Justifying the Transition to an Apple Setup

Megalith

Megalith

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Not too long ago, I hated anything and everything to do with Apple. That changed once I bought an iPad 3, which was an effective gateway drug that led to my buying a MacBook Pro Retina last week. Now I'm contemplating getting the Thunderbolt display, but if I do that, I would essentially be ditching Windows as my main OS (I would be doing all of my work on the superior monitor, driven by OS X).

I'm really questioning my decisions, however. While the hardware is fantastic and OS X seems to be a joy to navigate, I can't help but wonder why I'm even bothering with any of this. All major software and games are on Windows, and you're screwed if anything happens to your Mac (yes, I could take it into an Apple store, but I hate having random people touch and work on my systems). I'd also be spending even more money trying to duplicate aspects of my PC setup, such as a finding a USB soundcard with XLR output for my studio monitors, having to get a switch so I can get both my PC and Mac a wired connection simultaneously, etc.

I guess I could keep my PC alongside my Mac and run them side by side so I don't have to bother with Windows virtualization. I would be doing all of my normal things (graphics and web design, email, internet) on the Mac, and leaving the PC for little things like downloading binaries (I don't think there's anything like NewsBin Pro for OS X) and listening to music (no foobar or easy FLAC playback on Mac).

But again, I'm wondering what the heck the point of any of this is. Why not just stick with PC and Windows? Well, I guess the problem is that I can't find anything comparable from anyone other than Apple in regard to a superior notebook and high-resolution monitor.

Is there anyone with a similar dilemma who ended up adopting both OS X and Windows in their day to day usage? And more importantly, was it justifiable?
 
Why not just stick with PC and Windows?
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OS X is far superior to Windows in security and stability.
Since it is a FreeBSD variant UNIX OS, OS X is one of the most stable OSes I've ever used, outside of SLES and Red Hat Enterprise distros, but those are Linux.

And more importantly, was it justifiable?
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It all depends on what you need the OS for and what programs/apps you will be running.
Quite frankly, I'm so distrusting of Windows outside of a heavily firewalled/guarded enterprise-setting that it only touches my systems on a VM.

For day to day usage, I would trust OS X far more.
Also, you don't need to "abandon" Windows completely, if you still have uses for it, then install it and run it in a VM within OS X, that way you won't need two systems running all the time.
 
Megalith said:
Now I'm contemplating getting the Thunderbolt display, but if I do that, I would essentially be ditching Windows as my main OS (I would be doing all of my work on the superior monitor, driven by OS X).
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Just be aware that the Thunderbolt Display would actually be lower resolution than your MBP. You may want to hold out until the next revision, hopefully with a Retina Display.

All major software and games are on Windows…
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Relevant.

and you're screwed if anything happens to your Mac (yes, I could take it into an Apple store, but I hate having random people touch and work on my systems).
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Trained techs aren't "random people". It's not as if Apple is pulling the mall security guard into the back to swap out your motherboard.

listening to music (no foobar or easy FLAC playback on Mac).
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Use XLD and convert your FLAC to ALAC (or vice-versa), then drop the files into iTunes. I've been doing that for a while.

Is there anyone with a similar dilemma who ended up adopting both OS X and Windows in their day to day usage? And more importantly, was it justifiable?
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I did several years ago. The justification is simple: you enjoy using one platform more than the other. Computing shouldn't be a struggle or a grudge match. If you like the way one platform works, go for it. Using Platform X for a long time isn't a legitimate reason to declare it superior or even preferable, especially considering how often OSes and hardware iterate these days.

Do you want to use OS X? Then do so. No reason not to.
 
Terpfen said:
Use XLD and convert your FLAC to ALAC (or vice-versa), then drop the files into iTunes. I've been doing that for a while..
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You can't play flac on macs? there has to be a 3rd party program for this. iTunes sucks.
 
Q1DM6 said:
You know I tried VLC flac playback on my PC and wasn't all that impressed. Foobar2000 is worlds better for some reason.
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Not really surprised, VLC is kind of an all-around player, not really built for quality outside of some OSes.
 
Q1DM6 said:
You can't play flac on macs? there has to be a 3rd party program for this. iTunes sucks.
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Wonderfield beat me to the response I would have given you, but I'd like to also add that iTunes is still the best app out there for managing actual libraries of content, as opposed to simply loading and playing random files. Also, 95% of the "iTunes sucks" stuff comes from the Windows version which, yes, is not very good. Thankfully, we're talking about the OS X version here.

