Mac or PC???

[GrantDem]

[txwhitedove]

1. PC laptop. I'm not Mac friendly.

As an Secretary/Admn. Assistant/or other varieties of office work, best to stick with PC's because that is what vast majority of businesses use.

[evlbstrd]

2. Starting a fight? nt

[GrantDem]

3. Me??? Never...

;)

:evilgrin:

[evlbstrd]

12. Just checking.

BTW, I voted Mac. From my Mac.

[ZombieNixon]

4. Mac. Also...

:popcorn:

[everythingsxen]

5. PC..

I realize Macs are in general better computers, but PCs are cheaper and easier to fix. (IMO)

[retread]

6. PETA

As long as you're starting something.

[GrantDem]

7. I'm actually considering buying a Mac...

just wanted to get some input...

[begin_within]

40. An eMac is a great deal! I am using one right now. But if you have a

monitor already, the MacMini might be the most cost-effective purchase for you. I think the eMac is the best deal that Apple offers. I don't particularly like the Mac laptops, the screens are not big enough or bright enough. They do offer laptops with big screens but they cost too much. I would stick with eMac or even iMac if you can afford that.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

8. Once you go Mac, you never go back.

PCs suck.

:popcorn:

[Deja Q]

10. Apple took a PC operating system & later a PC CPU too.

:popcorn:

The new Apples use what is nothing more than a doubly-priced PC, for which they tell their users they can run Windows on it too. (Funny, I'd buy a Mac so I could run Mac software on it... an actual PC is cheaper, so why isn't Apple porting MacOS to real PCs?)

I haven't heard why Apple ditched the G5 (apart from upfront cost, Motorola was rather more expensive but justifiably so), but right up to the day Apple switched, they were frothing over the G5 and how much better it was over Intel. The day they switched, well now it's Intel that's the best-ever processor. (BTW: AMD has shown time and again to be faster, dollar per dollar, CPU clock tick to CPU clock tick, than Intel... so Apple's R&D hackers must've been on something that day... :evilgrin: )


* LCD. Funny thing is, LCD technology still lacks the color gamut and shadow detail of CRT monitors. For general purposes, LCD is great. Graphic design isn't one of them, however.

Sounds like the only thing that's a suck right now are the customers. Suckers. :(

I lost respect for Apple, regarding computers, some time ago. For itunes and such, they're great. But for computers - it couldn't be any more obvious they're a sell-out has-been.

[bbernardini]

47. Technically, they took a XEROX operating system.

As I recall, Windows was ripped off from Xerox.

[MadHound]

52. Technically

Amiga ripped off Xerox, Mac ripped off Amiga, and Gates swiped it from Apple. After all, Gates worked at Apple before he founded the Evil Empire.

Always been a Mac user, always will be one. I like the fact that their machines don't crash on a regular basis, that I don't have to worry about viri or backdoors or MS letting NSA and other alphabet agencies have the ability to hack my machine.

[Ravenseye]

58. I can't remember the last time my PC crashed

I think it's funny when Mac users talk about their machines not crashing and not having to worry about viruses, etc.

I can't even recall the last time my PC crashed of it's own accord. It'd be like me saying Mac's crash because back in OS 8.71 they crashed all the freaking time for no reason and shut down, or froze, or just had the application disaspear along with your unsaved data. The so called "blue screen of death" is dead.

As far as viruses, as long as you install an antivirus program you're fine. Mac comes with one built in. You basically pay for it, and all the other inbuilt software, by paying a higher cost for the computer. With a PC you can choose which antivirus you want, and most computers will come with one installed, which you can choose to use, or lose, and get one of the many of your own choosing. There are fewer viruses for Mac's because there are fewer Mac's. If someone wants to mess with the 'man' then it's obvious who you attack. The system with the what. 90+% market share?

Macs and PC's both are good for certain things, and both suck at other things. Neither is the ubersystem. They both suck for different reasons.

[MadHound]

64. I'm happy that your PC works for you

Unfortunately I have to use a PC at work, and at least once a week it freezes up, thus I have to reboot. Every Mac that I've owned for home use, and Macs that I've used elsewhere have never frozen or crashed. Anecdotal I know, but that is my experience and the experience of others I've known who have used both systems:shrug:

You are correct that Macs now come with built in virus protection, however you can still buy the virus protection of your choice. I've always used Symantec myself, however on my old Mac, a PowerMac 6100 I uninstalled it, and for the remaining eight years that I used it as my main home machine, I never, ever had a viri problem. You are correct in that a large part of Macs' lack of viri is due to their market share. However it is also a fact that Macs, both the Classic OS and OSX are more resistant to viri.

