Cadillac Owners Forum banner

What type of computer do Caddy owners use?

  • Mac (X or Classic)

    Votes: 11 30.6%
  • Windows (any version)

    Votes: 20 55.6%
  • Both

    Votes: 4 11.1%
  • Linux/Unix/Other

    Votes: 1 2.8%
4K views 68 replies 23 participants last post by  railven 
#1 ·
Just wondering what you guys use. Seeing as how Cadillacs are premium products and Macs are seen as premium products (even though they're really not) I was just curious what the proportions were amongst the Cadillac community compared to the population at large. I'm the Technology Director for a non-profit organization so I'm just as big a geek as I am a gear-head!

Feel free to list your systems as well.

Please do not turn this into some flaming, this is better than that kind of thread. There are more than enough technology sites dedicated to that.

Main portable - 15" 1.25GHz PowerBook G4, 2GB RAM, 80GB 7200rpm HD
Main desktop - 2GHz x 2 PowerMac G5, 4GB RAM, 1TB (total) HD
Work desktop (just arrived last week) - 24" 2.8GHz Core2 Extreme iMac, 4GB RAM, 750GB HD (running X, XP, Vista, & Ubuntu)
 
#2 ·
Oh dear God... The Mac is the definition of a "care-free" computing experience.

I currently have a Mac-Mini desktop, 2.0 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo, and a Powerbook G4. Also an iPhone and 40GB iPod.

Switched over to Mac almost 3 years ago and never looked back. In those three years, I've never seen a pop-up advertisement. Never installed an anti-virus software. Never seen a virus, spam-ware, spy-ware, or trojan-horse.

You know why iPods are so popular??? Because they're easy to use... Same concept goes into their computers.
 
#3 ·
I'd run a mac...but PC parts are so CHEAP...you just can't beat a 6000+ AMD x2 x64 for 160$.....besides all my business software is PC only, and running the windows emulator on a mac just seems like a waste of time....I know pc's inside and out, it's a little to late now to get into a mac, even though I love them...just don't know the in's and out's of them....so I'll stick with what I know.

and currently

4600+ AMD X2 x64
2gb pc3200
150gb Raptor
320gb Maxtor
some crap vid card so I can use Vista in 'aero' mode

It gets the job done
Besides I use Windows media center exclusively with my Xbox360...Mac doesn't offer that...recording HD is nice ;)
 
#4 ·
I'd run a mac...but PC parts are so CHEAP...you just can't beat a 6000+ AMD x2 x64 for 160$.....besides all my business software is PC only, and running the windows emulator on a mac just seems like a waste of time....I know pc's inside and out, it's a little to late now to get into a mac, even though I love them...just don't know the in's and out's of them....so I'll stick with what I know.
:yeah:

I've been with Windows since the beginning of Windows '98, basically when I got my first computer. Compaq Presario Pentium III. Now I'm on my 2nd Vaio notebook. My first one was a monster of a laptop, with a 3.2GHz Pentium 4 stuffed in it. The problem is because of that, the battery lasted about 30 minutes and it produced enough heat to keep a small family warm. Now I have an FS840, bought it because it's better for college. Smaller, lighter, and bigger HDD. 1.73GHz Pentium M processor, and stays cool all the time.

If I find myself with an extra $2000, then maybe, just maybe I'll consider buying a Mac.
 
#6 ·
I'm on my fourth Mac since 1992, although I've been using them at work since 1990. I buy a new computer every five years it seems, and although I spend about the same amount of money, it's amazing how much more capable each machine is. Started with an LC II, then a PowerMac 6500, an iBook G4 and now a MacBook Pro.

Model Identifier: MacBookPro3,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.2 GHz
Memory: 2 GB
System Version: Mac OS X 10.4.10
 
#11 ·
All 8 of my computers are running on Windows XP.
My wife's crazy tablet PC is the only one that has any issues.
She doesn't use it that much and if she would learn how to clean up her mess her computer would run a lot better.

