Denis,

I feel you are suffering from "On my PC I just....." syndrome. I also have it. My wife has a Marketing/Advertising business she runs out of our home now, guess what she uses. I hate that thing, but she loves it. The more time you spend with the beast the more you will regress to the simple methods used to operate it vs a PC:)

Plus, when you've dropped four times as much money vs a comparible PC box, you kind of have to justify it right? "I love this thing, no really I do":)

You're off the map here, daddy. I run both Macs and PC's. There is NO comparison. If you are looking for elegance, simplicity and power, there is only one real choice.

PCs have come a long way -- now they're only about 3 years and 100,000 viruses short of being Mac-like.

Just jabbing you guys, not really serious. I know they are good machines, just not good enough in my opinion to justify the huge price gap. Unless ofcourse it is your industry standard. Plus I get pissed everytime my wife has to pay hundreds for some software that is either dirt cheap for, or comes bundled with a Costco PC. I do think there is some truth to my above quoted statement though.

Len,

PC's are NOT cheaper than Macs. At best the cost is comparable for models of similar performance/configuration.

The documented reality is Macs generally come out cheaper.

Sure you can buy a $400 PC but you'll get what you pay for, not much.

And I don't buy the "availability of software" bs either. Name me one piece of consumer grade commercially available software that exists on a PC that does not either have a Mac version or comparable alternatives.

It's OK not to like Macs if you prefer using a PC, that's all personal choice, preference, opinion etc... It's not a fact basis that supports any of the common misconceptions that abound.

http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/36120.html

http://gflpraxis.no-ip.com/mvp-price.html

http://forgetcomputers.com/~jdroz/pages/03.html

Scott

OK, tried that, no dice. I'd throw this thing in the nearest trash can if wasn't so godamn expensive. :mad:

I'm going to have to find a Mac person to take time out of their day and physically mess w/ this thing now, I've given up w/ online help. Thanks anyhow to everyone here, not trying to start a Ford/Chevy war, but my PC is worlds simpler than this thing to operate for a technophobe. :cool:

Oh Denis, you poor thing. You will now receive more help than you ever dreamed. They can't have someone switch back! You see they can't let you go now, they're too close. You may even get a home visit! It's a cult I tells ya, you can check out, but you can never leave:)

Speeder-

Leave it to the Microsoft programs to cause the only problems I ever have on my Macs. Wait until you try Office, Christ. The MS apps are terrible computer citizens, like drunken step-parents at your birthday party: lots of fun until they make fun of your friends, trashe your gifts, and ultimately pass out at the dinner table for you to clean up after. Bastards...

Anyway, am I hearing that you're having problems playing a WMV file in your web browser (i.e. the browser loads some kind of crazy plugin and the WMV player is part of the browser window and not a standalone app)? These kinds of windows show up on sites like ComedyCentrals DailyShow page.

I have seen this issue on my 10.2 (Jaguar) machines but not on my 10.3 Panther machines. A window will pop-up from the browser and complain that the plugin isn't found or some other nonsense. Honestly, I have yet to find a good fix other than upgrading :(

However, if you're running 10.2 or earlier I highly suggest you wait a month or 2 until 10.4 comes out, titled Tiger, as Im sure this has been addressed and repaired. If you're already running Panther then Im not sure what you can do.

If you're having trouble playing actual WMV files, it could just be that MS hasn't bothered to add and kind of versioning compatibility into the Mac player and you'll probably have to find something else to play them.

Bastards...

Denis, I'm out of town, but back later this week. If I can take a look at the machine, I can likely sort it out.

Len, what software programs are you talking about that cost "hundreds" on the Mac, but come free with the PC? In fact, Macs come bundled with some of the best software ever written...there is no equivalent on the PC. I'm thinking iMovie. By far the easiest/slickest video editing software around. And then factor in iTunes, iPhoto, iDVD, GarageBand, Mail, and Safari, and you can do 90% of the things you need. Add a word processor and you're set.

