I'm going to be without my laptop for another 2 weeks while it goes back to the manufacturer. I'm frustated with the whole PC world...windows, viruses etc. Thinking about trying a mac. Anyone have any experience using a Mac for burning, sharing, bit torrents, hubs etc. ?

try linux...a little info can be found here:

Intro To Linux

yeah

i got an eMac

i got it loaded (wi-fi card, memory, ram) and it works GREAT. it runs sooo smooth. no problems at all with it. had it for almost two years. it doesn't even seem to run just a little bit slower than when i first got it. it seems that PC's have this weird "accumulation" thing in which, after a year, they slowly begin to get slower and slower, and they drag.

the ONLY people i know who have EVER had a problem with their Mac were people whose Macs got fried by an electrical surge during a storm. after the computers were fixed, they constantly messed up. they should have had a surge protector i guess, but it's probably not good to know that even AFTER the comps. been sent off to Apple and returned, it's still prone to mess up. but with exception of that, i'd say goooooo Mac.

they just released a NEW powerbook (the top scale lap top) and it is SWEET. unless you are doing digital audio/video or graphics though, you would be just fine with the iBook (other type of Mac lap top).

if you are looking for a desktop, those new iMacs are everything you would need, and more. they can handle digital audio/video graphics work.

hope that helps...

Keep in mind you will have a limited amonut of software available. There might actually be morer software available on Linux. That said, if you want ease of use and stability, without the learning curve of Linux, Macs are great.


Oh, and for budget, an entry level PC is $200 less than an entry level mac.

good point, it takes a little bit of time (well alot) to figure out how to use linux, but once you do....you will have an OS that is free to upgrade, and all the software is also free....and as far as stability, i hear you cant beat linux. also, you will be incontrol of your computer....not your computer being in control of you (any M$ os)

Thanks for the advice. I've had 2 hardware failures on my compaq in a little over 15 months so I'm approaching this from a hardware perspective as well.

Isaac, do you work with bit torrents and trading hubs? Does you Mac do alright in those venues?

I had high hopes of knocking off a couple more years of PJ tours in 2005 for my collection, now this whole computer failure thing is really pissing me off.

Macs are cool, I've used them my whole life and never had a problem. As far as bit torrents go though, I have been trying to figure out how to download them and listen to them for months, and I have gotten no where. every time I download a flac bit torrent the files are always blank documents with a bunch of shit written on them. I haven't been able to figure it out, but if you get a mac and figure it out let me know

I use Azureus for downloading torrents on my mac, and it works great. For decoding flac and shn files, I've found that xACT is the best. You can find both at versiontracker.com.
Macs have the top ratings at Consumer Reports for reliability and you won't have any problems with viruses, spyware, etc. Their customer service is great if you do have any problems.
The Powerbooks are sweet, I got one about a year and a half ago and I love it. But as was said, if you don't need the extra power, go with an iBook. The iBooks have better battery life and better wi-fi range. I'd recommend upping the RAM in the iBook to 512 though.
The Powerbooks were just updated with faster processors and lower prices, so if that's what you want, now's the time to buy. The iBooks were last updated in October, and are probably due for an update around April/May.[/quote]

I'd personally not want to pay an obscene amount of money (Mac compared to an equivalent PC) so that I have less flexibility to do what I want. I realize that Macs try to make it "easy" for someone who doesn't know much about computers but it sure as heck limits those of us who don't want our hands held.

There's certainly a learning curve for linux though, just like switching to any OS, but once you understand it, you are set for life. Free software, fast updates, lots of choices, security.. And Macs and Linux are both based on Unix so they really aren't so dissimilar, except for hardware.

I hear you on the money issue. I just want a dependable machine. Maybe I'll investigate using Linux.

By the way, sorry about mis-posting this and thanks for moving it.

I switched to Macs about 3 years ago and can't see myself ever going back to PCs.

Someone mentioned that you may find yourself limited by the amount of software available for Macs, and that's not really true. There's certainly more software available for PCs, but there are excellent programs available for Macs for just about anything you need. Macs were a bit slow to have good BitTorrent clients, but there are now several to choose from. I use Azureus currently, and have been pleased with its functionality and options.

I'd suggest you check out http://www.versiontracker.com and http://www.macupdate.com to see if the software you'll need is available for Macs.

As was already mentioned, xACT is the only program you'll need to handle SHN & FLAC, and it's better than most programs I've used for Macs or PCs. For hubs, I assume you're talking about Direct Connect? There is software available for that, but I don't have much experience with it.

If you play a lot of games, then Macs won't be for you. PCs outperform Macs as gaming machines, hands down.

There are a few other shortcomings with Macs, but they are far outweighed by the benefits.

I just bought a mac-mini after my PC got fried (Isuppose the surge protector was shit). I debated about getting a Dell with the specs I needed to my design work, but in the end, I was fed up with PC-life. I have tried various flavors of Linux, but for the amount of desing and web work I do, not the best solution for my needs. Plus, I was fed up with "NEW WINDOWS FLAW MAY CAUSE DEATH TO YOUR FIRSTBORN" news stories. I mean, you ran windows update on Monday, right?

I ran Windows 2000 and never had a problem with it, took good care of it and consider myself to be a power user. To help you with your decision, before making my final decision, I consulted a friend who was an Apple rep. I asked him about the bittorrent and audio file issues and he said it's not a problem.

So, for roughly $500 you can get yourself a solid system and leave Windows behind. I'd say if you still want the flexibility of hardware choices, and your most advanced needs are shn flac support, get a bare bones PC and slap one of the Flavors of linux on it recommended in the Linux thread.