Mac vs PC

[FutureCEO]

So I started a 'I want a computer fund.' I decided that I would like a Mac even though its wicked expensive more than a PC. But I have questions like what is the battery time for a basic $1000 Mac? Or should I get the MacBook Pro? how about wireless net? is iworks compatibile to Microsoft Office (because iworks is cheaper)? And is the whole video and picture items worth getting? Hopefully by the time Im ready to buy, I'll have a job in what I want to do. I just got my first real job out of college (2 1/2 years later) but its not want I want to do. Any other things I should know about would be welcome.

Sorry for the mess of words, I dont have alot of time rght now

 

[Master Yoda]

This is coming from a PC user.....

Mac's are good solid machines but IMHO way over priced and not as bullet proof as people make them out to be. Of course as you might expect PC are not as bad as Mac fans make them out to be. Those cute commercials that Apple produces are full of more lies and half truths than your average alternative medicine web site. 99% of it comes down to the user.

Is there more nasty stuff out there that can get to a PC? Absolutely, but even with the slightest bit of common sense it can be avoided. I have never run AV software and the last time I got a piece of malware or a virus was in the early 90's when I was running a 386/40.

Are Macs impervious to bugs, hardware failure and malicious software? No way. While malicious software is rare for a Mac as they gain more of a market share they are starting to appear. According to security and Mac hacking expert Charlie Miller Windows 7 is more secure than the current version of Snow Leopard. The bottom line it if someone wants to hack a Mac it is not all that hard. In regards to hardware failure and bugs just search for Mac video problems and snow leopard account bug and you will find some serious issues. No software or hardware is perfect even if it has a piece of fruit on it.

It all really comes down to your skill with a computer and what you want to do with it. If you are going into music production or graphic design get a Mac. If you download every bit of shareware you find, install every toolbar available, and open every email attachment you get get a Mac. If you plan on going into engineering, CADD, office work or plan on doing any gaming get a PC. If you pay attention to what you are doing a computer and do not mindlessly click yes on every window you see and do not feel like spending an extra $500 or more for a name then get a PC.

 

[WDWFREAK53]

Master Yoda pretty much nailed it on the head.

I personally have gone strictly Mac in my household due to be frustrated with countless problems with my PC (and yes, I took care of my PC's...with all kinds of spyware killers, anti-virus programs, etc.) It wasn't always viruses...but sometimes hardware issues. I just (personally) have had nothing but horrible luck with my PC's.

I have had this Mac for 3 1/2 years and haven't had a single problem with it. I have never once needed to reboot my Mac unexpectedly...it has never crashed, and it just "works." Yes, there have been programs that have crashed, and I've needed to "Force Quit" but that doesn't require a full reboot...just a simple reboot of that application.

That being said, I need to work on a PC at work because I do a lot of AutoCAD/Inventor work. In 13 years of being here, I've gone through 4 computers (one wasn't a requirement due to failure...our systems were being upgraded).

I don't want this to sound completely anti-PC because there is definitely a place for them in this world...and it all depends on YOUR needs. Personally, the Mac has done me right...but it's not the end-all-be-all machine...and neither is the PC.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Before this get's into a whole debate again, I'll post my OP...

Analogy:

Computer = Car.

Windows, you can build, play around with, write new stuff for, make it your own, works well.

Mac, already done for you, works well.


Both suck, both are great.

I prefer Mac. Just easier for me.


Threaddone.

 

[WDW Vacationer]

:snore: Again?




WHY!?

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

:snore: Again?




WHY!?

Cuz they wanna see us fight to the death?:lookaroun:lol:

 

[KeithVH]

You might as well ask "Which is better - breathing or eating"?

 

[Figment1986]

It depends on where you are coming from....

Hardware:
Mac: it is all there, if you want to upgrade you can attempt to do it yourself or take it back to apple to get upgraded...

PC: easier to upgrade and do it yourself

Softwear:
while some is recently coming as Mac and Windows compatable.. a lot of softwear is still Mac or Windows... this means if your coming to mac from a bunch of Windows your going to either replace a lot of it... or have to put windows on the mac... there is a lot out of the box on a PC.. most of it is limited time and junk... while Mac gives you only what you paid for.. full liscnses and all...

If your more cretive the Mac works better, for myself I use iMovie and hope to get Final cut (student edition is more affordable..) for christmas as it's a nice tool for editing movies... for PC there is windows movie maker or more epensive stuff..

again... go to the apple store and ask them what they think if you have one in town, feel free to play around and try the demos they have in the store... Do research.

I've used Macs in education from k-12 and even through college... it's second nature to me to have a mac mini for my video editing... Though I also have PC laptop, and a desktop in my office for audio and photos... it's all about how you feel.. and how you use them.

 

[Uncle Lupe]

needed to "Force Quit" but that doesn't require a full reboot...just a simple reboot of that application.
.

Your Jedi mind tricks will not work on a PC.

 

[WDWFREAK53]

Your Jedi mind tricks will not work on a PC.

LOL...Believe me, with my PC's...I've sometimes wished I had a lightsaber handy.

Figment:
You have a Mac Mini...I've often wondered why people would buy this. (I'm asking because someone I worked for asked if I knew anything about them). If you don't travel...you have a desktop (iMac)...if you travel...get a laptop (Macbook). Where does the Mac Mini come into play?

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

LOL...Believe me, with my PC's...I've sometimes wished I had a lightsaber handy.

Figment:
You have a Mac Mini...I've often wondered why people would buy this. (I'm asking because someone I worked for asked if I knew anything about them). If you don't travel...you have a desktop (iMac)...if you travel...get a laptop (Macbook). Where does the Mac Mini come into play?

I guess if you want a Desktop at home that's a mac and one that won't break the bank?


I don't get it either...:shrug: Seems kinda silly. :lol:

 

[Laura]

I personally have gone strictly Mac in my household due to be frustrated with countless problems with my PC (and yes, I took care of my PC's...with all kinds of spyware killers, anti-virus programs, etc.) It wasn't always viruses...but sometimes hardware issues. I just (personally) have had nothing but horrible luck with my PC's.

I have had this Mac for 3 1/2 years and haven't had a single problem with it. I have never once needed to reboot my Mac unexpectedly...it has never crashed, and it just "works." Yes, there have been programs that have crashed, and I've needed to "Force Quit" but that doesn't require a full reboot...just a simple reboot of that application.

Basically you said it for me. I never downloaded stuff, I never went to harmful websites, I always used expensive and really good anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and my PC's just NEVER WORKED for me. Constantly had pop-up windows and error messages and frozen screens and felt like all I did was "control+alt+delete" all day long. I'd have to do a complete hard drive format and windows re-install every 6 months just to keep the thing running. I would honestly say that 50% of the time I was actually using the computer, the other 50% of the time I was just trying to fix the problems on it. I finally had enough of losing so many hours of my life to keeping my computer functional so I switched to Mac. Since then (also 3 1/2 years ago), I have not had a single problem.

Macs are also extremely easy to use. If you want to know how to do something you just think "what would be the most simple, and common sense way to do this?" and usually that's the answer. All the things that are a huge headache with Windows are just so easy on Macs (home networking, file sharing, contact/calendar/email syncing, etc)

I'm on my MacBook Pro right now and have had it unplugged for a couple hours, and it says I have a couple hours left before I need to plug it in again. (Since you asked about battery life)

I can understand that some people would prefer a PC for economical reasons or because a Mac isn't compatible with their computer needs (gamers, computer programmers, etc.). For things like word processing, photo editing, video editing, organization, email, internet, and regular daily things, Macs are very no-nonsense and simple.

The extra thousands I've spent to keep Macs instead of PC's has been well worth the thousands of hours of aggravation I've been spared.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Basically you said it for me. I never downloaded stuff, I never went to harmful websites, I always used expensive and really good anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and my PC's just NEVER WORKED for me. Constantly had pop-up windows and error messages and frozen screens and felt like all I did was "control+alt+delete" all day long. I'd have to do a complete hard drive format and windows re-install every 6 months just to keep the thing running. I would honestly say that 50% of the time I was actually using the computer, the other 50% of the time I was just trying to fix the problems on it. I finally had enough of losing so many hours of my life to keeping my computer functional so I switched to Mac. Since then (also 3 1/2 years ago), I have not had a single problem.

Macs are also extremely easy to use. If you want to know how to do something you just think "what would be the most simple, and common sense way to do this?" and usually that's the answer. All the things that are a huge headache with Windows are just so easy on Macs (home networking, file sharing, contact/calendar/email syncing, etc)

I'm on my MacBook Pro right now and have had it unplugged for a couple hours, and it says I have a couple hours left before I need to plug it in again. (Since you asked about battery life)

I can understand that some people would prefer a PC for economical reasons or because a Mac isn't compatible with their computer needs (gamers, computer programmers, etc.). For things like word processing, photo editing, video editing, organization, email, internet, and regular daily things, Macs are very no-nonsense and simple.

The extra thousands I've spent to keep Macs instead of PC's has been well worth the thousands of hours of aggravation I've been spared.

Winnar. This is me exactly. Save for some problems with my Battery and my PRAM (Sprint did that, not me, or the Mac, though) this machine has been flawless.

 

[CaptainMichael]

Mac everyday and twice on Sundays.

I'm on my last PC right now. Once it dies, and I'm confident it will (it has already crashed 3 or 4 times in less than a year) I will be getting my first Mac. I cannot wait.

 

[Figment1986]

Figment:
You have a Mac Mini...I've often wondered why people would buy this. (I'm asking because someone I worked for asked if I knew anything about them). If you don't travel...you have a desktop (iMac)...if you travel...get a laptop (Macbook). Where does the Mac Mini come into play?

if you got a monitor... why buy a new one.

The high end Mac mini is comparable to the low end imac... just in a smaller package, and i have it plugged into my TV's HDMI feed to use as a monitor to save room.. otherwise i would need room for the TV and for the imac set up...

Originally, the mac mini was designed as a transitional tool for people leaving PCs... as it was bring your own keyboard and mouse, ad originally incorperated port for them.. though now they only have usb ports so people would need to get new keyboards and mice if they had an old PC anyway...

it does what an imac does, just with less space used... now if i didn't have the TV i would have gotten a iMac and found TV tuner hardware for it :drevil:

 

[Testtrack321]

Before this get's into a whole debate again, I'll post my OP...

Analogy:

Computer = Car.

Windows, you can build, play around with, write new stuff for, make it your own, works well.

Mac, already done for you, works well.


Both suck, both are great.

I prefer Mac. Just easier for me.


Threaddone.

Quoted for truth. I have a 13" MacBook Pro, cost $1399, compared specs, very evenly priced with other PCs, and I can dual boot on it. The reason why Macs are 2x is that they don't have a single core, 1.6ghz crummy laptop for $500.

Go to Best Buy, the Apple Store, etc, play with them, try them out, read the cnet reviews. Then make the best decision FOR YOU.

 

[Master Yoda]

Basically you said it for me. I never downloaded stuff, I never went to harmful websites, I always used expensive and really good anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and my PC's just NEVER WORKED for me. Constantly had pop-up windows and error messages and frozen screens and felt like all I did was "control+alt+delete" all day long. I'd have to do a complete hard drive format and windows re-install every 6 months just to keep the thing running. I would honestly say that 50% of the time I was actually using the computer, the other 50% of the time I was just trying to fix the problems on it. I finally had enough of losing so many hours of my life to keeping my computer functional so I switched to Mac. Since then (also 3 1/2 years ago), I have not had a single problem.

Macs are also extremely easy to use. If you want to know how to do something you just think "what would be the most simple, and common sense way to do this?" and usually that's the answer. All the things that are a huge headache with Windows are just so easy on Macs (home networking, file sharing, contact/calendar/email syncing, etc)

I'm on my MacBook Pro right now and have had it unplugged for a couple hours, and it says I have a couple hours left before I need to plug it in again. (Since you asked about battery life)

I can understand that some people would prefer a PC for economical reasons or because a Mac isn't compatible with their computer needs (gamers, computer programmers, etc.). For things like word processing, photo editing, video editing, organization, email, internet, and regular daily things, Macs are very no-nonsense and simple.

