So I stumbled into a "free arcade" while Christmas shopping

[YoshiEgg25]

I wish there were one of these stores in my area. From what I hear, it sounds like a slightly cheaper version of Best Buy.

Also a lot more awesome and a lot less douchey.

And they don't try to sell you Macs! (Hopefully.)

[Dakinggamer87]

Yea I was just at the Frys in Concord on saturday. I always enjoy a visit!

The Fry's in Concord is pretty nice!! Especially, if you live in that area the closest stores were in Fremont/San Jose before they built the one in Concord which was a bit far. I use to always go there before I moved now there are two stores within 10-15 mins where I live.

[lisalover1]

I wish there were one of these stores in my area. From what I hear, it sounds like a slightly cheaper version of Best Buy.

Also a lot more awesome and a lot less douchey.

And they don't try to sell you Macs! (Hopefully.)

Okay, now I HAVE to go. Every time I go into Best Buy, I'm hounded by the people at the Mac booth. Don't even get me started on Geek Squad.

[YoshiEgg25]

Okay, now I HAVE to go. Every time I go into Best Buy, I'm hounded by the people at the Mac booth. Don't even get me started on Geek Squad.

My mom just e-mailed me a story about Best Buy twenty minutes ago about restocking fees (which she's been hit by). I told her that I just tell people to stay away from BB because the Geek Squad doesn't actually know anything.

Also:
http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn ... uyamac.png

I was about to post the image, but after previewing it and seeing the screen stretch, it seemed like a bad idea.

[the7k]

Also, as good as I am at SFII, I found IV really really difficult. I had it set to NORMAL difficulty but often I'd get my opponent's lifeline down really low and then he'd do some sickass super combo on me and end it.

That's pretty much the name of the game with SF4 - the first to pull off their Ultra Combo wins, and the easiest way to power up your Ultra Combo is to take damage.

Never seen a "free arcade", though - the closest being Best Buy, I guess. Did they sell anything there? I just wonder how they make their money. Maybe they get sponsored by the companies - like, it's a way to advertise the games or something?

[CRTGAMER]

I wish there were one of these stores in my area. From what I hear, it sounds like a slightly cheaper version of Best Buy.

Also a lot more awesome and a lot less douchey.

And they don't try to sell you Macs! (Hopefully.)

There is a Mac aisle. But no push from the sales floor associates trying to make a commission. This is why I like Frys over Best Buy. The better prices and less drones pushing sales. Hell, I spent fifteen minutes with the computer parts department associate talking about diode resistance values and analogy of plumbing check valves. Dragged on into capacitors and hydraulic surge accumulator similarity principles, the temporary storage and kick of amps and hydraulic fluid.

[Niode]

Okay, now I HAVE to go. Every time I go into Best Buy, I'm hounded by the people at the Mac booth. Don't even get me started on Geek Squad.

My mom just e-mailed me a story about Best Buy twenty minutes ago about restocking fees (which she's been hit by). I told her that I just tell people to stay away from BB because the Geek Squad doesn't actually know anything.

Also:
http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn ... uyamac.png

I was about to post the image, but after previewing it and seeing the screen stretch, it seemed like a bad idea.

That image such a stacked argument. I can't even be bothered to go into detail as to why it's complete bullshit, it should be obvious. PC fanboys will lap it up though. They love propaganda.

[Specineff]

For the sake of fairness, I would like to ask that you do it, even if it's in a sparse fashion.

I myself planned on doing a "challenge" build some time soon: Getting the exact same parts that a Mac has, build a system, and install OSX in an identical or similar way as a specific configuration, and see if it performs the same, and for less price.

Then post it on youtube...

and then take pics of the MacTards (Not the same as Mac Fans and Mac Users, mind you) as they curl into fetal position in the street, while they drool and mutter "Steve lied... Steve lied to us..."

I noticed the image doesn't list the motherboard.

[Niode]

For the sake of fairness, I would like to ask that you do it, even if it's in a sparse fashion.

I myself planned on doing a "challenge" build some time soon: Getting the exact same parts that a Mac has, build a system, and install OSX in an identical or similar way as a specific configuration, and see if it performs the same, and for less price.

Then post it on youtube...

and then take pics of the MacTards (Not the same as Mac Fans and Mac Users, mind you) as they curl into fetal position in the street, while they drool and mutter "Steve lied... Steve lied to us..."

I noticed the image doesn't list the motherboard.

I've already built a hackintosh. Believe me, I'd rather have a Mac Pro. It works, but I have to be careful what I do with it. It's stable for what I use it for and never crashes but updating the OS can and will just stop it booting, so I'll have to spend a couple of hours debugging it, fiddling with kexts, looking through endless forum threads with anecdotal evidence claiming of 'fixes' etc until it starts working again. The convenience of having a system that just works is worth way more than any 'Apple Tax'.

