PCs, Macs, dilemma!

[jrong]

I've recently been tempted by an Apple iMac desktop. I've had PCs (dual-booting with Win2k and Linux for years) all my life, but think that OS X is the best thing Apple has ever done for its marketing... 😉 The 20" monitor is frankly, also really tempting...

The big drawback for me is that I already have a 3-year old PC that I'm quite used to, and has served me well so far. It may well last me another couple of years before breaking down, so I can't feel I can easily justify a new Mac. However, I might be able to justify it if I can connect the PC to the Mac's 20" TFT monitor - moreover, I can get rid of my ancient 15" CRT and clear a lot of space on my desk! I could use a KVM switch to switch between the Mac and the PC, and use the same (Mac) monitor.

Does anyone know whether it is at all possible to connect a PC to an iMac flat-screen monitor? Do I need special cable plug adapters, or is it just impossible and I shouldn't even start thinking about it?

Has anyone else ever had a similar dilemma?

Jin

 

[Ash]

I wouldn't bother. Backup everything to the harddrive, and have it in an external casing, then dualboot windows and osx on your new mac - then your old pc is technically alive without the bulk.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

The 20" iMac is a complete computer, not a monitor.

Buy it and see the advantage.

 

[jrong]

I am running Linux on my PC, so I don't know if the advantage is going to be that huge. 🙂

However, I do need to run Photoshop and Dreamweaver on my Windows partition, which is the ONLY reason I dual-boot. If they made PS for Linux, I wouldn't even be using Windoze. But dual-booting can be a pain when I need to flip between OSes. Macs will give me the best of both worlds, I imagine. It just seems a terrible waste to "upgrade" a PC that is working perfectly.... so in my mind it would be better if I could still use it. I live in such a small space that it'd be impossible for me to keep two separate computers + monitors.

Jin

 

[kaiyen]

I'm a bit confused.

First, no, you cannot drive just the display part of an iMac with any other machine, PC or otherwise. You can do the opposite, and it supports extended desktop (at one point there was a question about iMacs only doing mirroring, but that was early on).

It seems that you are familiar with bootcamp - you can run Windows on an iMac. That's what I do at work. Most software is designed on a per-machine basis, so you are within your rights to install on both platforms. Microsoft products are an exception, and of course you have to have the media for both (which basically means that, of the major apps out there, the Macromedia ones are the only ones that fit this nice cost-saving loophole).

If you set up hibernation on your windows side, you can hibernate windows, reboot into OS X, then shut down and boot back into windows in about...3 minutes. It's ridiculously fast. I do this probably 1-2 times per day at work. I work predominantly in windows, and use the OS X side for Aperture (which isn't work-related at all 🙂 and for testing OS X apps when doing documentation and for general knowledge.

I think the new iMacs are extremely solid computers for everything, and are at a good price point right now. I will be getting a 20" probably in a few months, and turning this PC basically into a scanning station.

allan

 

[jrong]

The thing about Mac OS X is... I know it has a Linux kernel, but as compared to a Linux machine, it is less flexible for the user? Will I still be able to compile applications on it? What about Latex for Macs? I don't care about Windows and certainly would be very glad to see the last of it, but I don't want to lose my PC running Linux.

From what you all say, the Mac is an integrated processor/display system and does not have a separate monitor as such, thus it is useless to think about plugging a PC in and just using the display. Agggh. Back to the "drawing board". Thanks for the insights. 🙂

Jin

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Jin: You're in London so go to AppleStore in Regents Street and see and try the iMac there.

 

[AndersG]

The thing about Mac OS X is... I know it has a Linux kernel, but as compared to a Linux machine, it is less flexible for the user? Will I still be able to compile applications on it? What about Latex for Macs? I don't care about Windows and certainly would be very glad to see the last of it, but I don't want to lose my PC running Linux.

Ahem, Mac OS X does not have a Linux kernel, it has its own specialized kernel with a *BSD personality/interface. That means the system is "Unix-like" just like GNU/Linux is, but there are certainly differences that can affect the portability of applications (just like the usual mess when moving between Solaris, IRIX, *BSD and GNU/Linux).

Cheers,

Anders

 

[kmack]

The thing about Mac OS X is... I know it has a Linux kernel, but as compared to a Linux machine, it is less flexible for the user? Will I still be able to compile applications on it? What about Latex for Macs? I don't care about Windows and certainly would be very glad to see the last of it, but I don't want to lose my PC running Linux.

