Mac vs PC - which and why?

pianogirl04 · #1 01-31-2004, 11:43 PM

I'm a senior in high school (who hears pomp and circumstance other than me right now?) and I'm headed to a state debate tournament at the end of March. My 'rents have said they'll buy me a laptop before I go and it's up to me as far as what I want. Sounds easy, right?

So basically what I want this for is school (web, email, word processing, mp3s)... and music. I've been trying to get my hands on some kind of multitrack recorder to record my demos on, but it hasn't happened and isn't likely to happen any time soon. After some research into the world of digital music, I've been told by everyone from my debate teammate to my friend who goes to Berklee that Mac is the way to go if music is coming into the digital picture. I've also read that Brett Tuggle works on a Mac, which puts things into perspective because I want to do what he does. And if that's the case, there's no way I'm hooking my keyboard up to my PC if it took me four days just to get it to recognize my cable modem.

But my mom's been doing her own research as well and everyone she's talked to has said Mac is a bad decision to make. She says there's not much software out there, it's difficult to use, etc... she doesn't give me much proof of this, but she says this is what people are telling her. I've heard that Macs are substantially faster than PC, better with multimedia, and have an uber-stable platform... and if this is true, I wouldn't hesitate to have one since I crash my computer every six months at least, more depending on which version of Windows it is.

So, the big question: Which would be your choice - Mac or PC - and why?

sparky · #2 02-01-2004, 12:02 AM

Well, I had a big dilemma with this years ago. About the music, talk to a musician who records on computer. But, what I have found is that a Mac costs a lot more, and doesn't come with as much software as a PC. The people I know who have Macs have a zealous love for their computers, and think I am an absolute idiot for having a PC. And most of them have their computers in the shop every six months for either a repair or a new crucial upgrade, which they absolutely have to have...I have needed no repairs and am happy with my PC.

My 2 cents !

Rob67 · #3 02-01-2004, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by pianogirl04
I'm a senior in high school (who hears pomp and circumstance other than me right now?) and I'm headed to a state debate tournament at the end of March. My 'rents have said they'll buy me a laptop before I go and it's up to me as far as what I want. Sounds easy, right?

So basically what I want this for is school (web, email, word processing, mp3s)... and music. I've been trying to get my hands on some kind of multitrack recorder to record my demos on, but it hasn't happened and isn't likely to happen any time soon. After some research into the world of digital music, I've been told by everyone from my debate teammate to my friend who goes to Berklee that Mac is the way to go if music is coming into the digital picture. I've also read that Brett Tuggle works on a Mac, which puts things into perspective because I want to do what he does. And if that's the case, there's no way I'm hooking my keyboard up to my PC if it took me four days just to get it to recognize my cable modem.

But my mom's been doing her own research as well and everyone she's talked to has said Mac is a bad decision to make. She says there's not much software out there, it's difficult to use, etc... she doesn't give me much proof of this, but she says this is what people are telling her. I've heard that Macs are substantially faster than PC, better with multimedia, and have an uber-stable platform... and if this is true, I wouldn't hesitate to have one since I crash my computer every six months at least, more depending on which version of Windows it is.

So, the big question: Which would be your choice - Mac or PC - and why?

I work for a computer company that builds systems for Software developers and hardware resellers. PC's (or IBM clones) are the main systems in the business world. They are also used by most universities and schools. The problems with Macs are the lack of software and the fact that they are proprietary. You get more bang for your buck with PC's and they are easily upgraded (comonents like memory are really cheap). If you want to do any gaming at all, PC's are the way to go. I would steer clear of Mac's unless you plan on doing professional video editing or are working with graphics intensive business applications. Even so, high end PC's with a decent graphics card can compete with Macs in the video department.

Getting one serviced could also be a hassel. Most stores like Best Buy or Comp USA won't even look at Macs.

Just my thoughts...

Rob

ERigby818 · #4 02-01-2004, 09:51 AM

Definitely Mac.

