Macs and PCs Can Coexist! Who Knew?!?!
So anyone that knows me knows that “I’m a PC”… But lately I’ve been toying with the idea of buying a Mac. I do a lot of video editing as the Technical Arts Director at OSLC and a lot has changed in the video production world since I built my custom desktop PC a couple years ago. I bought a Sony hard drive video camera that records in HD and I haven’t been able to figure out how to edit and render the file that it creates when it records in HD yet. I think I need to upgrade my software. So I started doing some digging online for some answers and every tutorial I found was focused on a Mac. I left my office last night with my computer still on and Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 still opened so I could pick up right where I left off in the morning… in utter frustration.
So I finally got home last night and found this blog post by Zac from NewSpring titled There Goes The Neighborhood. Check it out! Our Saviour’s is currently a little behind the times technology-wise and I am also acting as the IT specialist… We have a team of old and outdated desktop PCs cranking away as access terminals to our server farm. We use Citrix which allows us to keep old and crappy computers employed in what really is a young computer’s market. I mean… don’t get me wrong… I’m happy that we’re able to provide jobs for the old and the weary… but my eyes are always being dazzled by the newest sexiest computer system… dreaming of a day when all of our employees would have new computers and a server system that would allow them to utilize some local functionality.
Citrix basically pulls up a new window that takes over the screen. That window is a PC desktop complete with it’s own taskbar and start button. When our employees log in to Citrix they are then working on a computer located in another room… using our server for its processing power and everything! Like I said… this is what allows us to provide jobs for all those crappy Windows 98 and ME machines…
When I see a blog post like the one mentioned above… where everyone gets to choose between either a Dell or an Apple laptop and everything is up to date and integrated… I… well I melt. In that Blog’s comment section Zac mentions that at Sun Microsystems their employees are allowed to pick their platforms and that they were all responsible for their own support! Wow!!! I guess only at a company such as Sun would you be able to expect your employees to be able to support their own computers. My response to that… it’s 2008 people! Either you know how to use a computer or you don’t… and if you want to stay competitive in this growing age of technology… LEARN! Yes… I’m the only 23 year old on staff… so as the young tech arts guy it is easy for me to say that. Thing is… I taught myself everything I know when it comes to software and navigating my way around a PC. But let’s not become complacent with the idea that Graham will come to the rescue all the time. We are in the beginning stages of putting together some basic file management and excel training courses that will be offered during lunch hours for our employees. I’m really excited about this and I hope that tech training can become a normal thing for us as staff.
So bottom line… to be true to this post’s title… I’m becoming more and more comfortable with the idea of owning a mac. Money’s tight right now so we’ll see how long it takes me to actually make the purchase but I’m going to try and bring OSLC into the 21st century… slowly and surely I’ll do it… stay tuned!
-Graham
Good stuff, Graham — keep learning. And keep teaching. And, for the record, I still have a PC on my desk.
-z
Thanks for the encouragement Zac! I’m learning a lot from NewSpring… hopefully I can visit someday!
Awesome new blog dude. For all the stuff you do, a new Mac would probably do you a world of good. I muddled over the decision myself for a few months before landing on the MacBook Pro. Best purchase decision of my life. We also have a MacPro for the main machine in the AV loft at Knox and it works flawlessly. I think I’ve crashed the thing maybe once, but I was kinda asking for it. I think the key to the Mac’s success is standardization. Anywho…think about it…come to the Mac side!
-Matt Sunblade
Yeah… I pretty much just need to find the money… I’m probably going to Colorado to ski twice this season…
Graham:
I totally recommend a Mac for anyone these days. Other than the cost (which, although pricey, gives you equivalent power with similarly priced PC hardware now), it pretty much allows you to run anything. With Parallels and a copy of Windows, you can run all your Windows software on the MacOS desktop, too (I have about 5 apps that only run in Windows, so this is key for me). As a long-time Unix administrator, the Unix back end of Mac OS X allows me to work on a lot of things related to my job as if I were running a server on my desktop… and the A/V integration is unmatched, IMO.
So… join the club of folks who are saving their pennies for their next Mac. I’m right there with you, and am planning to purchase a couple of Macs in 2009: a notebook for me (still torn on which one) and an iMac for Carrie to do her video/web/desktop publishing work to replace the 2004-era one she’s still using.
@Chris Colburn
Is there a reason why an iMac might be better suited to video editing than a notebook? I like the portability of the notebooks but would primarily be using this for video editing.