I was using windows before windows was windows... if that makes sense to anyone.
If you think XP sucks I'll see if I can assemble my old windows 3.1 floppy disc set and you can install that for a while :histeric:
 
#17 ·
PC, wish it was MAC.
 
#20 ·
Oh yeah - got my start with machine language - card-punch/read, tape-punch/read, FORTRAN & a number of other languages at Arizona State. Grew to detest the IBM 1130 (had another small machine we also used, but can't recall what it was).

The 1130 was so damned slow that we Air Force students would write & punch out our programs & sneak over to the university's computer center at night to run our programs on the mainframe. We did have tacit approval from our engineering dept advisor, but were told not to blab about it to others.

The mainframe could run a program in seconds that would take the 1130 close to an hour. Occasionally a miswritten program would result in a loop that threatened to bury the room in paper before we could bail out. Fun, fun...:)

Note the price of this pos in the link, pull it up to current monetary value - makes a modern PC or Mac seem an incredible value. And, of course, either is.

http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/1130/1130_intro.html

http://www.msu.edu/~mrr/mycomp/ibm1130.htm
 
#23 ·
Am I the only Linux user around?

I have Ubuntu installed, and running XP in virtualization only when needed. I can get all the OS X eyecandy plus some with a bit of work. Plus the benefits of not worrying about viruses and spyware. And best of all not having to pay for each new version ;)

I do have a mac hat was given to me, but the processor doesnt support OS X so it doesnt get used.
 
#25 ·
I was raised on IIe's, 6100's and 7100's. My dad has always done editing/digital media/simulation crap for work. So his old company, Institute for Simulation and Training would buy him the biggest and baddest Macs whenever he asked. So thats what i always used up until i was about 14. I remember we had a 7100 with a 33.6 modem. Bad ass machine in its day. Played Chuck Yeagers Air Combat non stop. Effing love that game.

Then we got an AMD 1.6 with Windows and i havnt been on a Mac since. I mean i like Macs, but will never go back. Im too familiar with Windows, and MAcs with Windows are joke.

I now have a Pentium 3 400. LOL. Its a dog. 256mb RAM, 10 gig HD for the OS, and a 40 gig for the music and videos. Trying to run any decent quality video is a joke. Most Youtube crap is jumpy as hell. I have no Video card either. I cannot play music and go on the interweb at the same time. I often type too fast for the computer, and it needs to catch up. Yeah, i need to upgrade bad.
 
#30 ·
Im too familiar with Windows, and MAcs with Windows are joke.
The only reason (besides cost) that I haven't switched to a Mac yet - is my job. I connect to a Novell network and have been using a PC to do this for years. Is it possible to switch to Mac and still get my job done seamlessly? I'm doing web design with this company...

Also.. Tell me more about Parallel Desktops. That may help me to move to a Mac.

Being that the Mac, at this point in time, is not having many viruses created for it (who'd waste their time when nobody is using it?) - this is a huge advantage.. I could probably get away without running ANYTHING - but I'll at least run something...
With the new intel-based Macs, you can install a Mac program called 'Bootcamp' - this software sets up a partition within which you can install Windows XP. Once you've done this, you have a PC & can choose at boot whether you wish to boot into Mac OS-X, or Windows.

Currently, Bootcamp is a download from Apple, but with the next version of OS-X it will be included on the machine. See http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/. I've been working with the downloaded version, but would recommend holding off a purchase, should you decide to buy, until the new OS incorporating a final version of Bootcamp is included with the Mac of your choice.

I've had no problem running Windows versions of MS Office, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, etc., though I have Mac versions of all but Access & prefer them because I'm more at ease with Mac system.

Parallels Desktop is virtualization, but is nearly as quick as running Windows natively - and you can work with both without rebooting. It does have some limitations, but the Parallels folks are continuing to work problems & minimize shortcomings. I'd recommend you browse http://www.parallels.com to get more info.

Unfortunately, one still needs to protect the Windows side of a Mac-hosted PC since it is a PC - which means you will need anti-virus software, etc., on the PC side of the house.

