Thinking about getting a Mac.

[Haru]

I don't like macs, I rather have a pc.

[Nomi]

I don't think anybody actually likes the Apple commercials, so don't go about thinking that all Apple users are pretentious little asswipes or anything. I can't stand Apple's advertising, I just happen to like the OS.

That said, as far as Macs being too white, I tend to agree. I love the black iBook and the candy-colored iMacs are childish, but neat. The key lime iBook from the G3 clamshell era was an awesome color, I wish they'd bring it back or something.

Or, for you rich fucks with loaded parents- http://www.colorwarepc.com. There, go get cool paintjobs.

[Kimo]

Originally Posted by dj Yuz

So you really just wanna try something different? I've got another idea aside from the Mac.

How about Linux? Knoppix, Fedora, Ubuntu... You can run it off a live-CD to try out several distributions, run it off a good number of architectures (x86, 64 bit, powerpc) and play Stepmania (assuming it likes your video card... this is another problem with Linux)

If you hate what you see on the live CD, just take it out. That simple. Otherwise, you can dedicate a whole PC to it and start doing some Stepmania and Firefox. Be warned that Linux is even worse of a gaming platform than Mac and requires more hands on work to get it to do what you want. But hey, it's free.

You know, I completely forgot about Linux until you said that. I rmember, one of my friends had it. It looked kinda like Windows, and well, it was free. I've also heard many great things about it.

...

...Maybe I should get Linux first...Where can I get it (that's virus-free)? How big is the download?

Also, which version of Linux is better? I heard that Red Hat was the way to go, but there's also Mandrake and all those others...

OK, Red Hat is a subscription OS? o_O?... Then no to that...

[ultralowincome]

Originally Posted by AkiraKinyota

I want to get a Mac. The only sad thing is that I can't run most of the IIDX sims or Pop'n sims. I'm not much of a PC gamer (save for Morrowind), it's more of the Bemani sims that I'm going to miss out on if I get a Mac. And they're a bit pricey too... ;_;

dual boot it with Windows. You can have both now, you know? But whether or not you want to lose disk space with two OS's is up to you, plus the whole secuirity/virus/spyware thing you somewhat lose when using Windows... do what I did, get a low end PC that's good enough to run those sims and games, and use the Mac to show off to your friends and such...

[dat shit cray]

Originally Posted by TyTigeriku

Also, which version of Linux is better? I heard that Red Hat was the way to go, but there's also Mandrake and all those others...

First, Red Hat basically isn't in production any more. They kind of hopped ship over to Fedora. Which isn't a very good distrobution either.
Second, Mandravia (Mandrake) is the worst possible distro you could ever use.
Third, if you're going to try linux and you know nothing about it I would suggest that you get started out on a nice little distrobution called Ubuntu. As far as distrobutions of Linux can go, Ubuntu is the most user friendly. It comes with a bunch of packages that are already configured for Ubuntu, so it saves you a lot of time and effort. If not Ubuntu, I'd say look into live CD distros like Knoppix.

Lastly, if you think that Linux looks like Windows and are running on the false presumption that Linux/Unix is completely virus free, I'd suggest that you don't hurt yourself by even trying. I swear, the magic of using Linux wears off after a few weeks and then you'll go back to using Windows all the time.

Also regarding Linux downloads, usually the disc images will be around 700 MB (i.e. roughly the capacity of a CD-R) and depending on how many packages the distrobution comes with, there will range from 1-4 disc images. The most discs I've burned for one distrobution was 4 for Fedora, and only 3 are used during installation. Also, I'd suggest getting Nero Burning ROM to correctly burn the CD images onto a CD-R.

[I AM THE PROPHECY.]

Originally Posted by DeusExMachina

[IM G]http://www.ctrlalt del-online.com/comics/20060513.jpg[/IMG]

CAD sucks shit, so please don't ever post it! Anyway Toyo seriously don't get a Mac.

[dj Outlaw]

Originally Posted by Irob

Ubuntu. As far as distrobutions of Linux can go, Ubuntu is the most user friendly. It comes with a bunch of packages that are already configured for Ubuntu, so it saves you a lot of time and effort. If not Gentoo, I'd say look into live CD distros like Knoppix.

Lastly, if you think that Linux looks like Windows and are running on the false presumption that Linux/Unix is completely virus free, I'd suggest that you don't hurt yourself by even trying. I swear, the magic of using Linux wears off after a few weeks and then you'll go back to using Windows all the time.

Agreed. Fedora has become far too bloated now with a whopping 5 CDs to install tons of redundant software (How many e-mail clients do I really need?)

Ubuntu was a very nice distro when I tried its live CD, so definitely try a Knoppix and Ubuntu live CD. You can install either one onto the hard drive.

Also, there aren't any really widespread Linux viruses out right now but there's always a risk with any OS. So in short, don't develop stupid habits and don't run in the root (admin) account all the time and you should be fine.

But look at it this way, if the novelty of something new was what you wanted, Linux won't be nearly as expensive as the Mac.

[Reecebullet]

Well i have never been to fond of them but there OK

[stuartwood89]

Somebody likes the tokens.

[ranatalus]

Originally Posted by stuartwood89

Somebody likes the tokens.

also the banned

[stuartwood89]

Originally Posted by tοph

also the banned

Spiffing.

[phuzion]

Come on guys, no derailing.

[Blackraven]

Usually, the people I know that get Macs are mostly part-time DJs or those that are into sound-editing, mixing and whatnot or basically those running related programs (no wonder Ableton seems to favor running OS X Leopard more than Vista). I too am thinking of getting a Mac cause I want to become a part-time Trance music DJ and Ableton allows me to do so easier (easier than learning beatmatching on vinyl turntables which are OLD imho).


But in your case, what are you going to use it for? Oh here is what you said:

just want it to get me online and to run StepMania, if that helps

Just for Stepmania? The heck? Unless you're gonna get boot-camp and do dual booting (though that WILL take space of your hard drive), then why even bother? Does Stepmania even run on MAC OS X to begin with? Remember, OS X is written using UNIX architecture so it may not be compatible (unless otherwise).

And besides, why even buy a Mac for gaming purposes? I can't even see the logic of reasoning behind it. 90%+ of computer games are on PCs.......while the only less than 10% of them (mostly as ports released by EA and Blizzard) support Mac. It's also very rare to find games that are mac-exclusive.

So, unless you're doing video production, music production or photo editing, be advised that you DO NOT play games on a Mac (for reasons stated above and more).

[stuartwood89]

Originally Posted by Blackraven

Does Stepmania even run on MAC OS X to begin with? Remember, OS X is written using UNIX architecture so it may not be compatible (unless otherwise).

Stepmania.com - Downloads

Also works for Linux, which is yay for me.

[KyahRyorin]

I used a Window's for 12 years. It was good, until I tried upgrading and downloading stuff to my hard drive. Next thing I know: BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH. I had to repeatedly restart and try to fix my hard drive, until I just got an entirely new one.

Problem is now... the new hard drive sucks even more than the last one did. XD I went from a Windows 98 SE to Windows Millenium Edition. IT SUCKS. UGH. XD It's WORSE than 98. Really.

I got a Mac iBook G4 when I went into college, and that was almost 2 years ago. It's been working like a charm for me, and I love it to pieces. I have StepMania on it as well and it runs perfectly fine. XD

So go ahead and get a Mac if you want. I did and I totally love it. Plus, worse comes to worse, you can always run Parallels on your Mac and run Windows XP.