From PC to Mac, Article Options

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From PC to Mac

[_photoshop rick_]

I can do anything on a mac. Mac user since 1990. I can do anything you can do, better.
I would like to challenge you. I feel good about Macs. I fix anything because I can see where it is and therefore, I can find it in the computer and fix it. Keep it simple and you it will run faster with less crashes. the Classic os 9.1
Thank you for trying macs.

[vrice]

i applaud the strides you've made on an iMac- i would never even attempt to make music with mine.
and i am a true mac believer, would never think of going down the pc way for music.
games, however....thinking of getting a pc just for playing around, they're good for that!

[papisax]

I switched from PC to Mac two years ago. Initially I felt the same way as you did. The switch is not simple because it is a different platform. My mom a PC user since the Tandy TL 1000 days also switched and encountered the same problems.

After learning the OS and the Mac platform I can swear to you that is it the most stable, solid computer platform that I have ever worked on! I have not troubles with it! I have DP 4.12, Logic Pro, NI Komplete2, Triology, Reason, and other software. They all integrate seemlessly and I spend all of my time creating. On the PC I had to fiigure out what my limitations were and be cautious when doing a project. This does not exist on a Mac.

Also what is beatiful about the Mac platform is this: there is no registry that can be easily corrupted. You can install programs over themselves, instead of having to use an unisntaller(which does not always work!), if you need to reinstall the OS it keeps all your files intact:in XP Windows moves your files when you have to reinstall the OS, and there are other Mac trouble shooting things that you can do without calling tech support (throwing out Preference files, verifying dis permissions, and using utilties such as Disk Warrior).


My advice is have patience. Learn the OS. Dig in deep and start composing on your Mac. In the end you will be elated!

Papisax

[_Disillusioned_]

Makes you wonder why no one buys Macs if they're so good huh

[papisax]

The Reason why people do not buy Macs is because we are all conditioned. I always thougth Macs were better but I was too afraid to jump PC to Mac because of incompatability problems between the two platforms. After switching I found out that Macs are cross-compatible. I have had not problems using files from a Mac on any PC.

Microsoft has monopolized the computer industry. Companies are not writing programs for the Mac platform anymore. Although Apple makes great machines, they do not market their products effectively.

Take care,

Papisax

[vrice]

i honestly think what matters most(or first) to folks, when deciding what will be their first computer, is what they can afford and what they will get for that money. PCs are a much more affordable entry into the computer world.
the value of a Mac is not easy for a newbie to grasp.

[Presto]

This article IS to do with Pc to Mac switching, BUT concerning making music.

There have been many man-hours (man-millenaries would be nearer the truth) spent on the general PC-Mac debate - even on macmusic.org Would you believe it?

Use the search button up on the right but I warn you the debate gets very boring well before the hundredth page. If I remember correctly it got truncated a bit less than a thousand years ago

Try ageing cheese and wine instead. Yum!

Still it would be very interesting to hear if any macmusicians became pcmusicians Pragmatic people do switch if they think its useful.

[vrice]

i spend half my time in Brasil where PCs are the norm, even in studios. with an import tax of 60%(!), Macs are usually out of the question for less-than-expensive studios in Brasil.
returning to the subject of MUSIC (well stated, Presto), my favorite application on the PC platform is Nuendo. i think it is pretty graceful, closer to Logic(my preferred app) than Pro Tools.
and it is extremely stable- it has not EVER crashed. and i've gotten really fond of some VST plug-ins like Vintage Warmer.
i think the thing that bothers PC users is the 'crashiness' of some Mac configurations. but i still prefer them.

[beetsman]

According to this thread, in order for you to do pro stuff you should use Apple computers. When it is not possible to get that or you just want to cheap out and not do pro level stuff you should just stick to PCs. I'm going to look into Apples.

[Presto]

If you want to "cheap out", you may find with Apple its just as cheap if not cheaper than PCs for making and listening to music, particularly nowadays. Plus of course you get all the other advantages of the Mac including absence of viruses etc. You can do alot from the MacMini at 499$ (no keyboard/mouse/screen) but as with all systems for music and/or pics, you should add a nice RAM chip. Don't bother paying extra for a bigger HD. You'd be better off getting a fast external HD, when and if the need appears, that you can dedicate to music.

http://www.apple.com/macmini/

I don't know what you want to do but you can always start with Garageband and iTunes included in iLife05 that comes bundled with all Macs. If you wait a few weeks you'll probably also get bundled the latest operating system called Tiger (129$ if you had to buy it). Still, what's the point waiting for a RollsRoyce for the price of a bicycle when you can have a Bentley for the price of a bicycle now.

Macs are really so much less hassle than PCs and they'd have been the #1 computer in the world without Apple's historical distribution snobism (IBM would also have done very well without their initial snobism too). That problem's always been so obvious to us buyer's that it seems strange that Apple's taken 20 years to start understanding just how much they've lost. Ignore the Apple snobism and just look at quality and price for your music and whatever else you want to do.

If you want to do recording with microphones, and pianissimo is important, you should consider the noise the computer makes whether it's a PC or a Mac. I've not heard the MacMini so I can't advise on that. I use an old ibook/Mbox/ and a pair of good mics for recording, and silences are silent.

Listening is the most important factor to me, so if you can't pay for a pair of active monitors at triple the price of a MacMini (or you've got sensitive neighbours), get a good pair of headphones. The better the quality, the lower you'll set the volume, and the easier it is on your ears.

This sort of cost has no relation to what computer you use.

The computer is only the base but if you economise by choosing one of the cheapest computers on the market: a top quality Apple, you can't go wrong.

Not all of us are PC or Mac fanatics so do listen to advice, but in the end just make sure you get some hand's on experience then use your head. Then you'll choose a Mac and become a MacMusicFanatic

This post has been edited by Presto: Tue 19 Apr 2005, 11:54

[HumanError]

Is everyone retarded?
I say that you pay more attention on the music than on the media . Everybody these days is so obsessed with what kind of ïnstrument' must use and the peripherals and the sound cards and ... and ... . If you really have a talent and love about music you do not deal with that staff more than a day.
www.humanerror.gr
tell me if I have any talent because I am full of love for sure
(I made everything on a PC with cheap soundblaster and a cheap midi and my cheap guitar and a really chip microphone and a copy of reason software and audition for final processing and recording)
Peace

[Broadwood Music ...]

A great article!!

I have been a PC user for many years. I understand them pretty well and used them in the first days of my studio. I bought Logic Audio when it was at version 3 and upgraded at every release. Ecerytime I upgraded Logic I had to upgrade items on the Pc to suite, and it was never enough. The most available RAM, biggest drive, different video cards, they all had an effect on performance and there were always limitations. I came to Logic version 5, what a superb program that was, but I was increasingly frustrated with not being able to have enough platinumverbs running or the PC just crashing and losing the last half hours work i'd done. (good backing up intentions sometimes get lost in the creative workflow).

Then the crunch came when Emagic sold out to Apple. No more updates! I was livid! I persevered with V5 until I could stand it no longer. The last PC crash where I lost an hours work was the straw that broke the camels back!!!!!

I got out a loan, bought the latest G5 at the time, bought the latest Logic V7 (the crossgrade path was just to much of a pain in the ass), got a new Motu HD audio interface and motu midi interface, set it all up and I was away.

A couple of weeks of this was like a dream come true. Everything I asked of it it did. Until......... yes............ithe G5 crashed mid session. With a sinking feeling, i rebooted the mac only to find that.......................It had saved my logic file before it went tits up!!!! OH JOY!!!!!!!! I LOVE MACS!!!!!!!!!!!