Q1DM6 said:
You know I tried VLC flac playback on my PC and wasn't all that impressed. Foobar2000 is worlds better for some reason.
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Foobar's playback is excellent once you've configured it for high quality output. It's not great at managing content, but plays audio very well with the right plugins.
 
I just purchased my first mac for the retina display alone. I dont think its going to be that uncommon for people to temporarily swap or pickup a mac for the first time because of the display. Hopefully this pushes HiDPI screens to become more mainstream!
 
OP20 said:
I just purchased my first mac for the retina display alone. I dont think its going to be that uncommon for people to temporarily swap or pickup a mac for the first time because of the display. Hopefully this pushes HiDPI screens to become more mainstream!
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It's going to be tough for other manufacturers to implement (*cough*copy*cough*) high DPI displays for the same reason it's tough for them to make extremely thin and light aluminum notebooks: Apple buys up all the supply because they pay in advance, and even fund the construction of the factories and purchase of the manufacturing equipment.
 
wonderfield said:
VLC is not the only application that can play FLAC files on OS X.
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Your responses are about as useful as a bag full of dicks.

Anyways, converting your files to Apple Lossless is probably the easiest.. You could also use Fluke inside of itunes.
 
You answered in your OP -- it's a terrible idea.

(Yes, I've owned Macs, both oldschool and modern. I've used them extensively. They're shit. Also, I'm talking about hardware, not software.)
 
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Your responses are about as useful as a bag full of dicks.
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You hit that nail right on the head.

VLC is not the only application that can play FLAC files on OS X.
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Feel free to expand on that.

To use your words:
Apparently you have just recently gained the ability to post useless, annoying posts in forum threads and are still a little over-excited about this new capability. :rolleyes:

Anyways, converting your files to Apple Lossless is probably the easiest.. You could also use Fluke inside of itunes.
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+ 1 to this.
 
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Songbird is capable of playing Flac.
As is Cog. Foobar 2000 is one of the two programs I miss from Windows, the other being EAC. XLD is nearly as good as EAC, but not quite. In any case, Cog is the most "Foobar like" player for OSX, however it is now basically zombie-ware. Still works and everything, but there is no active development for it.
Because I have an iPod Classic and I want all of my music on it I actually have my audio in two formats. FLAC and 320kbs Variable AAC. Yeap, it's a hassle and it takes more HD space I fully and readily admit, but to me it's a minor compromise in comparison with the compromises I would have to make on Windows.

Other notes. I made the OSX switch in 2008 after over a decade of Windows usage. I have no desire to go back. I personally feel that the (so-called) premium is worth it. Others don't. You ultimately will have to decide if Macs/OSX are right for you. As another side note, I used to have Windows XP and later Vista/7 on a bootcamp partition and also VMware installed. I just started noticing that I never felt like restarting or booting into Windows, so in the end I just got rid of it. If you really don't game anymore, than I feel like Windows loses a lot of its appeal.

Still, there are some great titles on OSX for the occasional game here and there. Deus-EX: HR, Civ 5, Starcraft/2, Diablo II/III, Counter-Strike, Portal/2, Team-Fortress Source, WoW, etc. Basically any Valve or Blizzard game is available to game on in OSX.
 
Megalith said:
But again, I'm wondering what the heck the point of any of this is. Why not just stick with PC and Windows? Well, I guess the problem is that I can't find anything comparable from anyone other than Apple in regard to a superior notebook and high-resolution monitor.

Is there anyone with a similar dilemma who ended up adopting both OS X and Windows in their day to day usage? And more importantly, was it justifiable?
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If you're thinking about running Windows (non-VM) on a Macbook Pro, let me tell you of the pitfalls:
1. No GPU switching. My MBP starts warm and only gets worse.
2. Battery life drastically decreased because of #1.
3. That nice trackpad on OS X sucks on Windows.
4. No AHCI in Windows on my MBP. My SSD isn't as fast as it can be. If I enable AHCI I will lose sleep mode. This will probably also be a problem on 2012 models.
 
Gawd. Another one of these threads. Either get it or don't. It's not that hard. Don't like it, sell it. Like it, keep it.
 
Terpfen said:
It's going to be tough for other manufacturers to implement (*cough*copy*cough*) high DPI displays for the same reason it's tough for them to make extremely thin and light aluminum notebooks: Apple buys up all the supply because they pay in advance, and even fund the construction of the factories and purchase of the manufacturing equipment.
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Yeah I mentioned that on another site, I figure its going to be a good year to two before anyone is producing in quantity enough for fuel the PC market.
 