On the Mac side - I've never encountered a virus, worm, trojan, spyware, whatever, that can do any damage to Mac OS. It would be possible, however to pass along a PC bug though forwarding an email to a friend using a PC. For that reason alone, I do run an anti-virus program on Mac side of the house.

Do some thinking on it & if you're near an Apple store, pop in & take one for a test drive. :thumbsup:
 
#31 ·
I know macs can be setup to boot win xp, or run it in an emulator...but why bother? I'd never be in OS X except to browse the web....kinda pointless, I guess thats why I havent switched.....besides all my software and games only run on winblows...and I can at least slowly upgrade my PC if I want a faster one.......If I was doing something with video editing/graphic design...sure I'd have a mac...like the boss said with windows you have to run 30 programs to protect your pc from crashing, and then it crashes anyways and slows way down.....but that would be the only reason for me to switch to mac


as for linux, I installed it (once) on a spare box...I couldn't figure out a damn thing, I may have gotten online...but when I tried to install a program it was all command line crap....screw that.
 
#33 · (Edited)
I'm not going to vote but I will share my opinion. Years ago I would have said Linux, Red Hat specifically. Times have changed. Now I recommend Trustix for server applications and Ubuntu for the desktop. That's not to say I think any less of Red Hat because I don't. I just disagree with the fact that they commercialized the product.

OK so onward we go...

First of all lets start by saying that one of the key reasons to purchase a Mac in the past no longer exists and that's the RISC processor. Since Macs are Intel x86 platform now you're really only buying an OS.

Having said that the Mac OS is nothing more than a pretty interface sitting on top of FreeBSD. SO you're running Linux anyway

Now, I think the new Macs are nice, easy to use and reliable. However the old problems still remain. Market share. It would cost companies far to much money to ditch Windows and migrate to Mac. Besides the hardware there would be a huge learning curve for most.

Not that I'm a MS fan but the more recent version of Windows less Vista, have been very reliable. Since the Windows 2000 kernel Windows has been a decent mature OS. There is still far more software for PC than Mac and there is no shareware / freeware for Mac.

If you've never used a computer before and you want to learn, you could go either way. If you use a PC every day and you know it then there's no technical reason to change.

Now for what I use at home;
Trustix File server / Domain Controller
Red Hat 9 Transparent Ethernet Bridge
4 Windows XP Workstations
 
#34 ·
I always liked the idea of having an "exotic" cpu running in my machines. Unfortunately that also made it a barrier to a lot of people. This is not meant as an insult... but doing what you do does make you slightly out of touch with 90% of the computer buying public. It's those 90% that just want to turn a computer on and use it, they don't care about what's running under the hood or how it goes about it's business, and they don't like to build their own systems. Like I said, I work in the field, but I'll be the first to admit I'm probably only in the upper 20%, I'm more of an administrator... I know Mac and I know Windows and have my certifications for each, but I've never written a piece of code in my life. I've dabbled with linux, but that's about it. Yes there are more software titles for Windows... but there are still thousands of titles for the Mac making it damn near impossible to do something on Windows that can't be done with a Mac. And to say that there is no shareware/freeware for the Mac is just a downright lie. There is a lot of small developers out there putting out shareware for the Mac just as there is a large opensource community for the Mac. I don't wish to start any kind of fight, but it's those kind of comments that show when people have spent no appreciable time with the Mac. I'm forced to still administer a good 50 Windows machines on our network although that number has been slowly decreasing over time. Figures don't lie.. for us atleast 95% of computer troubleshooting is with our Windows machines... and this is on a network that pretty evenly split now. The other five percent of the time when a problem does pop up with one of the Macs, it's usually a five-minute fix. My point... market share does not always equal superior product.

Now I said in the very beginning of this I didn't want it to turn into this is better than that kind of thing. I've done my very best not to specifically point out any flaws in Windows or any specific reasons why I dislike it. I also don't really like to talk about linux that much because I just don't know that much about it.. and I rarely like to comment on things I don't know much about. I've only pointed out some of the good features of the Mac when a question was asked.
 
