A few questions about Macs

MelissaM · 05-30-2004, 03:24 PM

I am very close to deciding on buying a Mac. Of course I will keep my PC but I have always wanted a Mac. I want to buy the lower end of the G5 and have a few questions. Thanks for any help in making this decision after, they are not cheap.

1) Is it true Macs don't generally get viruses?

2) Is it true that Macs are really reliable and last longer than PCs?

3) Do you ever get those stupid popups that Windows gives you about "a problem has occured and now Win has to shut down this program"

4) If I were to get Virtual PC for a Mac, would I be able to then run my Win version of Photoshop on a Mac, or would I need to use the Virtual PC Windows edition?

5) Is it true that Macs eat alot of RAM?

Melissa

nak-1 · 05-30-2004, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MelissaM

1) Is it true Macs don't generally get viruses?

Yes. There are viruses around for the mac, but there are not very many. I have been surfing the net on a mac for around 8 years and I have never had a virus.

Quote:

2) Is it true that Macs are really reliable and last longer than PCs?

I have a Mac Classic that was bought 14 years ago. It still boots up and works and I have never replaced anything on it. 4MB Ram and a 40MB hard disk!

Quote:

3) Do you ever get those stupid popups that Windows gives you about "a problem has occured and now Win has to shut down this program"

I have experienced crashes on a mac but less than on a pc.

Quote:

4) If I were to get Virtual PC for a Mac, would I be able to then run my Win version of Photoshop on a Mac, or would I need to use the Virtual PC Windows edition?

Why not run the mac version of the software? Photoshop can be very processor intensive and will not run well under emulation, ie. slow and may crash a lot... If you cannot afford to buy a new copy and photoshop is critical to your work then you may want to consider the impact of moving to the mac and the dip it will cause in your productivity.

Quote:

5) Is it true that Macs eat alot of RAM?

No. But you will want lots of ram on any platform if you are going to be working with large images in photoshop. It's the programs you run that determines how much RAM you need.

I use a mac at home because I find it so much less annoying than using a windows machine. I have to use windows all the time at work and generally its running crappy software very badly. Not a great user experience...

g5orbust · 05-31-2004, 12:03 AM

1) Is it true Macs don't generally get viruses?

Yes, but only because no one really choose to exploit the weaknesses, not because there aren't any.

2) Is it true that Macs are really reliable and last longer than PCs?

You can have a really reliable Mac that last you years or a mac that lasts 6 months. You can have a PC that lasts years and a PC that lasts six months. Generally Macs last longer because their hardware is made to work together. In PCs this made not be the case and thus system instabilities are present but any PC that costs as much as a high end mac (think Alienware or Voodoo) should be very reliable.

3) Do you ever get those stupid popups that Windows gives you about "a problem has occured and now Win has to shut down this program"

No. If the program freezes it will rarely bring the whole system down. Programs themselves, unless poorly written, rarely freeze because of various management technologies inside OSX. If they do, you can access the force quit menu (kind of like the task manager except easier to use) and kill the errant program.

4) If I were to get Virtual PC for a Mac, would I be able to then run my Win version of Photoshop on a Mac, or would I need to use the Virtual PC Windows edition?

Yes but God it would be worth spending the money all over again just to get a mac compatable version (VPC runs so slowly its amazing).

5) Is it true that Macs eat alot of RAM?

No. The system uses around 128MB of RAM (less if only 128MB is available using Virtual memory off the hard drive) and after that programs take the rest. The smart memory management system integrated into OSX gives programs a proportional amount of memory as they need compared with how much is available. However some programs that are poorly written can have something called a memory leak, where they progressively eat up more an more memory space regardless of mow much they really need, though this type of behavior is rare and happens on PCs as well. But never use any computer with less than 512MB of RAM.

Qiranworms · 05-31-2004, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MelissaM

4) If I were to get Virtual PC for a Mac, would I be able to then run my Win version of Photoshop on a Mac, or would I need to use the Virtual PC Windows edition?

If you're able to spend the money on VPC, you might as well purchase a Mac version of Photoshop.

mac_mogul · 05-31-2004, 09:17 PM

1) Is it true Macs don't generally get viruses?
Yes

2) Is it true that Macs are really reliable and last longer than PCs?
Macs are EXTREMELY reliable. I have four 'Classic' Macs, and they are all older than ten years. Each and every one of them starts up, does what I want it to do, and then successfully shuts down

3) Do you ever get those stupid popups that Windows gives you about "a problem has occured and now Win has to shut down this program"
Stupid pop-ups? No. "Internet Explorer has Unexpectantly Quit. The system and other applications have not been affected" pop-ups yes, every once in a while (but only when you're running anything microsoft based )

4) If I were to get Virtual PC for a Mac, would I be able to then run my Win version of Photoshop on a Mac, or would I need to use the Virtual PC Windows edition?
Cave, and buy the Mac version of Photoshop. Photoshop CS is optimized for the G5 and I think it would be a great asset.

5) Is it true that Macs eat alot of RAM?
YES! You should never use a Mac with less than 256 mb of RAM. I even consider 256 mb an obsolete amount and suggest not using anything less than 512mb. Considering the fact that the system uses 128 mb of RAM or less, and the fact that Photoshop uses however much you allot it to use (the default is 50% of available RAM) That just leaves photoshop with 64 mb of RAM , and for serious work, that's a joke. And if the system needs to back off the RAM, it will begin to use Virtual Memory. And this slows your entire system down to a crawl. So, in essence, the Mac does use a lot of RAM

jorodi · 06-15-2004, 01:50 PM

mac_mogel is absolutely right. You stole my words.

But if you don't use photoshop to its fullest potention or if it is just for personal use, download Gimp... its a good, free, open source alternative

MelissaM · 06-15-2004, 02:14 PM

Thanks to everyone for their responses. I am still thinkiing about it all. Major purchase takes time to decide.

