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thinking about going to the apple side

racershawn

New Member
well I must admit i do like the touch and feel pad alot more then a mouse or a track ball .... just deciding weather or not to move the signs to apple...........
 

Techman

New Member
The only real difference between the two is merely the OS. That is it. All other parts are the exact same.
Same hardware means same hard drives, same Ethernet, same video, same sound, same CPU.

The monitors are the same too. Couple a high end vid card with a high end monitor and you cannot tell the difference.

So all the talk about being better is nothing but marketing hype. One talks English one talks Britain English to use an analogy.

Why spend money and good energy to get a different color of the same car? Why change to just run Adobe? There is no difference in the way it runs via a PC or a MAC.
 

Mainframe

New Member
Racershawn,

I run all Macs at my shop & really enjoy them, I have always had them since 92 and they have bean super reliable, it is almost impossible to explain to a pc user about the Mac experience, the numbers inside a Mac tell only part of the story, it is how all the boards, busses, memory chips and cards "talk" to each other that is key, along with the external hardware, I gotta say, my imac runs and feels Super fast to me, I too also like the monitor it has, everyone that sits in front of it seems impressed when they see it. I also like the Apple made keyboards, magic mouse, and trackpad.

If you have run the older macs under os9 or lower, they were good for the day but don't compare to Snow Leopard or Lion os of today, they just don't compare. Photoshop, Flexi, Illustrator, all run supremely on the Mac, it is not uncommon for me to be watching netflix, printing on my vp 540 in Versworks on the pc side,(using parallels) mail open, designing some mindless coro sign in illy & running sheets off the other cutter in Flexi for my kid to weed, all at one, & never even thinking about locking up. I have heard the Mac/vs/Pc argument for a long time, I am amazed at how many people are in love with there iphone and say they will never own a Mac. ???

It doesn't really matter to me what system people use, I only offer advice when asked & you are asking, In my opinion, if you get an imac and thunderbolt display to match, you will never get tired of running it, it will amaze you with it's reliability, it will please you with it's crisp clean graphics, & it will astound anyone who sits down with you while you work on a project, I have heard the f-word uttered by the stiffest Mac haters while they glared at my screen in admiration.

So i say go for it, it sounds like you are starting to "get it" & I hope you make it the rest of the way, and if you do, dig this post up & tell me how you made out, I like using Default folder and Magicprefs, the only 2 system ad ons I can't live without, good luck
 

racershawn

New Member
Mainframe,

Thank you that is what i wanted to hear about. What you just described is just about what happened to me when a friend showed me his new Imac... I just could not believe what i was looking at. I always said I would never go to a mac but after only a few min at the magic pad and looking at the res of that monitor I was sold. That being said he is not a sign guy, he runs a pawn shop and a DJ service with it so I was not sure about the programs that we run everyday... eh was doing email, quick books, ripping a DVD, playing music oh and syncing his Ipad at the same time when he was showing me it... then he said watch this ... turned the tv on across the room and streamed a movie from his HD to the TV via iTV.... wow... and his system was the standard model... I was looking at a much higher end with 16GB ram, 2GB video, 2 TB HD.... with a 500MB SSD. I told him one thing i did not like about mac was the lack of the right mouse button... he laughed and said watch this with a flick of his finger on the pad... there was my dropdown list. I did not know you could do that!! Then when I got back to my shop and sat down to what I thought was a very nice new monitor I felt like i was looking at an old CRT .... PPL were chatting above about the feel... I am big on that with my computer. When I started in the sign business 20 years ago I quickly found you had to be a bit of a computer geek also to be good and to be productive... so like i said i wanted to make sure flexi and adobe products worked well on the mac. I will keep the PC close till I am proficient at the mac but it looks like the changeover will cost me some coin on software, although flexi said the would do a platform changeover for only $100... not a bad deal i thought... adobe not such a good deal.....


Thanks,
Shawn
 

Mosh

New Member
You would have to start wearing black moch turtlenecks and think that the government owed you business....Steve Jobber was OVER-RATED, read the new biography!!!! His ideas failed 99% of the time, just like apple does. Before you freak out, notice 99% of web sites are PC based!!!!
 

Dentafrice

New Member
I don't think you actually read his book right then. Most of his ideas didn't fail, they just were building blocks to what we have today. His original 1984 Mac is the reason we have an iMac..

His original idea in 1984 scribbled on a piece of paper in front of the fire at a retreat of a portable Mac with a flat screen, yes, a laptop... worked out perfectly did it not, look how many we have.

Oh and 99% of websites are created with a PC? Where did you pull this figure from? How did you judge this? How can you judge whether a piece of software was engineered from a PC or Mac based upon server side scripting language? You can't.

It's one thing not to like a Mac because of experience, but it's another thing to shoot out facts and bs that are not true at all, especially in regards to facts from books that not only have I purchased and read the entire thing, but also own both products in order to form a comparison.
 

