ARR and Mac

[Cedri]

I prefer a hackintosh to an apple pie anyway.

[Laume]

Just for full disclosure, this is my windows 7 laptop. Next to me is a Debian machine and I run a debian lamp server from home. I also have a macbook at home that I use when I don't need a heavy-duty machine but still would need the basics *nix tools.

Some people like macs and they don't want to spend 83% of their time in bash like we do. That's their freedom. Please lay off.

Hippo, here's what I'd personally recommend. Check the specs and make sure it has the hardware specs required. Especially the video card. This will usually mean a macbook pro. Then do what I do, dual-boot/boot camp it. No emulation overhead or messing with configs.
http://www.apple.com/support/macbook/bootcamp/
As long as the hardware is up to specs to play the game, it'll work.

Oh yeah, get an external drive for the DVD's. Worse comes to worse, if you have a machine with a drive, you can probably write an iso from it and bring it over to the mac.

[Hippo]

Just for full disclosure, this is my windows 7 laptop. Next to me is a Debian machine and I run a debian lamp server from home. I also have a macbook at home that I use when I don't need a heavy-duty machine but still would need the basics *nix tools.

Some people like macs and they don't want to spend 83% of their time in bash like we do. That's their freedom. Please lay off.

Hippo, here's what I'd personally recommend. Check the specs and make sure it has the hardware specs required. Especially the video card. This will usually mean a macbook pro. Then do what I do, dual-boot/boot camp it. No emulation overhead or messing with configs.
http://www.apple.com/support/macbook/bootcamp/
As long as the hardware is up to specs to play the game, it'll work.

Oh yeah, get an external drive for the DVD's. Worse comes to worse, if you have a machine with a drive, you can probably write an iso from it and bring it over to the mac.

Thanks Laume, I will wait until Beta phase III to see if there's anyone who tried to run beta on a macbook pro

Who knows, there might be a new macbook pro released in spring!

[Huginn]

The alpha worked on mac, i am pretty sure the beta will too. and i am fairly certain that the final release will as well.
http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManage...sion&iId=26800
Sorry we can not post screenshots of it working due to the NDA.

Macs are PCs. there has not been a real mac since 2005 when they moved to the intel processor.
a mac is now just a super expensive pc with an extra "security" (read "authoritarian regime, you have no rights") chip that tells OS:X (read "FreeBSD rip off") that it is OK to install. You could install windows if you felt like it, good luck with drivers, or you can use bootcamp, the sad attempt at a hypervisor.

The bottom line is that although apple tends to not make any computers that are, from a technical standpoint, utter garbage, they also do not make any premium quality and performance computers.
If you are indeed looking to spend at least US$1,799 on a macbook from apple's store, might i instead suggest the ASUS G75VW-DS71 for US$1,560. It outclasses the macbook in every single specification, with the exception of being heavier and thicker (which i do not consider a bad thing) and having the exact same processor. that will leave you US$249 left over with which you could pay your monthly subscription for two years, or for one year and donate the rest to the tohaku earthquake fund or buy polar bear credits, or even get a nice Walther PK380 to protect your new laptop. I don't care, it is your money and your life, you can buy a few tanga flip holes to mount on your new laptop for all i care, im not going to judge you... unless you buy a macbook.

[Ashiee]

I am torn between buying the latest 27' iMac vs the 15.4' Macbook pro. I already have the previous generation 27' iMac so if I buy the Macbook Pro, can I use the 27' iMac as my monitor?

Can anyone give me some advice? As the new generation macs don't come with a dvd drive, anyone knows how to install windows on it?

I would definitely get a Macbook pro over an iMac. I would just say build a desktop if you were going for an iMac... you can get something much cheaper with way better specs since I'm assuming you keep your iMac in one place.

As for laptops, I think Mac is a decent. I have had both non-Mac and a Macbook pro. I have to say, the Macbook pro is way overpriced, but it is great for a traveling around with, and has been very reliable hardware wise. The other laptops I have had (both Asus) were good, but at some point have had hardware issues within two years, and is not nearly as convenient design wise as the Macbook for carrying around and traveling.

Also just get an external disk-drive to install windows.

[ArkhamNative]

FWIW: It's a violation of the NDA to say if or how well the alpha software ran on Macs or any other computer or OS.

And a correction: Boot Camp isn't hypervisor. It's a dual-boot setup utility for disk partitioning and includes Windows drivers for the Apple hardware. That's it. You still buy Windows (or download Linux) and you install it directly onto the hardware. Mac OS doesn't even run during the install or while you're booted into the other OS. You might be thinking of VMWare's or Parallels's Mac products, which does create a virtual machine session hosted inside Mac OS X.


Not sure why mentioning Macs brings out the genocidal rage-aholics. Like with cars, it's a better world with a variety. Some people like to just enjoy the looks and a soft ride. Others like just getting work done, like ambulance drivers. Nothing wrong with doing your own maintenance and obsessing over component specs as a job or hobby, either.

