I'm seriously considering switching over to a Mac. I think I've had enough of the PC. I'm thinking of getting the new i Mac Duo Core.
The question I have is: do any of you do everything on the Mac i.e Music sequencing, Notation, Word processing etc? Do any of you use two computers, one for Music and the other for everything else? I have many questions of which I'll ask little by little.
Any other information you can share I would appreciate.
Thanks.

Peter

Peter, there are many music programs that the Mac does not support...Make sure you are going to be able , to use the widely used , popular programs..
Personally I have never considered going to a Mac...I think they represent about 3% of the market, thus programmers[software], typically shy from Mac..

Mac's biggest strength is graphics..

I use a G5 IMac with the 20 inch monitor screen. The biggest reason for me using Apple is that I never get bugs, viruses or any other problems which my 3 PC computers get all the time. Also, musicians use Logic and Cubase sequencing softare all the time and the built in software "Garageband" is just amazing.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

Fran

I hear what you're saying. And the biggest reason I'm considering going to a Mac is the same reason George just stated...it's reliability.
At least twice a year I go through a MAJOR problem with my PC. I have a friend who builds his own computers and goes through the same thing.
Just before Christmas I had to reformat my hard drive and while doing that my other back drive, which was a mirror image of my C drive, got wiped out too. The reason...my motherboard. So just about everything I had got destroyed.
Now I'm not saying this can't happen on a Mac, but it's a known fact that their machines are more stable.
You're right about all the available programs for the PC and they are certainly much cheaper than a Mac. I know if I make the switch their will be allot of adjustments and the Mac is more expensive which is a consideration too.
I'm still in the thinking about it stage.

Peter

Most of the PC problems I read about are self inflicted. In the vast majority of cases, the computer has huge numbers of old files on the hard drive that are the result of programs being installed, then uninstalled. More often than not the files are shared by other programs, thus creating problem when uninstalled. I have a friend who has a Mac and experienced similar problems, and for the same reason--installing and uninstalling lots of programs.

While virus' are rare with Macs, they do occur, just not with the same frequency because the a**holes that create them can get the same bang for the buck as they can targeting PCs.

George named two music programs that are supported by Mac, and I'm sure there are a few others. However, nearly all are supported by PCs, and online help with any of them is readily available. Not sure this is the case with Mac.

Peter, I would think seriously about making the switch, especially if you use the computer to run a business and perform multiple tasks. Mac is well known for being a stable platform, particularly for graphics applications, but for diversity I don't believe it can compare to the PC.

Good Luck on your decission,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

The Mac is more stable because very little runs on it, and so there is hardly anything to muck the system up, also because there are that few around it is not worth the hacker’s time, to bother with them.
With your old computer, you say you had a second drive that was an image of the first, which would indicate it was set up as a raid array, (Raid 1) which means if one of the hard disks failed you could swap it, and get all the information from the image disk.
However in Raid 1 mode, anything you do to one drive is automatically done the other, i.e. Load in a file and it is loaded on to both disks, Format the disk and both are formatted, and this will happen with any Raid 1 array, no matter what the system.
I would recommend a separate computer for your music system, so it can be optimised just for music.
Hope this helps

Bill

If you are planning to switch, make sure you are doing it for the right reasons.

Apple's design may appeal to you and win the awards, but ultimately it is what you can do with the computer that makes a difference - I will venture to say that for the most part, Apple does not do anything that a similarly priced PC does not do.

Another reason people often cite for the change is that Mac is more stable - that is not true. People in the know, the advanced users, report as many problems and crashes with the Macs as with the PCs. The reason many people's experience with the Mac is more trouble-free is because a typical user's Mac will have only a few applications installed, all Apple-approved. In contrast, because there is a great number more of tempting applications available for the PC, a typical PC user will have dozens more applications loaded and running on their machine. Even though these individual apps may work perfectly fine by themselves, their interaction with each other will sometimes cause problems. Still, if you are able to exercise self-discipline and limit the number of apps you are running on your PC, it will be every bit as stable as the Mac.

The third reason is that PCs are more susceptible to virus attacks - that is true, but simply because virus writers find it more fruitful to create a virus for a PC - with the overwhelming number of worldwide users running Windows, there is a very high probability that their virus will be fertile. There are much fewer viruses written for less-popular operating systems, but there are some out there for the Mac and Linux.

