Computer bargains

[Doubledealer]

I won't deny that Mac's have their uses. For live electronic music performance they're great as you get minimal audio lag, access to the fantastic Logic, Mac specific software, plugins etc. and a stable OS. iTunes also runs like an absolute PIG on a PC if you've got a large mp3 music library so if you simply must use iTunes, it's another reason to consider the fruitier option. The screens are also very nice (keep in mind you can get a matte screen, you don't have to get the glossy one you see in all the stores) although nothing the Sony Vaio's can't match.

Do not buy a Mac if you're going to primarily use Windows as the main OS. What's the point? Why did you just spend all that money on a Mac laptop?

At the end of the day though, what it comes down to is this: Do you prefer the Mac Operating System or the Windows Operating System? If you've never used the Mac OS, head into town and have a good long play around with it at one of those Apple Stores. Don't let Vista leave a sour taste in your mouth either, try out Windows 7 and see if this works for you. Once you've realised how much better and, for the most part, cheaper the PC/Windows world is, you can go back to that site I linked you to and buy a kickarse machine.

[jaydisc]

Do not buy a Mac if you're going to primarily use Windows as the main OS. What's the point? Why did you just spend all that money on a Mac laptop?

At the end of the day though, what it comes down to is this: Do you prefer the Mac Operating System or the Windows Operating System? If you've never used the Mac OS, head into town and have a good long play around with it at one of those Apple Stores. Don't let Vista leave a sour taste in your mouth either, try out Windows 7 and see if this works for you.

I agree with all of this.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

I won't deny that Mac's have their uses. For live electronic music performance they're great as you get minimal audio lag, access to the fantastic Logic, Mac specific software, plugins etc. and a stable OS. iTunes also runs like an absolute PIG on a PC if you've got a large mp3 music library so if you simply must use iTunes, it's another reason to consider the fruitier option. The screens are also very nice (keep in mind you can get a matte screen, you don't have to get the glossy one you see in all the stores) although nothing the Sony Vaio's can't match.

Do not buy a Mac if you're going to primarily use Windows as the main OS. What's the point? Why did you just spend all that money on a Mac laptop?

At the end of the day though, what it comes down to is this: Do you prefer the Mac Operating System or the Windows Operating System? If you've never used the Mac OS, head into town and have a good long play around with it at one of those Apple Stores. Don't let Vista leave a sour taste in your mouth either, try out Windows 7 and see if this works for you. Once you've realised how much better and, for the most part, cheaper the PC/Windows world is, you can go back to that site I linked you to and buy a kickarse machine.

That's a really good thought, ta. I haven't really used a Mac OS much, so it's less a matter of preference than familiarity. From what I have seen - a friend or two have them and operate on Linux - it seems more accessible than Windows, at least once you've got it sussed. The only major attraction of Windows for me is the games factor, otherwise it seems like everything else works just fine on either as Jay says.
The eventual plan has been to have a Mac laptop for work/travel purposes, and a home PC for gaming and as a replacement TV etc, but that's a future plan for when I've got cash to burn.

Next question: how's the switching over to HTML 5 likely to impact upon the lastability (for lack of a better word) of a new 'puter? 'Cos if it's just going to become obsolete in the next two years or so I might just get a techie friend of mine to have a look through and/or go to security essentials and leave replacing the hardware for later when it'll really be worth it.

God I feel like such a dinosaur.

[jaydisc]

Do you mean will current computers be obsolete when HTML5 comes in? Absolutely not. A lot of stuff in HTML5 is all about getting more out of the web while using less resources. HTML5 will require less computing resources than comparable Flash does now.

Currently in tech, due to the new frontier being mobile (which includes tablets), the push is to do more with less. The race for higher and faster CPUs has basically plateaud. While desktops and laptops are getting more CPU cores, instead of faster ones, new operating systems are being written from the ground up (iOS, WebOS, Android, Windows Phone) to handle less resources.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Do you mean will current computers be obsolete when HTML5 comes in? Absolutely not. A lot of stuff in HTML5 is all about getting more out of the web while using less resources. HTML5 will require less computing resources than comparable Flash does now.

