What makes Mac better?

Ethan3.14159 said:
Yes, but software like Photoshop and Adobe Premier run much faster on Mac OS X than on Windows. The OS is much lighter, and has less processes running in the background. One of it's main advantages is longevity over Windows.
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A modern system using Adobe software should be using GPU acceleration. With that, there's not a large difference.

The only OS that can make a really big difference in multimedia production is Linux in audio, because certain kernels are capable of hard realtime operation. Other than that, you will notice a difference between them, but it's nothing to write home about.
 
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Drenlin said:
A modern system using Adobe software should be using GPU acceleration. With that, there's not a large difference.

The only OS that can make a really big difference in multimedia production is Linux in audio, because certain kernels are capable of hard realtime operation. Other than that, you will notice a difference between them, but it's nothing to write home about.
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Well, Abode was originally a Mac only developer. Their company started developing for Apple computers way back in the day. Once they realized the potential for their products they ported them over to Windows, but they have been an Apple developer from the beginning of their conception.

The difference between most *nix kernels is more of a licensing thing than anything else, are they GPL kernel or GNU kernel. You want to read some heated geek arguments, go read up on GNU vs GPL, it gets kind of ridiculous.

When I was a sub contractor I had a few record labels and recording studios as clients. All of them exclusively used Macs with Pro tools, DP, or Logic Audio. Apple purchased Logic a while ago, and even started integrating some of their technologies into the OS, like direct midi support.

However, it comes down to personal preference as the person using it is the one that is going to make the decision of what they want to use.
 
When were you a subcontractor?

In audio at least, it's only been in recent years that Windows platforms have caught back up in performance. Macs actually were better for quite some time. That's why they have the reputation.

As far as linux/OS goes, it doesn't really matter how different they are. The fact remains that OS/X and Windows don't currently have the ability to do that (and aren't likely to), while linux, Ubuntu Studio in particular, does. They're getting closer though...both OS/X and Windows allow soft realtime operation.

You should give some of the stuff from Studio a try, btw. JACK and Ardour, among others, have been ported to OS/X. Again, no hard realtime, but it's still a really awesome setup once you learn it. It easily rivals Pro Tools in software functionality.
 
I just got a mac. It's good for art and stuff, but you can't really do much with it. I keep a pc for all my other non-art/music needs since I got my mac for bad-hooker cheap because I was starting school at the time. Mac's not my favorite.
 
macs are targeted to a specific demographic, i'm thinking liberal hippies with money to throw around :D

microsoft makes os for everybody, from starter to professional editions and even server class :good:

linux is even more user specific. you have a group of people developing an os to be how they want it to be, everybody else is welcome to jump in if they can wrap their heads around packages and repositories and such :confused:

as far as hardware goes, it's all the same. it's not pens vs pencils, it's what kind of ink you use ;)
 
Drenlin said:
When were you a subcontractor?

In audio at least, it's only been in recent years that Windows platforms have caught back up in performance. Macs actually were better for quite some time. That's why they have the reputation.

As far as linux/OS goes, it doesn't really matter how different they are. The fact remains that OS/X and Windows don't currently have the ability to do that (and aren't likely to), while linux, Ubuntu Studio in particular, does. They're getting closer though...both OS/X and Windows allow soft realtime operation.

You should give some of the stuff from Studio a try, btw. JACK and Ardour, among others, have been ported to OS/X. Again, no hard realtime, but it's still a really awesome setup once you learn it. It easily rivals Pro Tools in software functionality.
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I was a sub-contractor from 2005 till about 2007. I gave it up because the company I was sub contracting through was horrible about paying me out on my invoices. I am not an audio engineer at all, I am an IT guy. So, when I did work for the record labels and studios it was because their technology broke and I was fixing it.

All of the studios I went to, pretty much exclusively ran Macs and Pro Tools. A few of them ran DP from MOTU. I don't claim to know what the hell the differences are other than they ran those. 1 or 2 of them ran Logic.

A couple of the bands I helped ran Pro Tools off their Mac laptops.
 
zombine210 said:
microsoft makes os for everybody, from starter to professional editions and even server class :good:
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So you support feature limiting and DRM????? I am not sure why this is a plus. It is absurd that I have to buy a more expensive OS to BIND a client to a domain controller, it is also absurd that I have to pay so much more for that feature. OS X has 1 version, with every single feature + tons more than ultimate versions of Windows and it costs under half the price.
 
Apples are damn sexy looking. All my friends have Macbook pros and they are bar none the most beautiful looking laptops ever. And about that HP Envy laptop, do you know why it looks good? Because it looks like a Mac!
 
Drenlin said:
A modern system using Adobe software should be using GPU acceleration. With that, there's not a large difference.

The only OS that can make a really big difference in multimedia production is Linux in audio, because certain kernels are capable of hard realtime operation. Other than that, you will notice a difference between them, but it's nothing to write home about.
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Linux and Mac OS X are very similar.
 
diduknowthat said:
Apples are damn sexy looking. All my friends have Macbook pros and they are bar none the most beautiful looking laptops ever. And about that HP Envy laptop, do you know why it looks good? Because it looks like a Mac!
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i agree, macs do look good. but if i bought a mac(which i would never do) the first thing i would do is install windows.
 
