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Do you plan on purchasing a MAC?  

186 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you plan on purchasing a MAC?

    • Yes
      132
    • No (I am happy with OSx86)
      45
    • No (I will never buy a MAC)
      9


42 posts in this topic

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i already own a Mac so i'm not gonna vote. bought a G4 Mac Mini early last year. wish they had released the MacIntel then and not now. oh well. was very tempted to buy a new MacIntel when i heard the news you could dual boot, but couldn't justify the cost (would have wanted a MacBook Pro, or at the very least an iMac). so here i am experimenting with my PC, and just bought some upgrade parts to build and run a cheap OSX86 machine.

Yeah.. I guess this doesn't really pertain to already MAC owners. The reason why I ask this question is I wonder if the OSx86 project is helping Apple by bringing more Windows users to experience MAC and eventually go on to purchasing a MAC or if it's hurting Apple by allowing OS X to be run on much cheaper non-Apple hardware thus losing the people that would buy a Mac if OSx86 were not an option.

I suppose this thread doesn't truly pertain to me since the intent is to discover if OSX downloaders will now buy a Mac, but I'll toss in my experience (and motives) on the martter. I'm largely a PC user who dabbles in the Mac side. I purchased my first system back in 2003 (15" flat panel iMac G4), and then "upgraded" to a Mac mini early last year. I've been impressed with OSX so much that I intend to make it my primary platform of choice. My original intent was to download OSX x86 purely for the challenge...because it fun to hack the hell out of software and hardware. :)

 

But in all honesty OSX runs so bloody fast on my old Intel system (1.7GHZ P4 Dell desktop), compared to the PowerPC based mac mini, that I plan on using it instead....BUT I only intend to use it as a holdover until my dream system rolls this coming August, when Apple unveils its successor to the PowerMac line based on Intel's Conroe processor. At that point I will be wiping my HD clean and installing Windows Vista on this rig (I'm in the Vista beta program). So yes, I will be buying ANOTHER Mac.

I think the Mac's are rather expensive compared to PC's, but I'm considering getting a Mac Mini if OSx86 becomes too hard to update and loses alot of driver support. I really enjoy the look and feel of OS X now that I've actually used it for a while, but I don't think I could give up all the apps and games I use Windows for. So I'll probably end up getting a Mac Mini if I had to get a Mac.

Well I would like to buy a real Mac. I went to the Apple store last tuesday to have a fiddle (after checking out osxx86). At this stage I would not buy one as it would make sense for me to wait until Apple release a workstation version powered by Intel.

 

However looking at the mini and the price I have to say I am tempted. When you look at the engineering behind it, its bloomin fantastic. Its a sexy lifestyle product.

 

Another factor is work. I've had to be wintel compatible which is a drag as i've used osx before although not like its my own and fiddle with all the settings etc. TBH I detest windows. Something random is always going on behind the scenes causing it to bugger up. Now I install osx on my pc it's hacked, not official, theres no proper driver support yet its installs way faster, boots faster, the interface just works.

I'm looking forward to the first Intel-based PowerMacs. Dual Core Duos and a 500GB SATA would be nice, for starters, okay Steve & Co.?!?!?!

They'll use Conroe processors, not Yonah like the current Core Duos, but yeah I'm interested what they'll be like as well.

 

I couln't justify spending the money on a mac, they're too expensive in general and OSx86 is running surprisingly well for me. Besides I'm triple booting between it, Suse and Windows so I'm not hurting in any way.

Two comments:

 

1. It's Mac not MAC (MAC is a cosmetics company).

2. for those of you saying the hardware is too expensive, I suggest you try comparing pretty much any Mac (especially notebooks) to pretty much any Dell or Gateway computer with exactly the same specs and features that come standard on the Mac. Most of the time, the price difference is minimal or non-existant (sometimes the Mac is even less expensive). Don't keep trying to compare the bottom of the barrel PC to a Mac because it is never a valid comparison because Macs tend to come with more features as standard equipment.

Well after being a former Mac user... switching over the Windows and getting a taste of Mac OS X, I'm really debating to get a ibook. The last OS I used from Apple was OS 8.1. At the time, it was MUCH better than Windows 98 (more stable, better interface), but got hooked on NT. Now that XP is out it's eh... it's not quite NT, but at least it's not Win9x. Mac OS still has the better interface and stability, but a LOT has changed. When I first ran OS X, I didn't recognize a lot of it. Now that it's on Darwin, it's a heck more advanced that it previously was. That made me interested in learning how to work with Darwin. Prices... you can get a cheap computer if you look well enough. I'm debating to get an ibook g3 700mhz... it's not the top of the line, but you can get it for around $330 bucks. Windows compatibility would be nice, to run the games, but Virtual PC might be "ok" if I can at least get a 200-300mhz equivalent PC. I'm debating to get that or a Dell Axim x51. I already have a VAIO ultraslim notebook, so it's not really that I need another notebook... it's just the hardware I would want. Well whatever the case, trying out OS X did make me want a Mac.

As others have said "It's a bit expensive" for what it does. If the new 12" iBook (bare) is under $1000, I'll buy one.

 

If OSX86 reaches the same speed of XP, there's no point to buy commodity hardware with 30-40% markup.

Sure, the Macs "look" sexier, but for the average Joe-Consumer what it comes down to nowadays is price.

 

I couldn't justify spending $2,500 for the top model MacBookPro unless I was a designer/artist.

 

On the OTHER side, I would buy a Mac if more X86 apps would be available. A perfect example of what is holding me back at the moment:

 

"Reason 3.0", a popular music creation program is available for OSX. Ok great. But my Reason 3.0-using and music-making competitor has a Creative X-FI sound card. Can I buy one of those for a Mac? No. What does this mean? My competitor has a sound card that has 30-35 times more performance over a standard AC97 sound chip. You wanna upgrade your graphic card to give your games more "Ooomph"? Well dear Apple, where on your site can I upgrade my graphic card so I can play these cool games?. Oh wait, I've got a very limited selection of first-person shooters and "Sim" games. Where is the value in that?

 

If this whole "virtualization" thing becomes a reality, then sure, give me a Mac. But at that point, is it still a "Mac" ??

I've been using Apple's since the Macintosh+ which are now used as fish bowls he he. But corporate america forced me to work on PC's for a better part of my career. I felt a need to return back home so to speak. He he. So I tried a 10.4.1 install (Aug 2005 - He he) last year on my spare PC box and I was hooked!

 

Now I have a new MacBook Pro 1.83 Ghz. , My photograghic collection is stored on my main OSX86 box and my daughters OSX86 machine was converted from a PC running Windows XP Home.

 

I'm extremely happy with these changes and looking forward to more.

 

Cheers,

 

 

 

 

Just wondering how many people who have been Windows users up until now are planning on purchasing a MAC now that they've had a taste of what it's like? I know that I'm seriously considering it.
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