I was just curious about opinions of venerable IQ users on that notorious subject.
Thanks
Jay
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It's a pretty vast subject and if you don't narrow down your question it's hard to answer anything, IMO. PCs can run Windows, Linux, BSD, etc. and even OS X. I guess your question is about Windows + PC hardware ?
I know both Macs and PCs, but I use a PC for these (quick) reasons :
- I'm used to it (not very objective... I know) and... I know all most of my data will be compatible with the external world.
- There's more choice when it comes to software (not to mention games... Although I don't play games) + there's nothing that runs only on a Mac that I'd really like/have to use. Of course, you can always use some virtual machine solution, but...
- There's much more choice when it comes to hardware (in terms of compatibility also).
- The vendor lock-in is certainly not as dreadful.
- It's more configurable (out of the box), no matter what Mac fans will tell...
- PCs are usually cheaper
- I can use IQ with it... ;)
On my PC the applications I use the most are (spend most of my time in) :
Firefox (Same as a mac)
InfoQube (! What else to add... I'd be sad if I was going to switch for a mac)
Outlook 2003 (Works perfectly... It's a standard app, I just manage emails and calendar events with it... Will replace most of it with IQ when it'll be able to sync with my PDA)
TitleLog + ManicTime (Works perfectly... To track how I spend my time at the computer... Free)
Notepad (works perfectly... for quick text editing... Free)
SyncBackPro (works perfectly... There are other solutions, but I bought it a while ago and it does the job perfectly. The free version works well too.)
vlc and Media Monkey (works perfectly... bettter than iTune IMO, and much much less bloated...)
Find&Run Robot + Everything (works perfectly... Great apps... Spotlight and QuickSilver are slicker and more user friendly, but aren't really better)
7zip (works perfectly...Free)
Directory Opus (works perfectly... Bought it a while ago... Not sure it was worth it, but it's the best in class... Great app, nothing better on a mac)
Word 2003 (works perfectly...)
ClipMate Clipboard Extender (Works perfectly... bought it 2-3 years ago...Great app, nothing better on a mac)
Online Armor Firewall (unintrusive, renewed my license this year, works perfectly it seems.)
PS Tray Factory
AutoHotKey
iTune ( yup... I don't like it but I use it... to sync calendar stuff with my iPod. Of the bunch I find it's the worst app (very very slow to start, consumes lots of RAM, etc.) and doesn't offer any advantages (it depends on your usage, of course). I could sync Outlook to Google Calendar and then sync the Google Calendar with my iPod , but haven't tried yet and it seems more convoluted .
Then there are the occasional others like Archivarius, Windows Desktop Search, PDFxchange, Gimp, KMPlayer, JKDefrag, Skype, uTorrent,Acronis True Image, Drop Box, etc.
I'm not sure what a Mac would provide me (in terms of software) that I don't already have so there's no incentive for me to switch...
Other points :
PCs have a reputation to crash more than macs.... I might be true but I found it's not that true. And since Windows 7, waybe is it not true at all anymore...
Macs have a reputation to provide an environment where everything is well integrated. It's true but, again, much less true with windows 7.
PCs have a reputation to be more complicated to use. It's true (much less true with windows 7). But it's not true to say that Macs are that easy...
Mac hardware is usually nice and well thought of. But if you're willing to pay the price (i.e. same price as Mac hardware ) you can have the same quality with a PC.
Macs have a reputation to be more secure. I don't know... Maybe, but I'd doubt so. If one looks at these articles (amongst others) :
So, in the end, it all comes to 1- personal taste (if you just like Macs, find it pretty or like the brand, like the way it's put together, etc.), 2- usage (if you're a Final Cut Die hard user, you'll need a Mac), 3- context of usage (in a "All Mac" context, it makes sense to use a mac)...
I like the look and idea of macs (supposedly easy to use out of the box) but really would personally see no reason to change over to the other side.
macs are used 'traditionally' by the graphics world & the music industry (& possibly other areas I'm not aware of, medical maybe?) but, if you're not working in these areas:
macs are more expensive and there's much less choice of software
windows is admirably safe as long as you keep up-to-date - macs are getting less safe all the time - and they havent gotten to the stage of really working on security the way MS does (has to do)
. . . unless I had money to burn I'll stay with windows - and - think about it, you couldnt use IQ
Thanks you guys. Your answers are actually pretty helpful and interesting.
And yes, I have an ulterior motive. I'm in the market for a new computer. I've decided on PC laptop. No gaming, no movie making, perhaps a little bit of Auto Cad, but not in a really professional way. And hopefully (it's been on my mind for 2 years now, and still not on the next action list!) I would like to learn some database programing. Otherwise mostly writing and managing life.
Unfortunately my budget is not that great, actually $550. One of the things I think I don't want to skimp on are ports. Also the internal bluetooth, but maybe it's less important if you have enough usbs.
Anyway, will be really grateful for any advice on that.
Jay, if you will be using it as truly portable a lot, please consider the combined weight of the laptop/extra battery/and the ac adaptor when deciding on models.. It can be amazing what the combined weight can be on certain models, if you have to lug all it around much. If you're mostly using it at a desk with the ac adapter, it may not matter.
For your needs, a core 2 duo or better processor, 4 gig of ram, and a screen size you like would probably be the main considerations. You should be able to get that for $550.