From what you all say, the Mac is an integrated processor/display system and does not have a separate monitor as such, thus it is useless to think about plugging a PC in and just using the display. Agggh. Back to the "drawing board". Thanks for the insights. 🙂

Jin

First the OS X kernel is not linux. It is a modified BSD micro-kernel, still UNIX at it's core. Linux binaries will not run on OS X.

If you add the X11 support to OSX (it is included on the install disks) you can recompile most linux apps to work on OS X.

All in all a new Mac with Dual Boot into WinXP will allow you to have the best of breed of Apple, Windows and Open Source software at your disposal.
Go with the Mac, It really is the best of all worlds.

 

[Finder]

There is now a 24" iMac.

 

[jrong]

Oh, for some bizarre reason I thought it had a Linux kernel. Thanks for putting it right! At any rate, it is *very* comforting to know that it is possible to recompile some of my favourite apps to run under OS X as well.

Jon, I've been to the Apple store. It's almost always overcrowded when I go, and the Apple staff have not always been very clued-up about their own systems. 🙁 One of the staff was even clueless when I asked her how to bring up a terminal console and then told me it was impossible (but I found it myself later). But the iMacs look absolutely great. The 20" is a dream.

I guess I am just not used to throwing perfectly *good* old computers away. 😉 Maybe I should think about a Mac Book Pro laptop instead and keep my existing desktop PC (but no 20"... sniff).

Jin

 

[sirvine]

jrong:

I am guessing that your PC has an Intel CPU. If so, there's no reason that I know of that would prevent you from copying both your Linux and Windows installs to your new iMac, and running all three operating systems in parallel.

 

[Goodyear]

Not really addressing the questions asked, but I bought a MacBook a few months back as my portable to se alongside a Windows desktop, and now scanning and other photo-related stuff is all I ever boot the PC for. OS X is the business.

 

[willie_901]

Latex for OS X is available through a number of Unix-based programs that l run under Apple's X-11 program. Non-Apple X-11 environments are available as well.

A Google search on Latex OS-X will get you started.

Latex works great on OS-X.

willie

 

[rncamero]

Jin, although you can't physically connect your PC to the iMac monitor, it's possible to make a Remote Desktop connection from the iMac to your PC:

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/otherproducts/otherproducts.aspx?pid=remotedesktopclient

Good enough for doing sys admin work... any photo/graphic intensive work I end up doing on the Mac.

I would hold off buying a 1st generation MacBook Pro - I think they're due soon for an upgrade anyway. The new desktops on the other hand...

 

[xabi]

get a mac and don't look back

 

[Nick R.]

Latex for OS X is available through a number of Unix-based programs that l run under Apple's X-11 program. Non-Apple X-11 environments are available as well.

A Google search on Latex OS-X will get you started.

Latex works great on OS-X.

willie

Try TeXShop latex. You don't need to run X-11 to use it.
When OSX first came out, I used to run X-11 apps all the time. Now I never do as most of the unix stuff has GUI versions which work fine.

 

[Macpod]

No you cant.

Has anyone seen the 24incher yet? wow!

 

[John Camp]

Don't change yet. Wait for Vista to come out, and then decide.

I run entirely on Macs, having changed a couple of years ago -- and the change was really expensive. The operating system is way better, and the security is way better, but the software is much more limited; Microsoft Word, for example, seems an obvious kludge, and Apple doesn't offer anything as good. Photoshop is the same.

If you want a big screen for a PC, you can buy one from Dell, and I've seen a couple of others around now. They should be plug 'n play with your present computer.

Macs are good, IMHO, for people like me who use computers like toasters. I don't care about the machines, I don't care about the internal works of the software. All I want is a solid word processing program, Photoshop, and a decent browser for the net. Macs are okay with the word processing (as long as Word continues to function -- this is important because most businesses use Word, and I need the compatibility), good with Photoshop, and good on the 'net, although there are some places on the net that don't work with Safari.

Macs, in other words, are easier than Windows, once you catch on. But I think they are also more limited.

JC

 

[jrong]

I obviously do not know anything much about Macs, apart from the fact that it looks good, is far more stable than Windoze and runs all the apps that I need/use at home (Photoshop/Dreamweaver). For word processing, I've not used Word in years, preferring Latex (and some nifty front-ends on KDE such as kLyx or Kile). I've also noticed that OpenOffice offers a decent WYSIWYG word processor for OS X.

I don't have the time nor inclination to download security patches from Microsoft every few days... so my Windoze partition NEVER goes online. Only the Linux one does. This is a major pain for me because I have to reboot into different partitions depending on what I want to do - and an integrated system just seems more sensible.

So the consensus seems to be - buy the iMac, I probably won't regret it...

I'll have to do some more thinking, of course. 😀

Jin