Macs....

[No.1]

Hi.. i am looking for a laptop... specifically a Powerbook :D

I am totally new with Macs however, and have one question.

Will a mac play .avi files given the right (and free) program??

Forgive me for being totally stupid :oops:

[SFDMALEX]

sure it will.

[Sachmo12345]

ive never gotten an Avi to play on a mac and i tried a few different ways

Macs Suck ass

[SFDMALEX]

/\/\/\ Hmm I played Avis with quick time on a mac.

[stradale]

Macs Suck ass

Well, for music they sure don't. PCs suck ass in that field and I guess the same goes for all other CPU heavy tasks. My PC fucks up the timing and feel so bad that I still rely on my trusty old Atari 260ST to do the MIDI sequencing. It gives much much better results than the PC, whose BPMs are all over the place. :twisted:

[PATo355]

Of course it will , get the Powermac titanium 12 inches with the superdrive , its amazing

[RC45]

Apple - another overated yuppie tool.. ;) :P

[nthfinity]

Apple - another overated yuppie tool..
_________________

to no end, its fucking rediculous too, as these people swear by the mac too...
mac, the computer for the illiterate...

[sikx5]

Macs are more multimedia related machines, They are better than PC in video, sound and then they are much more expensive than PC's. I really like Macs as they are very nice and provide exceptional work but the fact that i dont like is you can not upgrade them like you can upgrade a PC. if i want to put a faster G5 CPU in mac i cant.....i have to buy a whole new computer :|

[evoWalo]

Hi.. i am looking for a laptop... specifically a Powerbook :D

I am totally new with Macs however, and have one question.

Will a mac play .avi files given the right (and free) program??

Forgive me for being totally stupid :oops:
Ignore the Mac haters. They dont know any better or much for that matter.

For those pesky .avi files that dont work on Quicktime check out http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html

[Regie]

With the exception of Windows Media (when they release a new version, MS are a bit slow to update the Mac version) I haven't encountered a video codec that I can't play on the Mac. Avi's have worked fine. Not so well with Quicktime, but there are other free media players for the Mac such as VideoLAN client. http://videolan.org/

I use a Powerbook as my daily machine for both home & work, and even though my workplace is pretty much exclusively Windows , I've got no problems connecting to the network. Currently VPN from halfway across the world.

People that are so quick to criticise the Macs, I do agree that the initial cost of hardware is higher than a Windows machine (especially those yumcha, build-it-yourself PCs) and Apple has a tendency to force their newest technology onto users (making them drop the old hardware/software due to lack of support). Neither am I a fan of some of their proprietary interfaces (ADI-DVC etc...)
However, I feel the period of ownership is longer which makes the higher initial price less of a hit on the wallet. Also there is a plethora of software available and if there is something specific that is Windows only there is an emulator (but it is fairly slow, so CAD programs and other processor hogs will not work)
One doesn't have to worry about virii & such (due to such a small percentage of computer users using a Mac, people can't be bothered to write something nasty). The current operating system (X) is incredibly stable and also allows people with UNIX knowledge to really 'get under the hood' with a CLI.

It is hard (probably impossible) to find a site without any bias to either Macs or Windows systems. Here are a few, but they are biased towards Apple.
http://www.xvsxp.com/
http://macvspc.info/
http://corourke.customer.netspace.net.au/Mac/cost.html


ive never gotten an Avi to play on a mac and i tried a few different ways

Macs Suck ass
Either you don't have an Apple computer or you haven't really tried to get the Avi to play.
Try VLC, it will almost definitely work. If not, look for software on Versiontracker
http://www.versiontracker.com/macosx/

[evoWalo]

Upgradability of Macs/PCs is academic seeming we're talking about laptops. Rare do you find laptops where you can upgrade processors or even mainboards.

Just to supplement what Régie mentioned, another reason why Macs arent that suseptible to virii and other Windows crap is because Apple's technology were designed with security in mind. The only time you'd get a virus on OS X is if you use MS Office for Mac.

[No.1]

Thx for the help guys :D

I was worried that this may have turned into a Mac-bashing thread :wink:

[Regie]

Thx for the help guys :D

I was worried that this may have turned into a Mac-bashing thread :wink:
Dont they always?
It is sad fact, I havent come across many discussions (both in real life & on the WWW) where Macs don't get bashed by Windows users (or vice versa). This is partly due to 'Mac evangelists' who want to push the system and think that it is the be-all-and-end-all of operating systems/hardware, in part due to the average user who doesn't know any better, there is also a segment that has used a Mac only in pre-OS X days and partly due to the one-eyed Windows users who want to tinker/tweak/overclock their systems.

[No.1]

I agree Regie :D

I am currently on a Windows PC, but wish to have a good reliable, compact laptop.

THe only ones which fulfil these criteria are the Apples... ibook and Powerbook. the all in one design, with no protrusions or anu I/O doors that can be broken off. They are also very compact, and light for a laptop, so that has to be my choice.

I am looking to buy a 12" iBook or Powerbook, depending on how much cash i can raise :P ... a trip to America may also be looming, so i can save myself around £200 :fadein:

[mindgam3]

Reliability is the one main reason i was considering a powerbook over a windows laptop seeing as though the mac OS is based on linux which is a lot more stable than windows.

The only thing that put me off is the mac's mouse and "different" user interface from the PC which i may have got used to, but wasn't gonna take the risk.