I use both OSX and Windows. Only time I use windows is when I use programs exclusive to it like games, etc.
 
I use a Windows PC and a Mac laptop. My Windows box is a ESXi machine running Solaris 11, Win2K8, and Win2K8R2. I'll soon be putting a copy of Windows 8 on there as well. For day to day use, I love my Mac/27" DisplayPort combination. I don't really play games all that often, but when the urge hits me, the 650m is a decent enough graphics card for me to get my fix.

Nobody said you have to abandon Windows. It's like having a Jeep and a BMW. The BMW's the perfect daily driver, but every once in a while, you just want to sling a little mud. Just because some Jeep and BMW people don't get along, it doesn't mean you have to choose a side.
 
I have a gaming PC and a retina macbook pro and I have a 27" LED cinema display that I use with my PC and the mac.. I have a displayport to mini DP adapter that I leaved plugged into my PC and I just switch the usb and mini displayport from the display back and forth and it has worked very well.

Personally, as much as I love my macbook pro, I could never make a full conversion to apple machines as I like tinkering with my own hardware too much.

With a notebook, I don't feel the need to open it up and play with the insides, so having a notebook that is a closed system hardware wise doesn't bother me at all. Whereas, it would drive me nuts with a desktop.
 
I bought a mac mini once for curiosity. Os X to me is like something programed fast, put together quickly by a fill people imho. I think Windows is a more well thought software. I trust Windows more.
 
I'm actually looking at moving to an Apple Ecosystem...

I started out all-windows back in Mac OS (*hated* Mac OS) then I went Windows-and-Android phone.

I got a Macbook with Leopard on it because it was dirt cheep some years ago as a 'joke' and my jaw dropped - I loved it.

Since then I got an iPad 2, got frustrated with iTunes because it didn't magically creat ID3 tags so my music was almost all "unknown track, unknown artist" (I used filenames and folders) so I sold my iPad and went to an android tablet. After some months I sold it and went back to an iPad and just gae up and fixed all my music. Quite happy now, works great.

I'e used all 3 consoles to stream media to my TV/Projector: 360, PS3, and Wii. I've also used android, and iOS. the only one that worked immediatly and without problem was iOS.

personally I'm just sick of all the problems I run into on windows and android, especially with media, that's how I'm justifying trading my Vista laptop for a Macbook, my Asus tablet for an iPad, my consoles for an Apple TV, my android phone for an iPhone, and ultimately my desktop for an iMac. (though the last one will be last due to cost) I'll still have my windows desktop for when I need it but it will mostly be relegated to a server.

Apple was built for multimedia, it's that simple, and for me, that's the justification.
 
CKMorpheus said:
Are you nuts? SABnzbd? No way dude, Unison is the best (and most beautiful) Newsreader I've ever used.

http://panic.com/unison/
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Hear, hear, sir. I must have that $30 Usenet client on my $3000 Mac for the best 1980s news-reading experience.

For people who just use Usenet to download binaries (most of us), SABnzbd is excellent, not to mention free, open source and cross-platform.
 
AndreRio said:
I bought a mac mini once for curiosity. Os X to me is like something programed fast, put together quickly by a fill people imho. I think Windows is a more well thought software. I trust Windows more.
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Hahaha. Wow, please enlighten me on what parts feel rushed and define what "a fill people" is?

I'm laughing because I, and many others, would say the exact opposite of what you say. Windows is hardly thought out at all. It's like they just went "OOOH it needs THIS! Let's justs stick it...ummm....HERE!"

And don't even get me started on windows 8. My GFs dad, a software engineer, who develops for multiple platforms including windows, and mac, was confused how to simply shut down the computer while he was working on the dev version. Even after I told him about the hidden start menu... And it was completely ass backwards, we were both baffled, and both of us have used both platforms for years. I shouldn't have to google how to shut a computer down. Never mind using the rest of the OS.


But enough Mac vs windows and the opposite world this guy is living in.

I can guarantee there will be a program for almost any daily task you are looking to do on OS X. After using a Mac for 7 years now I haven't had to ever go back into windows for anything other than setting up specific hardware (an old wifi adapter with only proprietary windows software to set it up, for example.) This is easily done in a VMWare machine. The only thing you will want boot camp for is gaming. Even then, the selection for OSX is growing. There may not be a mac version of specific software, but I bet there will be a program that does the same task.
 
