Why so many Windows users here?

Started by MusicOverGear, October 27, 2014, 05:20:05 PM

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Rhcole

I use Windows. I'm no huge fan though and used to battle with Microsoft in the 90's when they steamrolled many small software companies. However, I have enough competency with Windows that I can fix most problems and get the job done. Mac is more expensive, I don't know the OS, I'd have to swap out all my apps, and it isn't as common in the business world where I make most of my living.

I will sit out Win 8 though, although early looks at win 10 seem promising.

Love/hate.

EVERYBODY wants you to migrate to the cloud though and pay them monthly for everything. Adobe, Apple, Microsoft...

$!!??%^!#$#! THAT.


gumtown

Quote from: Rhcole on October 28, 2014, 07:49:42 PM
EVERYBODY wants you to migrate to the cloud though and pay them monthly for everything. Adobe, Apple, Microsoft...

$!!??%^!#$#! THAT.
I agree.
It's a bit like taking all your savings out from stuffed inside the mattress, and giving to someone else to look after.
Free "GR-55 FloorBoard" editor software from https://sourceforge.net/projects/grfloorboard/

musicman65

Windows here as well. I don't own any Apple computers. I despise ITunes and the terrible file management limitations on "I" devices. That's just me.

I suspect, due to the nature of vguitar users being tech savy, many of us are attracted to more open solutions. I know I am.

shawnb

Windows all the way.

The few times I've had to use Mac I hated it, & found it extremely counterintuitive.  The software was buggy.  Need more time with it, I guess.

I swore I'd never use iTunes...  Until I used it...   Now I walk around with 600 of my favorite cds & LPs with me wherever I go. 

Address the process rather than the outcome.  Then, the outcome becomes more likely.   - Fripp

mbenigni

#29
QuoteThe few times I've had to use Mac I hated it, & found it extremely counterintuitive.

I feel the same way.  Unfortunately, Windows is heading in the same direction with every release.  Tick tock.  I'm going to have to pick a lane at some point and get used to one or the other.

GovernorSilver

#30
Quote from: MusicOverGear on October 28, 2014, 12:15:15 PM
More than zero, which is more than the number of Windows musicians I know IRL, which is zero.

Ok, just curious if you came up with a hard number.   Like 944 Windows users out of 11834 total forum members or something like that.

GovernorSilver

Quote from: Elantric on October 28, 2014, 12:37:52 PM

Suggest Vote for your favorite Music Creation OS here:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=12708.msg92352;topicseen#msg92352


I suspect there's a lot of users who use IOS plus their desktop computer so maybe this should be a multiple choice poll?

papabuss

Most of the 'older' members among us have grown  up with WIN but I'm also looking forward to achieving/buying a MAC system soon... ;)
FENDER STRATOCASTER (1974); BRIAN MAY RED SPECIAL; VG 99; GR 55; Yamaha DX 7

Music was my first love and it will be my last (JOHN MILES)

BackDAWman

I would suggest that for financial reasons I would expect more windows users as it has always been the cheapest way for me as a part time musician. Apple used to be out of my reach.

Of late I have been able to afford an iMac and a Macbook pro. I still find them a little uncomfortable to use and for all my serious work I go back to my HP Elite running Windows 7 64. The first time I ran my brand new Cubase 7.5 on the Mac it crashed 4 times in an hour. I ran it on Windows 7, had one minor crash (turned out to be a rouge plugin) and hasn't crashed now in 6 months.

Getting around the file system seems to be easier in Windows but that could be what I am used to.

highlandsrock

Have to use Windows at work but if I'm spending my own money it's going to be a Mac. I want something that is designed to work seamlessly software/hardware not built to the lowest common denominator or a collection of whatever components happen to be cheapest at the time. Maybe if I wanted to open up the hood and tinker then I would be a PC/Windows user but I simply don't have the technical skills, time, patience or inclination.....

..and yes it does worry me that Apple are becoming the new Microsoft but at least the products aren't mediocre. Zune anybody?
Ibanez RG870 with GT3 internal kit +
GR-33, VG-99, GR-55, GP-10, SY-1000, Strymon Big Sky

Elantric


kenact

Quote from: Elantric on November 01, 2014, 08:12:43 AM


Vote for your favorite Music Creation OS here:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=12708.msg92352;topicseen#msg92352

Elantric, no love for Vista? :)

FYI, for various purposes, I use XP, Vista, 7, 8.1, OSX & Linux. I even have a virtual Win2k hanging around. :)
Godin Session & Montreal FTP, LGXT, LGX SA, Redline, ACS, A12, A11, A10, A4
Danoblaster Baritone w/GK-3
Gretsch Nashville, Viking
Fender Strats
Fret King Supermatic
Larrivee DV03RE
Parker Midi Fly
Seagull, S&P 12
VOX Phantom XII
GR-55, 33, 30, 20, GI-20, RC-50, US-20, VG-99, VP-7
Sentient 6
Cyr 7

Elantric

#37
QuoteElantric, no love for Vista? :)

True - I would not wish Vista on an enemy - Its very poorly supported and very buggy


Id rather use Windows Millenium Edition (ME) or B.O.B)


Latest Poll results Nov, 11. 2014

MarkFromHawaii

Mostly because I use Windows at work and it makes things easier when I remote vpn into my desktop at work from home.  Employees got the entire Office suite for something like $18.  Sadly that means the line between work and home is extremely blurry.   :P
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Elantric

#39
I ditched MS Office 5 years ago - grew tired of the constant GUI changes between Office 2007, Office 2010, Office 2012, Office 2014 - all driven by greed and requirement for new training.

