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aquajet

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Feb 12, 2005
2,386
11
VA
A recent hardware failure (my HP printer) has required me to use the old Mac Plus and StyleWriter printer (both of which still work!) sitting in my closet to print out copies of my résumé. I figured it wouldn't take long to re-type it on the old Plus, and it would save me from having to use a PC at campus to print. Which brings up my question: assuming you were able to get your work done on an antique Mac Plus or SE with a 9" monochrome screen, would you choose that, or a state-of-the-art Windows PC if you had to choose between the two?
 

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cycocelica

macrumors 68000
Apr 28, 2005
1,801
4
Redmond, WA
If it was using Word why not reach for the PC. Word is a fairly basic program that I trust on a PC and would use if my Mac was MIA. Plus you want your resume to look professional and I remember the word processing on a Mac Plus being awful.
 

aquajet

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Feb 12, 2005
2,386
11
VA
cycocelica said:
Plus you want your resume to look professional and I remember the word processing on a Mac Plus being awful.

Well, it turned out fine! I wouldn't have distributed it if it hadn't.
 

Felldownthewell

macrumors 65816
Feb 10, 2006
1,053
0
Portland
New Windows for sure. I love OSX but for me the hardware is a big part of things...meaning that despite having the dreaded Windows a powerful new Alienware or FalconNW wins over an old mac any day.
 

Rickay726

macrumors 6502
Dec 29, 2005
341
0
New Jersey
hm. idk this is tough, i have never used a very old mac before so i wouldnt no how that is. but thne again still no virus's and windows computers state of the art or not ur still going to have to run norton or etc. i would prolly go with the pc but i still love macs more.
 

Doctor Q

Administrator
Staff member
Sep 19, 2002
40,103
8,379
Los Angeles
I'd choose the PC, fire up Microsoft Word or Photoshop or Firefox or iTunes, and get to work. I depend too much on modern applications to get anything done on an antique computer, so I'd have to give up Mac OS.
 

Shamus

macrumors 6502a
Feb 26, 2006
651
0
If given the choice between an new PC and an old Mac, I would choose the PC. Think of it this way, the new PC is closer to a Mac in terms of capabilities than what an old Mac is.

But of course, if I chose the new PC, I would sell it and buy a new Mac. :D
 

sushi

Moderator emeritus
Jul 19, 2002
15,639
3
キャンプスワ&#
aquajet said:
A recent hardware failure (my HP printer) has required me to use the old Mac Plus and StyleWriter printer (both of which still work!) sitting in my closet to print out copies of my résumé. I figured it wouldn't take long to re-type it on the old Plus, and it would save me from having to use a PC at campus to print. Which brings up my question: assuming you were able to get your work done on an antique Mac Plus or SE with a 9" monochrome screen, would you choose that, or a state-of-the-art Windows PC if you had to choose between the two?
I would shed a big tear for the Mac SE (Loved that model -- had two of them) and go with the PC.

Why? Speed, current apps, connectivity, etc.
 

RacerX

macrumors 65832
Aug 2, 2004
1,504
4
The thing is I still use older systems for tasks (my Quadra 950 from 1992 is still an active part of my set up as is my PowerBook Duo 2300c from 1995).

If I had to, I could go back to my old Macintosh SE/30 (which I used from 1991 to 1997) today without much issue... specially with the software I own now.
Aldus Freehand 2.0
Aldus PageMaker 4.0
Aldus Persuasion 1.0
Microsoft Word 5.1a
Theorist 1.0
Macromind Director 2.0
ClarisWorks 4.0​
And given a video card (for a second color display) I could make use of Photoshop 2.5.

I am pretty sure I could produce quality work that would rival anything done on todays PCs... though no where near as fast for some tasks.
 

Abstract

macrumors Penryn
Dec 27, 2002
24,889
921
Location Location Location
The only reason to go back to your old Mac is to say you made your CV on it. Otherwise, you really would be better off using Word on a PC and just transfer it back over to a Mac once everything is fixed.

You're not doing all of this for bragging rights. Just suck it up, use the PC, and get it done, because lets face it, a PC is just as capable of creating a decent CV as a current Mac, so even if you love your Mac, don't be blind enough not to see that your PC can also do the job just as well.
 

netdog

macrumors 603
Feb 6, 2006
5,760
38
London
aquajet said:
A recent hardware failure (my HP printer) has required me to use the old Mac Plus and StyleWriter printer (both of which still work!) sitting in my closet to print out copies of my résumé. I figured it wouldn't take long to re-type it on the old Plus, and it would save me from having to use a PC at campus to print. Which brings up my question: assuming you were able to get your work done on an antique Mac Plus or SE with a 9" monochrome screen, would you choose that, or a state-of-the-art Windows PC if you had to choose between the two?