Techman

New Member
Mac tell only part of the story, it is how all the boards, busses, memory chips and cards "talk" to each other that is key, along with the external hardware,

Not true. All the chips talk to each other with machine code. Has nothing to do with the hardare.
The hardware uses all use the same standards in order to fit to each other. All the hardware fits to specific standards and that cannot be changed no matter what OS system is being used.

All this myth about a MAC being different is just that. A myth built upon the mystic of a closed system and powerful marketing.
 

Dentafrice

New Member
Not true. All the chips talk to each other with machine code. Has nothing to do with the hardare.
The hardware uses all use the same standards in order to fit to each other. All the hardware fits to specific standards and that cannot be changed no matter what OS system is being used.

All this myth about a MAC being different is just that. A myth built upon the mystic of a closed system and powerful marketing.
How is it a myth when it's true? Since Apple II the Mac has been a closed system, all the way to the current iMac, iPhone, and iPad. Yeah, they have been "opened" in a way, but still remain as they were, an unmodified closed system just how Steve Jobs wanted it vs. how Steve Wozniak wanted it (hence why the Apple II had expansion slots).

How does it have nothing to do with the hardware? Sure they speak in machine code... but when every Apple circuit board is designed to just work, that's innovation. If a circuit board is ugly, Apple throws it out. Not because it will ever be seen, just because it makes it quality.

Apple was designed for all of it's hardware to work together, it always has... and always will.

It's not a MYTH that a Mac is different, it's the truth. The experience of one versus a normal PC is phenomenal.
 

Mainframe

New Member
Not true. All the chips talk to each other with machine code. Has nothing to do with the hardare.
The hardware uses all use the same standards in order to fit to each other. All the hardware fits to specific standards and that cannot be changed no matter what OS system is being used.

All this myth about a MAC being different is just that. A myth built upon the mystic of a closed system and powerful marketing.

Code was exactly what I was talking about, code is what is in between the hardware & you, the code is what I enjoy the most. The nice looking monitors and clean lines etc are a bonus. OSx is not a myth I use it every day.
 

Mainframe

New Member
Mainframe,

Thank you that is what i wanted to hear about. What you just described is just about what happened to me when a friend showed me his new Imac... I just could not believe what i was looking at. I always said I would never go to a mac but after only a few min at the magic pad and looking at the res of that monitor I was sold. That being said he is not a sign guy, he runs a pawn shop and a DJ service with it so I was not sure about the programs that we run everyday... eh was doing email, quick books, ripping a DVD, playing music oh and syncing his Ipad at the same time when he was showing me it... then he said watch this ... turned the tv on across the room and streamed a movie from his HD to the TV via iTV.... wow... and his system was the standard model... I was looking at a much higher end with 16GB ram, 2GB video, 2 TB HD.... with a 500MB SSD. I told him one thing i did not like about mac was the lack of the right mouse button... he laughed and said watch this with a flick of his finger on the pad... there was my dropdown list. I did not know you could do that!! Then when I got back to my shop and sat down to what I thought was a very nice new monitor I felt like i was looking at an old CRT .... PPL were chatting above about the feel... I am big on that with my computer. When I started in the sign business 20 years ago I quickly found you had to be a bit of a computer geek also to be good and to be productive... so like i said i wanted to make sure flexi and adobe products worked well on the mac. I will keep the PC close till I am proficient at the mac but it looks like the changeover will cost me some coin on software, although flexi said the would do a platform changeover for only $100... not a bad deal i thought... adobe not such a good deal.....


Thanks,
Shawn

Shawn, check out the magic mouse, you can swipe the top like the track pad, scrolling is awesome, it fits perfect in a larger hand, when I first saw it I laughed, then one day i grabbed one in the apple store figuring I would give it a try, I use one for both my Imac and my Macbook Pro "you will be craving one of these soon after you get used to the imac" I guess you get the mouse with the imac come to think of it, don't forget to load Magic prefs, it has some cool mouse function ad ons and speeds up tracking if you want that.

Also, you have to be a little strong in intestinal fortitude department. The Mac haters are many, although now they hide their iphones while they ramble, but that aside, yes Adobe products run very well on a Mac, as they were originally only written for the Mac, when I first bought Illy and photoshop, the PC version was not yet available. Good luck
 

WildWestDesigns

Active Member
It's not a MYTH that a Mac is different, it's the truth. The experience of one versus a normal PC is phenomenal.

What is your definition of "normal PC"? Be sure you are getting a close comparison. I've seen people use a Best Buy computer and compare that to a Mac. That you would see a big different, but those are machines not really geared for what we do. You can build one helluva PC for cheaper then you can for an equivalent Mac. I priced out my entire system and compared it to the Mac version (which it still didn't get exactly to my PC one due to the video card mainly). With just 2 Apple monitors versus my 3, I saved ~1,500 and have a better video card.

I have used an iMac, Macbook Pro, and MacBook Air and nothing about them makes me want to ditch any of my PC machines.

