Mac OS X (specifically) - any good?

[eclipse]

k, I'm considering buying a PowerBook G4, but I really want to know more about Mac OS X, I've heard people here and there saying it's crap, and some saying it's great, but I've never heard or read an in depth, un-biased analysis of it all, which would be good but I guess not easy to find.
I don't really know what it's real good points are, and I don't really know what it's real bad points are

now, I've heard Macs are all good for arty-farty design whatever, and I would use it for graphic/web design stuff, but I'm also wondering if it would be ok for school work, now, for school work I only really need Microsoft Office, so if anyone knows if the Mac version is just as good as the windows one that would be great to know, other than that....um

can anyone help me on this subject?

::edit:: in the case of deciding to shy away from OS X because it's not any good, does anyone know of a PC laptop that looks like the powerbook?, I think that thing looks sweet, I'm really looking for portability, thin and light, and it's got to look pretty too, I love silver

[Sharpe]

eclipse dont buy one !!!!!!

[eclipse]

oh thank you that was SOOOO helpful in helping me decide not to buy one.

I've done some research on the internet, and apparently it's pretty much works like the old Mac OS's it hasn't changed much, even though it was coded from scratch (well, the interface anyway, maybe not the whole Unix core, that's a 15 year old core apparently) they made it just like it used to be. also the biggest gripe people seem to have with it is it's slow, damned slow. takes ages to resize windows and things apparently, even with this quartz extreme technology, might have something to do with all the graphical wizardry, who knows. the Unix core, well, that apparently makes loads of unix geeks feel warm, I don't care what's at the core of the OS I use as long as it's good and the end result is what I want from the OS. it seems to be a good core though. hmm, I'm still not sure what I want, and I'm still 50/50 on deciding wether or not it's worth it. I'm REALLY gonna have to find an apple store and ask to try out the OS, I think that may be the only way for me to truly decide wether or not I want it. so, this thread is a bit useless now, heheh.

[Karl]

If you are interested in seeing a real live working mac, I'll be bringing my Powerbook to the next event.

I'm tempted to sell my Powerbook already even though I've only had it a few months. My main problem is that I just can't do any work on my individual project on it, so I might sell it and buy a desktop PC instead. Not half as flash as the Powerbook, but it will let me get my work done. Let me know if your interested in buying it, I can promise you it will be a lot cheaper than buying it directly from apple, and I can chuck in a copy of Office v.X as well.

My opinion on Mac OS X is that it is so unpolished. It is just like a beta version of Windows 95, lots of good ideas but still problems all over the place. The interface is very inconsistent, you can never tell when a keyboard shortcut is going to work or not, or what weird and wonderful things will happen when you try and maximise a window. And the single mouse button can drive you to want to kill Steve Jobs and all his cohorts.

The interface is not noticably slow, it seems just a fast as Windows. Although your kinda right about the window resizing, but its not that bad and I hardly ever find myself resizing windows anyway. The interface does look drop dead gorgeous and is way ahead of its windows counterpart. This is one part of the itnerface that is polished till it positively glows. None of the Windows problems of slow redrawing bit by bit, or being able to 'wipe' windows clean are present at all. Even if an application is busy you can still move it's windows around no problem.

The Unix core is quite nice if you a geek. It allows you access to a lot of free Linux software. I find myself using the command line a fair bit, as it is very powerful if you knwo what your doing. But I don't think this really matters to you from what you said before. Although if you want to do web design stuff, the Unix core is perfect as it allows you to recreate a real Unix webserver on your own system, set up exactly the way it would be on a normal server.

I'd have to say the best thing about a mac by far is the hardware. The Powerbook just looks and feels so good. It is easily the best looking laptop ever, and built in wireless and slot loading CD-R/DVD drive are just too cool. And it is incredibly thin and light.

And for those who can't be arsed to read, in summary:
OS = Shite
Unix Core = Good
Hardware = Amazing
Single Mouse Button = Worst. Descision. Ever.

My Powerbook will be available to point and laugh at at the next Shotgun event this January.

[eclipse]

If you are interested in seeing a real live working mac, I'll be bringing my Powerbook to the next event.

I'm VERY interested in seeing a real live working mac.

Let me know if your interested in buying it, I can promise you it will be a lot cheaper than buying it directly from apple, and I can chuck in a copy of Office v.X as well.

if I decide to buy one I'll talk to you about it then.

And the single mouse button can drive you to want to kill Steve Jobs and all his cohorts.

think me mad but I actually have no problem adjusting to using just one, I've spent hours playing around in my Mac emulator, OS 7, one mouse button, and it hasn't drove me mad yet.

Although if you want to do web design stuff, the Unix core is perfect as it allows you to recreate a real Unix webserver on your own system, set up exactly the way it would be on a normal server.

ooo, I like the idea of that!

The Powerbook just looks and feels so good. It is easily the best looking laptop ever

agreed.

And it is incredibly thin and light.

just what I need.

your comments are valuable, thanks

::edit:: what version of OS X does your powerbook run? I don't know when you bought it. I assume it's 10.2 "Jaguar" though?

[Karl]

Yeah its running 10.2, I bought it just after Jaguar came out. I've never used any version other than Jaguar so I can't say how much better it is.

[Chief]

Macs Suck..
for two reasons...

1) The hardware is... shit. Its slower than any pc equivalent.
(Yes. yes.. they look pretty.. so what, you want pretty? pay for a case mod.)

2) The Operating system is... shit. If you are gonna spend all your time in specific applications like photoshop or anything else, what difference does it make what operating system your running....

