Your Deepest, Darkest Fantasies about... an Apple Mac

[Yufster]

Tell me everything you know about Apple Macs. Am I calling them the right name? Are they cool? Not cool? What are they good for? What are they not good for? Why are they less popular than ordinary PCs? Is there much of a difference? Why don't I know these things? Why is there no right mouse button? What are the specs? What's with the sexy design?

Things like that. I need all your brain meat, fat and all.

[Jayel]

Macs or iMacs? If I recall correctly Mac lines are long discontinued.
iMacs look so cool and MacOS X is based on Unix architecture. They're good for everything except gaming.
If I ever become a millionaire, I'm gonna get an iMac.

[toblix]

I have this image of Macs being pretty nice looking but useless compared to a PC running Windows.

[tabacco]

Macs or iMacs? If I recall correctly Mac lines are long discontinued.
iMacs look so cool and MacOS X is based on Unix architecture. They're good for everything except gaming.
If I ever become a millionaire, I'm gonna get an iMac.

Noo, that's wrong. the iMac was just another model. I'm not even 100% sure iMacs are still in production. I know they make a model called the eMac now, but I know very little about it.

[shbazjinkens]

Here is Apple's take on the issues:
http://www.apple.com/myths/

Here is a chart showing how much faster Apples are than PC's because of their dual processor architecture:
http://www.apple.com/powermac/

They're actually better, and not just a little better, but much better. For games, for graphics, for everything. I don't have one though, because PC's are cheaper and I'm familiar with them.

Few games are developed for them but if they were and the Apple was loaded with the proper graphics card they should do very well. Independant 3d projects are likely to start popping up as multi-platform, functioning on Linux, Windows, and OSX. Blender games will because Blender is multi-platform, and other engines like Crystal space either work on Linux and OSX or are going in that direction.

The myth page speaks about a PC emulator, but I'm not sure how well that would function or how much it would slow things down.

[Jayel]

ah, it's the plain "macintosh" models they don't make anymore. apparently the power macs and imacs still fall under "macs"

my mistake.

[Yufster]

Wow, you guys know pretty much nothing about Apples either.

Okay, here's why I asked; because now I'm a PC salesperson, but I also have to sell Macs. And what worries me is that, while I know enough about PCs to sell them to people who know less than me... I know nothing about Apples, pretty much. And neither does anybody else where I work. One of the first questions they asked was whether I knew anything about Macs. I said something about art and graphics and software not being made for them a lot and Dave said, "Brilliant! You can be the official Mac salesperson then."

So I was fiddling around with these machines, trying to figure them out enough to convincingly sell them. The first thing I noticed was the sexy design. They sure are pretty.

The next thing I noticed was the sharpness of the graphics. It was friggin' beautiful. On the other hand, the OS seemed a little crap to use, although that's probably only because I'm not used to it. Still, all the pretty animated buttons seemed more than a little unecessary.

I'm not allowed to actually install any software on to the computers there, yet. But I did notice a distinct lack of software available for the Mac in the software section, and I'm aware that's one of the weak points about a Mac.

Anyway. Continue to speak your brain about Macs. I'm all ears.

[Moosferatu]

Maybe Jake will enlighten you...

[Wormsie]

Is it just me, or does Moosferatu sound more... confident? happier? ...these days than a couple of years ago.

Oh, I forgot.

?

[Jake]

I'd be happy to blab about Macs for a while if you drop me an IM. Don't really know what I'll say but...

[Moosferatu]

Is it just me, or does Moosferatu sound more... confident? happier? ...these days than a couple of years ago.

Oh, I forgot.

?

Why thank you. I say a good bit less than I used to too. But yeah, my views on life in general have changed a good bit since I joined the community about a year and a half ago. Maybe that's what you notice. Who knows.

:dopefish:

[Yufster]

Jake: Donkey's Shin.

Moos: I am afraid you are just jumping on the bandwagon with that whole Devil Worship thing.

[Chris]

Why thank you. I say a good bit less than I used to too. But yeah, my views on life in general have changed a good bit since I joined the community about a year and a half ago. Maybe that's what you notice. Who knows.

:dopefish:

A year and a half?? Surely it was longer than that.

[rodekill]

I worked on a mac for three years. Started with a G3, moved to a 1st gen G4, and finally to a dual cpu G4 fancy shmants wallet exploder.
They were all garbage.
And yes, they crash just as much as PC's.

BOMB!

[Kingzjester]

But yeah, my views on life in general have changed a good bit since I joined the community about a year and a half ago. Maybe that's what you notice. Who knows.Care to elaborate? I am curious just what in the world could've been the cause of that...

[Moosferatu]

A year and a half?? Surely it was longer than that.

I think I started posting on Adventure Gamers around November of my Sophmore year. I'm now a senior, so that would be about a year and a half.

Kingz, I'll elaborate if you so desire later today. I currently have no time as I'm supposed to be helping with an English camp shortly.

[shbazjinkens]

I worked on a mac for three years. Started with a G3, moved to a 1st gen G4, and finally to a dual cpu G4 fancy shmants wallet exploder.
They were all garbage.
And yes, they crash just as much as PC's.

BOMB!

They don't get viruses as much as PC's, to my knowledge.

The other reason they are faster (besides the dual CPUs) is because they process information more efficiently than a PC does, so the speed/performance ratio is more weighted toward performance in an Apple.

[rodekill]

Be that true or not, the price/performance ratio still doesn't add up.

