What Would it Take For You to Switch Platforms?

[olhhyperback.com]

I think a major factor that most people who have never used a Mac fail to appreciate is that most Mac software has remained compatible for years without requiring upgrades. I'm running ten year old versions of database and word processing applications that I use every day. Not needing to upgrade all of your software and files for each new hardware or operating system update is inconceivable to my friends who have only used PCs as is never needing to hire a consultant to install new software. If there ever was an oxymoron, it has been the words "PC compatable!" One thing that worries me is that Apple's system X is very likely to break a lot of old Mac software and doing THAT could finally sink Apple. ------------------ Bob's work room (615) 352-7635

[Stephen Fortner]

I'm a longtime Mac user, for everything from multitrack audio to balancing my checkbook. At this point in time, I don't think Macs offer particularly good value for the money. On both platforms, one needs to have hardware and software optimized for the kind of work we do. I've had plenty of crashes on Macs due to the wrong system extensions being enabled, automatic stuff in my startup folder, poor hard-drive housecleaning, basically all the problems that Wintel users encounter. I truly believe one can get excellent stability on a machine configured for audio on either platform. That said, a lot of research and observation has led me to believe that PC's have the edge right now for native plug-in power. One example of this is the very thorough table of Logic Audio's PlatinumVerb and Spectral Gate plug-ins tested on many different systems, located at [url=http://www.digitalnaturalsound.com/logic_dsp/perform.shtml]www.digitalnaturalsound.com/logic_dsp/perform.shtml[/url] Factor in power given the same cash expenditure, and the difference gets even more pronounced. I'll put my feelings this way: If one, like me, has a Mac that's getting the job done, and one wants an additional computer for Giga, soft instruments, etc, there are compelling reasons to get a PC. If one's main axe is already a PC, and working well, it would seem logical to get... another PC. To once again make the Mac the no-brainer for audio, Apple needs to impress the pants off us with what OSX can do.

[soapbox]

I guess I'm playing with fire bringing this thread back to the top, but I couldn't resist adding this: << [b]Columnists choose Mac OS X over Windows XP[/b] Wow, who could have foreseen the day? New columns in the Orlando Sentinel and Los Angeles Times compare Windows XP and Mac OS X and they say that now may be the time to go Mac. In a column that's appeared in both the Chicago Tribune and Orlando Sentinel, writer James Coates writes, "with the arrival of Windows XP, Microsoft's superb new personal computer operating system, there rarely has been a more appropriate time to consider dumping Bill Gates' enormously popular world of Windows and moving over to the Macintosh minority." Whoa. Coates continues by saying that "maybe you should whisk Windows into the recycle bin and get yourself one of the equally powerful computers based on the PowerPC chip line." And he uses Microsoft's own reasoning to recommend the move. "The reasoning is as simple as second-grade show and tell, friends and neighbors," Coates writes. "Since Microsoft pitches the move from all other flavors of Windows to Windows XP as an elemental change that will alter our computing lives forever, why not go hog wild? How about a sea change that really will alter our computing lives forever? Why not move to Mac OS X?" >> Read more [url=http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0111/01.osx.php]here[/url] .

[gtrmac]

I was a longtime Apple user who switched to Windows 3 years a go when I built my first DIY DAW. The compelling reason for me was that you can't build your own MAC at half what it would cost you for a store bought machine. I spent a considerable amount of time researching the project, several months, and it was a big success. I have recently upgraded the machine, again at very low cost, and I have been enjoying trouble free operation all along. The key was selecting proven reliable and compatible hardware. The information needed to do this was available but sometimes took a little searching to find. All the information came from the Internet. Presently I have been building PC's for the pro-audio firm that I work for as a technician. We have become a Nuendo dealer and I make custom PC's for the system. I love Apple computers but it's a lot of fun to make your own PC and Windows2000 has been more reliable than my G-3 with OS9 used to be.