Hey,all-

Well, my PC pissed me off the last time. While working on a project for work, I was saving it to disk when the whole works froze up on me. I let it sit for a minute thinking it might come back. Nothing. I restarted it only to find two weeks of work wiped clean from the disk. Frustrated by this, I figured my PC could stand to suffer one more major crash...into the concrete floor (pictures will follow when I get a new PC). So, I've been robbed of 2 weeks worth of work. A partial backup exists on my harddrive at work, but I still have to re-write 3 pages. That's super!

Now I need a new PC. I've been seriously thinking about switching to Mac but will give just about anything a try including Linux. I've heard Linux Red Hat is pretty good, but will I be able to use any Microsoft programs (primarily Front Page and Power Point)?

I've used Macs before (read: Apple Mac classic and Apple IIGS). My uncle has 4 or 5 Macs and swears by them. I can't wait to talk to him next week and hear "I told you so" about 2 dozen times.

So, what would you recommend? Try Linux (only if I can use the same programs) or abandon the infidel PC and convert to the Mac brotherhood?

 

I love running Linux at home, I wish I could at work too. Not having to worry about virii or spyware is great, and it never crashes. I think for ease of install I'd recommend either the red Hat/Fedora distro or the latest Mandrake distro. Both can be dowloaded for free, usually they are about 3 CDs.

It's possible to run some windows apps on a linux PC using an emulator like WINE. I have never tried this & have a feeling it could get really tricky to get working. Actually, my experience is a lot of stuff on Linux takes a fair amount of research & work to get running, if you don't have a bunch of free time it might not be the way to go.

Most apps have something equivilent for Linux. Open Office for Linux has versions of the MS office programs and can generally read & save as microsoft file types, but in my experience the transition isn't always perfect. There are a bunch of web page building programs, not sure if any are a front page clone.

If there are power point and front page apps for the Mac & you have the spare cash that will be the much faster route. If you go the Mac route, I still recommend taking a look at Linux when you have time, maybe set your old PC up with it?

 

This should be in the computer forum.

Give more info about your old computer. I highly doubt you were running the most recent software and OS.

I tried Linux a while back, and liked it for what it was. It does require a LOT of learning to use it on the same level as Windows. I gave up on it because of this. But I WILL get back into it one day when I have more time.

As for Mac... eh.

 

suse linux, its great.... i run both windows xp and linux and linux by far is the most stable.

 

Windows XP w/ SP2
AMD Athlon 2400 XP
768 megs PC2700 RAM
128meg AGP video card

 

Please don't tell me you already trashed it. I'll gladly take it off your hands.

Which version of software were you using?

 

MS Office 2003 - Front Page

Last week I ran an updated virus scan and got nothing. Ad-Aware was clean. And it hasn't been connected to the internet for 8 months.

The motherboard is in pieces. The harddrives are questionable, as are the CD drives. I'm sick and tired of the whole works. I had to replace the power supply, motherboard, video card, and RAM last year at the worst time possible economically. I have about a half dozen harddrives stacked up in my closet from the last 18 months alone. I'm tired of doing everything two and three times. Last month, I was in the middle of making a new index page for my site when the whole works froze. Again, lost everything. I was doing some Photoshop work for work and the system became sluggish and started to hang up. I didn't think it was one of the HDs because they were nearly new 80GB and 120GB 7200 RPM Ultra ATAs.
For the money I've put into that piece of crap in the last 18 months, I could have had 2 new G4s or a nice new G5 Mac.

 

Have you heard of lindows? check it out.
http://www.linspire.com/sales_intro.php

 

It happens on macs to..


it sounds like you have the worst computer luck or you just like to waste money.... I have a 10year old harddrive that still works. 6 hard drives in 18 months, thats not a windows problem and unlikly that you had gotten that many "bad" hard drives.

 

You may bave bad memory , bad mother board, bad, power supply, or bad drivers. Any of those things or combination of them could be the problem.
HD likes windows to shut down smoothly not feezes and reboot. there's swap files and stuff that get erase during the shutdown procedure. If it's not performed, it can have negative effect on the Hd.

 

Yes, I love spending $100-160 on the same thing every 2-3 months. It's a blast!

I think I have lousy computer luck.


That Lindows looks kind of interesting. I might have to look into that.

 

Heh. Your EXACT situation is what converted me to Mac. In the past, I'd always hated Mac..I mean "how stupid can you be? Macs are for losers!". Bah! When I lost 3 pages of my 9 page paper, I was done.

