Silkroad Online Forums

Hello.

I've just bought my first (own) Mac today. I've bought it second hand, because I couldn't afford to buy a brand new one, and I got it for a decent price, I guess. Upgrades (specifically, HDD and RAM upgrades) are on their way now. Also, I don't have an Apple display, I'm just using my old 4:3 display for the Mac.

It's a Mac Mini, Core2Duo @ 1,83 GHz, with 512 MB of RAM, and an 80 GB HDD. This all sounds very crappy for a PC; surely a modern system can't function well with just 512 MB of RAM, am I not right?

Well, I was shocked when I saw that the Mac performed very well, with its mere 512 MB of RAM. It is much better than I expected. I could browse and listen to music smoothly, and multitask with ease. I've haven't yet explored what it can really do, but it feels very pleasant, elegant and ergonomic. Things don't generally run full screen, as people usually tend to do, on Windows. Things are just different, in many ways.

Let me put it this way. If anyone here has ever used VIM or Emacs, they'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Everyone knows how to use Windows. It's easy to learn, and if your needs are only the basic ones, such as surfing the Internet, listening to music or gaming, Windows can provide all the functionality you need, and it's easy to understand and learn.

With a Mac, it's different. You can use it for your basic needs just as well as you can use Windows. Oh well, it's not useful for gaming, but I've got a Core2Quad PC, if I ever want to do that. However, when you need good space management, good organization and a clean, professional working environment, the Mac shows its true potential. By working on a Mac, you can become, in time, much better at using it, and it can really speed up your work.

The point I'm trying to make is that the Mac - compared to Windows - feels like a whole new world, much more organized, much more logical, much more functional, and with a little bit of practice and time spent with it, significantly more useful and helpful.

Thumbs up for the Mac. I'm impressed.

*golfclap.gif*

And your point is?

****
in before dom



J/k

Dont you just feel a huge weight lifted off your chest when you come out of the closet? How did your parents take the news?

lol'd

in b4 mac vs. pc

macs are too expenisve for me

breakthrough right there, (I can do that on my phone)


To be honest it just sounds like you're trying to justify the mac purchase to yourself, through our acceptance.



This is where I start to facepalm a bit more. My computer is organized and I can use programs professionals use as well with ease. I can do everything as fast (or faster in your case) as a Mac can too. And if by space management you mean screen space, well with the money I save I can buy 4 more 24" monitors if I really wanted. But I'm satisfied with the 2 I have..

I made a video to show you a couple basic things. It was 12 seconds too long to upload on youtube, so I added it to my vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/17041489

UR A NOOB DOM

well.. gz on your mac glad your enjoying it..

"uh theres no floppy disks of course, theres a cd drive which is great but you can't stick your penis in it, which makes for good porn but not for great sex"

seriously lol'd

Dang... another victim!

Opposite here as far as Apple goes. Decided to spend my monies on clothes instead of the new iPod Touch. Might regret it later.

Wait you spend an iPod Touch Value in clothes? Screw you!

I don't envy you, but gratz on the Mac though.. lulz

ROFL

Interesting Vid there. Ima save your link for future use. Probably gona buy a Mac in the future, and maybe Quad-Boot it or something. But still very Nice info.

Thanks, that's really helpful and nice.

@Azilius:



Woah. Sounds like someone's feeling important here. I don't need your acceptance, I'm sorry to disappoint you. I just bought a VERY cheap second hand Mac (250$), found it to be very good and useful, and wanted to share some things about it with the people here. However, It feels like I'm getting bashed for joining some sort of weird cult or some religion or whatever. It's just a computer, FFS; a very good computer, but nevertheless, a computer. It's not like I'm moving to the Mac completely, I still like my PC's.

As for the point you raised concerning screen space organization, I'd just like to ask you if you've ever seriously used an OS different than Windows. I've used several Linux distributions, Solaris, FreeBSD - for almost an year -, every Windows version (from 3.1 to 7), and - now - Mac Os X. It's true that most of the Linux distributions and Solaris had a Gnome front end (I used KDE for FreeBSD), and I didn't get to know many interfaces, but I think I'm capable of relatively accurate evaluations of an OS, after extensive experience with multiple operating systems. Mac Os X can run all of the UNIX stuff, as well as some Windows, non - UNIX applications (such as Photoshop), it also runs things you can never have on Windows, such as Logic Studio, etc. In fact, I believe Macs have the greatest application pool available. Also, the Os X user interface is wonderful. It's the most ergonomic UI, far better than the Windows UI, or Gnome / KDE / other Linux front ends.

