I Am Making The Ultimate Conversion

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Brewsmith

Home brewing moogerfooger
Joined
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Location
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I was traveling the last few weeks, and was only able to get home for the weekend inbetween going to Sacramento and Chicago. When I checked in last Saturday, I saw the most dreaded message on my computer screen... Operating System Not Found. :mad: It wasn't a big surprise. The system was new in '99 and was slower than molasses, and I could never really get anything done on it anymore. Many of you know that I moonlight as a musician, composer and arranger, and so my computer is more than just a device for chatting on HBT and a platform for Promash. Now that my system is gone, replacement is at hand, and soon. The dilemma is that some of the software that I use is now only available on the Mac platform. So within a week I will officially be a Mac convert and will be sticking it to the man with all the rest of the hippies.
 
Ya know, I've always been a DIY PC guy, but after years and years of replacing this, reloading that, I'm sick of it. I just want the damn thing to work.

I'm probably going to break down and buy a Dell or something, but I wouldn't rule out a Mac.
 
The PC getting replaced is a Dell. Worked great for several years. One time when I reformatted the HD, I had to call up their service center to get a driver for the video card. The guy on the phone was great. I had given him a incorrect model number, I transposed a 0 or O or Q or something like that. He still figured out what I needed and was real nice about it. If I didn't have to go Mac, I'd probably get another Dell.
 
Brewsmith said:
Many of you know that I moonlight as a musician, composer and arranger, and so my computer is more than just a device for chatting on HBT and a platform for Promash. Now that my system is gone, replacement is at hand, and soon. The dilemma is that some of the software that I use is now only available on the Mac platform. So within a week I will officially be a Mac convert and will be sticking it to the man with all the rest of the hippies.

I'd like to learn more about your musical activities. (I am a composer and teach theory/composition at Kansas State.) PM me if you don't want to discuss it on the board.

I'm also a Mac guy :)
 
From most accounts, Dell's service lately has been atrocious. Most of my computers at work are Dells (I have one older Compaq as well), and I haven't had too many problems - the nice thing is that problems at work are taken care of by the IT guys!

My home system is a homebuilt system my buddy Booger cobbled together for me for $200 (combo of his old parts and some stuff we bought at a show). Starting to show its age, it's running out of hard drive space very quickly. Gasp, I had to - and I hate, HATE admiting this - I had to *delete all my porn* before the wife went looking to make space on the hard drive and found it. Aigh.

I know, Cheesehead, I'm hanging my head in shame...

Anyway, I've always been a PC guy, always hated Macs - but I have to admit, we were down with some friends in DC a couple weeks ago, and they have a pair of these very tiny Mac notebooks, tiny but they were very functional, I could type on them very well (I have bass-player hands). After lugging around my eight thousand pound Dell laptop (exagerating a little bit), they were starting to look very nice... and with the new dual-boot system, whatever you call it, I *might* look into the Mac alternative when the time comes.
 
cweston said:
I'd like to learn more about your musical activities. (I am a composer and teach theory/composition at Kansas State.) PM me if you don't want to discuss it on the board.

I'm also a Mac guy :)
I'm kinda half way into a full time music job(s). I have a regular 9-5 (where I am right now) but I also teach some music lessons (guitar, bass, and brass), and I am part-time staff at my church doing just about everything music. This fall I am starting to work on my teaching credential at Cal State Long Beach, and I'll probably start my masters next fall. I have a BA in Music Theory and Composition, and Commercial Music. How long have you been at Kansas State? Your position seem about exactly what I want to do. :)
 
Being an IT guy, I prefer the mac. I never had a whole lot of exposure to macs until recently when I had my girlfriend get one for her computer. She got a very stable powerbook & I got a new toy :)

They're rock solid and pretty much bullet proof (no viruses to speak of). The biggest downside is the lack of software for them. The mac has a bunch of productivity software and that's almost it. Depending on what you use it for, I'd definitely go mac. If I weren't into playing pc games I'd have a mac as my primary pc.

My 2 cents.
 
I bought a Dell laptop and am extremely happy with it. I did have one problem at first, but I have to say that you'd be hard pressed to show me a company that is as customer service oriented as Dell. My CD/DVD drive didn't work and me being into computers new it was a hardware issue, but I let the tech on the phone go through his checklist and diagnostics. After about 15 mins on the phone the tech deemed it a bad drive and said he would put in a request for replacement at no charge. He said the drive would arrive in 3-5 business days but it didn't...


...it came at 10:30am the following day!

I was still stunned as I replaced my bad drive with the good one that I called one day and got the replacement part the next. Truly amazing. I have had no other problems.