If Macs were completely horrible at gaming we wouldn't see companies increasingly making games for Mac OS X. Guild Wars 2, Elder Scrolls Online, Borderlands 2, to name a few. There's money in it, even for indies, and entertainment for the consumer, or it wouldn't continue.

[Mikita]

I use both PC and Mac all the time and don't have any particular loyalty either way since I don't care about computer operating systems as long as I can use them for what I want to do.

I must say, though, that Macs are absolutely beautifully made down to the smallest details. Some things that come to mind:

- Mac screens are gorgeous and good for color fidelity and off-angle viewing.

- The Unibody aluminum case is beautiful, and for the Macbooks they slip into a bag smoothly -- unlike most Windows notebooks I've used where there are protruding feet, batteries, jacks, or whatnot that snag on things.

- The magsafe power cord attachment is better than the power plug on any PC notebook I've used.

- The Magic Mouse inertial scrolling works wonderfully. I've tried many PC mice trying to find one that works the same as my Magic Mouse but they all fall short in one way or another.

- Closing the lid on the Macbook to go somewhere, then opening it back up instantly brings you back to a usable state. Most Windows notebooks need to do some "thinking" before you can start using them again.

- The iMac is a very nice all-in-one design that really simplifies the table top clutter.

It's true that if you look at specs alone, Macs will usually be a few hundred dollars more expensive. I personally appreciate the attention to detail and physical quality of the the finished product, so I consider it money well spent. But I understand that these things will not be important to many people, so at least there are many cheaper Windows notebook options.

[Laume]

And a correction: Boot Camp isn't hypervisor. It's a dual-boot setup utility for disk partitioning and includes Windows drivers for the Apple hardware.

I
I must say, though, that Macs are absolutely beautifully made down to the smallest details. Some things that come to mind:

- Mac screens are gorgeous and good for color fidelity and off-angle viewing.

- The Unibody aluminum case is beautiful, and for the Macbooks they slip into a bag smoothly -- unlike most Windows notebooks I've used where there are protruding feet, batteries, jacks, or whatnot that snag on things.

- The magsafe power cord attachment is better than the power plug on any PC notebook I've used.

<snipp>

Thanks for the correction about bootcamp vs. hypervisor, ArkahmNative. I completely missed that (bootcamp is just a stream lined apple version of grub). And also about the note about macs by Mikita. Hardware specs-wise, yes, it's significantly expensive. But with mac's you're not paying for hardware, you're paying for good design (I had to open up a lenovo laptop and a macbook on the same day. One was definitely easier to open and put back together than the other.) All the points you brought up, imho, is spot on. But I think, rather than being hipsters about it, we can just all admit that, some people prefer to have computers that are set up for them and does 98% of what they will need it for rather than having to take to time to install and configure the machine. And there's nothing wrong with that. We can't all be programmers or computer techs.

Even on my windows machines, I have it set up to dual boot into a version of debian. And even when I am in windows mode, I have a cygwin shell open. I mean, I can be a complete douche and go "ubuntu? You mean debian with training wheels? Do you even know how to write your own compilers and set your own ttys? GUI? Pfft! Bash or gtfo" Computers are information omni-tools. Different ones made for different audiences. Like driving automatic versus a stick shift. And, let's face it, if we want to argue about what computer is "better" and how someone should only use one OS over another, we might as well all start arguing about skinny jeans, pabst blue ribbon and what bands we were into before it was cool. And, in all honesty, unless you're one of those minute few that compiles linux from the source code that you yourself modified with your own, hand-written compiler, none of us, linux users included, have ANY right to be pounding our chest about what OS everyone should use. Yes, I am a supporter of open source software. Yes, Richard Stallman is my hero. But unless we of the OSS side want to be like the people we are against, we need to stop treating computers and operating systems like superior fashion accessories and designer brands and more like actual computers.

kill -s 9 `ps fauxww|egrep -i 'soap\ ?box'|awk '{print $2}'`
(a.k.a. gets off his soap box)

[Eekiki]

I had to open up a lenovo laptop and a macbook on the same day. One was definitely easier to open and put back together than the other.

If you're saying the Mac was the easier one to take apart and put back together, I call shenanigans unless you have access to some highly corrosive solvent. Macbooks are 80% computer, 20% epoxy.

[Laume]

If you're saying the Mac was the easier one to take apart and put back together, I call shenanigans unless you have access to some highly corrosive solvent. Macbooks are 80% computer, 20% epoxy.

I was reseating the keyboard on the lenovo t61:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Od48R4XxlU

and replacing the dvd drive on the macbook:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l151W_girY

And cleaning out the dust in both machines.

The lenovo had 3~4 different types and length of screws. A 2~3 more pieces to take a part from different angles. The macbook was pretty intuitive to take apart and put back together so it was pretty quick. The lenovo... I accidentally screwed a screw through keyboard membrane while putting it back together because I accidentally picked up the wrong length of screw....