It's all perspective I guess. I would never use all the "artsy" programs so they have no value to me. Where as I would imagine they are great for people into that stuff. I use all the MS Office stuff for business. Do Macs come with that?

FWIW, anytime I've wanted an editing/photo/blah b;ah type software I just goto shareware.com and it's mine:) you can't exactly do that with Quickbooks or Excel or Word. In business people expect you to use these standards so you must.

Denis,

Post your problem here. These guys will solve it instantly.

http://forums.dealmac.com/list.php?1

Have faith man!!!

No, but neither do PCs unless you pay extra. Cost for MS Office is the about the same I believe ($149 academic). The only thing you can't get is Outlook (instead on the Mac you have Entourage, which is Exchange compliant) and Access (but I'd rather use FileMaker or MySQL). It is the same (and according to some, better) as the PC version (word, excel, ppt), with complete file interchagability between platforms.

And there is shareware on the mac side too... Graphic Converter for one, AudioHiJack another. And cool things like SubEthaEdit only exist on the Mac.

You can get Outlook for Exchange Server and CheckPoint makes a VPN all for the Mac.

Filemaker Pro is 100% cross-platform compatible, grew up on it and loved it, but having the opportunity to create some custom apps with Access, VB and real SQL statements years ago, I'd have to say Access is a better product. Some of the apps we created were just amazing and I don't think FMPro could have come close at the time.

I just got the latest version of FMPro and have absolutely no idea how to use it anymore. :confused:

It used to be so intuitive, now it seems silly and "wrong," especially when architecting the table structure.

I've always gotten MS office with my PC's, never paid for it??????


Shaun, you're way over my head man.

You've paid for it some way. Bill isn't really known for giving things away. :)

Honestly, I've bought about 20 PCs for myself and 2 small companies in the last 10 years, never heard of getting Office for free. Bundled as part of a package price yes, but never free.

Dell often bundles MS Office by default, but when you configure the machine, you can remove it (and pay quite a bit less). Bill doesn't give anything away for free. But he does charge you up the ying yang for beta quality software ;)

Shaun, the problem is that FMPro used to have their own way of thinking about db structures (eg "portals" for relationships, etc). With the new version they have moved more into the mainstream with their relational logic. I haven't used the new version, but based on what I've read, this seems to be the case. Don't worry, it'll make sense after awhile.

Makes sense.

Maybe you're right and I should buy a Mac? Oh that's just the nicotine withdrawl talking:)

Have prices on Macs come way down in say the last 3-4 years? Cause I dropped like 5-6 large on my wifes setup back then. At that time 5-6 large would get you a killer PC, boatloads of peripherals, and a few ladies of the night(attractive ones too).

LOL!!!

Prices, yes and no. Apple got smart enough offer different levels of performance, so you can get a really nice notebook for $1000 or you can get serious one for $2500, much like buying an IBM, or, errrr, Chinese version of an IBM (ed. Dell is dead).

The Mac desktops are unmatched in terms of speed, etc. the processors and associated architecture are significantly more advanced the Pentium chips and the like, but are pricey.

In the end, it's just like buying a 911. Either you are going to spend a bit more money up front and get a good car, or you are going to keep putting $ into a low-priced car, except with PCs, it's the down-time that'll kill you.

A beautiful, 20" iMac with a G5 processor can be had for $1800 or so. Seems expensive, until you realize that you can sell it on eBay a year later for a grand (and then buy the latest, greatest). A used PC is worth about... oh $50. And the Mac is far, far more elegant and a enjoyable to use than the PC. Just my .02 :)

You're very right about PC resale (accept for a couple brands AlienWare, etc..).

But I just went on Dell.com and built an Asskicker with a 20" Flatpanel, 3.6GHZ P4, sick amounts of memory, the best video card, man you name it for $2,350. Now this is no imac, this is PowerPc class I would imagine.