What you have to realise is that Mac Pros aren't catering for the enthusiast market. They're not even marketed to them, hence the entire 'Pro' line. They're marketed to media professionals, yes you may be able to build a system with similar spec for less money, but can you give yourself a 3 year warranty with free parts and labour? No. Can you guarantee that it's going to give you rock solid reliability? No. When you're dropping 60 grand on a studio, 4 grand for a tricked out Mac Pro that's going to last you 5-10 years is a drop in the ocean. Especially when you're going to be making several grand a month off of it. Hell, rent the damn thing out, you'll get your money back ten fold and then some. Who gives a shit when you're billing it to a record company? I can guarantee that any professional looking at the invoice that says 'mac-clone' is going to snub it and go find the next nearest studio that does run a Mac Pro. I can only speak for pro-audio here, as that is what I have the most experience in. That may speak more about the fickle nature of modern recording where it's sometimes more about the buzzwords than it is about the quality of work but it's still an important factor.

You have to understand that Mac Pros just aren't a bunch of components thrown into a box, each part is specifically selected and matched to the other components along with a custom operating system to guarantee rock solid reliability and efficiency. It's designed from the ground up to work together, and that's exactly what it's going to do. It's all fun and games when you (by you I mean the PC fanboys) say you can put a dual xeon rig together, but can you do it in the same form factor with the same power efficiency, same near silent operation and consistant low temps even after days of uptime? Maybe if you put a lot of time into it but you're going to be paying roughly same price for what is essentially, still an inferior product.

To give an analogy outside of PCs, I build Monome-clones. They probably cost me about £200 each to build and I sell them for £400. They look the same, they do the same stuff, they work with the same software. If anything goes wrong with them, they come to me, I have to fix it manually by tearing it down and diagnosing the issue and replacing the broken part, this could take hours to weeks depending on what part is dead and whether I have a spare, this costs money, and more importantly time. What happens when you buy a Monome from Monome.org? You get a replacement within a week or so (international shipping permitting) that is guaranteed to work. So far I've never heard of anyone having any serious problems with Monomes, they're rock solid. Monome clones tend to be a lot more flakey. Thankfully I've only ever had one of my clones go bad but still. If you're looking for reliability you're going to want to stick to the original. Especially if you make money from it's use (IE Live performer, or you just rely on it for composition etc).

Sorry for the off-topic rant.

[fvgazi]

I've already built a hackintosh. Believe me, I'd rather have a Mac Pro. It works, but I have to be careful what I do with it. It's stable for what I use it for and never crashes but updating the OS can and will just stop it booting, so I'll have to spend a couple of hours debugging it, fiddling with kexts, looking through endless forum threads with anecdotal evidence claiming of 'fixes' etc until it starts working again. The convenience of having a system that just works is worth way more than any 'Apple Tax'.

What you have to realise is that Mac Pros aren't catering for the enthusiast market. They're not even marketed to them, hence the entire 'Pro' line. They're marketed to media professionals, yes you may be able to build a system with similar spec for less money, but can you give yourself a 3 year warranty with free parts and labour? No. Can you guarantee that it's going to give you rock solid reliability? No. When you're dropping 60 grand on a studio, 4 grand for a tricked out Mac Pro that's going to last you 5-10 years is a drop in the ocean. Especially when you're going to be making several grand a month off of it. Hell, rent the damn thing out, you'll get your money back ten fold and then some. Who gives a shit when you're billing it to a record company? I can guarantee that any professional looking at the invoice that says 'mac-clone' is going to snub it and go find the next nearest studio that does run a Mac Pro. I can only speak for pro-audio here, as that is what I have the most experience in. That may speak more about the fickle nature of modern recording where it's sometimes more about the buzzwords than it is about the quality of work but it's still an important factor.

You have to understand that Mac Pros just aren't a bunch of components thrown into a box, each part is specifically selected and matched to the other components along with a custom operating system to guarantee rock solid reliability and efficiency. It's designed from the ground up to work together, and that's exactly what it's going to do. It's all fun and games when you (by you I mean the PC fanboys) say you can put a dual xeon rig together, but can you do it in the same form factor with the same power efficiency, same near silent operation and consistant low temps even after days of uptime? Maybe if you put a lot of time into it but you're going to be paying roughly same price for what is essentially, still an inferior product.

To give an analogy outside of PCs, I build clones. They probably cost me about £200 each to build and I sell them for £400. They look the same, they do the same stuff, they work with the same software. If anything goes wrong with them, they come to me, I have to fix it manually by tearing it down and diagnosing the issue and replacing the broken part, this could take hours to weeks depending on what part is dead and whether I have a spare, this costs money, and more importantly time. What happens when you buy a Monome from Monome.org? You get a replacement within a week or so (international shipping permitting) that is guaranteed to work. So far I've never heard of anyone having any serious problems with Monomes, they're rock solid. Monome clones tend to be a lot more flakey. Thankfully I've only ever had one of my clones go bad but still. If you're looking for reliability you're going to want to stick to the original. Especially if you make money from it's use (IE Live performer, or you just rely on it for composition etc).

Sorry for the off-topic rant.

I completely agree with you, however I choose PC over mac just because I like building things. Also, I just have a problem with all of the control apple has - no matter how great their product is. If I had my own studio or company I would definitely invest in one - just not for play time.