For anything audio, mac is best. I work in radio and my brother is studying music engineering. Macs are prefered in these fields. They are much more efficient, more user-friendly, MUCH easier to troubleshoot (in the rare case that there's trouble) and most basic files from audio to word processing to photos are mac and pc interchangeable with no problems. It's not affected by like 80 percent of the viruses and worms out there. I love my mac and everyone I know who has a mac totally loves it, where as pc people don't feel as strongly about their machines

. My mac is very old (it's an original imac from 1998!) but in the last year I've added a hard drive, ram, operating system and processor and I've got a whole new machine for way less than a real new one. It can handle a LOT. Yes, there is less software out there (basically it's just harder to find and more expensive). But the only big drawback is that macs are way more expensive than pcs. If you make the investment, you will NOT be disappointed. Hope that helps

-Sonia

ShamHy89 · #5 02-01-2004, 10:42 AM

Quote:

I'm headed to a state debate tournament at the end of March

Ok I know nothing about computers but I was curious as I am a high school debator too. Don't mean to be nosey but do you do Policy or LD? What school do you debate for? You don't have to answer, but it's cool there's another one on the Ledge!

Shamus

pianogirl04 · #6 02-01-2004, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Ok I know nothing about computers but I was curious as I am a high school debator too. Don't mean to be nosey but do you do Policy or LD? What school do you debate for?

That rocks! I've been doing LD for a year now and it's alright.. I've kinda gotten out of the hang of debating since I haven't gone to many tournaments this year but hey, I qualified, I'm going to New Orleans, I'm happy. I debate for a school in the middle of Louisiana... if you're in LA too, maybe we'll run into each other at TC. And if that's the case, we must make a point of that.

DownOnRodeo · #7 02-01-2004, 10:20 PM

In the end its up to you, but I'll weigh in with my own pro-PC experience.

BTW, Sonia... its so true that Mac ppl love their Macs but that PC owners are indifferent. Funny hey!

Anyway, I have a PC. And its not some HP or Compaq; its a bits n pieces one I compiled myself to get the best value for what I wanted. Kortni I can hook up my synth as either MIDI (which I don't these days) or digital audio (which I do). I dont know what keyboard you have but there should be no problem hooking it up if you have the drivers. Tell me more about your keyboard.

As for digital recording, I use Sonar XL and although my PC is old and slow (PIII 733 MhZ, 384 RAM) it runs good enough. There are a hell of a lot of people using programs like Sonar or Cubase, and the majority use PCs. There's no reason to buy an expensive brand name computer to use software that anyone can use. That goes for Mac and brands like HP etc.

My advice is - get a middle of the range PC built to order from a good, cheap but quality computer shop, and spend the money you save on getting a good sound card etc.

pianogirl04 · #8 02-01-2004, 11:12 PM

Quote:

I dont know what keyboard you have but there should be no problem hooking it up if you have the drivers. Tell me more about your keyboard.

I'm not really sure what I'm going to be doing with this laptop yet or how my keyboard will work with it... in terms of using it for recording or for MIDI, I don't know yet, probably both at some point. I've got a Yamaha DGX500 (go ahead and laugh but this baby has proved its worth) and all I know is that I have demos and nothing to record them on. I'm looking for a recording studio in a box.

There's another issue here - stability. I'm somewhat tech savvy, but I won't touch little green boards or gray wires and even .exe file extensions make me nervous. I have a static touch when it comes to computers (literally) so the easier it is to work and the more stable it is - the less it crashes, the less maintenance I have to remember to do, and the less I need to know about how the little niches in the OS works - the better. I think part of this is that it seems easy for a lot of people to use PC because they have common sense - you have to enable this to get this plug and play whatever to work, etc, a lot of the toggles and stuff that PCs have, I can't think of specific examples - and I have absolutely no common sense whatsoever so I've had a lot of bad luck with PCs and I think the common sense thing is the reason - my brain doesn't think like normal people's. I haven't worked on a Mac yet but hopefully I'll get the chance sometime soon at school... but part of me is kinda wanting a Mac because it's something different and maybe it'll be easier to use than a PC, I'm not sure. I guess I really need to get my hands on one to find out, but it helps to know what other people think and know as well... so thank you all for your advice. I'm listening, even though I'm a little partial. lol...