Currently in tech, due to the new frontier being mobile (which includes tablets), the push is to do more with less. The race for higher and faster CPUs has basically plateaud. While desktops and laptops are getting more CPU cores, instead of faster ones, new operating systems are being written from the ground up (iOS, WebOS, Android, Windows Phone) to handle less resources.

Cheers again, you guys are awesome as ever.

Thanks lads.

Don't forget young Grasshopper, this is going to be a pretty big year for PC gaming too, the biggest in years! The Witcher 2 recently came out and is a must have, then you've later got Diablo 3, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Rage, Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3, Deus Ex: HR, Duke Nukem Forever...The list goes on! Just food for thought. Dedicated gaming desktop would be pretty sweet too...Getting a big tax return this year?

Meh, I still haven't got around to playing my way through Morrowind yet, and I'm probably going to be short on free time for the next few years what with work and travel as opposed to fruitless job hunting here in Oz.
So yeah, it's very much a long-term eventual plan, i.e. when a winning Lotto ticket blows my way or somesuch. I'm a traveller at heart so it's one of those 'if I can ever afford a house' plans.

[Doubledealer]

I agree with all of this.

@Doubledealer: Forgot to mention you also in my previous post , what you said was spot on though.
@Jaydisc: +1
@Killingspoon: Agreed that one has to start somewhere, Linux certainly isn't for the faint of heart though.

That's a really good thought, ta. I haven't really used a Mac OS much, so it's less a matter of preference than familiarity. From what I have seen - a friend or two have them and operate on Linux - it seems more accessible than Windows, at least once you've got it sussed. The only major attraction of Windows for me is the games factor, otherwise it seems like everything else works just fine on either as Jay says.
The eventual plan has been to have a Mac laptop for work/travel purposes, and a home PC for gaming and as a replacement TV etc, but that's a future plan for when I've got cash to burn.

Next question: how's the switching over to HTML 5 likely to impact upon the lastability (for lack of a better word) of a new 'puter? 'Cos if it's just going to become obsolete in the next two years or so I might just get a techie friend of mine to have a look through and/or go to security essentials and leave replacing the hardware for later when it'll really be worth it.

God I feel like such a dinosaur.

Thanks lads.

Don't forget young Grasshopper, this is going to be a pretty big year for PC gaming too, the biggest in years! The Witcher 2 recently came out and is a must have, then you've later got Diablo 3, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Rage, Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3, Deus Ex: HR, Duke Nukem Forever...The list goes on! Just food for thought. Dedicated gaming desktop would be pretty sweet too...Getting a big tax return this year?

[gamblor916]

Kinda off topic (maybe) but that list of upcoming games is awesome. I have a Mac Pro desktop which should be beefy enough for most games. How would one run PC games reliably on OSX? I know Blizzard are mac friendly, but Deus Ex and Duke Nukem are shaping up to be must buys.

[Doubledealer]

Kinda off topic (maybe) but that list of upcoming games is awesome. I have a Mac Pro desktop which should be beefy enough for most games. How would one run PC games reliably on OSX? I know Blizzard are mac friendly, but Deus Ex and Duke Nukem are shaping up to be must buys.

I believe you'll want to install Windows 7 using Boot Camp. Here's something I dug up from the Apple site: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3986

[jaydisc]

You have a few options, of which the most powerful is as DD says. Although, since this requires a reboot, most Mac users find it tiring and figure out another way.

You can also run Windows virtualized, like Parallels or VMWare Fusion. I'd search for reviews for these specific to games. However, I would expect that Mac native versions of these games (assuming they exist) would outperform virtualization.

Important Disclaimer: I don't play games. So, a couple of questions:

1. I hear Mac folks talk a lot about Steam in the context of games. What is that and how does it relate?

2. Doesn't XBox and/or Playstation provide the best gaming experience anyway? I thought PC games were pretty passé as a result of these.

[KillinSpoon]

1. I hear Mac folks talk a lot about Steam in the context of games. What is that and how does it relate?

Do you remember GameSpy? How it used to be a hub where all your installed games were, and they had special GameSpy servers? Well, it is essentially like that, it is an iTunes for games. :P
Friends lists, team parties, servers and a store.

2. Doesn't XBox and/or Playstation provide the best gaming experience anyway? I thought PC games were pretty passé as a result of these.

I llike to think that they do, but each to their own :/