You tell us. My guess is that it must have been fun to use the trusty old sabre, but it is obviously not a longterm solution.
 

RacerX

macrumors 65832
Aug 2, 2004
1,504
4
Abstract said:
The only reason to go back to your old Mac is to say you made your CV on it. Otherwise, you really would be better off using Word on a PC and just transfer it back over to a Mac once everything is fixed.

You're not doing all of this for bragging rights. Just suck it up, use the PC, and get it done, because lets face it, a PC is just as capable of creating a decent CV as a current Mac, so even if you love your Mac, don't be blind enough not to see that your PC can also do the job just as well.
We are talking about a resume... mostly just text on a page.

Why in the world would any PC be better than a Mac Plus at this?

Given an early version of PageMaker or Ready,Set,Go! I could put together an awesome resume on a Mac Plus. And I'd be way better off than trying to do it in Word on a PC. And I would be able to put out at least the same quality work as Word on a PC using either Word, Microsoft Works or ClarisWorks on a Plus... with no loss of time at all.


Let us all remember that a Mac Plus (though old) was never like a DOS or early Windows PC. And unless you are doing something majorly intense, you can put out great quality work in the same amount of time as on a PC of today.


Even better, the Mac Plus will stay out of your way while you are working... Can't say that about Word on a PC today! :eek:
 

sushi

Moderator emeritus
Jul 19, 2002
15,639
3
キャンプスワ&#
RacerX said:
Why in the world would any PC be better than a Mac Plus at this?
In one word, laser printing.

You mentioned that you have a Stylewriter printer. That is an inkjet printer.

I would think that you would want to complete your resume with a laser printer. I would assume that the PC at your school has a laser printer, and if not, you could easily put your resume on a Thumb drive and take it to a place that did.

Inkjet printing is so old fashioned these days! ;)
 

RacerX

macrumors 65832
Aug 2, 2004
1,504
4
sushi said:
In one word, laser printing.
:rolleyes: Actually, one word would be more like LaserWriter... you know, that printer Apple release back in 1985 that started the desktop publishing revolution. I still use a LaserWriter IINT that I got for free. It is from 1988 and produces very nice quality prints.

I'm sure the original poster knows what options are available... but the secondary question was: assuming you were able to get your work done on an antique Mac Plus or SE with a 9" monochrome screen, would you choose that, or a state-of-the-art Windows PC if you had to choose between the two?

Laser printing sure wouldn't be the stumbling block in document creation on an older Mac... considering that it was the WYSIWYG page layout abilities and print quality that made the Mac the king of the print world well into the 90s. :D
 

leekohler

macrumors G5
Dec 22, 2004
14,164
26
Chicago, Illinois
sushi said:
Inkjet printing is so old fashioned these days! ;)

I beg to differ. Inkjets are far more color accurate than laser printers. My company uses huge large format inkjets for proofing these days. Laser prints tend to look dull and flat.
 

Abstract

macrumors Penryn
Dec 27, 2002
24,889
921
Location Location Location
RacerX said:
We are talking about a resume... mostly just text on a page.

Why in the world would any PC be better than a Mac Plus at this?

Given an early version of PageMaker or Ready,Set,Go! I could put together an awesome resume on a Mac Plus. And I'd be way better off than trying to do it in Word on a PC. And I would be able to put out at least the same quality work as Word on a PC using either Word, Microsoft Works or ClarisWorks on a Plus... with no loss of time at all.

But of the file format you're saving it on using a very old Mac rather than .doc (can you still open your resume from an old version of PageMaker on a newer Mac?), and because of the printer (I see sushi already mentioned this). You can use any super-cool printer you want to on a PC or new Mac.

And since the OP took offense to what I said, I'll just say that I didn't mean to be personally offensive with my last post, because despite the wording, I wasn't directing it at you personally, just Mac zealots in general. But anyway, yes I did mean everything in that post. Any tool that can make my CV, and allow me to print it on any printer (including a printery if necessary), and allow me to open my CV file on any computer I want, is the one you should use.
Yes, Tiger is better than WinXP, but it's not the end of the world to use Windows XP. There's no need for a "What would you rather do: Do a crossword with George Bush, or use Windows XP" type of question. It's just an OS. A bad OS, but still usable for a single task.
 

sushi

Moderator emeritus
Jul 19, 2002
15,639
3
キャンプスワ&#
leekohler said:
I beg to differ. Inkjets are far more color accurate than laser printers. My company uses huge large format inkjets for proofing these days. Laser prints tend to look dull and flat.
No argument here. For color objects, inkjets are fine.