And frankly there is nothing that a PC can do, even do well that a Mac cannot do as well at, if not better. In addition, and this is just personal opinion, I find Macs much easier and intuitive to use. And that old canard about the lack of software for a Mac is simply false. With the new Intel chips, a Mac can run any Windows program. Older Macs can either run a Windows emulater or install an Orange PC card. There is nothing comparable for a PC box.

Everybody has their personal preferences. But after having used both machines and put them both through some serious paces, I'll take a Mac over a PC any day of the week. Your mileage may vary:shrug:

[Ravenseye]

67. Meh each to their own

My experiences have been pretty much opposite yours. I had to use a Mac at work in a previous job and that sucker crashed multiple times a day. It crashed once when I tried to open the CD drive.

Old OS's suck on both systems and crash. Windows XP and OS X both crash far less frequently than they both used to. All the experience is anecdotal.

Still I'd be surprised of Mac's crashed more. Thing is they're like the Playstation. It's a set piece of hardware. It's very easy to code for something when you know exactly what the hardware specs. Part of the reason you get more crash's on PC"s is that they are each different. While Mac's might vary down the line, they know each different hardware combination that is within them and code for it. Where as on the PC you have to code for hundreds of different modems, graphics cards, sound drivers, etc, etc ,etc. It's better now than it used to be, but it's much harder to get something to work across all PC's than all Macs.

Macs are like one single breed of dogs, while PC's are all other breeds of dogs (and technically the Mac breed as well). It's easier to get things right grooming one dog, than grooming thousands of different ones.

As far as the whole Mac running PC stuff, it's gotten alot better, but it's not perfect yet. The whole dual boot thing still has problems with some of the higher end graphics games, but for the most part it works good. THe thing is you still are using Windows. That's my other problem with the whole argument. Are we talking Hardware or Software? When you talk abotu Mac people tend to talk about both, but with PC's they're different things entirely. If you have a Mac running a dual boot machine that has windows....well then you're runnign freaking windows, not OS X.

As far as hardware goes, I'd take a Mac over a Dell any day of the fucking week. Personally though I like to choose exactly the components my system has. I like to build them myself and I like to start fresh with everything. Until recently this was pretty much impossible to do on a Mac, and it still has problems to build a system for OSX on your own. I just have a big objection to the way Apple has always done that. In my opinion the market today would be 95% Apple if it weren't for them keeping the hardware and software married for so long, and for putting up so many barriers to developers for so many years.

If they fix up the dual booting issues more as far as the graphics go, my next system may very well be a Mac. I like playing PC games and I have too many necessary programs that I run on PC that I'm not willing to pay more money for just to switch to another system, that generally I found unintuitive. I've never felt at ease with a Mac, even back to the first ones 20 years ago. It's never sat right with me. Windows is better, but mostly because it was easier for me to initally see what the command line was whenever I did something (like having the window named C:\windows\bsfolder) I could see the command line right there...

Honestly I hate both Mac and Windows. I miss the old command line on both my Apple 2, and my PC. No Bullshit. Just straight command line, and occasionally some batch files of my own creation.

[Awsi Dooger]

71. Ha! Most predictable pathetic desperation on DU

Find a thread mentioning Apple and you'll find HypnoToad making desperate knocks against the brand. Never substantive or even relevant but there he is, and always very early. It's like he sets an alarm for a keyword is mentioned in the header.

In a later post in this thread it's obvious HypnoToad was so desperate to find something against Apple he admits to a web search and uses a model of Epson printer as proof Apple users have problems too. Hey, Hypno, maybe we'll give you that. Heavens, perhaps the Epson Stylus Photo 2200 causes problems with Macs! I can feel the end of the world.

Yeah, keep waiting for those Mac viruses. You've made similar claims many times in the past. In fact, dates have come and gone that you predicted we'd see major Mac viruses. If I handicapped sporting events like you handicap computers my last winner would have been in 1987. But keep trying. Always amusing.

[Deja Q]

9. Macs aren't the holy grail either.

For a commercial recently hyping up how much better Mac purportedly is, a little searching on the web shows mac users have the same friggin' problems as the rest of us.