Basically.. you can either pay £1500 for a mac, that does things in X ammount of time, or you can pay £1500 for a PC, that does things in X/2 the ammount of time.

At the end of the day, its not about the case, the OS, or the prestiege... its about saving you time when your doing work - so if rendering something on a pc instead of a mac will save you 20 seconds every time you do it, you get more done in less time..



either that or mac heads have the mentality of doing less work in the same amoutn of time and getting paid 3x as much as any other person simply cos they are versed in "mac os".. bollocks.

anyway..
your money, your time. my penny's worth

[Chief]

Quote:
Although if you want to do web design stuff, the Unix core is perfect as it allows you to recreate a real Unix webserver on your own system, set up exactly the way it would be on a normal server.



ooo, I like the idea of that!

on windows, install apache, - done.

or, if you dont like that... get some old box, install linux on that, and setup apache with whatever.

(all this is free too...)


why pay some heavy preimum for some abstract unix core... gain experience installing and using a platform which is widely used in the industry....

[Chief]

Quote:
If you are interested in seeing a real live working mac, I'll be bringing my Powerbook to the next event.


I'm VERY interested in seeing a real live working mac.

Seen one, very pretty - OS X looks nice. DVDs lagged while transfering files across the network. Photoshop suttered when doing nothing else. (in comparison to my P4 2Ghz Laptop..)

I wasnt very impressed. Even the screen seemed like it was poor quality when looking at it in detail.

[Chief]

Quote:
The Powerbook just looks and feels so good. It is easily the best looking laptop ever


agreed.

You seen my Dell ?
well.. whatever flicks your switch.

[Chief]

sorry for the rant.

after seeing a mac in action, and after getting hints that the art department want to use it in their department at my work (a secondary school..) with the reason "they can get experiece with mac os & macs in general...." the only response i can give is... "rofl. no."

im sorry - its just, when we can buy P4 2.4Ghz with 512MB DDR and 19" Trinitron monitors & extra stuff for £800... and the equivalent iMac or eMac cosing £850-£1400 (ex VAT) with half the ram, an 800mhz chip and a smaller monitor....

they can have one if they want to pay for it, its not comming out of the IT budget - ever.

[PeteTheHair]

Could you not have replied once?

/me spots a blatant attempt at post count boostage

You seen my Dell ?

I promise you, no Dell ever looked this good. Honestly. It looks bitchin'

set up exactly the way it would be on a normal server.

Unless it runs IIS

/me ducks...

I've been to the pub...

I'm going to bed now...

Macs blow.

[eclipse]

heheh, well I'm going to have to give Karl's powerbook a "test run" at shotgun, see if it really is the right OS for me, once I've tried it for myself I can truly decide wether or not to get one. until then... I'm thinking of buying a powerbook. you lot will be so happy if I leave shotgun saying "that Mac sucks!" won't you?

[shrek]

you lot will be so happy if I leave shotgun saying "that Mac sucks!" won't you?

hehe yes we prolly will be

[biggles]

ecstatic

[Karl]

Chief is right that mac hardware at the same price is much slower than the PC equivalent, but I find that my P2 350Mhz is still fast enough for me to do everything except play games. But I hardly ever play any games so thats fine with me. Of course that doesn't really excuse the stupid prices on macs.

Although I think Chief is simplifying things a little when he says its only about how fast you get things done. For some people its also about the experience you have while doing things. And the mac experience looks about a million times nicer than the windows one. Having said that, I've had to move back to my PC do work on my individual project, the lack of software and tools for the mac just makes working on it too difficult. Another one of the macs failings.

One thing I would warn you of Eclipse is that the mac does look really good and fun when you play around with it for a bit (i.e. at Shotgun), but I found the real problems set in when I actually set out to accomplish something. The badly designed and very inconsistent interface just kept getting in my way, slowing me down and generally pissing me off. Just be careful not to get sucked in by the graphical lovelyness of it all.

And Chief, the really nice points about the hardware, such as the screen (which is *very* bitchin BTW), and the inbuilt wireless, can't be got from Dell or case mods.

[Chief]

And Chief, the really nice points about the hardware, such as the screen (which is *very* bitchin BTW), and the inbuilt wireless, can't be got from Dell or case mods.

rofl, i have built in wireless..

err.. i will have my laptop at the next shotgun. want to do a side by side compairson? specifically.. the screen quality? i dont think there is another computer out there with such a nice screen... mac/pc whatever - it is THE Dogs bollocks. - pete can vouch for the quality

1600x1200 on 15.1" Ultrasharp... ive had to up the resolution on my 19" monitor from 1280x1024 to 1600x1200 so i can adjust to looking at my laptop!

[Karl]

Uh... looks like I'll be eating me words then. I just realised after I'd written that last post that I hadn't actually checked other computers for inbuilt wireless. My bad.

And your monitor sounds bitchin too. The resultion is higher than on the Powerbook as well.

I think what I should have actually said is that the inbuilt wireless is very cool, and the Powerbook screen is way better than anything I've used before. Although I haven't used your screen before

I'm on your side anyway, after using a mac for ages I'd have to agree that the hardware is overpriced and the OS is a bit shitty.

[unga?]

hello all - long time no speak

eclipse...i really cant be bothered to read the whole thread (apologies, i just lazy, so if i duplicate anythng in this post u'll know why) but i have an iBook runnng os x 10.2.2 and proof of pudding being in the eating and all that, i'll let u have a play when we at shotgun...can't say fairer then that can i?

[rib?]

can't say fairer then that can i?

yes, you could let him have it for a year no questions asked