Melissa

jorodi · 06-15-2004, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MelissaM
Thanks to everyone for their responses. I am still thinkiing about it all. Major purchase takes time to decide.

Melissa

True, but a mac isn't a purchase, it's an investment toward excelling your computing experience

mac_mogul · 06-25-2004, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by MelissaM
Thanks to everyone for their responses. I am still thinkiing about it all. Major purchase takes time to decide.

I understand that completely. It's taken nearly four months to get my iBook ordered and we just ordered it on monday. (it'll be here next monday!!!

) And I actually got everything I wanted, but it's just taken a lot longer than I thought, but I'm sure I'll be happy when it's delivered. And jorodi, you're also correct. It is an investment towards your computing experience.

05-30-2004, 03:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
MelissaM Newb Techie Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 3	A few questions about Macs I am very close to deciding on buying a Mac. Of course I will keep my PC but I have always wanted a Mac. I want to buy the lower end of the G5 and have a few questions. Thanks for any help in making this decision after, they are not cheap. 1) Is it true Macs don't generally get viruses? 2) Is it true that Macs are really reliable and last longer than PCs? 3) Do you ever get those stupid popups that Windows gives you about "a problem has occured and now Win has to shut down this program" 4) If I were to get Virtual PC for a Mac, would I be able to then run my Win version of Photoshop on a Mac, or would I need to use the Virtual PC Windows edition? 5) Is it true that Macs eat alot of RAM? Melissa

05-31-2004, 12:03 AM	#3 (permalink)
g5orbust Ultra Techie Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 818	Re: A few questions about Macs 1) Is it true Macs don't generally get viruses? Yes, but only because no one really choose to exploit the weaknesses, not because there aren't any. 2) Is it true that Macs are really reliable and last longer than PCs? You can have a really reliable Mac that last you years or a mac that lasts 6 months. You can have a PC that lasts years and a PC that lasts six months. Generally Macs last longer because their hardware is made to work together. In PCs this made not be the case and thus system instabilities are present but any PC that costs as much as a high end mac (think Alienware or Voodoo) should be very reliable. 3) Do you ever get those stupid popups that Windows gives you about "a problem has occured and now Win has to shut down this program" No. If the program freezes it will rarely bring the whole system down. Programs themselves, unless poorly written, rarely freeze because of various management technologies inside OSX. If they do, you can access the force quit menu (kind of like the task manager except easier to use) and kill the errant program. 4) If I were to get Virtual PC for a Mac, would I be able to then run my Win version of Photoshop on a Mac, or would I need to use the Virtual PC Windows edition? Yes but God it would be worth spending the money all over again just to get a mac compatable version (VPC runs so slowly its amazing). 5) Is it true that Macs eat alot of RAM? No. The system uses around 128MB of RAM (less if only 128MB is available using Virtual memory off the hard drive) and after that programs take the rest. The smart memory management system integrated into OSX gives programs a proportional amount of memory as they need compared with how much is available. However some programs that are poorly written can have something called a memory leak, where they progressively eat up more an more memory space regardless of mow much they really need, though this type of behavior is rare and happens on PCs as well. But never use any computer with less than 512MB of RAM. __________________ Apple, Mac OS , and Power PC

05-31-2004, 09:17 PM	#5 (permalink)
mac_mogul Monster Techie Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 1,292	1) Is it true Macs don't generally get viruses? Yes 2) Is it true that Macs are really reliable and last longer than PCs? Macs are EXTREMELY reliable. I have four 'Classic' Macs, and they are all older than ten years. Each and every one of them starts up, does what I want it to do, and then successfully shuts down 3) Do you ever get those stupid popups that Windows gives you about "a problem has occured and now Win has to shut down this program" Stupid pop-ups? No. "Internet Explorer has Unexpectantly Quit. The system and other applications have not been affected" pop-ups yes, every once in a while (but only when you're running anything microsoft based ) 4) If I were to get Virtual PC for a Mac, would I be able to then run my Win version of Photoshop on a Mac, or would I need to use the Virtual PC Windows edition? Cave, and buy the Mac version of Photoshop. Photoshop CS is optimized for the G5 and I think it would be a great asset. 5) Is it true that Macs eat alot of RAM? YES! You should never use a Mac with less than 256 mb of RAM. I even consider 256 mb an obsolete amount and suggest not using anything less than 512mb. Considering the fact that the system uses 128 mb of RAM or less, and the fact that Photoshop uses however much you allot it to use (the default is 50% of available RAM) That just leaves photoshop with 64 mb of RAM , and for serious work, that's a joke. And if the system needs to back off the RAM, it will begin to use Virtual Memory. And this slows your entire system down to a crawl. So, in essence, the Mac does use a lot of RAM __________________ Image Contests "Who are you?" "Me? I'm the living embodiment of all that is evil in the computer world." "You're Bill Gates?" iBook G4 1.2ghz PowerPC G4 // 1.25gb PC2700 DDR // ATI RADEON Mobility 9200 32mb DDR // 60gb Ultra ATA/100 Hitachi HDD // Matshita 24x CD-RW/DVD Combo // M-Audio Sonica Theater 7.1 USB Sound Card // Logitech X-530 5.1 Surround

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06-15-2004, 01:50 PM	#6 (permalink)
jorodi Newb Techie Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 20	mac_mogel is absolutely right. You stole my words. But if you don't use photoshop to its fullest potention or if it is just for personal use, download Gimp... its a good, free, open source alternative

06-15-2004, 02:14 PM	#7 (permalink)
MelissaM Newb Techie Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 3	Thanks to everyone for their responses. I am still thinkiing about it all. Major purchase takes time to decide. Melissa