But for business correspondence like resumes, B&W laser printing is the norm.
 

sushi

Moderator emeritus
Jul 19, 2002
15,639
3
キャンプスワ&#
RacerX said:
:rolleyes: Actually, one word would be more like LaserWriter... you know, that printer Apple release back in 1985 that started the desktop publishing revolution. I still use a LaserWriter IINT that I got for free. It is from 1988 and produces very nice quality prints.

I'm sure the original poster knows what options are available... but the secondary question was: assuming you were able to get your work done on an antique Mac Plus or SE with a 9" monochrome screen, would you choose that, or a state-of-the-art Windows PC if you had to choose between the two?

Laser printing sure wouldn't be the stumbling block in document creation on an older Mac... considering that it was the WYSIWYG page layout abilities and print quality that made the Mac the king of the print world well into the 90s. :D
Yeah, I began my Mac journey back in 1985 and helped some publishing friends set up their LocalTalk networks with the original LaserWriter, so I am very familiar with LaserWriters and the desktop revolution.

BTW, I purchased a new LaserWriter 360 when they first came out. Worked very well over the years. Gave it to a friend about 3 months ago when I got a new laser printer. Apple used to build good printers.

However, the OP has a Stylewriter. I had one. While it's quality was okay back then, it sucks for business correspondence these days. The ink will run which is definitely not good. Anyhow, the OP did not say that he had a LaserWriter printer, only a Stylewriter. So laser printing is a moot point with the Mac unless he can locate a laser printer for his Mac.

So again, IMHO, the easiest solution for the OP with what he has available would be to use the PC with Word and print his resume out on a laser printer.
 

aquajet

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Feb 12, 2005
2,386
11
VA
Abstract said:
There's no need for a "What would you rather do: Do a crossword with George Bush, or use Windows XP" type of question.

I don't see how this is analogous at all to my original question. It was all meant to be in good fun. But you just continue to spoil it.

sushi said:
However, the OP has a Stylewriter.

Actually, it's a StyleWriter-somethingrather. I don't recall which at the moment. Truth be told, I can't really tell any difference in text quality between my "modern" HP 5650 and the SW.
 

RacerX

macrumors 65832
Aug 2, 2004
1,504
4
Abstract said:
But of the file format you're saving it on using a very old Mac rather than .doc (can you still open your resume from an old version of PageMaker on a newer Mac?), and because of the printer (I see sushi already mentioned this). You can use any super-cool printer you want to on a PC or new Mac.
I open documents from that era all the time. And I'm sure sushi can answer this question as well as I can because what came with the introduction of the LaserWriter was the first cross platform portable document format used by many people... Postscript.

Abstract said:
And since the OP took offense to what I said, I'll just say that I didn't mean to be personally offensive with my last post, because despite the wording, I wasn't directing it at you personally, just Mac zealots in general. But anyway, yes I did mean everything in that post. Any tool that can make my CV, and allow me to print it on any printer (including a printery if necessary), and allow me to open my CV file on any computer I want, is the one you should use.
Yes, Tiger is better than WinXP, but it's not the end of the world to use Windows XP. There's no need for a "What would you rather do: Do a crossword with George Bush, or use Windows XP" type of question. It's just an OS. A bad OS, but still usable for a single task.
I think both you and sushi are under the impression that this is a request for help on some part by the original poster... odd, this is in the Community Discussion section of the site. This sure seems like the perfect place for that type of question, and seems out of place for persons attempting to provide helpful advice where none was requested passing judgment on a rather fun hypothetical question.

sushi said:
Yeah, I began my Mac journey back in 1985 and helped some publishing friends set up their LocalTalk networks with the original LaserWriter, so I am very familiar with LaserWriters and the desktop revolution....
Great, then you should have no problem joining in on the topic at hand... which you have dismissed so far.

sushi said:
So again, IMHO, the easiest solution for the OP with what he has available would be to use the PC with Word and print his resume out on a laser printer.
The original poster didn't need or request your solution... you were asked if you could use a Mac Plus or SE to do work today rather than use a PC.

I would assume you could (with your background), but you may have forgotten what could be done with those systems since then. :rolleyes:

Abstract, sushi, if you guys aren't up for the spirit of the thread then move on to some other thread. Otherwise, join in the fun. :D
 
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