We have PCs for the staff. my laptop (where I do EVERYTHING) is a 3-year old PowerBook G4, still going strong. (I use Logic Pro for recording music, Adobe stuff for images, etc...)

We also have ONE old dual-processor G4 Mac, with Final Cut.

If you gotta do word processing, spreadsheets, boring stuff like that, your PC is fine.

But…

I will NEVER do music or video on a PC again as long as I live!

Apple has also taken a giant step backward with OS X 10.5. If you look at the first letter in the new MacWorld, it’s a reader agreeing with a previous editorial about how many bugs and problems are in the OS that aren’t getting solved. That reader was me.

You’re right, Jeff, those things should be EASIER to do on a Mac, not harder.

It’s still the only way to do video.

Todd:

I’m surprised in you.  Giving only Mac and PC as choices is so narrow-minded.  You’ve discriminated against other great systems such as Linux.  Are you one of those 2-point OS Calvinists, where it’s either Mac or PC?

=)

--
CS

We’ve been running heterogeneous networks since 2002 without much difficulty. XP Pro, Tiger and Hardy Heron servers (go Linux!) seem stable and have not required much maintenance - even in a small church environment where most people working on the computers are volunteers.

I agree that Vegas works pretty well. It’s learning curve is such that while the potential may not be as limitless as other programs, but it is easy to get good results when people have some skills and not a whole lot of time.  If you are a professional - then enjoy tweaking the final result on professional level tools.

I have lots of comments on this, so I will just have to restrain myself.  We’re definitely in the “Both” camp.  The problem is getting all of them to play well together.  There are software programs that run better (or are only available) on one platform, so that often is a deciding factor.  We have certain teams (video, graphics, music) that are predominantly Mac.  The rest are PC, and our major infrastructure is also PC.  It’s kind of like the response to the old Lite beer commercial when confronted with “Tastes great” or “Less Filling”.  I feel very strongly both ways…

I switched to Mac a few months ago when my PC died.  I am happy with the switch but ALL of my Bible software is currently only available on the PC.  Logos Software is going Mac at the end of the year hopefully, as they are now in Beta. 

So I have a Mac that uses Bootcamp so I can switch to Windows XP when I need to.  I wish I could go all Mac.  I have been a PC exclusive user since 1990.  From 86-90 I used both.  In college I had to use a Mac in one class (Electronics in Music).

The Mac works more efficiently but the cost of the PC is so much lower! 

As for the church.  We use both.  The Youth Minister is currently a PC guy (I will change that HA HA HA...sorry did I say that out loud).  We also use Media Shout which is designed for PC.  To get everyone to cooperate we all use the free and powerful Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org) because we can export to powerpoint for Media Shout or send the documents in any number of formats.  It makes everything easier.

all about Christ,
David Buckham

Great post. I’ ve always been of the opinion that the Mac has stood out amongst even challengers.

Since our church opened its doors 2 1/2 years ago we’ve been using mac.  It’s been stable and great to work with.  We love using pro presenter for our media presentations.  Very, very stable and was created solely for the mac. 

At times we’ve needed to use windows.  we’ve shyed away from using bootcamp because we have to turn the machine off in order for it to work on the windows.

We use VM Ware fusion which creates a virtual environment and I don’t need to log off my mac.  It works well.

By the way Entourage does work with the exchange server.  You just need office for mac, (the one that supports exchange server).
The truth is I believe all born again believers should throw away their pc’s and switch to MAC..

play roulette
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I think each has it’s place. If you are the average person, a PC is the best. If you are a video editor or graphic designer, it seems Mac is the way to go.

I should prefer for Mac.
Day Nurseries Stoke-Newington

If you’re wanting a computer in any facet of your ministry that you want to last, you should get a PC. The main difference of the two (besides price) across the board is the ability to repair & upgrade. To upgrade a PC, you just get whatever programs or parts you need, and exchange them. To upgrade a Mac, you buy a new Mac. I will always suggest PCs to people going into the ministry, not only because of those 2 reasons, but also the sheer availability of free software, upwards of 80% of which is written for PC alone. Mac’s are very pretty, very well-rounded computers, but they are like a robotic dog in the rain: More expensive with less options, can’t learn new tricks as well as the real thing, and will rust eventually. A PC, although a bit messy at times and need a bit of thought and care, will be just as awesome as the time you put into taking care of ‘em. If you get bitten, a person did something wrong, not the dog.

i really enjoyed reading the post, thanks guys