I'll give you my impressions on using Macs and PC's everyday at university...

I use my Mac in lectures, seminars and writing essays etc, there it excels beatifully compared to my PC (the touchpad is lovely, the keyboard almost so), it's also more responsive than the PC (despite it being much more powerful spec for spec) which regularly locks up. Right now I have iTunes, MSN, Firefox, Pixelmator, ssh, stfp and Coda running quite happily, Spaces is a godsend which I do wish MS would put in, even Linux has that!

Installing Windows is a good plan for people who are a little unsure; the freedom is great. Although there are one or two bugbears with the systems, the first being the superdrive which is rather noisy when inserting a CD and also the fact that the MBP must sleep when the lid closes or it overheats! Seems expensive if you look at the specs, but things like the light sensor, multitouch trackpad, and that aluminium monocoque make it all a very attractive prospect. That and the last 2 PC laptops have both broken in < 12 months, very different models too. Do wish though that the Magsafe charger took a smidge more force to knock out >_>
 
ok, so i went to bestbuy and i took my open mind and started looking at their mac selection and let me tell you, i wasn't impressed.

first i tried a mac book pro, don't remember the specs but i think it had a core duo with like 4gb ram for like 15 or 16 hundred. so i was expecting a pretty fast system, something compared to my computer at home. but it was sloooow! i tried the progam Pages, to type stuff on. the thing took like 5 seconds. it might not seem long, but if you sit there and count them, it is pretty slow. my pentium 3 doesn't take that long to open ms word 03.

the keyboard was pretty nice, the keys were spaced pretty far apart though, so you can't type very fast. i did like the huge touch pad :eek: that was nice! but it was lacking a number pad.

then i moved to the imac, with the ginormous display for like 18 hundred. it had garage band, safari, and other software that i dind't know what it was for. so i opened up the program Numbers, again slow, and started typing up a spreadsheet and i noticed something that put me off right away: the icons and program menus were small, like really small. srsly for a 27" display, you're going to be sitting at least 3ft from it, i couldn't see shit i was standing 1ft away!

another thing i didn't like was the keyboard. i really hope you can plug in any keyboard you like because the stupid metal board was really just a laptop keyboard that was also missing a number pad!

i seriously don't know what people see in a mac, it's really more like a fad.
 
If you've never used a Mac, it takes a while to get used to it. I love the Mac keyboards and laptop keyboards, they are much easier to use then most PC laptops that try to fit too many keys in such a small space.
 
zombine210 said:
ok, so i went to bestbuy and i took my open mind and started looking at their mac selection and let me tell you, i wasn't impressed.

first i tried a mac book pro, don't remember the specs but i think it had a core duo with like 4gb ram for like 15 or 16 hundred. so i was expecting a pretty fast system, something compared to my computer at home. but it was sloooow! i tried the progam Pages, to type stuff on. the thing took like 5 seconds. it might not seem long, but if you sit there and count them, it is pretty slow. my pentium 3 doesn't take that long to open ms word 03.

the keyboard was pretty nice, the keys were spaced pretty far apart though, so you can't type very fast. i did like the huge touch pad :eek: that was nice! but it was lacking a number pad.

then i moved to the imac, with the ginormous display for like 18 hundred. it had garage band, safari, and other software that i dind't know what it was for. so i opened up the program Numbers, again slow, and started typing up a spreadsheet and i noticed something that put me off right away: the icons and program menus were small, like really small. srsly for a 27" display, you're going to be sitting at least 3ft from it, i couldn't see shit i was standing 1ft away!

another thing i didn't like was the keyboard. i really hope you can plug in any keyboard you like because the stupid metal board was really just a laptop keyboard that was also missing a number pad!

i seriously don't know what people see in a mac, it's really more like a fad.
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What do you expect from a display machine? How many people do you think messed around with it, not knowing what they're doing?

I don't have any of these problems on my Macbook Pro. Plus the icon sizes are completely adjustable, down to the pixel.
 
Ethan3.14159 said:
What do you expect from a display machine? How many people do you think messed around with it, not knowing what they're doing?

I don't have any of these problems on my Macbook Pro. Plus the icon sizes are completely adjustable, down to the pixel.
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whatever, and when you go to the library and have to use a public computer? guess mac isn't good for that either. what a sissy little machine.
 
zombine210 said:
whatever, and when you go to the library and have to use a public computer? guess mac isn't good for that either. what a sissy little machine.
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I lol'd.

I don't think anyone on this forum with an iMac, Mac Pro, or Macbook has the problems you're talking about. And I'd rather use a Mac in a library instead of some silly XP machine with a Pentium 4.
 
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lol, the library at work installed some macs next to the PCs. but they put one per table because the displays are so huge!

honestly, i wouldn't want everybody looking at my email or whatever i'm doing.
 
zombine210 said:
lol, the library at work installed some macs next to the PCs. but they put one per table because the displays are so huge!

honestly, i wouldn't want everybody looking at my email or whatever i'm doing.
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Well, the displays are immense. No argument there. But they're absolutely amazing monitors.
 
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