I’m fully aware that there are many music editing options for both Mac and PC. I just installed a “lite” version of Cakewalk for my mom, and it looked a quite incomprehensible to my newbie eyes (not that I think I’m beyond learning it). My mom, however, would never learn it. She will, however, be able learn Garageband. Same goes for iPhoto and iMovie.
The reason that these iLife apps (specifically iMovie, iDVD and Garageband) are making such a stir is because they are so easy to use. That’s the market that Apple is reaching with these apps. As far as I know, there’s no Windows music app that is cheap, easy-to-use and has as much power as Garageband. If I’m wrong, please direct me to where it is. I’ll happily install it on my PC. And remember, it has to be under $49. That’s how much the whole iLife 04 program is: for that you get iDVD, iPhoto, iMovie, and Garageband. (You get iTunes too, but everyone can get that for free now.)
I happen to own Photoshop so I don’t really use iPhoto, but I don’t delude myself that just because some of us understand and prefer the intricacies of Photoshop that there’s no market for iPhoto.
The retail price for Garageband (if you divide it up with the other iApps) is $16.
Not that Acid doesn’t look nice… But how easy is it to learn? I created my first piece (and it wasn’t bad, considering that I have no real ability) a half an hour after installing Garageband.
Now, to be fair, Acid does sound interesting and I will probably contemplate getting it for my PC. But one of the most important criteria is how easy is it to learn? I produce my first piece (not bad, either) after half an hour. And no manuals or tutorial files were consulted. Just opened it up and used it intuitively. How easy are these other apps? Would my computer-phobic mom be able to use them? She hasn’t done much with Garageband yet (she’s still learning to use her computer) but she grasps the principles just fine.
Also, my math was wrong. $12.50 for Garageband if you divide it four ways: iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD and Garageband. I took out iPhoto out of my personal calculations because I don’t use it much. But I probably should—it’s great for organizing photos, so I hear.
It always has, in list view. It won’t show if a folder is empty or not, but the file tree is there, topping out at disk level.
I could be wrong, but I think Apple’s GUI came before Windows’ GUI, so Windows is trying to differ itself from the Mac, it seems. I’m actually annoyed, because it seems that quite a few OS X features are based on similar Windows features.
As was said, try the control panel. Just like in Windows. It’s even in the same location as in Windows, excpet for the Apple/Start menu.
Try blowing a $40,000 print job because your client got pissed off that the shade of green on your Windows monitor doesn’t match the shade of green on his new brochures, because Windows does not have any sort of integrated cross-device color synchronization system that Macs have. That’ll get you moving over to Macs toot sweet.
That’s like saying the rest of the world is messed up because they have their own languages, instead of speaking English like all Americans do. :rolleyes:
Bottom line: there’s nothing a Mac can do that a Windows PC can’t do, and vice-versa. The question is how much easier it is to get things done, and on that regard, Macs win 9 times out of 10.
And for your amusement:
“[FBI agent] Dave [Thomas] had some surprises up his sleeve as well. You’ll remember that I said he was using a ThinkPad (running Windows!). I asked him about that, and he told us that many of the computer security folks back at FBI HQ use Macs running OS X, since those machines can do just about anything: run software for Mac, Unix, or Windows, using either a GUI or the command line. And they’re secure out of the box.” –The Register
I only have a demo so far but from what I saw of Garageband, it appears the process is the same. Drag & drop loops and worry about special effects later. Even though the demo is limited to only five different loops per song (IIRC), you should try it out.
I only have a demo so far but from what I saw of Garageband, it appears the process is the same. Drag & drop loops and worry about special effects later. Even though the demo is limited to only five different loops per song (IIRC), you should try it out.
Let’s just leave eBay sales out of it, please! iLife 04 has only been out for a few weeks and will be less likely to garner low eBay sales (though a few on sale for 40-something are showing up). Not everyone shops on eBay or feels comfortable buying second-hand stuff. (Not me, though—I love eBay! ;))
Hey, it sounds interesting, and I will definitely try it out on my PC (next time I fire up my PC). Truly, thanks for the link!
