a MAC or a PC?

[Bartman]

The problem:

Old Win95 machine on its last legs.  Has been fine for what I mostly do with it which was dial-up Internet and minor graphic/video work.  Not worth even trying to get it working with a high-speed connection.

What I want to do:

Create DVD's that play on standard DVD player.  I want to take my hours of vacation video that is currently on a DVD and edit it down to a watchable program.  For example, I took 6 hours of video during my trip to LA a couple years ago.  Almost all of that was not meant to show people in a raw state.  I want to make a nice edited version with moderate to low end of professional looking graphics, effects, etc.

Surf the Internet.

Photo editing/touch up.

Finances.

Vector based drawing (such as Adobe Illustrator).

Scanning photos or negatives.

Word Processing.

Not important:

Games

MAC pros:  Build from the ground up on a graphic enviroment and as such handles photos and videos with ease.
MAC cons: Price of the system and price of buying all new software.  Learning curve.

PC pros: Tons of software and more machine for the money.  Can operate two LCD panels with different information on each.
PC cons: Vista just out.  Wait for Vista to shake out or go with XP?  Not as seemless with photos and videos.

Opinions?  I'm about three months out from a purchase.  I'll make do with the dying W95 machine until then.

Thanks.

Bart

[El Jefe]

While a MAC is certianly a good machine, I would go with a solid PC, Something with a dual core, a gig or more of ram and a 100 gig or better SATA drive, the larger the videos the larger your Hard Drive will need to be. Buy as much Processor,ram and harddrive as you can afford. I have been runing vista since it's RC1 release and I think you will be pleasantly surprised!! Things are much smoother, especially in the areas you are talking about. A good program to edit your videos is a program called Vegas. It will produce quality results for you. Hope this helps. Andy

[tammie]

I just bought a new computer - AMD Athalon 3800+ X2, 1 G Ram, 250 G hard drive
Now if I could find my old emails and address book I'd be a very happy person! 
I bought it here: (and paid $450 including shipping)
www.techforless.com
Gotta say - wonderful customer service!  I had a question about windows Vista, they called back fast!
Tammie

[Bartman]

Cost alone may negate a MAC that is for sure.  Software is the big killer for just about any machine.  Used to be hardware was the big one, now it's software.

Tammie, did you get Vista on your new machine or are you upgrading to Vista?  The problem with Vista may not be Vista, I just don't know anything about it and haven't found any good reviews that aren't based on a beta version or a business standpoint.  It does seem to me that if I have to get a new machine that getting the newest OS would be logical.

Bart

[tammie]

I got a "vista ready" machine.  I have a free upgrade, but I'll wait awhile before I load it in, let them get the bugs out first!
Tammie

[Timgod]

I bought a Dell laptop in Dec. I ordered my free upgrade yesterday for Vista as well. From everything I've read it is much more stable if your computer can handle its massive requirements. I too will wait until I make sure the drivers for all of my other items are ready for prime time. I just read the other day of a problem with certain HP printer software even though HP has known about Vista's oft delayed release.
I looked at a 17" Mac Laptop since with bootcamp you can easily run dual operating systems. However the laptop would have been more than $1000 more and that would not have touched on the fact that I would sooner or later need to buy different versions of software that I already have. Like you said, Bartman, Software is the big killer.
Tim

[tammie]

Yep, I agree Tim, I'm gonna wait to load in Vista.  On the news yesterday they were saying that your Ipod won't sinc with Vista.  Saying it will take a few weeks before Apple has a fix.
Tammie
Now can anyone tell me where my old emails and address book went?

[Sean]

Hi Tammie,

Are you using the same hard drive that had your address book and emails?  If so I can help you. I had to move mine back after I reformatted my main hard drive.

If you have problems, I can offer to take control of your computer remotely and do it for you with a program like Windows messenger or Netmeeting. I do this for MikeW all the time.

Cheers,
Sean

[SheilaJ]

I got a super price on a Gateway desktop package before Christmas for my daughter. I make a point never to get a Windows operating system until it's been out for months to a year at least; there are just too many bugs in the early versions. Plus you can save a TON of money now on a system with the older Windows. I figure most of the software I need will be available for at least 3 to 4 more years, at which point, it will probably be time for a new system anyway.

I do wonder about the peripherals. When I upgraded from Windows 95 to XP years ago, I hadn't counted on the fact that my printer, scanner, and much of my software wouldn't work on XP. Lots of extra expense I hadn't counted on! I'm assuming Vista is not such a big change at that was.

[tammie]

Sheila you usually don't have to buy new hardware, just update the drivers.
Sean, I'm not using the old hard drive.  I made a backup of the hardrive onto a external hard drive.  Loaded all my programs into the new hard drive, then transfered the data I wanted.  The problem seems to be that the IE and outlook  are "read only" files.  I've "un clicked" all of the folders, making them not read only.  But every one of them change back to read only!   .  If I could figure that out I'd be able to transfer them.  Today I'm going to hook up a data transfer cable from the new computer to the old one and use windows transfer.  I'm hoping that using the windows transfer will allow me to transfer just what I want, and not everything. 
Tammie

[Bartman]

So is there any good online reviews of Vista that aren't about beta versions or business end of things?

I'd say three months is my time frame to buy.  I'll have house issues to deal with until then.  I'll be able to do a bit more research and looking at both MACs and PCs.

This one will hopefully hold out for the small stuff until then.

Bart

[EagleEye]

Bart,
Run this,

crucial.com/index.asp

It will tell you what memory that you have and what you can go to.

Steve

[Bartman]

I know what my existing system has and where it can go and it boils down to being good for a boat anchor.  It's at least 10 years old and not worth upgrading.  I'll be going for new.

Bart

[Desertponder]

I prefer the Macs over a PC but many of the points you bring up with the Macs are indeed issues.

Can operate two LCD panels with different information on each.

You can do this on Macs too. We have ours here at work set up that way. We each have two large LCD monitors.

Macs are great if you want a really stable environment. They don't get viruses and you don't have the risk of a virus destroying a machine. I think that is well worth the extra cost of the machine. If you don't have the money for a brand new machine you might want to consider looking at a refurbished machine. You can get a good machine for much less $$$. I always buy used or refurbished for my personal use. Trying to keep up with the cost of Macs is difficult. I struggle with it. Most of us here at work make copies of softwares for our home machines. There is also the issue that Apple upgrades their OS pretty regularly. If you don't keep up with the upgrades and miss a couple of generations you will have to buy a whole new current OS in order to keep upgrading. Your machine will also not last you 10 years if you want to keep up with software upgrades. Upgrades will usually outrun the machine in about 3 years. Then you have to upgrade the machine itself in order to keep upgrading software. Its tough to keep up with. If you really need the graphic capabilities of the Macs then it is the only way to go. It is the standard in the graphics world and necessary if you need to work seamlessly with other people using Macs. I don't imagine you need to do that.
If business software, games, etc. are more important to you then the PC would probably be your best choice for you. You'll definitely have more software available to you at less cost.

[LeeAnne151]

When I went to upgrade to Windows XP on this computer, my peripherals also would not work AND several of them did not have drivers available. So, I uninstalled it.

My scanner and CDR-RW drive did not have available drivers.

My monitor, printer and digital camera did.

[Bartman]

Since I have a 10 year old W95 machine it's all an upgrade all around with either system!  I might be able to use some of my old software, but overall I know this will be a major upgrade.

I'm still not seeing much in the way of reviews on Vista.  If I go the PC way there is no sense in getting XP.  I'd just be one step closer to obsolete again!

I still think I'm about three months out from anything.  I'll get moved and get the new computer room set up then start computer shopping.

Bart