Here's a couple of facts. Let me start with a couple of examples. A Mac Pro can cost up to $10000 or more, if you have dual six-core processors and 24+ GB of RAM. If you try to buy other professional workstations (such as HP, Fujitsu-Siemens, Lenovo or even Dell) with similar specifications and quality, you won't really get them much cheaper than an equivalent Mac Pro.

I own a Lenovo ThinkPad T510, Core i7 @ 2,66 GHz, 8 GB of RAM, NVidia Quadro graphics. IMO, high-end ThinkPad's and the Fujitsu-Siemens Celsius H700 are the only laptops that can really match the performance and feel of the MacBook Pro. Now, check the prices. I payed ~$2000 for my ThinkPad (things are a little bit more expensive in Romania), and the only good replacement, for that money would have been a MacBook. Viceversa, if you own a MacBook Pro, the only real equivalent would be a ThinkPad, or other high-end laptops, which usually cost just as much.

My ThinkPad battery lasts for 5-6 hours, the screen resolution is Full HD (yes, the laptop screen) and my graphics card can support (through the docking station) two 30" monitors, at high resolutions (two 2560 x 1600 monitors). Here's the difference. Standard, low-end laptops have a battery life of 2 hours, 1280 x 800 resolution, and nowhere near the versatility of a ThinkPad. But quite often, they can have, as far as raw processor performance, or the amount of RAM available, apparently - to the untrained eye - 'similar' performance to that of high-end laptops.

A lot of people told me, after I got my ThinkPad, that all my laptop had extra, compared to theirs is, for example, the i7 instead of an i5, 4 GB of extra RAM, and a slightly higher resolution. They also claimed they could always upgrade their laptops to match the performance of a ThinkPad, at half the price I payed for it. Oh, the ignorance and utter stupidity. It just takes a little bit of knowledge to recognize certain things. Most people don't, in fact.

Also, if you're saying you can buy four extra monitors with the money you save from not buying a Mac, you obviously don't seem to realize that the TN monitors you probably own are actually junk, compared to IPS or even PVA panel Monitors. Compared to an IPS, a TN looks hallucinogenic, dirty and poor. FYI, all of the Apple displays are IPS panel; they look vibrant and clear, have a great color spectrum, and have 178 / 178 viewing angles, something you can never get out of your ordinary Twisted Nematic Monitor. If you *really* hate Apple, look for alternative professional monitors, such as Eizo, NEC, or others, and don't be surprised if you find similar prices.

tl;dr version: I'm a programmer, I make a living out of that. High-end stuff always costs a lot, whoever produces it, and it just so happens that Apple doesn't sell low-end, budget products. If all you're interested in is gaming, surfing the web, and listening to music or whatever, Macs are indeed irrelevant, and a waste of money. If your interests are higher than that, and your income is very PC-dependent, a Mac might be worth buying, if you want an offbeat break from your standard Windows experience.

"Bitches love that"
Lmao i love you

Unlucky lmao. Should of bought a PC, put Linux on it and saved money.

Lolz were had, ty.


I bought an hp with 6 gigs of ram, 1 gig graphics mem dedicated, and an i7 processor for $1200. More than enough for anything I want to run. I never understood the point of a high end labtop... it's a labtop. Heat stress alone will pretty much destroy it after a few years...

people can't even make a thread without you guys being assholes about it.

I know it's wrong, but I always called it that. Makes me feel like i have my own LaBORatory Dee-Dee.

What decent PC can you get for 250$ ? I already have a FreeBSD laptop, which I'm going to use as my network server, once my gigabit switch arrives. I have used pretty much every important OS in the past two years, and all I was missing was a Mac and I managed to find a really cheap one. That's it.

I got a Mac 250$, and it's great. That's all I really had to say, after all. And look what the thread has derailed into. I had a hard time refraining from insults myself. Why all the hate?

Cheer Up! It's all about the software
Well, you know.. Mac Vs PC lulz