Frustrated Mac Editor

[crowboy]

I post this because I was just dealing with a frozen Mac and cannot figure out how to restart the piece of shit.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/vci_9yaOZe4&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xd0d0d0&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/vci_9yaOZe4&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xd0d0d0&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1</a>

And just because its true.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/JixbzFjv_cU&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xd0d0d0&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/JixbzFjv_cU&amp;color1=0xb1b1b1&amp;color2=0xd0d0d0&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feature=player_embedded&amp;fs=1</a>

[Deafula]

I've edited on both systems for over 4 years now and the real answer is that all computers are horrible, awful robots that waste hours of our time. If you use your computer for more than word processing or number crunching on a daily basis, you will become filled with rage at least twice a week, if not significantly more.

I know both OS's pretty well and there is so much that can go wrong on either system that it's totally trivial to suggest that either is superior. It's just the method you prefer to get fucked.

[crowboy]

True enough except that word processing or typing an email can also crash your computer. Today I merely clicked an icon and the Mac froze like a block of ice.

PCs, as flawed as they are, are still real computers. All Apple products, from iMacs to iPhones are just expensive toys.

[jdv]

Look, y'all know I started w/ a Mac - our 1st 3 movies are edited on a mac...

But I wouldn't dream of using one now.  Here's the main thing - at least you can upgrade a PC.  It's so hard to upgrade a mac in any meaningful way w/o spending so much money you might as well buy a new one.

Macs are easier for a novice, there's no doubt.  The learning curve on a PC, especially 5-10 years ago, was steep.  But PCs are friendlier then ever, while macs continue to a weird version of the '1984' commercial that made the first mac a minor cult hit.  That is to say, utterly controlled from one source, super rigid.

PCs, like democracies, can be messy difficult things to control.  But it's the only way to fly.

F macs.

[Deafula]

True enough except that word processing or typing an email can also crash your computer. Today I merely clicked an icon and the Mac froze like a block of ice.

PCs, as flawed as they are, are still real computers. All Apple products, from iMacs to iPhones are just expensive toys.

I guess that's not my experience, but I am using a 4 year old Mac at this point and I don't do graphics on it, just straight editing.

I also laugh at the whole thing because PCs are turning into 10 year old Macs, Windows 7 is so much like the initial OSX it's scary. I know they still allow PC users some old-school creature comforts, but don't be shocked if Windows 8 starts stripping some of those options away as well. The interface is pure Mac these days.

But it's the only way to fly.

F macs.

Tons of professional editors are still using Macs, I'd argue that in the 5 magazines that our shop subscribes to, I see more articles about Macs and Final Cut than any other professional set up out there. I just read a huge article about how the RED Camera team developed their entire suggested workflow around Final Cut because they saw more professional demand for a Mac-based set up, and how badly that's fucking the PC world when it comes to using those cameras.

Again, I prefer editing on PCs and I generally like PCs more, but I think there are boatloads of professional editors who are deep into the Mac world. Our biggest slow down at work is dealing with pre-captured video from other companies; almost no post-house that we work with deals with PCs so we're often taking Final Cut files from other companies and spending the time to transcode them into something we can work with. From New York to L.A., we're constantly being second-guessed by our peers for working with PCs.

That's why I stand by my opinion: it's simply a matter of which way you prefer to get fucked.

[crowboy]

With a Mac, it's a lot harder to unfuck yourself, even with a deep wallet. IMO. Mac can do one or two things well, but on a PC you can do thousands of things.

[Deafula]

With a Mac, it's a lot harder to unfuck yourself, even with a deep wallet. IMO. Mac can do one or two things well, but on a PC you can do thousands of things.

I don't disagree, but my PC has dug me into the deepest holes I've ever encountered as an editor. My Mac will basically just say "Fuck off" if I try to introduce something it doesn't work with, which is frustrating, but my PC will try to work with it, fail, and then utterly crash and create the need for something drastic, like a total re-install of the Adobe suite or some other such nonsense.

All I'm saying is that a ton of people still lean very heavily on Macintosh for professional needs, and in their hands I don't believe it's a toy. They've learned just as much about the unfucking process on a Mac as we have learned on a PC, we're just out of that world and don't know the tricks. We can't discount all Macs just because of personal negative experiences.

[crowboy]

Final Cut had at least a five year head start on Premiere, not doubt about that.

[timmy242]

You can't upgrade a mac or buy more memory or kit bash it to do your will.  That's why I've stuck with PCs.  (I have an old Mac Classic box that I used all through college to do my WP and have worked with both doing desktop publishing/technical writing)  Prefer PC also because Steve Jobs is a control freak.

[Deafula]

You can't upgrade a mac or buy more memory or kit bash it to do your will.  That's why I've stuck with PCs.  (I have an old Mac Classic box that I used all through college to do my WP and have worked with both doing desktop publishing/technical writing)  Prefer PC also because Steve Jobs is a control freak.

Actually Timmy I have been upgrading my Mac for years when new OS's come out, and you don't have to delete everything on your system to do it. I actually think Mac's major advantage over PCs is upgrading the OS's.

I've also bought more memory and RAM for it, and installed it easily. There are little slots you open up and you just plug it in.

Isn't kitbashing when you paint models of spaceships?

[timmy242]

Isn't kitbashing when you paint models of spaceships?

I built a spaceship out of my old mac. 

[timmy242]

I've also bought more memory and RAM for it, and installed it easily. There are little slots you open up and you just plug it in.

Maybe now and only after spending thousands of dollars on Macs, but it didn't used to be so.  Most I ever spent on a PC component is like $300.

[crowboy]

When you update with Windows 7, you don't need to wipe your hard drive or apps anymore. Not a bad idea to steal from Apple.

[Deafula]

I've also bought more memory and RAM for it, and installed it easily. There are little slots you open up and you just plug it in.

Maybe now and only after spending thousands of dollars on Macs, but it didn't used to be so.  Most I ever spent on a PC component is like $300.

All I'm saying is that most of this stuff is pretty easy to do. Those must be very old school Mac problems because I've had 2 iMacs in the past 15 years, both which were very easy to update and add RAM/memory to. And I promise you that I maybe broke $1000 in total costs on my Mac earlier this summer, and that's with 4 years of buying more RAM, more memory, a USB hub, several external hard drives and 2 different printers.

That is excellent that Windows finally wised up on the updates. Of course, if I were to update to Windows 7 right now, it would totally fuck my edit suite, but that's cool for those who can use it. When I updated to Windows Vista I lost several files that I couldn't get back due to the backup software not catching everything, including the edit projects for my last 2 Dope Tapes. It was incredibly frustrating.