Especially regarding stuff like the Epson Stylus Photo 2200 and the Sony Mavica CD500. :evilgrin:

By now the problems are fixed, but for Apple to make such ads... it's silly. Next they'll tell us they are immune to viruses. NO platform is immune and users need to use some common sense too. (Even then, if a server gets hacked it doesn't matter... but phishing is one of the few sensical things we can avoid. But I digress.) But thanks to leeching off of FreeBSD, they saved quite a bit of time from proper development.

[evlbstrd]

15. Have you ever seen an honest commercial from any company?

I can understand your points on the technical side, but complaining about Apple's advertising seems pointless. Yeah, and Microsoft is an innovator.

[Ravenseye]

59. Both Apple and Microsoft are lying sacks of shit

Both are out to make a buck. Apple does it the way they do, Microsoft does it the way they do. They're both pretty good at it.

Still. They both suck for difference reasons. The commercials are funny. Laughably untrue, but funny nonetheless.

[Susang]

63. Mac user of 10 years

Never had a virus on either of my Macs. Neither has any other Mac user I know, including my brother who's used them since the early eighties.

My husband is a PC user of equal duration and his computers (he's gone through several of various brands) crash all the time, constantly attacked by viruses and are riddled with spyware.

Macs may not be perfect, but they're a helluva lot more reliable than PCs and they don't burst into flames like another major computer brand.

[politicat]

11. Can I vote mutiple times? We have several....

Two ibooks dual booting into linux and OSX; 2 powerbooks booting OSX, a Compaq laptop that triple boots Ubantu, BSD and 'Doze, and a MacBook that dual boots OSX and 'doze.

By the way, Macs are Personal Computers; the division is between Big Iron (Servers, Mainframes and Supercomputers) and Personal Computers (Macs, Windows, Linux). The hardware designation has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with what OS the machine is running.

[Benfea]

13. Both. I'm platform agnostic.

At home I use a PC just because they're cheaper and I like to build my own, but I really have no personal preference.

[Book Lover]

14. Jesus! Amiga, just to torque you off

And Palm, too.

[Broken_Hero]

42. amiga 2000? n/t

[Book Lover]

53. I had or had access to them all

500, 1000, 2000, 4000... I think the 4000 is still sitting somewhere in storage, next to the Pet and the C64 (gotta start that computer museum somewhere :-) )

[Broken_Hero]

74. Don't forget the old

commodore 128...My dad was HUGE into commodore, big time. We had about three commodore 64's, and my father followed their product/software line, until the company went under...

[RebelOne]

16. I have a PC at home, but use a Mac at the office.

I really prefer the Mac, but can't afford to buy one for home right now.

[michreject]

57. I use a PC at work (this post)

but have two Mac's at home. Mine and my wife's. Have the Airport, but not hooked up yet.

[TommyO]

65. I'm backwards from you

I use a Windows-based PC at work and splurged on a PowerMac back in January. I'm very happy with the move and don't plan on going back to a Windows machine at home.

[CatholicEdHead]

17. Buy a Mac and put the PC in it

With the new BootCamp you can have Windows whenever you want it.

[Nicole]

18. MAC

:toast:

[NewJeffCT]

19. I bought an iMac last year and I'd recommend a PC

My Mac has rarely crashed in the 9 months I've had it... but...

1) Unless you have a lot of time to devote to learning just the basics of the Mac, I would not bother. I still can't get used to not being able to right-click all the time!
2) My 5 year old Dell, which was middle of the road when we bought it, is generally faster on the internet using I/E than my iMac is using Safari or Firefox using the same DSL modem. Nobody seems to be able to figure out the problem.
3) Many things that should be simple are often counter-intuititve.

[Placebo]

23. Why can't you right-click?

:shrug:

If you don't like doing the ctrl-click, you can just buy a 3rd party mouse and assign a button as the right click.

[NewJeffCT]

25. so, I have to buy a new mouse just to do that?

and then I'd have to figure out how to assign a button to it?

[Placebo]

28. It takes like 2 seconds to do.

Literally.

Don't be such a big baby. :P

And how many PC users use the mouse that came with their computer for the life of the machine? Or even for normal use? That's right, not many.

[NewJeffCT]

32. I've never bought a mouse my entire life

I've also never had a mouse replaced on any PC I've had at work, either.

And, when you have very limited free time that you can devote to learning new things about a Mac vs a PC, it doesn't help either.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

33. I probably went through 3-4 mice during my brief PC years.

It's like there was electronic rodentcide on the computer desk or something.

