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Blue screen of death

For me the choice is simple, change.

I no longer wish to support Bill Gates and his company, they have gotten a lot of my money, and I've had a lot of fun on the computers and I've done a ton of work on them, but, I've also had a TON of problems with them.

For the business applications, we are stuck with Windoze, that is not going to change, these are one off applications, or what do they call them, propriety applications? Our tax system here is VERY convoluted when it comes to the sale of liquor and tobacco, so we have to buy a system, ours is from the Asahi Beer company. We paid about $500 a month for 5 years, at the end of that lease, we get to keep the machine and the software etc, but no tech support and no hardware replacement. That system is now getting antiquated and we had to replace the laptop computer once already. For $30000 I'm not happy with what we got, but, we are stuck where we are. The competition's system is not as good and is more expensive. I know, nothing to do with Mac/Windoze, but I'm just showing my frustration, :doh:

For our other use, at the L shop and home, the Mac makes way more sense, we want a computer for the internet, e-mail, pictures and video, the Mac is better for this, IMHO, add to that the lack of virus infections etc, and to me it is a winner.

The only thing I see that I would want to run on my Mac machine from Windoze is MS Word, as my wife uses it for some of the paper work she does for the local school's reunion club thing.

I do like the free and friendly exchange of info here, without any name calling, good work people! :wave:
 
All you have to do is research, and there's tons of software for the Mac for a vast number of industries..
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Same problem as Stu has, none that will suppport the NZ medical system, motor vehicle registrations etc. Sure there is a basic payroll package available, but you want to integrate that with job costing and electronic time clocks...maybe it can be done, but it's just impractical for a smaller business who may only have 10 PCs and no IT staff, especially when you can buy an off the shelf program that just works out of the box.

I'm not anti Mac or anything, I'm sure I could do everything I do at home with one and be happy, but my boys would feel left out that their games dont work, and as far as my customers go, it's just not going to happen. Generally they pick the software they want/need to run, and then that determines the machine and OS that they get. The Mac IS a good choice for many people, and many businesses, but if the software you NEED to run isn't there, it's not going to happen.

Cheers

Ian
 
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Stuart Ablett said:
I do like the free and friendly exchange of info here, without any name calling, good work people! :wave:
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We're all friends here, and it's already well known that Mac users are scrunch-faced diaper noses. :D :rofl:

Not that there's anything wrong with scrunch-faced diaper noses...just saying:wave:
 
Ian, the games thing is just about a moot point now, as you really need to build or buy a computer that is built for games, most of them require a really, really good video card.

I used to be into games big time, mostly first person shooters, but when my new good computers could barely run the new games on the lowest possible game settings, I've just about give it up, no time anyways :D

Cheers!
 
Stuart Ablett said:
The only thing I see that I would want to run on my Mac machine from Windoze is MS Word, as my wife uses it for some of the paper work she does for the local school's reunion club thing.
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Stu,

No need to use Windows to use MS Word. :D Microsoft makes Office for Mac. It has Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and some versions Entourage (this is Outlook for Mac). I have no problems with crossing platforms with any documents from these programs. I routinely take work home (from a PC to a Mac) and then back to work. Back in the early 90s there were some compatibility issues in crossing platforms, but that has long since been fixed.
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/office2004/office2004.aspx?pid=office2004


If you have no interest in adding to Billy's billions, there is Open Office for Mac. It is a free open source office suite. I have not tried this out, so I can't vouch for its compatibility. However their site says that they are compatible with many formats, so in theory it will work with the MS office apps.

Here is the link for the Mac version faq
http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/faq/index.html
 
Vaughn McMillan said:
We're all friends here, and it's already well known that Mac users are scrunch-faced diaper noses. :D :rofl:
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If you will look closely, I even have a little hinnie on my chin. A girlfriend back befor the war (Civil War :rofl:) use to make tiny diapers for it. ;)

DT
 
I run my own computer business....let's just get that out of the way right here first! I support Windows and Mac. I use both. I game...probably more than I should...on the PC. The Mac is the real workhorse. With OS X I can now run most of the maintenance scripts from that machine that'll check in w/the customer's systems.

I got my Mom a Mac. Not because I need to maintain/monitor it (she's on dialup....poor thing!!), but because it's just a STABLE platform for what she wants to do. Her game is Bridge, and there's some very good bridge games for the Mac. She does the family finances on the puter, and Mac software works very well for her. I like the fact that the system is just a bit more secure than a Windows machine. The chances of getting a zombie on her Mac are much less than on a PC.

