Mac Or Windows?

[Kosko]

I think you have an awfully attractive package.

 

[BuffaloBob4343]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve'r
I think you have an awfully attractive package.

 

[ninnlangel]

Read this article, and the many others like it. This dude is a windows expert... He knows why his new main computer is a Mac.

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Also, ask around and see how many of the people who prefer PCs have actually had serious experience on Macs before, and how recently that was (macs went through a ****** period during the nineties). I have not met many people who have real working experience with both platforms (windows 2k or XP and MacOS 10.2+) and still preferred windows. Don't want to get in an argument about this though - it's just my impression, and also my personal view, as an ex hardcore windows user (including day gig as a windows sysadmin).

From the article above, my favorite quote :

When Mac users say, "It just works," what they mean is that you spend more time on your work, and a lot less time working on your computer.

just my .02!

NL

 

[Dbassmon]

I guess if the question is; which is a better platform for recording the answer is either. Both will do a fine job.

From a user perspective, the Mac is the most elegant user interface out there. If you are a PC guy and you have never given this OS a real examination, (like several weeks, not several minutes) you may see the wisdom in what those fine people at Apple have come up with.

Here's something telling, not only has Apple been the trend setter in GUI and OS design and functionaliy (I can't imagine how Windows wasn't a copywrite infringement on the Apple OS, but that's what the courts ruled in 1988), but they have set the trend for mechanical design, Remember the transparent case with blue plastic, not only did PC makers follow their lead, but phones, staplers, you name it. The design of the case for the G5 is nothing short of fantastic, both visually and fuctionally.

As an artist, I just get Apple's world view, I think it is more in line with the way I think and work.

I'm surprised that on this forum that there are as many musician PC lovers as there seem to be but a PC can make a fine recording too.

 

[jeffreyhamby]

If it helps, I'm both a programmer (C and derivitives) and a musician.

I've written software for Mac (which is now the Mach kernel from BSD), *NIX, and for Windows (DOS and CP/M as well, FWIW).

I've used a few recording tools (ProTools, Cakewalk, Sonar, and Audigy). I'm no pro, but I can get by.

Mac used to be the tool of choice mainly because 24 bit was a standard on that platform.

The "Mac just works better" is really a thing of the past. Since the days of NT4.0 and Windows98, most issues with the Windows platform were because of use of undocumented APIs, the proof of which can be found in the code comments throughout the leaked NT4.0 code last year.

Any more, both platforms are about the same for studio recording. Mac is still the standard in most professional studios because it's what most engineers know. But you're not going to have any problems with recording on a Windows or Linux box (other than maybe drivers for your hardware on the Linux box... do your research).

I use Audigy now because the price is right (read: free), and because ProTools pissed me off by only offering their software on the PC version if you use their proprietary hardware. I use it on Windows XP Pro, because the last several years of my coding career have been spent in Windows environments.

To sum up, it all really boils down to your own preferences.

 

[David Vector]

I used a G4 and Pro Tools up until a couple of years ago. Switched to a Dell P4 and have had no real problems to speak of - did a clean XP install, installed Tracktion 2, Acid, and a boatload of VSTi's, and it all works just fine. I didn't bother doing any system tweaks either, apart from the clean XP install.

However, I've been reading some scary things about Windows Vista and how all the overwrought security and copyrighted content protection schemes built into it are major system resource hogs. That doesn't bode terribly well for running recording software that depends on system efficiency. If Vista turns out to be as bad as some are saying in that regard, I may find myself switching back to a Macintosh for the next system upgrade.

 

[12bass]

To sum up, it all really boils down to your own preferences.

B I N G O !

 

[derrenleepoole]

I'm a serious Mac user, but I also use XP as well at work. Both systems have there advantages and disadvantages. My experience of being a pro designer for nearly 8 years tells me that Mac are now really getting things right from OS, to hardware to functionality. OS X is simply superb IMO. Windows on the other hand has had a lapse in my opinion similar to what Mac went through in the 90's. The new Vista OS is certainly going to be appealing and certainly looks more secure than XP, but lets face it, it is a blatant copy of OS X! Just rebranded and packaged in Bill Gates bull****. It's not as original or as clever as people make out (it even looks the same as XP to some degree) - and that's very frustrating when you hear peole with no experience of both systems slagging one off against the other. Stick to what you know, and if any of the systems are setup well, they will serve you well. A good PC system well maintained will be as stable as a Mac system. Likewise a poorly maintained Mac will simply not perform. Like I said, I use both so I should know.