[shbazjinkens]

Be that true or not, the price/performance ratio still doesn't add up.

Which is why I have a PC that is optimized for high performance in other ways.

[Ryam BaCo]

afaik people with "graphical" tasks, like people who are working for magazines, newspapers, etc... and do layout-stuff use macs for...uhm...because...hmmm...they're...hmmm...why don't you ask mr. google about macs? or visit the apple-homepage to learn about the advantages (?) of macs or visit mac-communities to study all the disadvantages. i would do so instead of posting in a forum with emphasis on electronical entertainment.

and...hahaha...3dfx built 3d-graphic-cards for macs millions of years ago.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Yufster: "Jeezus Cripes, cawn't a girl enjoy her spiked rum milkshake in peace around here?!"

iMac: "But, but.....I'm mysterious yet sexy!"

Yufster [looking it up and down]: "Hmmm, well, you [I]are rather fetching in this green light."

iMac: "Why not let me buy the next round of milkshake and we'll just chat. You know, chat."

Yuster: "Wellll, that cawn't be too slick, I suppose..."

[next morning, Yuf wakes up in iMac's bed]

Yufster: ".....ohhhh, this headache. WTF happened?"

iMac (walking into the bedroom with a Philippe Stark tray of hot coffee, croissants, and marmalade): "You were extraordinary last night!! I can't find enough superlatives!"

Yufster: "I think I have a hangover."

[rodekill]

I'm a graphic designer.

My kind are drawn to macs chiefly because Apple pays design schools big bucks/gives schools free stuff to use and teach on their platform. Simple as that.

[Erwin_Br]

Yufster: "Jeezus Cripes, cawn't a girl enjoy her spiked rum milkshake in peace around here?!"

Ha ha ha. Does she really talk like that?

--Erwin

[Kingzjester]

Ha ha ha. Does she really talk like that?

--Erwin
If by she you mean Trep and by really you mean not.... :shifty:

[BDTM]

iMacs - The most useless piece of computer junk ever invented by any company. A masterpiece of marketing hype, they are sold with cute names and in lots of juicy colours. They are so pretty. Excuse me, but computers are not meant to be pretty, they are meant to be a communication device, thats what the "C" in ICT means. How useful is 'pretty' when you can't get your document out of it because Apple forgot to put in a floppy disk drive? Then theres that stupid name which starts with a lower case letter, and that awful round mouse. Aargh! Nurse pass me my medication! iMacs, however, are not totally useless. Cut off the power cord and they make good doorstops for a real computer room, full of real computers, PCs.

[Jake]

The gamer / "hardcore" PC community will never understand the point of the iMac/iBook product lines, so it's pointless to ask. You will get responses like Bobo Donkeys, talking about how it's all marketing hype and a shiny package with an underpowered computer that no self respecting PC owner would ever want. That is retarded.

iMacs are in fact computers with a very specific target audience, and its not you.

Would you buy your Mom a top of the line Alienware PC? No! Just like you wouldn't buy yourself an iMac. You should, however, buy your Mom an iMac, as, assuming she's anything like my Mom (not a hardcore computer user, just someone who wants one for email/web/word processing/sharing digital camera pictures/managing a music library) she is almost guaranteed to love it more than all the old "family PC's" your household has shuffled through over the years.

Yes Apples in general are overpriced, but iMacs aren't that overpriced considering that, for their target audience (the most absolute casual computer users), they offer a very slick seamless package both from the standpoint of the shiney package Bobo was talking about, and also in regards to the non-intimidating operating system (unlike Windows XP, MacOS X is in fact designed to be genuinely friendly to use, and doesn't claim to be "friendly" by covering its more unsightly bits in giant blue/green bubblewrap), and large pile of Apple-developed Mac-only "consumer grade" software (iPhoto, iMovie etc etc) which come pre-installed on them, and are geared towards being a productive low-intensity user.

Also on top of that, in my experience, Macs generally last a year and a half or so longer than PC's before they feel so bogged down and slow that you need to replace them. This is especially the case when you're comparing a Mac to the oft-touted-rarely-seen "super cheap PC's I could build for five dollars, this paper sack, and the lint in my pocket, that has all the features of your overpriced Mac."

The super casual-using "Mom" is an audience the Windows/PC market has been trying (and failing) to cater to for years. In my (heavily biased) and my mom's (pretty unbiased) opinions, Apple pulled it off.




G5's etc are another story, but based on this audience I don't really know if its worth the time to type :shifty:

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Then wouldn't they be better named iMom?

[Jake]

Um how about "yourMom"

Burn!

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Lame.

[BDTM]

That little rant of mine was actually taken from last years school yearbook. It was a comment that a teacher put in and I just used it here.

[Jake]

well they were wrong ¬ ¬

[Pappa]

I'm thinking about chuking my big-ass computer out the window and replace it with a laptop. There's some obvious advantages, like, it's small and I can move it around and stuff. Anyway, whenever I think about a laptop, an iBook is what I'll be thinking of. The 12" one. Mmm, so slick, small and sexy. Not to mention, it's not that ridicilously expensive. :shifty:

Anyway, I don't play games on my computer (except for some precious adventure games), so what I'll be using it for is basically the internet, typing and downloading music. Would an iBook be the right choice, or would I be better off with a PC?

If you've got any experience with Apple's laptop lineup, share!

[Jake]

Considering ScummVM and DOXBox both work in MacOS X for your classic adventuring needs, I don't know why you wouldn't get a Mac :)