Friday, March 09, 2007
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Soliciting Opinions: PC vs. Mac
Every three years, the school supplies me with a new computer. It is not necessarily the most recent models, and it doesn't include the most recent software. But the machine itself is new, so that constitutes a new computer, I suppose. In any case, I have the option of getting a "standard" replacement, or a "non-standard" replacement. "Non-standard", in this case, means "more expensive."
This time, I have the option of using a Dell Latitude D620 laptop or an Apple Macbook Pro. I kn ow what I can do with the PC Dell as it is similar with the Toshiba I currently own, except the new one will have a 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo and 1 gig of RAM, instead of the modest 1.5 FHz and 512 MB I currently run. Now, if this Dell came with Vista, it would be a no-brainer. But it runs on Windows XP so there is not too much difference with what I have right now. .
A few years ago, this would have been fine, but I am learning how to manipulate videos these days. The other day, we read a short funny essay by Endo Shusaku called "A Problematic Commercial" and so I found some funny or different Japanese commercials and burned them onto a DVD to show to the class after reading the piece. My students seemed impressed that I could burn a DVD, let alone know the difference between a CD and a DVD.
In any event, when I try to edit videos on my PC, I always seem to run into problems: resolution gets worse, audio synchronization gets messed up, etc. I've been asking around, and I've been told that editing video is not PCs forte. However, Macs don't seem to have this problem, so I was wondering if I should change to the Macbook Pro. The statistics are rather amazing: A 2.16 GHz Intel core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM and 160 GB harddrive. I would imagine that if I had this power in a PC, I would never have trouble manipulating videos.
But I am unfamiliar with Macs and would like the input from those of you have a Mac, epecially those of you who are familiar with both PC and Macs. What are the major differences? What makes one superior to the other? Any input would be appreciated.
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Comments (14)
Mac, Mac, Mac!!! Doesn't matter if you are not familiar with the Mac platform to begin with, you will get a hang of it after just a day or two because it is very easy to navigate! Also Mac is better for video editing than PC, ask anything art/film/photography major!
I am looking forward to you joining us Mac maniacs!
ummm i don't use a Mac, i heard it is better for graphics, videos, etc, but you already know that.
You can get all those specs with an option of 200 Gb hard drive on a laptop. It also depends on the performance of the graphics card and what editing software you're using. Don't bother with Microsoft Movie Maker if that was what you were using, it's utter crap.
Of course, those Mac users will be giving you biased views and urging you to switch over.
I am a PC person but I do agree that Macs are better for editing video and graphics. However, when it comes to the number of software to run applications then PCs win hands down.
If you could borrow someone's Mac for a few days then do it to see if you like the feel of it.
really its about preference. i use final cut on my mac and it works fine. unless you have avid for PC, macs are the way to go in terms of video editing.
i would say that if the PC doesn't come w vista, it's a no brainer =P
HOWEVER, Macs are better for videos. It worked wonders on my Japanese project two years ago. :D; (Not much help, am I? XD)
A couple of things you should be cautious about though. Ignore the comments regarding how Macs are more secure or virus protected; they're just as vulnerable, but they've managed to escape because of the prevalence of the PC (thus, making them a more popular topic). Be warned, when a Mac goes bad, it REALLY goes bad. Also, upgrades will cost you an arm and a leg. If you play video games on your PC, run computationally intensive software such as SAS, then don't bother with a Mac.
On the bright side though, you can install Windows on your Mac, which gives you a lot more flexibility with regards to software.
In any event though, I do echo what everyone else is saying: if all you need is video editing, nothing wrong with going Mac.
I don't know how old your current laptop is, but its age probably has something to do with your video editing problems; many people edit video on PCs with no problems at all.
From my experience in advanced tech support at Bucknell, I can say that I'd much rather see a D620 come in than a MacBook. The D620 is ridiculously standardized for a corporate environment, which means it's easy to get and replace parts. The MacBook is a technician's nightmare, and Apple support can be a hassle at times.
Both laptops run on the Core 2 Duo platform, which is pretty good for video editing, so there's no real difference there.
One known issue that was floating around when I left campus in July was that the MacBook and MacBook Pro had problems finding and connecting to wireless networks with hidden SSIDs. I don't know if it has been resolved or not yet.
In summary, the things you'll want to consider are:
1. Cost -- the university foots it, but it's going to come from somewhere...
2. Repairs -- how rough are you? How often do you have problems with your current laptop? Latitudes are easier to get parts for, not to mention actually replacing them.
3. Switch -- What do you use on a daily basis in Windows? Is that software or an equivalent available on a Mac? University-supported? Cost of new software?
4. Ergonomics -- It's pretty dumb, but the keyboards feel different for the MacBook Pro and the D620. Try finding people who have them and see what it feels like.
Sorry for the long post, but I think I've gotten out everything I wanted to say... Hope it helps.
And a word from an engineer at the company that made (and is constantly fixing) Vista.
If it doesn't come with Vista, then get it.
If it did... don't.
Okay, so our new OS isn't bad.
It's actually quite good.
But it has its flaws and I can't say that it's where it needs to be, yet.
We've changed the interface some, and because our purpose was to make it a more durable and secure system, it would be best to run on a hi-spec machine to start with.
I run dual-zeon 3.0 w/ 3GB RAM. The thing runs great.
On the other hand, I think Mac is a solid OS as well.
I'm not fond of the Mac for several reasons:
- Software is basically proprietary, thus as far as VOLUME goes, there aren't a great number; but the ones that are available, they're solid. But I tend to like variety, so that's a downer for me.
- It's a pain in the ass to debug should a software on a Mac go bad...
Office for Mac is pretty solid, as it stands, but when something goes wrong on the Mac platform, the crash dumps are a little more irritating to look at. I know, that doesn't affect anyone outside of Apple and Microsoft, but bleh.
And here are some of the upsides:
- When you go Mac, you go Mac all the way -- hardware, software, everything. Now, this can be both good and bad, but the drivers that are written for Mac is basically konwn by Apple, so they are less troublesome.
- In the case with our OS, its compatibility is very high, but should a hardware company screw up on how they write their drivers, a lot of things can go wrong. And since we can't reverse engineer what they did (legally), a lot of pointing fingers go on.
In the end, I suppose it's all about preference.
The Mac is pretty to look at, but I really only see Macs as that... "ooh, it's pretty".
When I need to work, I need to work. And systems running Windows does just that.
Thanks to the consumers at large, Office has become a very very popular software used in businesses.
It does tend to run better on Windows than on Mac.
I've considered Macs before... but purely as a secondary system.
But of course, my opinions are VERY biased.
On the mac you can also run windows so that might be an option (with bootcamp). Video editing on a mac is no "better" than it is on a PC. In fact, unless you're getting final cut pro, or something similar, then you'll probably have a lot fewer choices for editing programs, and more problems with codecs and the like.
People who recommend macs just because the mac community is cool, or it looks cool, or Macs make you cool are really stupid. Best machine for the job, I say.
What you have to consider is that if you go to the mac, are you prepared to:
A) Relearn your OS.
B) Find new solutions to old problems. (IE, which app is best for chat/mail/video/audio/etc.)
C) Potentially run into problems playing old files that are pc-specific and/or don't play nice on a mac, etc.
The only reason why you can count those as less of a problem is because of bootcamp, but you'd have to get an image of XP to use bootcamp, for one.
if you are getting a mac, give me a buzz, i can teach you what you can get/learn to replace what you've been using on a pc.....