For my customers...I build custom gaming rigs if that's what they want. They're pricey, but the graphics are top-end ($500+ for the graphics card alone). For standard business customers, I tell them to go to Staple's or wherever and get the cheapie systems. I'll write them a support contract for the machine. If it's an HP or Dell or other name brand, the support is higher because they're proprietary systems.

If anyone wants a real high-end WAYFAST Frames per Second gaming rig, let me know! ;)
 
I have a felling hat once Mac becomes as popular as windows there will be just as many viruses. Does a Mac system have any type of software for doing school papers, like ms word or ms powerpoint? I am still net sure about getting a mac system which supports ms software. I have noticed some things are not compatible with mac.
Don, how does this work? do they partion a hd and install th ms on part of it or what? Maybe my next system I will lok into a mac.
 
Al killian said:
I have a felling hat once Mac becomes as popular as windows there will be just as many viruses. Does a Mac system have any type of software for doing school papers, like ms word or ms powerpoint? I am still net sure about getting a mac system which supports ms software. I have noticed some things are not compatible with mac.
Don, how does this work? do they partion a hd and install th ms on part of it or what? Maybe my next system I will lok into a mac.
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Hi Al,

As far as Microsoft Office, there is a version for Mac that is totally compatible with the PC version. Microsoft would not allow Apple to have MS Access in the Office suite so FileMaker Pro is sold to replace it. FileMaker Pro is totally compatible with the entire MS Office suite, PC and Mac.

Personally, I would never run Windows on this Mac Book Pro. Why in the world would I want to do that? :rofl:
I have finally gotten Billy Boy out of my house and I do not want him back.

When a web page or what ever automatically downloads a windows virus to my machine, it goes to the desk top with a flashing sign :)rolleyes:) saying "Drag me to the trash please" :rofl:

I suppose people will try harder to write a virus for Mac one day. I have not had a virus in over three years. (Never on a Mac) The Unix based OS is just not structured like a Windows based system. Once the virus is in your desktop folder, it cannot get outside it to go anywhere else. And it simply can do you no harm on the desktop.

To install an application on a Mac, you drag it to the applications folder. (Or run it from the desktop, it doesn't make much difference) It may send a file to the library but that's about it. There is no trash spread all over the machine.

To delete a program, drag it to the trash. The application and anything belonging to it in the library simply goes away. You may find the odd file from a program you deleted in the library but not often and even then, just delete it. :thumb:

One last thing as a for instance: I ordered a 21" Samsung display for my Mac when I first bought my dual processor G4 machine. Along with the monitor came a program on CD to allow you to turn the screen around so it was longest from top to bottom, there by allowing you to see an entire document. I was very unhappy to see that it was only for Windows machines and sent them an email saying so.
A month or so later I discovered by accident why. When I experimented by turning my screen up long ways, my Mac went "Blip" and did exactly what the PC machine needed extra software to accomplish.

I spend a great deal of time on my computers with a great many projects. I had no problems at all switching to a Mac. The only learning curve I noticed had to do things you just wouldn’t dare try on a PC. It just works. A friend of mine who tried for years to get me to switch has a favorite saying. If you think you should be able to do it, on a Mac, you can. On more than one occasion, I have found this to be true.

DT
 
Al killian said:
I have a felling hat once Mac becomes as popular as windows there will be just as many viruses. Does a Mac system have any type of software for doing school papers, like ms word or ms powerpoint? I am still net sure about getting a mac system which supports ms software. I have noticed some things are not compatible with mac.
Don, how does this work? do they partion a hd and install th ms on part of it or what? Maybe my next system I will lok into a mac.
Click to expand...

Al,

Before I get starting rambling on, If you have any questions about Macs or how they work, let me know. I'll do my best to answer them.

Word is the most popular word processor out there for both Mac and Windows. There are others, just not as popular. Same thing for Excel and PowerPoint. If you had a Mac and wanted the compatibility of Word etc but didn't want the actual microsoft programs, you could go with OpenOffice, for free. See my quote below on MS Office and Open Office for Mac.

As to the virus thing, they do exist, but are very rare. If the Mac's market share grows I would expect more viruses. The OS is inherently more secure than Windows, but its not imprevious. Then again no OS is. Just the reality of computers in this day in age.

The idea of running Windows on a Mac is for people who would rather use the Mac, but want or need to run some Windows only programs. Usually you see people using business specific programs and games that are Windows only in these instances. You could choose to run Windows all the time on a Mac, but why get a Mac then? :huh:


If you have one of the new intel based Macs, you can run Windows basically 2 ways.
-1st option is as a dual boot on the Mac. Hold down a key on startup and it will ask you if you want to run OS X or Windows. Windows could be installed on to the same partition as the Mac OS as they can't confilct with each other as different versions of Windows on the same partion can (like WindowsNT, 2000, and XP sometimes can). If you need a Windows only program you just install it when booted in to windows and use it there as you would now.

