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This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
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Author
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Topic: My Mac computer just died
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Galen Murphy-Fahlgren
Master Film Handler
Posts: 405
From: Canton, MI, USA
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 04-29-2009 02:55 AM
Joe, I didn't intend to come off sounding like I was totally bashing Macs or Mac owners (of which I am one). I've mostly enjoyed my own Macbook, but perhaps it's the amount of time I've spent on a university campus, or the blind Apple fanaticism of too many of my acquaintances, but every time the subject comes up, I feel compelled to point out (sometimes quite longwindedly!) that they are not, in fact, perfection in computing, even if no one actually said they were.
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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 04-29-2009 10:38 AM
To me it's all about the applications. I could be accused of being an Adobe fanboy, but I won't ever be a Mac or PC fanboy. The operating systems and brand names behind selling them mean very little.
The very tired old stereotype always says anyone doing professional graphics work must use a Mac. Baloney.
If the situation with graphics software was still as it was in the early 1990s, yes I would be using a Mac. But that's only because certain applications were made only for the Mac way back then. The situation is totally different now and has been so for over a decade. The only creative product exclusive to the Mac platform worth a damn is Final Cut Studio. That's it. Creative workers can pick either platform and produce the same quality of work.
Both PCs and Macs deserve plenty of criticism.
On the PC side, right now it is a very crappy time to buy a new Windows-based computer. You can pay a premium to "downgrade" to a more trusty, reliable OS (WinXP Pro) or you can take your chances with Vista, which has gotten better. Still, with Windows 7 due for release in a few months and this whole 32-bit to 64-bit computing transition now starting to hang over the heads of every PC user it's just a major, sucktastic situation. It's especially bad for computer hardware vendors because their sales aren't doing well in part because of people wanting to wait for Windows 7.
Microsoft seriously has to stop it with the need to make products more "intuitive." That's just code for dumbing things down and hiding various software functions behind many levels of dialog boxes and "wizards." Ugh. Where's the "File" menu in Word 2007 or Windows Media Player? I bring up "Network Neighborhood" and see a huge number of network shortcuts. I have to dig for a more organized view of PCs on the network. I really HATE how Windows' search functions have changed. You have to do extra clicks to get to "browse" to be able to choose the folder you want to search -in yet another dialog box. But there's an animated puppy dog and I guess that makes it OK.
When I manage files, I use Explorer to do it since it has that old school file tree where everything is immediately available in the same window. Screw going through My Documents or My Computer or using a web browser to click through countless windows to do the same thing. Microsoft is hell bent on pushing this "intuitive" crap down our throats in part because of the inferiority complex they have with Apple.
Apple deserves bashing over its penchant of putting product fashion and its own brand name ahead of any kind sensible logic.
Take the new 17" MacBook Pro with its chic, single piece aluminum case design. The battery is "green" and lasts twice as long as normal notebook batteries. That's great. But you can't remove the damned thing! If you get one of those lock-ups that requires removing the notebook battery for the computer to reset itself you're screwed. You have to ship the machine off for an expensive repair job. When the battery needs to be replaced -same thing. You can't just order a new battery and replace it yourself. But I guess that's what comes with the fashion of a nearly $3000 product.
Then consider how Apple is literally pissing on its great Final Cut Studio suite by refusing to integrate Blu-ray support into it. Apple obviously places a higher business priority on its iTunes, iPods and iPhones product line than properly supporting its creative professional line of products -the sort of thing that gave Apple its fashion in the first place. Apple is going to screw around and let rivals like Adobe, Avid and Autodesk hammer them the same way Eyeon did when their PC/Linux-based Fusion application slaughtered Apple Shake.
Pride is one of those seven deadly sins and Apple is seriously infected with it. You can't defend yourself from getting punched in the face by a competitor if you're too busy patting yourself on the back.
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Scott Norwood
Film God
Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 04-29-2009 12:12 PM
Apple (finally) has a nice operating system. Unfortunately, there are many gaps in their hardware lineup. Other than the Mac Mini (which I have and which is a cute toy), they don't make anything that I would ever want to buy. They only make one laptop with a matte-surface LCD, and it is their largest, most expensive model (I hate glossy LCDs). Their high-end desktops ("Pro" series) are nice, but overpriced and overpowered for my needs, while their low-end desktops (Imacs) are not available without built-in monitors.
Apple really needs to sell a mid-range laptop with a matte-surface LCD (yes, this really is a sticking point for many users, myself included) and a mid-range desktop without a built-in monitor. They also need to include serial ports on everything (also a sticking point for me).
The other issue that I have with Apple hardware is the general lack of support for those who want to maintain their own equipment. Most of what they sell needs to be returned to them for service or upgrades, unless one wants to risk voiding the warranty. Stuff like the non-removable battery in their laptops and ipods is completely inexcusable, since batteries are "wear items" and will need to be replaced at some point (or points) in the product's lifetime.
Having said that, Apple does make quality hardware, but their product line and attitude towards user upgrades and modifications are lacking. They also seem to be fairly fast to abandon older products and reduce or eliminate support for them.
As for Mac users, I don't understand the cult-like devotion of people to one particular company or it's products. Even good companies make bad products and vice-versa. I don't really like Microsoft's business practices, either, but Apple isn't really any better in many ways, and arguably does more than Microsoft to lock customers into their platform.
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Greg Anderson
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 766
From: Ogden Valley, Utah
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-29-2009 12:39 PM
quote: Bobby Henderson
Apple obviously places a higher business priority on its iTunes, iPods and iPhones product line than properly supporting its creative professional line of products -the sort of thing that gave Apple its fashion in the first place.
Amen, Bobby.
I went to NAB last week and, for the second year in a row, Apple was a no-show. In fact, when other companies decided not to show up, I invented a new verb and I said that, for example, "The RED camera company has Appled NAB this year." So I watched Adobe's demonstration of CS4 and, for the first time ever, I was having serious thoughts about abandoning Apple and Final Cut Studio. So far, my clients aren't asking for Blu-Ray masters of our final output. But I fear that when my average client becomes anxious for me to make Blu-Ray discs for them, the word from Apple will still sound like a field full of crickets. ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
(I also enjoyed Adobe's automatic transcription feature in Premiere Pro. Very interesting!)
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