So I use Libre Office instead - which looks acts just like old Office 2003  - its cross-platform for OSX, Win, Linux, and much cheaper!
http://www.libreoffice.org/

http://www.libreoffice.org/discover/screenshots/





kenact

Quote from: Elantric on November 11, 2014, 04:31:57 PM
True - I would not wish Vista on an enemy - Its very poorly supported and very buggy


Id rather use Windows Millenium Edition (ME) or B.O.B)

You say that about Vista, and then bring up Millenium?  ???

Actually, Vista is still supported, and is basically Win7, minus a few bells and whistles. Been using Vista x64 Pro, on a Dell Latitude, for several years. The biggest issue with Vista was the crap performance in the initial release.
Godin Session & Montreal FTP, LGXT, LGX SA, Redline, ACS, A12, A11, A10, A4
Danoblaster Baritone w/GK-3
Gretsch Nashville, Viking
Fender Strats
Fret King Supermatic
Larrivee DV03RE
Parker Midi Fly
Seagull, S&P 12
VOX Phantom XII
GR-55, 33, 30, 20, GI-20, RC-50, US-20, VG-99, VP-7
Sentient 6
Cyr 7

Kevin M

Quote from: Elantric on November 11, 2014, 05:10:05 PM
I ditched MS Office 5 years ago - grew tired of the constant GUI changes between Office 2007, Office 2010, Office 2012, Office 2014 - all driven by greed and requirement for new training.

So I use Libre Office instead - which looks acts just like old Office 2003  - its cross-platform for OSX, Win, Linux, and much cheaper!
http://www.libreoffice.org/

http://www.libreoffice.org/discover/screenshots/

Excellent!  I use OpenOffice both at work and home.

Bryan Michael

I've been using Windows forever, and as such I have a certain legacy of products and software that it has always been cheaper to update rather than start all over again with a Mac and have to re-purchase literally thousands of dollars worth of software. 

That said, over the years - I have used both Macs and PC's and I do have an iPod - and in my house there are two MacBooks (girlfriend and her daughter) two iPads (other daughter and GF) and two iPhones.    Having been a professional creative since the mid-90's, I think there once WAS a time when Macs were a superior platform for that kind of work, that said - I believe the differences have narrowed to more of a "user preference" type of situation.

My observations over the years overall, and in general, and in my humble opinion is that:

APPLE makes a relatively CLOSED system - things are proprietary (connectors, liscences, etc...) - BUT what you are pretty much guaranteed is that everything approved by or branded by Apple will work together, and they will communicate with each other, and you can kind of integrate all of the technology into your "lifestyle" .  Mac hardware  / OS has ALWAYS seemed MUCH more efficient and responsive to me, and it still does.  I have an Android Galaxy SIII and the kids iPhones are IMO much more responsive and the battery lasts much longer.  Those are the benefits, the drawbacks are that you can't use that universal USB charger in the car to charge your iPhone.  Itunes wants to take over your media, cables and connectors are expensive, and you can't just hand someone a file from your iPad by dropping it onto a USB thumb drive, etc...  that's what I mean by CLOSED.

PC's benefit from inexpensive hardware, and a more universal set of standards (USB, etc...) which is kind of a "default" set of standards that make a PC more OPEN (IMO) - there are TONS of apps, many free that allow you to configure your machines in various ways, but it all feels somewhat patched together in many cases - I find current iterations of Windows to be OVERALL the best versions of Windows they have created.  I like Windows 8.1 on my tablet - I just wish software companies would catch up - and that seems to be the real thing with Windows - there is ALWAYS a bottleneck you are trying to overcome, drivers can be buggy, incompatible, etc... and most "off the shelf" computers are chock full of bloatware.    I've been very happy with the way Google applications tend to integrate my Android phone and my PC's at home, and I feel it will only get better, but if I could afford it...I would consider the jump to Mac, but again, that would cost thousands in software changes, and my preferred suite of video editing (my job) is the Sony Vegas suite - which is not available for Mac (yet).  It really comes down to money and legacy migration for me.

Windos

mbenigni

QuoteId rather use Windows Millenium Edition (ME) or B.O.B)

LOL!