I'd go for at least a 15" tho, 12" is very very small

[No.1]

^^^

The 12inch is to take everywhere... the 15 is a widescreen, making it even larger than a reqular 15" screen.

The laptop will only be used for surfing the net, a bit of PS, word processing, and is supposed to be as portable as possible :D

BTW - How are things over at Savrow?

[mindgam3]

^^^

The 12inch is to take everywhere... the 15 is a widescreen, making it even larger than a reqular 15" screen.

The laptop will only be used for surfing the net, a bit of PS, word processing, and is supposed to be as portable as possible :D

BTW - How are things over at Savrow?

ah, k because if you weren't taking it EVERYWHERE i'd go for the 15" as the 12" really is small if you haven't seen it in person. Sounds good though and for what u want without any hicups you can't get better than a mac ;)

Things are ok at Savrow, haven't heard from them for a while but it was in the building queue for a while. Should have started work on it or are starting work on it very soon. I should be getting some pics soon too so i'll post them when i get em ;)

[No.1]

Yup... ultimate portability is my concern. :D

Looking forward to the Savrow build pics.. i aspire to owning one of their systems one day... if they keep up their customer service, and build quality :?

[mindgam3]

Yup... ultimate portability is my concern. :D

Looking forward to the Savrow build pics.. i aspire to owning one of their systems one day... if they keep up their customer service, and build quality :?

yeah, hopefully won't be too long before it arrives and i can give more details on that side of things ;) Should be coming in 7 - 10 days, can't wait ;)

[RC45]

Bash this... :fist: ;)

I would use a Mac if:

a.) it was cost effective

b.) there was software support

Since I feed and cloth about 5 to 7 PC's at home and 2 laptops, Macs are stupidly priced..

And I really need to have access to more than 5 applications.. :P

Hence - Macs suck.. ;)

[No.1]

What compact Laptop would you suggest then ??? :P

[mindgam3]

Mac's do have a large software range plus you can get virtual PC to run windows applications on it. I agree Macs are expensive, but their not stupidly priced in comparison to the competition and other high end PC manufactureres such as Sony and IBM. Plus their much more stable than windows as they're based on linux - one BIG advantage

[No.1]

Thx for the Mac-Praise mindgam3 :D

Let's see what acid tongue (J/K) RC45 has to say :wink:

[mindgam3]

Thx for the Mac-Praise mindgam3 :D

Let's see what acid tongue (J/K) RC45 has to say :wink:

hehe ;) Its not as if i'm biased at all, i dont own a mac but if i hadnt have found savrow and liked the general interface a bit more i'd probably be writing this on a powerbook right now. Sure there are cheaper options, but there always will be. If you spec up an IBM or sony similar in performance to a powerbook or G5 say, the price will be roughly the same give or take a few £100. Plus on Apples side, you get build quality, reliability, a more stable OS, better multimedia functions and generally the rest is just your own opinion on what suits you best - MAC or Windows.

For the things you want to do with it, the Apples perfect

[evoWalo]

Not to mention Macs hold their value longer than a PC. Sell a used Mac a few years later and you'd get double the value compared to a used PC. On the price side Macs... well if you dont compare point to point, PCs will always come out on top. Only dept Macs lag is in the number of games that you can play on it. It could take months to almost a year before a hot PC title comes to the Mac. So if you're a gamer I'd skip Macs. If you're looking for a light PC laptop check out IBM's X or T series. Love the build quality. If you want a carbon fiber laptop check out Sony's X505 model.

[DMbaseball1604]

hahah yes...thank you for supporting macs!!!!!!!!!

I'm about to get a G4 Powerbook, cant wait!

[Regie]

Frankly, if potential Powerbook purchasers have the time to wait (i.e. till the end of the year / January), I'd wait and see if the G5 chip is introduced in the Powerbook range (doubtful) or at least a dual processor perhaps.

http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/

[DMbaseball1604]

thanks for the tip Régie, I've heard that there would be a new G5 coming out but it wouldnt be for another year...but I'm defitely looking into it...

[evoWalo]

the next powerbook's rumored to be using carbon fiber instead of aluminum as its primary build component.

[mindgam3]

Either way i wouldnt bet on them coming out any time soon - may as well get a G4 pb unless you dont really need a laptop right now

[Ziploc]

i play all JW media on my iBook and with the airport card i can download top gear while i sit on the porch! only takes 5mins to :D

as for OSXpanther? stable as anything hasn't been shut down, restarted, or crashed in 7 months(!!) it sleeps all day and my dual USB 12" powerbook still gets 3:45 minutes on a full battery which is great by my standards

thing is low power processor, not much ram, and not the greatest graphics card means its not a gamer. but it does everything else without sweating.

all in all a great package for 300$ off a kid at school at the begining of summer

the first consumer PCs were macs my family had that all in one toaster, then a 6200powermac and then a G4 this house is 50/50 in terms of PC/Macs

we have 2 identical ibooks 600mhz with OSX (sis), mine has panther
a graphite G4 (looking to be replaced with a new G5 tower)(mom)

and 2 PCs one with 600mhz tower (dads) and my 2.4gig gamer

basically the rule of thumb here? if you game or watch movies or surf the net? the pc is better. even tho the macs can do it to its a bit easier on the PCs. however want to get work done in a stable enviroment with Word or Adobe or 3D modelling you best off with a mac. for workbased operation theres almost none ebtter