Performance is another motivator to switch to a Mac, but the ads are often misleading. For years Mac was saying that PowerPC processor was faster than Intel chips, but now they have switched to Intel processors, and all of a sudden they are four times faster than they used to be. So I guess, the PowerPC was not as fast as the Intel chips in the first place.

The Mac's operating system is better suited for processing multi-channel audio and video - that is true. But unless you are recording dozens of channels simultaneously, the PC will work just as well.

Best of luck with your computer decision,

Alex

In the communications business, it's almost impossible to use one or the other. For high end graphics, Mac is the standard. In fact, there is often a problem using, for instance, Quark for PC with a printers image setter, or when going direct to plate or press. For statistics, analytical software is usually more abundant and easier to use on a PC.

Left brainers (linear thinkers)seem to have an easier time with PC's, and "big picture" right brainers are more comfortable with a Mac.

For our business, at least for the near future, we'll be using both.


Russ

I've been a Mac user since they first came out (1984) and my LAN at home has four of them. Actually, I'm the only one using a PC and that's so I can be compatible with work (I'm an IT director and deal with Windows issues all day long). My wife and kids are doing just fine with their Macs.

My laptop has to be "cleaned" weekly - virus check, AdAware, AntiSpyware, disk defrag. And it still runs slower and slower all the time. Solution - buy a new one and start over. That's what M$ wants you to do. I constantly get calls from non-tech friends who need help fixing their Windows machines. I would go maintenance crazy if my wife and kids had Windows PCs.

I quit worrying about viruses on the Macs - they don't get them. Sure, they could, but I'm not going to worry about it. The new Macs with the Intel chips will change the playing field a lot IMHO, but it's the underlying UNIX operating system that makes these Macs so awesome. UNIX is a much better designed OS than Windows. Why do you think supercomputers and most Internet servers run UNIX? Windows needs a complete rewrite to get away from the constant patching.

Take a look at Keyboard Mag and you'll see that there's an abundance of Macs in the recording field. Why? Ask the recording artists and I'll bet they say they are easier to use.

I'm telling people these days that if they plan to mostly surf the net, send e-mail, store/edit photos and music, burn CDs and DVDs of music and video, MIDI - get a Mac.

Also, much of what anyone does these days is fast becoming web-based so it often doesn't matter what platform you use.

Sure, there are programs available only for Windows. Some of the tools that deal with arranger keyboards come to mind. If that forces you to remain a Windows user, go for it and learn to live with the maintenance issues. If you can swing it, keep a Windows laptop for use with your arranger tools and use a Mac for the rest of it.

Sorry Fran, Gary and others, that's simply untrue.

I've been using Macs since 1987. As stated above they are extremely reliable. I've had over ten apple computers and not one of them has ever failed me... no viruses and no breakdowns. In fact I have a friend with a fully functional Mac SE (1988) - and it still works at full capacity!

Whoever says that programs are not available for the Mac does not know what they are talking about. Every self respecting sound company makes their products for Mac because even though they only take up 4% of the casual market, they take up nearly HALF of the professional studio market! In fact, I've been to tens of film and audio studios, and nearly all of them use Macs - or would like to make the switch.

Macs are not just best for graphics, but for any CPU intensive software: ie: audio, film, animation and graphics.

Here are a list of programs which I use on my Mac plus a few others which I can recommend:
- Steinberg Cubase SX
- Logic Pro (not available on PC)
- Soundtrack (not available on PC)
- Native Instruments Kontakt 2 (All NI software is available on Mac)
- ProTools - this is the industry standard
- The list goes on and on.
- GarageBand (not available on PC)
- Waves
- Tones of plug ins

The Only software I'm aware of that isn't available for Mac is soundforge and freeware plugins. I think that when it comes to sound and music, there is actually MORE software available for the Mac than the PC.

Go to any music store, pull out a catalog, and that's what you'll find!

The other 'problem' with a Mac is that since less people have it, its harder to pirate software. But nowadays, ALL of the professional sound companies use dongles or computer registration, which is almost impossible to get around anyways.

Currently I use my Mac to run my recording studio, internet and graphics. I use the audio software and the internet nearly every day - with no conflict or slow down.

Good luck with your new Mac! You'll never turn back! And for an even better kick, get another screen - if you plan to do professional audio its a must!

Chony

[This message has been edited by chony (edited 02-24-2006).]