I'm not saying that they aren't capable or that they are bad machines, contrary to that. As far as Adobe programs go, they don't run any different on a Mac versus a PC. You don't magically come up with better designs on a Mac versus a PC.

As to running multiple programs, just yesterday I had 5 programs running at the same time spread over 3 monitors. One of which I could count as 2 programs as it has 2 full programs built into it, you just hit a button to toggle between the two. Didn't lock up, nor was I worried about a lockup.

This argument has almost become like Intel v. AMD; gas engines v. diesel engines.

If the monitor is the biggest issue, you can get graphic cards that works with PC computers that have a mini display port to hook up an Apple monitor. One of the 3 ports on mine is a mini display, I have an active adapter on it and have my Cintiq plugged into it though. Monitors might be the one difference, but you do have options, even if you want the Apple monitor on the PC computer.
 

2972renfro

New Member
You would have to start wearing black moch turtlenecks and think that the government owed you business....Steve Jobber was OVER-RATED, read the new biography!!!! His ideas failed 99% of the time, just like apple does. Before you freak out, notice 99% of web sites are PC based!!!!

So his company worth 300 billion would be worth 100x more because he was such a failure and could have done better?

You are kidding right? I guess the general population is a bunch of idiots and the real genius lives somewhere in Nebraska

BTW many PC related magazines and websites are actually designed on a Mac. Ironic isn't it?
 

SignBurst PCs

New Member
How is it a myth when it's true? Since Apple II the Mac has been a closed system, all the way to the current iMac, iPhone, and iPad. Yeah, they have been "opened" in a way, but still remain as they were, an unmodified closed system just how Steve Jobs wanted it vs. how Steve Wozniak wanted it (hence why the Apple II had expansion slots).

How does it have nothing to do with the hardware? Sure they speak in machine code... but when every Apple circuit board is designed to just work, that's innovation. If a circuit board is ugly, Apple throws it out. Not because it will ever be seen, just because it makes it quality.

Apple was designed for all of it's hardware to work together, it always has... and always will.

It's not a MYTH that a Mac is different, it's the truth. The experience of one versus a normal PC is phenomenal.

This is absolutely not true. Apple makes about 0% of their Mac hardware. They do not design PC hardware, nor do they somehow make it work better. They build with almost identical hardware available to any PC builder (as anyone who has built a "Hackintosh" knows very well).

The increased resolution is nothing exclusive to Mac. It is a decent video card connected to a decent monitor. This is something that my customers see on a daily basis. It is not Apple magic, but may seem that way to someone with a sub-par video card or monitor. Apple doesn't manufacture their display panels or have some kind of secret wisdom on how to do so. If you connect a decent high res display to a decent video card, you will get the same "experience" out of a PC.

The experience is different as they are different operating systems. The experience is not different because of mythical superior hardware. I would argue that the hardware in a SignBurst™ is equal to or superior to that inside of an iMac or Mac Pro. If you are truly looking at quality, performance, and reliability, an iMac is slightly better than middle of the road at best.

Please don't get me wrong, I am not bashing Apple in any way. There is nothing wrong with an iMac or Mac Pro. They are built with better hardware than the average off-the-shelf PC. I just don't like to see these misconceptions being passed around a facts. Deciding between a Mac or PC is a matter of practicality and preference.
 
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SignBurst PCs

New Member
Sometimes, there is more to the "experience" than hardware and software. Sometimes, it is a matter of pride, status, or nostalgia. There is a lot to this and Apple markets the "feeling" of their products. I owned an iPhone once and I saw the "pride" other iPhone owners had in their phone. It was significant.

After a while, I realized that the "feelings" I had over my phone were silly and I made a more intelligent choice (in my opinion) by choosing a device with superior hardware and capabilities. But again, it was a personal choice. My phone is no longer a status symbol for me, but rather a quite capable smartphone that no one notices. I quietly use my phone to do all the things that I need it to do and that is how I would prefer it.

This is very similar to the Mac vs PC debate. It is very personal in many aspects. You can see this in the way it becomes heated almost every time it is discussed. It becomes heated because many of the reasons we choose one over the other are illogical and emotional. There is a certain amount of pride there. In my opinion, this is OK. You should be happy with the tools you use. But as a businessman, I understand that emotional buys are often not practical and often regretted.

As long as the OP understands the road ahead, it is his to travel. I can question his wisdom, but it is not my journey. Heck, I have been known to do things for the sole purpose of experiencing something new. Who hasn't? But looking back, I can say that things I did were not always wise.
 

signmeup

New Member
Do people buy Rolex watches because they tell time better? No... it's status.

Mac computers are "used by the best designers" for the same reason. They get to be part of an exclusive group who "know something the outsiders don't, and couldn't possibly understand". That and choosing to believe the marketing hype.

(I can't afford a Rolex, a Mac or even a nice PC, so I'm just jealous and bitter)


(I'm also waiting for paint to dry):popcorn:
 
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