-2nd option is to install the Mac program "Parallels for Mac" when booted in to OS X. This software basically creates a type of portal directly through the Mac OS so that Windows can be installed on your harddrive and run directly on the same intel processor that the Mac OS is running on at the same time. Windows is not runnng in emulation or in a virtual machine (VM) here. It is directly sharing the hardware with the Mac OS at the same time (rather amazing, I have to say:D ). So if you go this route, to use your Windows only programs, fire up Parallels running Windows and run your program. When you are done, just quit(exit in Windows) Parallels and you are back to the Mac OS.

I know you didn't ask about this, but the Blue Screen of Death does exist in another form on a Mac. It is a Grey Screen of Death - also technically known as a "Kernel Panic". These are very rare on Macs but can happen. I got one when I put a bad USB 2.0 PCI card in my Mac.

Oh I almost forgot.... SketchUp is available for the Mac too.

Man, us Mac People are long winded! :type: :type:


No need to use Windows to use MS Word. Microsoft makes Office for Mac. It has Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and some versions Entourage (this is Outlook for Mac). I have no problems with crossing platforms with any documents from these programs. I routinely take work home (from a PC to a Mac) and then back to work. Back in the early 90s there were some compatibility issues in crossing platforms, but that has long since been fixed.
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/product...pid=office2004


If you have no interest in adding to Billy's billions, there is Open Office for Mac. It is a free open source office suite. I have not tried this out, so I can't vouch for its compatibility. However their site says that they are compatible with many formats, so in theory it will work with the MS office apps.

Here is the link for the Mac version faq
http://porting.openoffice.org/mac/faq/index.html
Click to expand...
 
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-2nd option is to install the Mac program "Parallels for Mac" when booted in to OS X. This software basically creates a type of portal directly through the Mac OS so that Windows can be installed on your hard drive and run directly on the same intel processor that the Mac OS is running on at the same time. Windows is not running in emulation or in a virtual machine (VM) here. It is directly sharing the hardware with the Mac OS at the same time (rather amazing, I have to say).
Click to expand...

Parallels actually creates a "virtual machine" (VM) that you can use for Windows or Linux... If you screw up, you can just toss the VM and create another with the Parallels program. You can create multiple VM's and pick and choose which one to use..

So if you go this route, to use your Windows only programs, fire up Parallels running Windows and run your program. When you are done, just quit (exit in Windows) Parallels and you are back to the Mac OS.
Click to expand...

You don't have to quit Parallels/Windows... Just leave it open and click on the Mac program you want to use and you are in Mac/OS X. Click/choose a Windows program, and you are back in Windows/Parallels.

That's the joy of Parallels, and the new VM Ware Fusion, as they run in "parallel" with OS X (Mac). Apples Book Camp makes you reboot your computer and choose Mac or Win... not nearly as convenient.

http://www.parallels.com/
 
Greg,

Thanks for the correction. :thumb:

I must have mis-read the article on Parallels. :dunno:

As I mentioned previously I have a G4, so I can't play with the new intel hardware. :( I'd love to get my hands on one of the new Macs, but i just can't justify a new computer right now.... and probably for a while....:doh:
 
No prob, Sean...

All this new stuff can get confusing. I have been using Parallels for a about 6 months or maybe more. I have VMs for Windows XP and Ubuntu (Linux). I will be updating the new Desktop for Mac (Parallels) to run Vista.

I have been pretty lucky in that my iMac has run Parallels without any critical problems, from even some of the earlier beta versions. Parallels HQ is in Renton, WA...about 30 from me. I stopped by just to say Hi to the people there several months ago. A nice group.

Here's the config screen for my Desktop For Mac version of Parallels.

View attachment 11340
 
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Al killian said:
Does a Mac system have any type of software for doing school papers, like ms word or ms powerpoint? I am still net sure about getting a mac system which supports ms software.
Click to expand...
My wife uses NeoOffice on the Mac, it's a version of OpenOffice for the Mac. Works well for her. Sun is going to support the Mac with OpenOffice/StarOffice I heard.

There's a version of OpenOffice that runs under X on the Mac, but you have to add the X packages I believe. NeoOffice works well for my wife, she does Japanese with it. This would work for Stu's wife also, IMO.
 
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