Macs....

[No.1]

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

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 ops:

[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]

Originally Posted by Sachmo12345 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.

[PATo355]

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

[RC45]

Apple - another overated yuppie tool..

[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]

Originally Posted by thenumber1 Hi.. i am looking for a laptop... specifically a Powerbook 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 ops:

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

Originally Posted by Sachmo12345 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

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

[Regie]

Originally Posted by thenumber1 Thx for the help guys I was worried that this may have turned into a Mac-bashing thread

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

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 ... a trip to America may also be looming, so i can save myself around £200 :fadein: