Why are there so many Mac users?


I am gradually thinking of going the all-digital route, and to that effect I've started reading a lot of threads about all-digital systems.
One thing I noticed is that many audiophiles with such systems are using either a Mac Mini, iMac or other Mac products.
Are there any major reasons for doing so? What advantages do Macs have over PCs (aside from looks)?
I am trying to soak in all the information I can gather on the subject, so thanks for enlightening me!

Patrick
pat70
"The new OS for both platforms requires more RAM, more HD free space and more processor power than ever (even though streaming music is not really processor/memory intensive)."

No, new Snow Leopard requires 100MB less disk space than Leopard. Also Snow Leopard runs faster - check here: http://www.macworld.com/article/142425/2009/08/snow_leopard_performance.html

As for firewire - in general firewire is peer-to-peer network where devices are inteligent and can negotiate bus conflicts. USB is a Master-Slave architecture where devices are dumb. Firewire has separate processing unit and can make transfers without loading main processor while USB always slows down processing (depends on main uP).
"The new OS for both platforms requires more RAM, more HD free space and more processor power than ever (even though streaming music is not really processor/memory intensive)."

No, new Snow Leopard requires 100MB less disk space than Leopard. Also Snow Leopard runs faster - check here: www.macworld.com/article/14242...

Thanks for the link, Kijanki. I was aware of the improvements there. To be clear, I never said it was slower or inferior in any way. Just that the requirements were different. I don't use SnowLeopard as my tower is a dual-core PowerPC and they dropped support for the older processor. I did not say anything about how fast the OS ran. I also did not mean the actual space it requires the OS takes up, if that's what you are referring to (100mb is nothing these days anyway)...I meant that all the new OS run much better with more free space available on the native drive. Minimum requirements are just that (minimum does not mean optimum), but when you start filling up that native drive everything may work, but the OS slows everything down. That's been my experience with all versions of 10.5.X - and I'd bet had something to do with Rwwear's GF's laptop bogging down. That's another good reason to store your music library on an separate drive (among other reasons).

Snow Leopard Minimum Requirements are 1gb RAM and 5GB free HD space, and of course a 64-bit processor. Since it's optimized to take advantage of the processor it does not surprise me that it's faster. That's double the RAM required by the previous 10.5.8 OS, but indeed less HD space than 10.5.X required (9GB vs 5GB). Again, I'd caution that "minimum" and "optimum" are very different in my experience...then again, music streaming is not terribly demanding at all. I speak from experience of dealing with very large graphics files on a regular basis. I don't think it's unique to the platform... in general, the more bells and whistles they include with the OS (Windows or MAC) the more demanding they'll be of space/memory. Correct me if you think this is inaccurate, but it certainly follows the progress of the OS 10 development in real-world use.

As for firewire - in general firewire is peer-to-peer network where devices are inteligent and can negotiate bus conflicts. USB is a Master-Slave architecture where devices are dumb. Firewire has separate processing unit and can make transfers without loading main processor while USB always slows down processing (depends on main uP).

I am not worthy! Thank you for the lesson - You clearly know way more than I do on this subject. So how does that apply directly to streaming music where a buffer and reclocking is likely going to be involved? Would it suggest one were better than the other for that purpose? What about the implementation of asynchronous USB? And what of the conflicting observations in the review I cited, again, FWIW. Ultimately the proof is in what's coming out of your speakers I suppose. It would seem like most folks using a box for their music server are probably dedicating it to just that service. So I wonder how much processor demands, or bus conflicts come into play - perhaps I'm misunderstanding.
Jax2 - I don't really have feel for the disk space required by new OS since I installed it not so long ago.

As for Firewire, I did not intend to give, as you call it, "lesson" on network protocols (I'm hardware guy) but rather point out the main difference that might affect computer operation. In my system, for instance, heavy usage of computer's processor might impede on USB transfers but won't make any difference to Firewire transfers. I also like the fact that Firewire is a daisy chain thing and doesn't require hubs or multiple connectors and cables coming from computer. My three external drives connect to each other and only one wire comes to computer. This is not a "lesson" - I just stated what I like (and YES I think you're worthy - feel better).
Jax2. I will have to read the article, but Minerva has no USB port. Also, many do recommend the Mini as first choice over the Powerbook Pros, but the Imac is usually not recommended. Some suggest that the Powerbook running on battery is best. I have not tried that yet but will tomorrow.

Kijanki, Snow leopard is greatly faster than prior OSXs.Turn on and off is almost instantaneous.
I will have to read the article, but Minerva has no USB port.

Indeed, you are correct - the Minerva has no USB. The improvement was reportedly made using an Empirical Offramp which would have fed the Minerva via SPDIF or I2S if it has that option. That was said to be superior to the Minerva fed by its native Firewire interface. The Offramp is a USB device.