Mac - What can I do with it?

Well I finally got my hands on a new Macbook.

I'm very pleased with the multimedia capabilities and have dabbled in some WOW and Quake 3 to pass the time, but what else can I do with it?

I'm looking for some good links/suggestions for the following:

• Emulators MD/Snes etc.
• Games (Ones that will perform well on a Macbook 2.2Ghz with the GMA x1300 chipset.
• Useful freeware.

I'm a total newbie when it comes to macs and google just throws up too much geek talk way beyond my knowledge.

Please don't say go back to windows, I'm not complaining about OS X, I love it, but there's got to me more to it than the glossy suggestions on the Apple website.

 

List of Mac emulators:

http://www.emulator-zone.com/doc.php/mac/

As for games, there are a few companies still doing popular games for the Mac (iD, EA, EVE, Gametap, etc.) although if you want to play games you're probably still best running Boot Camp.

 

Starcraft! not intel native, but so old it doesn't have to be!
Warcraft 3 has universal binaries in one of the patches
in fact, pretty much all of blizzards games!
UT2004 will also run OK I expect

 

Thanks for the info so far!

Starcraft :S I'm moving to Korea in two weeks...best get some practice in.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=938TNncqmc8

 

I laughed and agreed, then I discovered cross over.

Just spent the last two hours playing CounterStrike Source native on OS X Leopard Genius!

 

yeah, you better practice Starcraft! those koreans love that game. lol.

but the real question is this: what CAN'T you do with a mac?

 

Right click

(I hate macs)

 

lol, you can right click on a mac. have you used a mac in a while?

 

The G4's at school have mice that just have a single button and and scrollwheel the size of bat dung. I'm aware of the Ctrl-click solution, but why make a mouse with one button in the first place?

To me, Macs are like shitty computers with expensive, non-user friendly parts that have been glossed up so that all the trendy hipster idiots will think they're cool when they're using their computer. This isn't just Macs, though; I think all Apple products are like this. I dislike my iPod, for example.

I had to use Photoshop on one of the G4's to clean up a t-shirt design. Ctrl-clicking and mis-clicking and using that damned "scrollwheel" the size of a clitoris (and seemingly as sensitive) got on my nerves like nothing else. I finally got so pissed off I just brought out my Eee PC and finished my work on it.

I'm not trying to troll though, guys, so continue with your discussion. I'm glad you're satisfied with a product I loathe. :110:

 

Dont judge a Mac by school computers, I made my schools computers crash every hour basically, and hated OSX until a few years ago. Using your own computer is a totally different experience. You pay for the best support Ive ever had, quality hardware, and software that just works. But its not for everyone.

Adium is the best chat client on any platform, use it.

VLC has its OSX version, use the stable version though as the latest betas have been crap

NeoOffice is a good free office alternative

I used Nestopia for NES, SNES9x for SNES, PCSX for PS1

I use Cyberduck most of the time for FTP

Last.FM has an OSX version...good to go along with the Pokerstars client

Not free, but cheap is EasyBatchPhoto, which I use for image conversion


More to come when Im not on my g3 laptop

 

For those that don't know, you can plug a standard USB mouse into a Mac. And right click.

What can't you do with a Mac? Hmm, upgrade the motherboard? Or the CPU? Or put it in your own choice of case? In fact, Apple don't seem to want you to open the unit at all!

I find that comical.

A PC user will buy a new motherboard and chip to upgrade. A Mac user sees no problem with having to get rid of their old Mac and buy a whole new one to get the latest model!

 

I know you can plug in a USB mouse; my post was meant as a joke but I guess that's lost over the internet.

Everything else you just posted pretty much says everything else I don't like about Apple. I had to open my iPod not too long ago to unplug the battery. I was cursing Steve Jobs and his engineers the entire time.

 

That maybe so, but G3's are still in high demand on ebay and fetch good prices (I got my Macbook luckily for less than the price of a second hand G4) doesn't that say something about their lasting power and the brilliance of OS X? Their usability seems to be incredibly long lasting.

As Borman said, owning a mac does seem to be a very personal experience, I was struggling a few days ago to get used to OS X but once I got everything I needed in place and organised I found it much better, I can get things done now so much easier and more enjoyably than I ever could in windows. Granted the OS is a bit slick and unessacarily glossy but I like it, it's easier on the eyes.

My only gripe is finding a decent chat client that supports hotmail/MSN and video chat. I'm using aMSN but it's bloody awful and mercury seems to kick up too much of a fuss when it comes to video.

 

Tell your friends to get skype for video conferencing!

I found some things about OS X very confusing. Like it wouldn't let me change where to put downloads! It has some weird download manager thing - when you click on the change location whatjumuh, it didn't allow me to browse to a desired folder and select it!

I've used Macs long-term - used to use them every day. OS X is too much re-learning - it is the Vista of the Apple world. Some changes needn't be made.

 

You can upgrade the CPU. And the case is really easy to open on the Mac Pro. And the motherboard is pretty futureproof anyway so

And Ive always been able to change where I want to download something

Other free stuff:
Aleph One has an OSX version (Marathon)
Freets on Fire
Quicktime converts videos
Handbrake for DVD things (I think thats what its for hah)
LiquidCD is pretty good for burning images
Transmission is a solid torrent client

Plus some other stuff that has small uses here and there

 

I'll look into Liquid CD thanks. Transmission is with out a doubt the best Bittorrent client I've used...well for downloading anyway.

What can I expect out of my Macbook when it comes to PSX emulation?

 

It should work well. I can run it almost full speed on my 800mhz G3 so.

 

personally, the reason why i think people buy new macs i b/c they can afford to, I got my PC for 640 bucks, and I upgraded it to the point where it is WAAAY better than sisters mac, and it still cost 1,200$ less
(macbook pro btw)

 

It's one of those things. People who are PC based tend to not see any advantage whilst using Mac. People on Macs tend to dislike PCs.

I've often heard people complaining that Mac users are just those who can afford them and that PCs offer far more for far less. Actually, I would have probably agreed to a point. That point being when the Dual Core macs arrived.

My argument for owning a Mac would be;

Pros
1) Never had a blue screen or crash yet
2) Never had a compatibility issue yet
3) Can honestly say the iMac is simplicity itself as everything built in
4) I prefer OSX to Vista
5) The software I wanted (my brother needed for work) was Mac based
6) Takes up FAR less space
7) Can run genuine OSX, WinXP, Vista, Linux or whatever OS I want using Fusion.
8) Does look so much nicer than my boring old Dell PC

Cons
1) Costs can mount if you let them (but I got mine for 50% less)
2) No way to upgrade or insert any hardware. This is the machine I am stuck with for a few years
3) If you went with Apple parts or upgrades (memory) you'd be fleeced
4) Unless you go for the best machine you can afford most games titles struggle

I'm no expert, but this is my take on it thus far. I have a new iMac and an old iBook G4 and really like them.

Did I spend more on them than on a PC? Not really, unless I was building the PC myself I'd have been charged a similar price given the quality & spec of machine. To get the quality of 24" screen I have bundled with the iMac I'd have had to buy a very good video card and superb monitor so it all adds up.

I use PCs at work every day, all day and I am fine with both and can see various reasons for having both platforms at home, especially for anyone interested in games development.