Just came back from a week on holidays. Beach and sun. Wonderful.
I had some time to think and will share innovations that came from it...
Regarding Mac - PC, my friend had this wonderful 17in Mac.. a beauty... and uses VMWare... well, IQ Portable runs like a charm on it. Twice as fast as on my PC, so if money is no object, Mac or PC, it doesn't matter, as far as IQ is concerned of course!
(one can even set an icon on the Mac toolbar to start IQ as if it was a native Mac app
Just came back from a week on holidays. Beach and sun. Wonderful.
I had some time to think and will share innovations that came from it...
Regarding Mac - PC, my friend had this wonderful 17in Mac.. a beauty... and uses VMWare... well, IQ Portable runs like a charm on it. Twice as fast as on my PC, so if money is no object, Mac or PC, it doesn't matter, as far as IQ is concerned of course!
(one can even set an icon on the Mac toolbar to start IQ as if it was a native Mac app
[/quote]
Hey ! Good to know that you enjoyed yourself !
And.... Yes IQ will run on any virtual machine. It might run twice as fast as on your PC, but... in fact virtual machine will probably always slow down operations abit nevertherless (as it creates overhead).
When a machine is powerful enough this won't be a concern though.
Macs use Intel so will behave exactly the same as a PC which is configured exactly the same (same motherboard, same processor, same video card, etc.). So I guess if one wanted a cheaper Mac, they could look at the specs and build it... A friend of mine did exactly that a few weeks ago. Cheaper... And not necessarily "cheap".
I played the virtual machine game a while ago, and I really found it cumbersome (twice more configuration problems, etc., made the system slower, etc.). To each his own I guess. Granted, it was a few years ago and not as user friendly as nowadays.
For Linux, Wine would be the best option as IQ would basically run "natively" (so to speak) on linux.
If budget is a major constraint, choosing the Windows approach is a "no brainer". Here's my argument.
Entering the Mac "ecosystem" does not cut you off from the Windows world, because as Armando and others have suggested, virtualisation is always an option. But it has major costs:
Because the Mac world is a closed one in hardware terms, with cloners rigorously hunted down by Apple, it has been possible for Apple to continue to specify (and over-specify) what qualifies as a Mac-based system. Further, they can to some degree shelter behind a price wall. So, for a given level of raw system performance, you start off by paying a price premium. That price premium may be justifiable if - like me - you admire the architectural integrity and sheer style pizazz of Apple hardware. But I resist the lure easily - I can't afford that style. Computers are for most of us utilitarian beasts that help us to get real work (or entertainment!) done. Macs cost more initially and they will continue to do so.
As Armando suggests, running Windows apps in a virtualised world has additional system management implications and costs. Can you afford the time - even, have you got the skills or will you have to "buy" them - to manage virtualised Windows apps? Can you afford to keep up-to-date with Snow Leopard or whatever the current Mac OS release is and at the same time pay for Windows 7?
Then follow through the real question, which is, why am I buying this computer and for what? If you need particular graphics or media software only available for Macs, then the argument is clear - buy a Mac! But I can't think of many apps which are Mac-only. It's a generation since the best desktop publishing software was only available for Macs. There are some superb apps which are Mac-only - notably, in the personal information world, Tinderbox. But I can't justify a Mac on that basis alone. If you are, like some of my students, a style freak, who must have the best phone fully integrated with the best music availability and software, all integrated as well as possible with a powerful desktop computer and a pretty little note-taking device, then maybe an iPhone / iTunes / Mac / iPad setup will appeal. But Daddy or the bank manager may have other views...
In the specific case of database. It all depends how serious you want to be about database, of course. But, working on the assumption that the requirement is relatively small-scale: one of the major differences between the Mac and Windows versions of Microsoft Office is that only in the Windows version is the excellent Microsoft Access database included. Access is not available in a native Mac version. Incidentally, the Microsoft Access software is also at the heart of InfoQube, at least for the foreseeable future, so you know already that it works well. Of course there are excellent databases available on Macs. But the market-leading equivalent to Access is FileMaker Pro. FileMaker Pro is ahead of Access in some important respects - notably, it's easy to put a FileMaker database online on the Web. It's possible using Microsoft Office 2010 for Windows to put an Access database online, but in practice prohibitively expensive because it has to be hosted in SharePoint - and SharePoint Server systems are expensive in software or service terms. But that trade-off is not a game-clincher, because FileMaker Pro is available in a native Window implementation anyway.
All system procurements involve compromises. I entered a Faustian pact with the Redmond devil Microsoft in 1987 when I bought an Amstrad PC and its MS-DOS operating system. I've spent a fortune since on MS software. But, for me, that is now sunk cost. To move to a Mac world would cost an immediate fortune - in terms of hardware, new software licences, and perhaps above all in learning new ways to get things done. I doubt that I would get any economic returns (benefits exceeding costs) in any reasonable timescale.
In the case of applications : I know people who bought a mac solely for Final Cut Pro.
Others went for the apple because they were tired of Windows "bugs" and supposedly "security problems". Of course, as the specialized analysts tell us these days : this not true of Windows anymore.
So those already running Windows and "re-choosing" windows are probably the real winners.
Less closed environment + more software + stable + secure + PC + not renewing all those licenses + not having to relearn a new environment = big costs savings... Both in terms of $ and time.
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