2 years ago, I went out and bought a 700mhz iBook G3 (fastest iBook at the time). Man, OSX ROCKED! OSX is nothign like System 9 and earlier. OSX is Unix based, ultra stable, and SUPER efficient. I had that machine for 3 months, and got a 800mhz Powerbook G4. Wow, even better! This June, I ordered a 1.5ghz 15" Aluminium Powerbook G4. This machine ROCKS! I can get 5 hours out of my battery, and even if it does die, I dont lose ANY open work. It's less than 6 lbs, too.

I have no spyware, so virus issues, no nothing. iTunes, & iPhoto are two of the best home user apps out there too. Office is available for Mac, as is virtually every other piece of production software. Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and Fireworks run without a hitch....ever.

Oh, ever get frustrated with the "found new hardware wizard"? Not a problem on the Mac.

I only *need* to restart after system software updates, too. I "Sleep" it all of the time. It wakes up in about a second. Compare that to Window's "Stand By" feature that rarely works with anything but the best chipset on the market.



Oh. Please, please, please don't let the mhz rating scare you!

The new iMac G5 is a pretty awesome machine..especially for the price. The PowerMac G5 is even better. Dual 2.5ghz processors, yummy.

 

Yep, gapguy just about covered it. Sure, the upfront costs will be more going over to a Mac, but it's worth it. It's like getting a Toyota or a Hyundai. Sure, they're both cars, they both do essentially the same thing, but you get what you pay for. The Mac will last you much longer. It will take a little time to get used to OS X, but it is much more user friendly than Linux. There is a larger software library available of the larger, well known software titles on Mac than on Linux. Since OS X came out software support has grown and is only getting bigger. Even more games are coming to the Mac, though I still don't consider the Mac a gaming platform.

I suggest you go to Comp USA or an Apple Store and try out the Macs they have there. Don't expect to learn much from the people at Comp USA, they are usually pretty clueless about Macs. Try them out, see how they work for you.

There are a few of us Mac people here that would be more that happy to help you in your conversion process if that is the route you pick.

Oh, and BTW, I am a Mac convert too. I worked with PCs for 7 years before I finally saw the light and switched to Mac. OS X, it's the way to go.

 

Thanks, Neil! That's the kind of feedback I was looking for.

You said something about the processor speed. I'm hung up on that on the Macs. Last weekend I went with my dad to an Apple store here in Denver. They had two iMacs - a 1.6GHz and a 1.8GHz and a $200 price difference. Will that extra 200 Mhz really make a difference?

 

I concur. There is definately a learning curve to use linux I've been using macs for the past 5 years and I have never had a problem. Especially OSX. NO spyware or viruses. Tiger is going to come out soon too. What type of work do you do with your computer? A lower end g5 will most definately suit your needs if you aren't doing graphic or video intensive work. One of the main arguments against mac is the lack of software...which isn't really true. MAybe so if you play games a lot. The g5 is proven(been out for a while) and shouldn't have any kinks. I have a G4 powerbook 1.5gHz which is the fastest now and have had no problems whatsoever. Revision A had some problems but those have been all worked out.

 

well, I sort of agree, but would say linux is a toyota with some assembly required. You need to have a few weekends avail to finish it up Not sure why a mac would last longer than a linux box though, my 5 yr old dell running linux is compares well to my 2yr old HP running win-xp for everything but games.

 

The 1.8ghz also gives you a faster Front Side Bus. BIG plus there. I'd bump the memory too. I have 1gb right now.

 

Sorry I didn't make that more clear. Toyota = Mac, Hyundai = Windows PC

 

ahhh, if you'd said yugo I'd have known what you meant

 

Mac is awesome. I have OSX 10.3, it is stable, never crashes and never gets viruses.
It has an auto-software update and you can quit/restart anything (including the desktop finder) without restarting the computer. I'm like Gapguy, I never restart/shutdown. Just "sleep". Everything is optimized.

G5's are blazing fast and iphoto is great- very simple and easy. Plug in any camera and it automatically opens iphoto to DL pics. If you put them on the net, it automatically resizes them as it uploads. Iphoto also organizes your pics.... tons of great stuff on the Mac.

F11 and F9 are my favorite function keys now. It "miniturizes" all open windows so you can find what you're looking for in a snap- or makes all windows disappear so you can see your desktop!