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Absentee said:
The only thing you will want boot camp for is gaming. Even then, the selection for OSX is growing. There may not be a mac version of specific software, but I bet there will be a program that does the same task.
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The selection is growing but I'd say the main problem with OSX gaming is that pretty much all OSX versions of "intensive" games run like ass compared to the windows version, and most of the time the GPUs in macs are underspecced for the display they are trying to drive, so you need all the performance you can get- which means running it in windows.

I have been using a mac now for about 8 years, and I have come to realize that gaming on OSX just doesn't work. But to fix that I just bought a console, built a gaming PC, and installed bootcamp on my mac laptop. It's not a big problem just something you need to accept. Otherwise, using macs has been great (although honestly, less great than it used to be). However honestly both OSes at this point are refined enough that there is not a big difference either way. W7 and Lion are both perfectly servicable OSes.

To the OP though, it's a little tangential to say but I would recommend not getting the thunderbolt display unless you really need the built-in thunderbolt port hub. Apple's displays are pretty standard fare for displays, and you can get yourself a superior display at a cheaper price if you buy a Dell or an HP or NEC, etc. Namely the forced glossy option, lack of adjustability, and lack of wide gamut. Also lack of multiple inputs, lack of controls (contrast, RGB levels, etc), etc. All in all the Apple displays are pretty low end stuff.
 
Ruahrc said:
All in all the Apple displays are pretty low end stuff.
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I would disagree wholeheartedly with this statement. The same H-IPS panel used in current Apple displays is also used in Dell displays (the LG LM270WQ1). The two displays cost the same amount. With the Apple display ($999), you sacrifice the OSD, matte display, wide gamut, and multiple inputs. With the Dell display ($999), you sacrifice the Thunderbolt hub, glossy display, even LED backing, webcam, microphone, speakers, and laptop power adapter. It's really just a matter of choice.

I went with the Apple display. There's an additional layer of plastic over the screen which prevents idiots from ruining the LCD by jabbing their greasy fingers at it, and it's easier to clean to boot. I also wanted the power adapter for my laptop, since it's my primary machine. The monitor's settings can be configured via the OS instead of the OSD. The glossy screen doesn't bother me, since I don't have my back to a window, and frankly, I prefer it over the horror stories about Dell's anti-glare coating. I would have liked to have had multiple inputs. That part is true.

edit: Looks like my information was out of date. Dell changed their panel to a LM270WQ2. It's 8-bit+A-FRC, which is "just dithering", but still superior, provided you're using a Displayport cable, and not the DVI, VGA, or component inputs.
 
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I've seen a couple of replies in this thread discussing a Thunderbolt display paired with the rMBP. Is an external display really needed with the rMBP?
 
Terpfen said:
The Retina MBP has a higher resolution than the Thunderbolt Display.
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True, but it's not very usable when it's pushing that many pixels. The 27" Thunderbolt/mDP display is much more usable at 2560x1440 than the 15" display is at 2880x1800. For getting actual work done that requires that many pixels of desktop space, the external display is going to be a much better choice.

That said, if you are considering buying the Thunderbolt display, it might be worth sitting on it for a few months. At some point a new 27" iMac is going to come out, probably using a QFHD/4K 3840x2160 panel (4x the space of 1920x1080, not 2560x1440). At the same time, we'll likely see a see a new external Thunderbolt display arrive.
 
OP the option to buy a mac setup is really up to you. I'm not the biggest fan of apple personally. I'm getting a bit tired of seeing them go sue happy over some patents that are somewhat vague. They (apple) needs to relax a little bit with this and work on their products (bath hardware and software) to make them better...

That said I DO like the macs quite a bit and have considered buying one on multiple occasions. A mac mini is high on my list. seems like a great little box to surf the net, listen to music and do other kinda things that the average Joe would want to do. A MBP is also a fantastic product that's not that much more (may end up being less) then a mac mini when you factor in a apple keyboard, the tablet/mouse and a monitor (if you don't already have one).

CEpeep said:
That said, if you are considering buying the Thunderbolt display, it might be worth sitting on it for a few months. At some point a new 27" iMac is going to come out, probably using a QFHD/4K 3840x2160 panel (4x the space of 1920x1080, not 2560x1440). At the same time, we'll likely see a see a new external Thunderbolt display arrive.
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Wonder how much that will be going for. Pushing almost 4k to a 27" monitor will be quite simply insane (in a good way)!
 
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