From a multimedia aspect, it MUCH easier on a Mac. iPhoto, iMovie, iTunes, etc... They all do what they're supposed to and do it WELL.

Speed... Well... We could argue this until the cows come home. Macs are fast. People see the MHZ numbers and immediately think a Intel/AMD chip is faster. They are, in some ways, and a Mac is faster in others. All my research was done on my Macs when in school. And from a "number crunching" aspect, Intel/AMD can't touch the G4 chip. For most day-to-day operations (MS Office, Quicken, Porn surfing, etc) you'll be just fine.

Take a trip over to a local CompUSA and play with a Mac or two. Or if there is an Apple store nearby, go play there.

I really think Jaguar brings more things to the table then does XP. On a Mac, is just works. XP is CLOSE, but it's not quite there.

 

I'm biased too. I've been using Macintosh since the original in 1984 and Apple computers since about 1980.

OS X is rock stable. It just doesn't crash.

I've learned to be bi-lingual in computerese - most of my work environment has been plagued with various versions of DOS and Windows over the last 20 years. Microsoft has always made an inferior platform that had better mass marketing on its side.

There are a lot of myths about Macintosh that come from people that have only used Windows. The biggest one concerns the availablity of software. I've NEVER found this to be an issue in the last 18 years since the MacOS began. Software for the Macintosh, title for title, tends to be of somewhat better quality. There's always been a 'quality not quantity' issue with software titles. True, some games are not ported to Macintosh until they are Beta tested on the Windows platform, but this has never been an issue for me.

Of course I'm biased.

There are a lot of reasons to choose a platform, and the stability of the OS is just one. I would check out some Mac advocacy sites (do a web search, look at http://www.apple.com, or try http://www.dslreports.com/forum/macdsl - the people there are honest and will answer your questions without being rude).

Play with a Macintosh at your local computer store. Learn and then choose. You won't go wrong with Macintosh, but it will mean learning how to cope with a new computer environment.

 

I'm a windows person but I do have to admit Jaguar is pretty sweet. I havn't really used it but I have some friends that use it and love it. I still think I would use windows though. Microsoft is not as bad as many people make it out to be. I use XP and it is pretty stable for me. As far as security goes...yes it is more vulnerable to hackers and all that crap...but it is becuase it the most used OS. Plust everyone is out to get Bill Gates. If you use it correctly and know how to configure it...it is pretty stable.
Thats just my opinion. I have nothing against Apple...just like Microsoft better. Plus I believe any Intel platform is easier to upgade...hardware that is.

 

Really appreciate the feedback. I'm leaning more toward making the move. Seems like every new microsoft OS promises you it's gonna be bullet-proof, plug and play, etc. But I always end up spending a shit-load of time sorting stuff out. From what I'm getting from apple friends, there's just a lot less of that. Plus everbody totally loves i-movie and i-tunes.

A big thing for me would be a few proprietary trading programs that would have to run in emulation, which I gather works fine, but slows things down. Have you guys had much experience in running stuff in emulation? Is speed an issue in the real world? Really interested in any experience you've had with running windows programs in emulation. Obviously I've got some research to do. Thanks.

 

I understand running Windows under emulation works pretty good with the G4 and OSX, better then it did under the original PPC chip and OS8. I used to use only one propriatary DOS program under the latter condition and it worked fine, but then again it was just DOS.

You may not get a lot of answers on this question - most Mac users have no need for emulation so many of us don't use those programs. Check out http://www.emulation.net or http://www.macwindows.com. There may be some answers there (I have not looked at these sites in a few years so YMMV).

Ask the dudes on http://www.dslreports.com/forum/macdsl about emulation. I know that several of them run both Windows and Macintosh OS in their workgroups. I've found that the frequent posters on http://www.dslreports.com/forum/macdsl are some of the most learned Macintosh users out there. Also check out their FAQ - lot's of good tidbits for the new Macintosh user.

Many applications now save files that are cross platform (.doc, .ppt, .pdf, .mp3, etc) so the Macintosh has no problem reading these. You can also stick a Windows CD in your Macintosh and the Macintosh has no problems reading it - it doesn't work the other way around. Macintosh has no internal floppy disk - you'll have to buy an external USB one if you really need this antiquated technology.

Although you can run your Mac system without much tweaking, don't get the impression that these computers are not customizable. Far from it. Once you become a power user you can do just about anything with your Mac (destroy small planets, conquer the world, etc... ).

Have fun.

 

The only computers i used for 15yrs was a mac but the one thing that pissed me off and forced me to buy a dell was GAMES. I was tired of waiting years to get a decent game for the mac. And after switching ....gulp.... xp isn't that bad. I've only had 1 problem since I bought it. Plus I think the Dell is faster, of couse my mac is a g4/400 running 9.2 verus my dell laptop p3/1ghz running xp. But even my dads dual G4 seems slow on the net and doing mondane stuff.

I still like macs but I just don't think i'll buy another one. But I still recomend them to people. Just I like I recommend AOL to people who don't know anything about the internet.

 

This is a great forum. Really appreciate all the good info. Thanks.

 

Some things about Macs are nice, but I only use Windows-based PCs for better hardware, better upgrades, and better game and other software support.

Windows 2000 SP2 is the most stable Windows OS I've ever used. WinXP SP1 which I run now is slightly more compatible with some software, but has a couple minor memory leak and crash issues I've come across with certain software in the two months I've been running it.

I would recommend Windows 2000 because it's stable, it's compatible with just about anything you would want to run, and you have massive variety for hardware upgrades and no wait for software upgrades like Macs.

 

Emulation on a Mac...

I have Win2000 running under Virtual PC; http://www.connectix.com

It runs OK...

It's NOT fast, it is STABLE. For the things that I don't feel like pulling out the work laptop for, it does just fine. Run Games? Forget it... And I have a dual 533 MHZ G4 with 1.5 gig of RAM.

Part of Virtual PCs problem is OS X. The lastest VPC release runs MUCH better under OS 9.x. Reason being is complicated, but it mostly has to do with the infancy of OS X. Jaguar has brought quite a few new API and optimizations that WILL help VPC with a code opitmization and a recompile. When will Coneectix do this??? I have no idea.

I'm not a big gamer, and what games I do play, I do it on my PS2. I don't use my computer much for gaming, although I do sometimes long for a nice game of Quake I/II/III. Love those games!!!

 

Here's a screen capture of VPC on my Mac... This one is running WinME...

 

LOL WinME can't possibly run worse under VPC than it does on its own. If anything it's got to be an improvement for that piece of junk (WinME)!

 

It was more of a proof of concept sorf of thing... Trust me, I HATE WinME, but it was the image I happened to click on when starting VPC.

 

Im not a Mac expert it the least bit but...being that I know a little about unix/linux...and I believe Jaguar is basically unix...can you run WINE on it? That works pretty well under linux. It just emulates the programs...you dont have to install a virtual OS. You can double-click or run from a command any win32 executable.

Sorry I can't be any more help.

 

I don't know if there is any development in the Mac OS X arena for WINE... I've seen it run before, and it runs well...