However, the download for this demo is 30 MBs. Garageband is 1.4 GBs. I suspect that perhaps—just perhaps?—it comes with a bit more.
And there’s still the price issue. It’s hard to find 1.4 GBs of an application for the equivalent of $12.50 retail, I suspect.
Another question: one thing that Garageband has is real-time playback. (I am a newbie to all this so I am not really sure what they mean.) Is that something that is standard in all these lower-end PC music apps as well?
I believe Acid and cakewalk both support real time playback. I remeber working with acid a while ago with some friends. my friend would play keyboards, I’d play guitar and I’d use acid for the beats and adde din some loops to make it sound like we had a whole ochestra backing us up.
BTW: Abouit the size descrepancy, I’d wager that the garage band app is only a few hundred megs at most. Likely, the large size is due to all the extra loops and sounds that the app probably came with.
I don’t think the demo has many included loops or beats.
Yeah, I should have corrected that. It would be somewhat horrifying if the entire app was 1.4 GBs! But the loops and instruments and whatever all added up to 1.4 GBs. No need to look around for freebie loops and extras. They’re all included in the $12.50 price!
About 30, IIRC. The full version has about half of what Garageband does but 400 or so isn’t too shabby and I think it’s possible to create more loops from MIDI files.
Vice-versa? What the hell are you talking about? There are so many programs that won’t run in Mac, because they are designed for windows. It’s ridiculous to say a Mac can do anything a PC can do. Macs are more stabile and look nicer and are easier to setup, but really can’t beat the versatilaty of Windows.
I just noticed you posting in another thread about someone asking for advice on what kind of PC to get, and you come in with your high and mighty Mac “virus free” advice. What the fuck is your problem?
Yes, there are a lot of apps that run on the PC and a few of them have no equivalent on the Mac side. But not that many—most, I suspect, are for fringe apps for very specialized markets. But, true, there are some apps that have no equivalent available for the Mac. And I doubt that most Mac users are aware of the deficiency, since they never will use these “fringe” apps.
I think what rjung was trying to say is that there are equivalents in Macs to popular PC software. Word is available in both systems. Photoshop, Dreamweaver, CD burning software, DVD burning software, etc., etc. are available on both systems. Now, granted, when you get into specific games, the PC has much more so if someone is a diehard gamer the PC is probably the way to go. But for most people, who simply want to do some word processing, get on the Internet, process their digital photos and rip and listen to CDs, either platform will do the job.
There are many programs that only run on the PC, but Macs have a few that are not available on the PC. Like Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack, Garageband, and the rest of those fabulous iLife apps (with the exception of iTunes, which is now available for Windows).
Ehhh…perhaps a bit smug, but still, quite true. Sorry, but it is true. I haven’t updated for viruses on my Mac since . . . well, forever, it seems like.
Actually, there is a manual eject on the slot-loading iMacs. Look closely at the cloth cover inside the slot–you should see a pinhole at the very far right. That’s the paper-clip eject spot.
The newer LCD-panel iMacs, on the other hand, appear to have no manual eject other than the keyboard button–if that doesn’t work, you’re screwed. (I haven’t used that model very often, though, so I could be wrong.)
I’m talking about the vertical lines that appear on the left side of the folders in Windows Explorer, as seen in this screenshot here.
That and the contents indicators are pretty much the only Windows features I covet. I wish the Mac shareware community would port them over. I mean, we already hijacked the taskbar for our own nefarious purposes; what’s a little file-tree system theft?
Ryle Dup, you realize there’s a difference between “Macs can’t run this program that does X” and “Macs can’t do X”, right? And that just because a Mac user don’t use the same program you use to accomplish X, that doing X on a Mac doesn’t render an inferior result?
And remember, it has to be under $49. That’s how much the whole iLife 04 program is: for that you get iDVD, iPhoto, iMovie, and Garageband. (You get iTunes too, but everyone can get that for free now.)