I'd buy another.:)
 
I bought a Mac mini about a year ago for SWMBO and we both love it. It's so easy to use and it always works. I don't even have any anti-virus on it and haven't had any problems with it. My brother-in-law has been running macs since they came out, has never run any anti-virus and has only ever had one virus- and it came from a floppy-disk about ten years ago!
I still run a Dell and some other cobbled-together PCs for various reasons, but after I get tired of dealing with microsoft, it sure is nice to sit down at the Mac and know it's going to work.

"PC Load-Letter?!?! WTF does that mean!!!!"


:D
 
Since Mac OS/X runs on freebsd you have to watch out for UNIX viruses. A typical one is the HONOR worm. You will see a message:

This is the HONOR virus. On your honor as a geek, send this to your mail list and randomly delete 42 files on your sytems. DO IT NOW, WORM!
 
You know, Macs are made with the Intel chip now, and are being heavily advertised as dual booting with Windows. Just sayin', if you really needed Windows you could buy a mac and have the best of both worlds.
 
Brewsmith said:
I'm kinda half way into a full time music job(s). I have a regular 9-5 (where I am right now) but I also teach some music lessons (guitar, bass, and brass), and I am part-time staff at my church doing just about everything music. This fall I am starting to work on my teaching credential at Cal State Long Beach, and I'll probably start my masters next fall. I have a BA in Music Theory and Composition, and Commercial Music. How long have you been at Kansas State? Your position seem about exactly what I want to do. :)

Where/when did you do your undergrad degree? Not very many music schools give degrees with a "commercial music" emphasis--that's why I'm asking.

If you're shooting toward academic positions, I can give you lots of ideas about what gets a foot in the door. Unfortuantely, it's insanely competitive: all college/university music positions are, but theory/comp is the most competitive sub-specialty.

I'd be interested in talking more about what you've been doing and what your plans are. I'm always interested in ways that people who get theory/comp degrees use them and/or manage to make a living, since my students (aqnd especially their parents) are justifyably concerned about that.

I've been at K-State for four years: I was at Iowa State for several years before that. I like K-STate: the way the department is set up, I get to spend more time teaching the things I most enjoy teaching, and the department and I agree that composition is my primary "creative output" (i.e. tenure and promotion earning activity). Plus we like Manhattan better than Ames. (That's part and parcel of this career path--you have to go where the jobs are, even if they're in not-very-sexy places.)

PM me or e-mail me at [email protected] if you want to talk more.
 
I always love a good mac vs. PC debate. I've been using macs since 1994 and the operating system has just been getting better and better. Whenever I have to edit a video on our PC based Avid system, I find myself praying for a quick death instead. Part of that is the Avid interface, which I find to be cumbersome, awkward, and needlessly complex... sort of like the Windows interface. Granted, the system works, but it isn't nearly as seamless, stable, or logical as Mac OSX and Final Cut Studio.

IMO, The most limiting factor of the Mac has always been the processor speed. But with the new Intel based computers, that is no longer a problem. Add to that the fact that you can set the computer up as a dual boot system and run Windows if you need to.... That's a real plus. If you go this route though... be aware that the machine is susceptable to Windows viruses, so you'll need to invest in some virus protection.

I have a lot of respect for PCs, and for Windows. Much in the same way that I have respect for Budweiser. Unfortunately, both Microsoft and Bud put out bland products that are consumed in mass quantities by millions of people who don't realize that there is something better out there.
 
I bought the system yesterday. Here's what I bought:

Mac G5 dual 2.3Ghz
Logic Audio Pro 7.0 - recording & sequencing software
Finale 2006 - music notation software
MOTU 896HD - 8 channel audio interface
MOTU Midi Express XT - 8x8 midi interface

My garage will now be a combo brewery and recording studio!:ban:

If it only had a bathroom I'd never leave! :D
When I get it all up and running I'll post some pics.
 
the_bird said:
I had to *delete all my porn* before the wife went looking to make space on the hard drive and found it. Aigh.

No! No you din-uh! All of it? Really? That's like...like...giving up your children? What man should be forced to make such a decision. Buy yourself an external HD or BACK IT UP ON DVD. Or, do like I did a long time ago: put it in a folder called Zappa Videos. My wife hates Zappa.

PM me if you need some replacements. I can burn you a disc that'll keep you satisfied for a few weeks.
 
Oh, I have a bunch of stuff saved on CD, and of course the assorted DVD/VHS collection. There was a stash of older stuff that had to go. Too dangerous in my experience to keep stuff on the hard drive.

Besides, porn is like beer.

A. It's lots of fun to find something new.
B. It should be consumed while it's fresh. Pornography has a limited shelf life; in fact, I think it should come with a "Porn-On" date.

Appeciate the offer, though. A PM with a few favorite sites would be appreciated (I trust your taste)...
 
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