The extra thousands I've spent to keep Macs instead of PC's has been well worth the thousands of hours of aggravation I've been spared.

Winnar. This is me exactly. Save for some problems with my Battery and my PRAM (Sprint did that, not me, or the Mac, though) this machine has been flawless.

About 95% of these problems are caused by all the crapware installed on new PC. Computer manufacturers will install all manner of preloaded demos and software onto new computers as the software companies will pay them a few bucks to do so. This is a practice that has always aggravated me to no end as the only good way to get rid of it all is to format the hard drive and reinstall the operating system. Of course that is made more complicated by most PC manufactures not including OS only disks with a new PC. Nearly all come with a system restore disk which has all of that crapware on it. Some manufactures, Dell in particular, are finally wising up to this shoot yourself in the foot practice and offering business laptops that come with the OS only on them.

Quoted for truth. I have a 13" MacBook Pro, cost $1399, compared specs, very evenly priced with other PCs, and I can dual boot on it. The reason why Macs are 2x is that they don't have a single core, 1.6ghz crummy laptop for $500.

You might want to search a little deeper. You can find laptops with equal to or better specs that a Mac Book Pro for about $800 or less. Crank that number up to $1000-$1400 and you can get a laptop that will blow it away. Put that same $1400 into a self built desktop and you can build a gaming rig that will make your house lights dim when you crank it up. Many laptops are dual core and have been for quite some time...even some many of the sub $500 laptops are dual core with 4gb of memory and a 64 bit OS.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Quoted for truth. I have a 13" MacBook Pro, cost $1399, compared specs, very evenly priced with other PCs, and I can dual boot on it. The reason why Macs are 2x is that they don't have a single core, 1.6ghz crummy laptop for $500.

Go to Best Buy, the Apple Store, etc, play with them, try them out, read the cnet reviews. Then make the best decision FOR YOU.

Thanks, and EXACTLY.


I'm a student and a MacBook gives me all the reliability and speed and the tools I need. /happy.:lol:

About 95% of these problems are caused by all the crapware installed on new PC. Computer manufacturers will install all manner of preloaded demos and software onto new computers as the software companies will pay them a few bucks to do so. This is a practice that has always aggravated me to no end as the only good way to get rid of it all is to format the hard drive and reinstall the operating system. Of course that is made more complicated by most PC manufactures not including OS only disks with a new PC. Nearly all come with a system restore disk which has all of that crapware on it. Some manufactures, Dell in particular, are finally wising up to this shoot yourself in the foot practice and offering business laptops that come with the OS only on them.

You might want to search a little deeper. You can find laptops with equal to or better specs that a Mac Book Pro for about $800 or less. Crank that number up to $1000-$1400 and you can get a laptop that will blow it away. Put that same $1400 into a self built desktop and you can build a gaming rig that will make your house lights dim when you crank it up. Many laptops are dual core and have been for quite some time...even some many of the sub $500 laptops are dual core with 4gb of memory and a 64 bit OS.

I did not know that. [/Johny Carson]

Makes sense, seeing that it prolly bogs the machine down, right?

 

[Master Yoda]

Makes sense, seeing that it prolly bogs the machine down, right?

There is that factor as well as some of this crapware opening doors to pop ups which contain so many bad things it is not even funny. "Your computer is infected. Do you want to fix" Popups are amongst the worst. The average know nothing computer user thinks that it is a system message clicks "ok" and it is all down hill from there. I get to spend the weekend formatting my daughters laptop because she has clicked on more of these than I can count.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

There is that factor as well as some of this crapware opening doors to pop ups which contain so many bad things it is not even funny. "Your computer is infected. Do you want to fix" Popups are amongst the worst. The average know nothing computer user thinks that it is a system message clicks "ok" and it is all down hill from there. I get to spend the weekend formatting my daughters laptop because she has clicked on more of these than I can count.

I SOOOO did that with our first computer. And then the popups started.:lol::lookaroun


/has learned since then:lol: