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Should I switch?


thetaylors

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I am thinking about getting a mac. I have read a few threads about making gps work with mac and it sounds pretty good. I really like what I have seen while window shopping. The promises Mac is making are pretty enticing. If you have a Mac and geocache are you happy? What are the most frustrating problems? Anybody have a good argument for not switching? Dude, I hate my Dell. Feel free to bash Macs if you just need to get it off your chest, but try to be constructive. Thanks for your input.

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Macs suck and you know that.. icon_smile.gif

 

I see no reason to go with a Mac. They will be out of business one day and the PC will own all. Why do you not like your Dell and what reasons do you have to switch? Think of the money. All the new software you will need. Think of the software that is not available for Macs but is for PCs not to mention games if your into that kind of thing. Support? I know I don't have a problem finding support for my PC.

 

Just some thoughts.

 

______________________________________________________________________________________

Coming Around, New Owner Of a Garmin GPS V Received on 10-03-02

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Getting stuff designed to work with a Mac to work is easier than easy. Getting stuff designed to work with a PC to work with a Mac is another story. I've been a long time Mac user, but I wouldn't suggest that a Mac newbie try to try to get Virtual PC to recognize a GPS connected via a serial to USB cable.

 

If you've never used a Mac before, I'd say that you're better off sticking with a PC.

 

--Marky

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I have no system loyalty at all. I started as a avid Commodore user but after they went belly up I started building my own PC systems. I look at Macs but I was a bit of a hardware tweeker. After years of dealing with IRQ conflicts and other PC crap I am really thinking hard about going to the Mac. You get a real nice stable UNIX based OS with a lot of power and stability. Now I used MacOS 9, and that OS series should have been dumped by System 8. If Apple were to go out of business... SO WHAT! Just go out and buy a PC. I say you should buy one and if it sucks sell it.

 

Dan

 

A = A

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God, let me start by stating that some of the previous replies were *rather* biased.

 

Here's a straight answer:

 

Mac Pros:

 

OS X. Fantasic OS. Based on the BSD Kernel. Pretty. Stable. Fast. Efficient. The best OS ever made for the general public.

 

Ease of use, ala Firewire etc...

 

Ability to get away from the corrupt Micro$oft monopoly, a company whose business practices and user treatment are quite corrupt.

 

Few exploits.

 

Attractive designs. Girlfriend/Wife acceptance factor is higher.

 

Mac Cons:

 

Lack of software. Lack of games.

 

Lack of 3rd party internal hardware (ie- non-Apple manufactured motherboards etc...).

Problems with the outdated Motorola architecture.

 

Considerably higher cost due to aforementions cons.

 

wIntel Pros:

 

Tons of software and games and you name it.

 

Can easily run many Linux flavors instead of Windows.

 

Low prices; many choices in parts and/or machine manufacturers.

 

The standard. Easy to find support.

 

Familiarity. Workplace dominance.

 

wIntel Cons:

 

Micro$oft's dominance of the platform.

 

DRM - Digital rights management that will ultimately, with the aid of both Intel and AMD, strip you of your freedoms courtesy of Micro$oft's Palladium, the MPAA, and the RIAA.

 

Poor security in Windows platforms; thousands of bugs, virii, and exploitations in many aspects of the OS.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Loomis

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At home, i'm using a newish PC. When i'm on the road, i use an iBook with OSX. As far as geocaching is concerned, i don't think there's any difference. But with everything else, i gotta go with the mac. it's just easier and more fun. i hate to date myself here, but i distinctly remember going to Incredible Universe one september morning and wearing a button on my lapel that said 'Windows 95=Macintosh 88.' Not that that's any help.

 

all rights reserved, all wrongs reversed

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icon_eek.gif I feel as if I should apologize to brdad for the confusion but on the other hand I have read posts in other forums, and it seems unavoidable. icon_wink.gif I would comment about upgrading wives but she is sitting right next to me and I don't want to get smacked.

 

Thanks for all the responses.

 

As for my Dell, I cannot say enough about their customer service and tech support. They ask how my kids are doing by name now. Just kidding but I really would rather not know how good tech support is. I have an inspiron 7500. The tech guy who keeps coming out to fix it tells me how common the problems I have with it are. It is just poorly designed and very heavy. It breaks under its own weight and I have never been happy in the PC environment.

 

How do you make a mac crash, my PC's seem to do it all by themselves at random and often. Bottom line, I am not a skilled computer guy and don't enjoy troubleshooting my PC's. It usually involves some choice words.

 

I am not a gamer. I don't take much advantage of all the software available because it seems like every time I add stuff to my computer, more problems follow.

 

Having said that, the only piece of PC equipment I can't live without is my GPSr. I am willing to learn how to make it jump through hoops to work with a mac.

 

No One has said anything about taking the mac out of the box, plugging it in, and being ready to go. I hate long set up processes, frustrating upgrades, etc. This doesn't seem to be the case with a mac.

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quote:
Originally posted by georgeandmary:

If you're tired of too many options, widely available software, affordability and speed, then go ahead and get the mac.


 

My experience has been too many useless options. Most of the really cool stuff doesn't perform as advertised. I don't buy the affordability issue. It seems to me that comparably equipped PC's cost about the same but without the benefit of seamless integration. And my PC is slow as dirt. They always seem to get slower and slower with age.

 

I am still not sure about the software issue. I don't think I will have to share with a PC at all. I don't take advantage of the PC software availability because of all the problems I have when I add more stuff. I would like to be able to do more with my PC but I don't really want to learn the nitty gritty about building and programming computers. I haven't upgraded hardware on my PCs in a long time. If you spend the money and get a well equipped new one, It holds up till you replace it.

 

Keep it coming, this is very helpful so far.

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Yes, OS X seems promising. But from what I gather, not much software is availible for it, so you have to run OS 9 within X for most things. And as for games, I KNOW you can run an Windows emulator inside Mac OS (I've seen WinNT 4.0 run this way) so I'm sure you can do that for games, right?

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quote:
Originally posted by brdad:

Oh crap, I thought this was a post about wives. icon_mad.gif

 

Oh well, nothing to say, other than my ex was a mac (looked nice, good sell on the street, but otherwise useless).


 

brdad, if your ex was a mac, mine was a PC. She ran Windows NT. I learned that this stood for "Not Tonight." She also had this terrible habit of crashing frequently. And no matter how much I booted her, I couldn't get her to work most of the time.

 

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

What would life be like if there were no hypothetical questions?

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Go right ahead a buy macs. everybody should buy macs! MAC MACS MACS!!!!!

 

Buy a Mac so Mac will get as big and as greedy as Microsoft. Then thier software will come dwon to the precieved declining level of PCs.

 

So yes Buy MACs!!!!

 

On a controlled system enviorment where EVERYthing has to be personally approved by the Manufactuer yes you will get a much stabler enviorment. But at a higher cost. Personally I like Tinkering with my PC and once I have it set with the software I want to use. My PC crashes very infrequently and I leave them running 24/7.

 

Cache On!!

 

James

"Big Dog"

-Clan Ferguson

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Well, I hesitate to post due to the volatility of this thread, but perhaps my experiences might be of some relevance. Please don't slam me - I'm on your side (whichever that is) because I like and use both platforms, and have been doing so for many years.

 

I certainly agree with the popular perception that Macs are easy to set up and pleasant and friendly to use for many computer-based tasks - that has been my experience. I usually choose to use Macs (at home and work) for things like email, most Internet surfing, word processing, many graphics related tasks, and some games.

 

However, because there are a lot more Windows boxes out there, there are some really cool and very valuable applications that only work on Intel based machines; and Windows can be pretty easy and user friendly too. I use my Windows boxes for things like restoring badly decayed jazz recordings from 78 rpm records, flying a model helicopter simulator, some graphics tasks, and some games. In some cases, I don’t have a choice, haven’t bothered to figure out how to run these on a Mac, or just prefer the Windows version.

 

As far as geocaching goes, I use both platforms. I usually do virtually all the online stuff from the Mac (including online logs, researching caches, downloading coordinate info and the auto generated EasyGPS LOC files and MobiPocket eBook files from this site). But I transfer the downloaded files over to a portable Windows PC for upload into my GPS, most waypoint manipulation, and use the mobipocket files on that box in the field.

 

I'm certainly not claiming that this is the best way to do these things (most of you probably fainted already) - I'm just in the habit of working this way because it fits OK with my style, the equipment at my disposal at the time, and my level of knowledge (I'm not an IT professional). But, splitting my tasks across both platforms works fine and I like it. It allows me to use a computer according to what tool I prefer for each particular undertaking, where I happen to be at the time, and without waiting for the kids to get off.

 

I think TheTaylors should have titled this thread differently. "Should I switch?" sounds like they're going to trash their Dell - why? If you've been using Windows for this long, there are certainly things you'll miss about the old girl.

 

I wouldn't feel right about (nor could I tolerate) having two wives - but heck, we're talking computers here - go ahead and try polygamy, you can love 'em both (and get a little palm on the side, too)!

 

- Genius Loci

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As far as Geocaching goes, I use my Handspring Visor Deluxe!! icon_wink.gif

 

All kidding aside, though, most waypoint management software, such as easygps, etc. as well as most tracking software, GPS interface software, etc. are already based primarily on the PC.

 

With a PC at work and a Mac at home and a Visor inbetween, I feel quite set. Then again, I don't harness the vast powers of silicon. I'd rather go hiking. icon_biggrin.gif

 

---------------

wavey.gif Go! And don't be afraid to get a little wet!

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quote:
Originally posted by Jeremy Irish:

Please refrain from the long and tired hashed out Mac Vs Wintel discussion. Keep it specific to GPS use and Macs. If it continues it will be labelled off-topic and closed.

 

Jeremy Irish

Groundspeak - The Language of Location


 

My apologies for starting (and perpetuating) this mess. My intent was to get specific information related to using GPS with Macs. Perhaps the topic should be closed. In the future I will attempt to focus my questions better.

 

Thanks to everyone for your input. It was mostly helpful.

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OT????

 

I guess those two letters could have been put in front of the title for this thread but I don't see anything wrong with discussing Mac vs. PC. Quite honestly these computers are how we all get online to use to discuss Geocaching along with logging our finds and approving new caches. Not to mention to purchase all the fine gear on the site. Is it so wrong or off topic that we discuss the way that we do this and which way is better along with pros and cons of each? I don't believe so but thats just my opinion. If it weren't for off topic posts the only time we would discuss anything would be when someone new came along with questions.

 

Ok I'm done now. I got my feelings out into the open. icon_smile.gif

 

______________________________________________________________________________________

Coming Around, New Owner Of a Garmin GPS V Received on 10-03-02

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quote:
Originally posted by umc:

OT????

 

I guess those two letters could have been put in front of the title for this thread but I don't see anything wrong with discussing Mac vs. PC. Quite honestly these computers are how we all get online to use to discuss Geocaching along with logging our finds and approving new caches. Not to mention to purchase all the fine gear on the site. Is it so wrong or off topic that we discuss the way that we do this and which way is better along with pros and cons of each? I don't believe so but thats just my opinion. If it weren't for off topic posts the only time we would discuss anything would be when someone new came along with questions.

Ok I'm done now. I got my feelings out into the open. icon_smile.gif


I'm not going to offer an opinion, because the last Apple product I even considered buying was a Lisa.

I do agree that its a valid discussion (if it can be kept civil) because it does affect what software is available to use with our GPSrs. Waypoint management, mapping, GPSr firmware updates, all vary depending on the choice of OS.

Of course, most of use are not rabid enough to ONLY consider geocaching when we chose a computer, so my suggestion is to look at ALL the software/hardware that you want/need to use, and then decide.

 

Illegitimus non carborundum!

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I am not only considering geocaching, I just wanted more insight to the joy and despair of doing on a mac what I have found to be suprisingly easy on a PC. One of the big issues is always compatability. I think I more or less have figured out where I stand on the other stuff or at least I know where else to go to get the info. I think Jeremy had a valid point. This shouldn't just be a rehash of the same old tired "mine is better than yours." In order to be really useful it should more or less center on the general topic of geocaching. There are probably more appropriate places for the rest of the discussion.

 

Perhaps his admonition was a bit terse, but I've 'ad worse. icon_wink.gif

 

Besides, it does get tiresome after awhile don't you think?

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And bigger market share, which is why I stay with i386 stuff. You're always going to have more software for PC's - GPS software of course(is that on topic?)

 

quote:
Originally posted by Jeremy Irish:

Please refrain from the long and tired hashed out Mac Vs Wintel discussion. Keep it specific to GPS use and Macs. If it continues it will be labelled off-topic and closed.

 

Jeremy Irish

Groundspeak - The Language of Location


 

I think that means Jeremy likes Macs. icon_biggrin.gif

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Yikes, after reading these I think we ALL should switch....................to decaf. icon_biggrin.gif

 

If your house catches afire, and there aint no water around,

If your house catches afire, and there aint no water around,

Throw your jelly out the window; let the dog-gone shack burn down.

**Huddie Ledbetter**

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It's been a while since I explored the Mac connctability to the eTrax Legend, but at the time I did this is what I discovered.

Firmware updates, Garmin Mapsource, GeoBuddy and EasyGPS did not run on the Mac. (OS 9 or X)

I did install Virtual PC on my iBook and had good results, but then what's the point. Might as well go with a PC/Intel Machine. I guess I'm kind of a OS snob, but for me it only Win 2000. XP is too clunky and 98 and NT are just too far behind the times for me.

OS X rocks, but I still find I use the PCs 4 or 5 times more. Not only for GPS and geocaching activities. But even for graphics and 3D rendering.

I wouldn't switch to a Mac for these reasons: 1 Cost, 2 Compatibility with GPS programs, 3, Compatibility with non-MS programs, Richtext/Outlook emails, non-ISO CDs and digital pictures in TIFF, BMP, PCX, EPS and RAW formats. 4, Unless you buy direct from Apple or purchase an Apple care package, service and support on the Mac isn;t top notch. You could do a lot worst on several PC brands, but you could probably get your 12 year old to fix on.

In short the growing pains (and cost) aren't worth it.

Oh yeah, and anyone that tells you that Macs *never* crash is pulling your leg.

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