And the PC/Mac debate rages on.

[armyofme4340]

1. It's not a 'couple extra bucks'. More like 400$ (MBP starts @1200$ you can get a GOOD pc for 600-800$)

2. simply not true, just make sure you don't install *as much crap as possible*. Just keep the computer clean. (which wouldn't be too hard because the laptop would be 'for DJing ONLY')

You don't need a macbook pro to dj.

You can use the cheapest macbook which is $999 and it will run just fine. That's what my boyfriend uses at 3 year old $999 macbook. he can run traktor and ableton on the same system, flawless.

[mostapha]

Macs are just better.

For real life: if you like it, there is nothing I've seen for Windows or Linux that works as well as Exposé with hot corners or gestures. Quicksilver is amazing, though there are other things that do something similar (like Gnome-Do on Linux). They're stable, and even halfway advanced setup/networking like ssh/ftp/afp/web servers are insanely simple.

For production: Macs have dominated in the professional realm for music/video/photo editing and creation for years…there's a reason. From all of them supporting firewire to the way that the desktops have always better-implemented SCSI, they're just more professional machines.

I couldn't go back to Windows, even if I wasn't doing audio. I'm a computer geek…I can make a lot of things work, and I spent more than half my life using almost every version of Windows from 3.1.1 to XP. I get the inner workings of a lot of it. I've edited registries, and I've dumped and forced edits to sam tables while recovering from a virus that randomized XP login passwords.

I've also had problems on OS X, but they're easier to fix.

Unix is just better than Windows, and OS X is by far the easiest version of it for normal people to use.

IMHO, the only reason to buy a Windows PC in this day and age is if you can't afford $1000 for a Macbook.

As far as what you actually need for DJing, a Macbook will run just about everything as long as you have enough ram. For production, you might want to jump up to the 13" or 15" MBP mostly for firewire 800, but I don't think it's necessary. My older (c2duo 2.16) Macbook runs Ableton Live just fine.

[mmauve]

Am I the only one who is kinda bummed that there aren't enough audio interfaces or devices which fully utilize FW 800? (aside from external HD enclosures). It's nice to have the capability either way I suppose.

Anyhow, yeah, Mac user here, love it for all the reasons everyone else has mentioned. The workflow using the mouse pad gestures is really nice (Alt+Tab just seems so archaic lol), and the price premium is there for good reason. Apple tech support is also among the most revered in the industry, I've not once had a bad experience with them. Wish I could say the same with most OEM support who immediately point the finger at an "infection" or user error of some sort even if it isn't called for.

I also boot camp an nLite version of XP which runs with no issues, and linked that to VMWare Fusion 3 so I can access it quickly without rebooting, or if I want to fully take advantage of the hardware, just restart into XP with no problems. OSX can read NTFS just fine, it just can't write to it, so if you want read/write capability, install NTFS-3G and thats pretty much takes care of it.

Either way, I think alot of people are turned off by the idea of getting a Mac because of the learning curve (which is really minimal, and makes more sense than Windows in many respects), or compatibility issues, which can be handled with the methods I mentioned above.

[wrong chris]

stability/performance isn't really an issue these days. neither is perfect, despite what many Mac fundamentalists will say.

The thing you need to consider is what software you want to use for producing because not all of it is available for both platforms. Logic is widely recognized as the industry standard for producing and recent versions are only available for Mac. So if you have your heart set on using Logic, then that's a deal breaker. On the other hand PC has comparable DAW softwares to Logic such as Cubase and Ableton, it also has many 3rd party plugin/instruments that are not available for Mac - so if having a larger selection of instruments/plugs is what you want, then that's something for consideration.

[GPS]

plain and simple i've never had my mac crash, get a virus, or just die.

I've had my macbook pro for 4.5 years. it runs super fast and smooth. just spend the extra cash on a mac..

Now how "fast and smooth" does it run compared to when u got it. What is really interestig me to get a mac is the fact that people that have had it for a while say they still run perfectly fine to this day, and fast as well

I dont know if i can say the same for PCs though

-Gianmarco

[mmauve]

I dont know if i can say the same for PCs though

Because it's dependent on the knowledge and usage of the user. Windows has a higher market share and thus is exploited more often, thus caution needs to be taken. I've had PC laptops, still do, as with custom built desktops, and they run like champs predominantly because I take care with what I do on them, etc.

It's kind of like a car, the better care you give it, the better it will perform in return.

[GPS]

Because it's dependent on the knowledge and usage of the user. Windows has a higher market share and thus is exploited more often, thus caution needs to be taken. I've had PC laptops, still do, as with custom built desktops, and they run like champs predominantly because I take care with what I do on them, etc.

It's kind of like a car, the better care you give it, the better it will perform in return.

my dad took excellent care of my laptop, after 3 years he gave it to me to use in college, ive had it for one year and it always takes some 10-15 minutes to fully boot

[Jester]

Well my win 7 64 bit laptop turned up today so i'm just going thru the process of setting that up. biiig step up from xp, haven't got traktor etc set up yet.

[bmo]

I have a macbook pro, mainly because most people in my program (urban design) have one, I am a die-hard windows user, my mom is a computer programmer.

Anyways, I've been using the Macbook pro for djing and it's been solid, but if you're looking for a computer to WORK on as well as DJ, I would probably opt for a windows laptop. I have the windows office for mac, but it is shit compared to the windows version. I have windows running on a partitioned hard-drive, for when I want to use it. BTW you can't play games on a mac, or if you can it has shitty support and costs 2X as much.

So if it is SOLELY for djaying i would opt for mac, but if it is for work as well, I would go for a windows.

[re8]

Am I the only one who is kinda bummed that there aren't enough audio interfaces or devices which fully utilize FW 800?

FW is going to be replaced by USB3 in a few years.

Anyhow, yeah, Mac user here...(Alt+Tab just seems so archaic lol)

So is only 1 mouse button.