Saturday, June 19, 2010

Mac vs. PC for the Trial Attorney

Okay guys, I'm looking for advice from y'all.

Ever since law school, I've been a PC guy, and I'm familiar and comfortable with all that Microsoft has to offer in the way of programs like PowerPoint and such.

But those Macs sure do look purty, and I've been thinking of making the switch (which will cost a pretty good chunk of change). I'm hearing they've got better programs for jury trial presentation.

So, if any of y'all have some input on this, please let me know.

And yes, I know this is a weak article, but I'm in trial, so give me a break!

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

TRY A COMODORE 360 YOU SHOULD FIGURE IT OUT

Anonymous said...

There's nothing you can do with a Mac you can't do with a PC for less money and better results. Macs are a pain to use, and basically suck. I've thought that since my first encounter with one back in the late 80s. If you know Power Point , you are good to go.

Anonymous said...

I am also a pc guy, always had them growing up. Finally got tired of blue screens and locking up. Ended up with a mac and love it. Way more stable, not quite proficient on word yet...it is structured different. Still on County PCs at work...mac at home.

Anonymous said...

I don't know about Mac compatability in the CJC, so you may want to ask Mark Bennette or other Mac users. Macs are definitely the superior product.

You can also use Parallels with Mac, which turns it into a PC, so you have both on one computer.

Anonymous said...

Time to change to Mac.

Anonymous said...

I would stick with what you know. Anon. 10:40 is right. Everything you can do with a PC you do with a Mac. Its probably gonna be cheaper and less of alearning curve, too. Agreed, they do look pretty and if Murray "The Newman" is looking for cool grpahics, that is where the Mac separates itself from a PC. Other than that, i would rely on your wit, charm, bullshit, attitude and experience to get you through the jury presentations.

Just my $.01999 cents

Anonymous said...

Go with Linux! You'll never have any problems!!

Anonymous said...

This is a no-brainer. Get a Mac. They are the superior computer and you will agree after a week of ownership.

Blue screens...not on Macs; Trojan viruses...not on Macs; Compatibility problems with hardware and software...not on Macs.

Now for the naysayers:

Sure you can do many of the same things on a PC. You could also run a marathon in flip-flops, but I wouldn't recommend it.

As for the cost, you definitely get what you pay for. Just ask Michael Pham's clients.

Anonymous said...

There is no learning curve with a Mac. They just make sense. Pure and simple. Point, click, drag...they are so much easier to use and none of the Windows problems.

Anonymous said...

I have a 7 year old Mac Power Book G4 that is still twice as good as any new PC. No problems with compatability in the CJC or any other courthouse in the state that I have been to yet. Yes you will pay more upfront but in the long run it will save you a lot of money and headaches.

Anonymous said...

I have a 7 year old Mac Power Book G4 that is still twice as good as any new PC. No problems with compatability in the CJC or any other courthouse in the state that I have been to yet. Yes you will pay more upfront but in the long run it will save you a lot of money and headaches.

Anonymous said...

I love my Macs, but I have noted a real lack of law practice management software equivalent to that available on the PC. Since I prosecute, that is not a deal breaker. There's a good group of mac lawyers you can join at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MacLaw/join

There's another at: http://groups.google.com/group/milogroup?lnk=srg

Anonymous said...

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/02/23/pc-vs-mac-the-straight-scoop/

Says it all.

Todd Smith

Anonymous said...

Dude, this is your worst post yet. Why not ask people's opinions whether the Go Bots or Transformers are the superior android ass kicker.

Anonymous said...

I'm just not sure a common user of a laptop ever really uses the superior functions of a Mac. They are great machines, at a price, but 95% of what a user does can be accomplished on a $600 Dell.

Todd

Anonymous said...

Apples are used in the movies because linereaders are too stupid to use real computers.

When linereaders start to talk about unscripted things like real life they illustrate their inferior IQs.

Also, as Derek G. Flynn shows us, Macs make you post blog comments twice. Resist the fruit while you still can.

Alex S. said...

I was in a white collar federal trial that was document intensive and it was damn confusing having 20 different windows open (looking at prior statements, etc) at one time on my PC. My colleague used one of those pretty Mac's and had a program that allowed him to view several different documents in a single screen and I was very envious of that. Still didn't switch to Mac though

Anonymous said...

Anon 1:26 PM:

That was actually posted from my office PC.

Anonymous said...

I use PCs at work and Macs at home. A smart user can probably use any computer for the practice of law. If one is an idiot, it probably doesn't matter what computer you use.

Anonymous said...

A colleague of mine who has a Mac said they are superior when it comes to visual and audio functions. For example, videos, music and sound quality, what you can see on your screen. However, far more people use Word and if and when you use Mac's equivalent Word program, there will be glitches. I've seen tons in my line of work. So, I would ask you what you plan on using your computer for? If it's merely a word processor, then stick with a PC. If you need it for audio and video, then buy a Mac.

Sidenote: a grad student told me recently that "all the cool kids have Macs." He was serious. I had to laugh because that sounded so junior-highish! I have a feeling some folks spend the extra money just so their computer does look cooler. They've fallen for Apple's advertising straregy. Buy it because it meets your needs.

Anonymous said...

Micro Center is running a special on MacBook Pro (the higher-end Apple laptop) for $999 when you buy it online (the price doesn't show up until you put it in your cart) and pick it up at the store.

Shari Goldsberry said...

I've had a Macbook Air since March 2008 that weighs less than 3 pounds and is not more than half an inch thick. I use it everyday in my law practice. It has never frozen up and crashed and never had a virus. EVER.

Anonymous said...

Murray, I used PC's for years and two years ago, when my Compaq bit the dust, I opted to switch to the IMAC.

I thought I would like it, but I was never prepared to love it as much as I do.

There is no comparison. A minor learning curve, but it's easy and you'll never go back. I now have gone completely to Apple with NO reservations. Their customer/technical service is light years ahead of any Windows company. I have only had one or two minor issues and Apple cleared it instantly.

I will never go back to Windows at my house. The screen resolution, the absence of viruses, and the overall cleanliness of the working environment makes Apple a joy to use.

And I used to think that Apple users were tree huggers who drove VW bugs....

Houston Artist said...

Hi, As a power user of both platforms I have to go with MAC. I often "get " to do tech support for my family members on both platforms. The issues I get from a PC are much more often and troublesome. Most issues are VIRUS and adware related. I dont even run any virus apps on OSX. not that they dont exist , there are just fewer around I guess.

The hardware these days for WINDOWS and OSX are very similar. In fact ,if you need to, you can run a DUAL boot system on a MAC and choose to run windows on one section of your drive and the OSX on the other. This is a real issue as there is much more software available for the PC (all viruses, just kidding). You may also have some old apps you still need to use.

They are a bit more expensive in some cases but you have to look at specs closely when shopping. Processors, RAM, video graphics ability all vary. By the way I found an amazing deal on the last generation Powerbook at Microcenter about a year and a half ago. It was right when they came out with the new unibody. It has a CORE 2 DUO processor at 2.5 GHZ and 4 GB of RAM. Many of the new processors are close to that or just a bit faster on clock speed. But these days its about multi cores. BTW the powerbook is running swell.!!

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