Okay, I admit it, I am a PC user who has fallen in love with
Macintosh computers thanks to OS X. My PC, running Windows 98, has
always been a fast and stable machine. It works, but OS X works
better. I already have an iBook, and my next computer will be a
Power Mac dual G4.
Over the course of several years, I have custom sculpted my PC into
a very nice multimedia and content creation machine. When someone asks
me what's the most important, best, or most useful piece of equipment
in my PC, without hesitation I answer: "My ATI All In Wonder video card. It does
everything."
Like all ATI video cards, my three year old AIW offers superior DVD
playback.
Some friends of mine spent close to $400 to buy a TiVo. I spent
about $120 on my All In Wonder (AIW). I can do everything they can do,
and the setup is a snap.
I used to have the TV in my office turned on to CNN so I could
listen to the news as I surfed the Web or did other tasks on my
computer. No more. I use the cable TV jack and have CNN running in the
background (as my screen saver no less - wicked keen!) while I
work.
Using the capture feature, I've screen captured pictures from
several of my favorite TV shows, and not only have I used them to help
"convert" friends to watching these shows, I've also dropped them into
Photoshop and had fun teaching myself some photo manipulation
techniques.
The built in FireWire on Macs is a fantastic thing, but in my house,
the camcorder is not digital. Because of the breakout box that comes
with my AIW, I can easily import analog home videos for editing and
later burning to video CDs. I can also export my final movies to video
tape for those members of my family who do not have computers.
About two years ago, Maximum PC magazine designed and built a
PC designed to replace all the equipment in a typical living room
entertainment center. The AIW made that machine possible by replacing
the VCR, DVD, TiVo, and the game console.
But when I use a Mac, I lose all of that. I will have to buy
different (non-ATI) products to get the same functionality my AIW gives
my PC. I think there's a USB widget that will let me turn a Power Mac
into a TiVo, but I just don't trust USB to have the bandwidth for good
video capture. My other options are capturing on my PC and networking
it to the Mac, or a blood curdlingly expensive Matrox professional
video capture card. Grrr.
The Macintosh has traditionally been a powerhouse multimedia and
content creation machine. The best "prosumer" content creation machine
and the ultimate consumer multimedia and content creation card belong
together. It's a match made in heaven - and could put millions of
dollars in ATI's pocket.
If nothing else, get a move on it before the folks at Nvidia wake up
and realize that with one product they could kick ATI out of the Mac
market forever.
Share your perspective on the Mac by emailing with "My Turn" as your subject.