OMG that screencap... I completely forgot that BOB ever existed.

alexmcginness

Started with Atari, then windows, then Mac.....then.....back to windows without regrets. I found it true that " changing from Windows to Mac is like moving to a foreign country but not being able to speak the language." I found Macs to be  so illogical that I had to go back. My wife has an Ipad that I find impossible to get to do much of anything except excersise the use of my second language: profanity... while Im basically driving my index finger into the screen harder and harder trying to get it to do anything useful other than waste a lot of time. PCs for me are very cost efficient and tweakable. Ive got three in my studio Lan'd up using FX Teleport and Ive got them all running smoothly. I would like to try another Mac for my VG99 just to see how much better the Mac drivers are compared to the PC ones as Ive read the Mac users have less hassle using the 99 for midi triggering. If it works as advertized Ill definately pick up a used Mac Book for that one feature, but for day to day hassle free logical computing....its windows all the way for me.
VG-88V2, GR-50, GR-55, 4 X VG-99s,2 X FC-300,  2 X GP-10 AXON AX 100 MKII, FISHMAN TRIPLE PLAY,MIDX-10, MIDX-20, AVID 11 RACK, BEHRINGER FCB 1010, LIVID GUITAR WING, ROLAND US-20, 3 X GUYATONE TO-2. MARSHALL BLUESBREAKER, SERBIAN ELIMINATOR AMP. GR-33.

kenact

Quote from: Elantric on November 11, 2014, 05:10:05 PM
I ditched MS Office 5 years ago - grew tired of the constant GUI changes between Office 2007, Office 2010, Office 2012, Office 2014 - all driven by greed and requirement for new training.

So I use Libre Office instead - which looks acts just like old Office 2003  - its cross-platform for OSX, Win, Linux, and much cheaper!
http://www.libreoffice.org/

http://www.libreoffice.org/discover/screenshots/

Most of my customers use various versions of MS Office, so I have to use it myself in order to provide technical support. :(
Godin Session & Montreal FTP, LGXT, LGX SA, Redline, ACS, A12, A11, A10, A4
Danoblaster Baritone w/GK-3
Gretsch Nashville, Viking
Fender Strats
Fret King Supermatic
Larrivee DV03RE
Parker Midi Fly
Seagull, S&P 12
VOX Phantom XII
GR-55, 33, 30, 20, GI-20, RC-50, US-20, VG-99, VP-7
Sentient 6
Cyr 7

Bryan Michael

I've used some free Office alternatives, but I always end up coming back to MS Office - it really does have a comprehensive set of features and I've just resigned myself to learning to adapt between versions.

:-\

Toby Krebs

Itunes blows and will soon be replaced by a $10 a month payment system.
This will give you access to all the music you want for a monthly fee.
Todd Rundgren amongst other recording artists are predicting this.

A couple days ago I downloaded The Winery Dogs live album from itunes and they shorted me one song lol!

It will take an act of God to get it from them/it as I have had it happen before

and songs /content dissapears/reappears once in a while


oh and Mp4s/3s etc...  sound like crap

dont believe me ? go find a nice turntable and play a vinyl record through a decent amp speakers for about an hour

Windows is cool I use it a lot

I am typing this from an ipad I have become addicted to

my house is full of both kinds of computing devices

my 17 year old son builds killer PCs the way he wants them for gaming

I miss the days when we did not have all this crap but I know it has it's advantages

tonite I will gig with an HD500 and GR55 both recently edited on a PC and I will use this ipad to run onsong and maybe SLM at this particular gig


If my rig dies at the gig I will play guitar through my iphone tonite

that's all I got!

admin


alexmcginness

I would suggest to stick with what youre use to. I started on the Atari and went to windows. Windows 7 works for me. I also bought a mac because its drivers for guitar to midi for the VG stuff are better. I use the Mac maybe once every 4 - 5 months now, because its the most frustrating thing to learn if youre a PC guy and NO it isnt easy to switch and the " well I bought a mac and had no trouble at all learning it at all" to me are a  very " selective memory" /willfully deceptive statements.  To each his own. Like I said above, my wife has an Ipad and many times Ive tossed it back at her saying here . get me out of this as Ill just poke a hole in it if I keep trying to get it to navigate. Apple stuff is just a frustrating thing for me to get to work. I do have an older Ipod that does what its supposed to but thats it.
   You can buy refurbished HP Z series workstations for a lot less than a new mac and they work well with the familiar Window operating system. When I pull out the Mac it has to be on good days cause after a while Ill just wind up wanting to cut myself. ( not kidding ) Im still trying to make sense of the mac file system. Ive got files stored on the Mac but the folder/ files/ exactly where they are on the drive thing compared to windows... well the look of the Mac system is a very confusing thing to me.
  Moving from PC to Mac is like moving to another country but not being able to speak the language. If the only computer I had was the Mac... well Id have to spend the time getting my head around the way Mac works compared to PC, but happily Im not forced to spend the time and money learning a completely different way to get me back to where I am now and thats hitting the power button and being able to start work "now"... instead of looking up " HOW TF do I do this and wheres this or that function???"
  The Mac Book does make a better more functional paper weight and it looks really good doing it while Im productive on a system I already know how to work "now"
   Your mileage may vary...
VG-88V2, GR-50, GR-55, 4 X VG-99s,2 X FC-300,  2 X GP-10 AXON AX 100 MKII, FISHMAN TRIPLE PLAY,MIDX-10, MIDX-20, AVID 11 RACK, BEHRINGER FCB 1010, LIVID GUITAR WING, ROLAND US-20, 3 X GUYATONE TO-2. MARSHALL BLUESBREAKER, SERBIAN ELIMINATOR AMP. GR-33.