#35 · (Edited)
There is a tremendous amount of shareware/freeware available for the Mac platform. I rely on a number of elegant shareware programs that simply are not available for Windows machines. One has only to browse www.macupdate.com or www.versiontracker.com & note over a period of a week or two just how many updates flow through the portal.

Yes, Mac OS X rests on Unix - UNIX users will feel at home in Darwin, a robust BSD environment that underlies Mac OS X, resulting in an operating system still way ahead of Windows in terms of stability and usability. The environment is accessible at any time from the Terminal application. You can also run commands that don’t require arguments (such as top) by double-clicking them in the Finder. With the thousands of man pages included in Mac OS X, one can quickly find all his/her favorite UNIX tools.

To say that there would be a huge learning curve for most in moving from Windows to Mac OS X simply does not ring true - you show me someone who experiences great difficulty in moving from Windows to Mac & I'll show you someone with more basic problems.

Ummm, regarding market share - based on this rationale, wouldn't we all be better off buying Toyota, et al, rather than a Caddie? Sure the Caddie is a more elegant way of getting there, but think of the learning curve...:rolleyes: Just kidding...

I'll grant you that many games have not been ported to the Mac OS - so if games are your thing & you wanna go Mac, make sure it's a new one with the Intel processor. I don't really get into serious gaming, but with what limited exposure I've had, I prefer stand-alone consoles anyway...
 
#36 ·
I wasn't saying one was better or worse than the other I was just sharing experienced opinions.

I mentioned market share not to say that one was better but to say that a Windows network is cheaper to maintain because there are far more skilled people to do it. I was looking at it from an overall cost of ownership view.

As far as the learning curve goes you guys must have some really good end users because I live and work in a world where if the Outlook icon is gone form the desktop it's a crisis and the whole world is going to end and I lost all the email for the whole company.

Granted for a somewhat computer savvy person it's a breeze. There are enough similarities so that some people could figure it out but I promise you if you pulled 100 PC's off of people desks tonight and replaced them with Macs, you'd spend the next 2 years cleaning up the mess.
 
#37 ·
I understand what you're saying... :)

Actually Macs work very well in a mixed network environment - I'm maintaining a couple. Hey, one of the reasons that there are far more skilled people to work Windows networking is that there are far more Winboxes out there - another reason is that more networking problems occur per platform - fewer problems; fewer maintenance types required.

While our networks are not all that large (one of 20 machines including 8 Macs; the other of slightly more than 40 with 14 Macs), invariably if there's a computer glitch, it's with one of my PCs.

Mac OS X allows the Mac system to connect to every major server platform: AppleShare, UNIX, Linux and Windows (NT/2000/XP/Vista). This is because Mac OS X supports AFP, SMB/Samba, WebDAV and UNIX NFS file sharing.

Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista: Using Mac OS X, Macintosh clients can connect directly to Windows servers thanks to the SMB client built into the Mac OS. Mac OS X requires a domain, username and password.

Linux or Unix: Clients using Mac OS X can connect to these servers using NFS, just like the other UNIX stations on the network. Viewed from Mac OS X, this is just like connecting to an Apple or Windows server.

Novell Netware: Macintosh compatibility solutions exist for Netware servers (as of version 4.x). Support for AFP is currently built into Novell 6 and optional on version 5.x.

Networked Macs and PCs can share one or more printers.

Mac OS X supports all PostScript printers on the market, but Mac OS X Server is even more impressive when it comes to printing. This is because printers managed and shared by Mac OS X Server are seen as PC printers by computers running Windows and as Mac printers by computers running Mac OS X. Because Mac OS X is UNIX-based, Mac OS X print services are even accessible to UNIX workstations.

Gimme an hour classroom session with each student sitting at a Mac keyboard & they'll never want to look at an Outlook icon again...:D
 
#39 ·
I use Mac OS/Windows/Unix...never Linux yet.
They all have their place:

general office stuff: I use windows, no hassle compatibility within company and external clients
home stuff: music (iTunes Garage Band), Photoshop I use Mac
engineering tools at work: Unix or Windows
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top