[Catch22Dem]

31. Nobody uses the out of the box mice anyway, do they?

I know the mouse that came w/ my dell was a pos. I got a wireless intellimouse right off the bat.

[NewJeffCT]

34. I guess the people I know are exceptions?

I'm sure some people I know have upgraded their mouses before buying them, but the only person I remember in the past dozen years or so actually switching mice was so unusual to me that it still stands out in my memory. She sat behind me at work.

[Catch22Dem]

36. That's fine...

I'm just saying, in my own opinion (in no way saying it's right) the mice they supply just don't do enough. I got addicted to the "thumb" buttons for clicking forward and back years ago. I've never gone back. A lot of times they don't even give you one with a scroll wheel. That's just cruel! ;)

[Placebo]

35. I use a Logitech with my Power Mac...

and even use a Logitech with my iBook a lot of the time.

[michreject]

60. I use a Logitech rodent as well

on both my Mac's. Just install software , then plug it in. Eureka, it works. I like the scroll wheel.

[Placebo]

69. And I like setting a double-click button.

:)

[Ravenseye]

61. What about the vaunted out of the box thing of Mac's

I think it's funny how Mac users have no problem mentioning doing things like this but forget that you can install anti-virus programs to protect you from all those nasty 100,000+ viruses (some over 10 years old) that they mention on their website.

Both systems suck for differnet reasons.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

24. That's weird about the internet speed.

I don't find them counter-intuitive but I've been using Macs, since we had a couple PCs that were total lemons. So basically about 8 years of mostly Mac-use. By the way, you can buy a two-button mouse for the mac.

[NewJeffCT]

27. the 2 button mouse is not standard, though

and, it's not easy to unlearn 13 years of Windows, especially when I use Windows at work.

And, nobody on the Mac discussion boards seems to know what my internet problem is, either.

[Ravenseye]

62. You're right

There are a few basic things that are done totally differently on a Mac and on a PC. It's like driving a stickshift in England when you learned in the U.S. Everything can seem backward.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

50. I agree with points 1 and 3

I was weaned off my Atari 800 and ST onto to a PC at a pretty early age and was fluent with MS-DOS commands and Windows by the time I was 14.

I'm vastly more familiar and comfortable with a PC than a Mac. For all the "user-friendliness" attributed to the Mac, I get really confused when I'm using them.

Also -- the lack of the right button throws me for a loop too.

[Dukkha]

20. Mac

how long do they last?

I have an original model #00001 Macintosh from 1984 and it still works! My only gripe with the Mac platform, besides the cost, is the software is usually bloated beyond the hardware's capabilities and make the system run slower as a result.

[Placebo]

21. Mac 4 Life Mothafuckaaaaaaaaaaz!

:headbang:

[AirmensMom]

22. I love my new MacBook.

But I still have to find some new programs to replace my Windows ones now ... because I don't want to put Windows on it. For what it has on it already, it's great.

[jbane]

26. MacBook is great...

I also got the big boy video iPod. I've gone from Mac to PC and now I'm back to Mac. The latest version of OS X is great.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

29. PC with better security than a Mac: Linux. -nt

[deucemagnet]

30. I'm a PC guy.

I like being able to pop open the chasis and upgrade RAM, install a DVD burner, upgrade video cards, etc.

on edit: Does this make me part of the PC clique?

[pokerfan]

45. PCs are, dare I say, more democratic

I've been in the computer industry since 1977 and I've seen it all. I've used the original Apple, Apple II, Lisa, and all the Macintoshes.

Let's look all the way back to the LIM (Lotus Intel Microsoft) days. The PC has always been the champion of third party hardware and software, though not intentionally. IBM lost its hold on the personal computer market early on. From before the start even.

It was Apple who took the IBM model as central authority and ran with it: No third party hardware or software. Everything had to be Apple. Apple hard disks, Apple spreadsheets, Apple games. Apple mice. Even Apple floppy disks.

And then that ridiculous Super Bowl commercial. With its vertical business model and proprietary h/w and s/w architecture, how is Apple revolutionary or counterculture?

Sure, Big Blue (IBM) created the original PC, but immediately (and stupidly) granted the OS rights to Gates, then opened the architecture to third parties, to its own detriment. The result was a wild frontier of inovation and creativity all through the 80's and 90's. IBM's idiocy of opening the architecture was to everyone's benefit.

Today, it's an either/or decision. It's kinda sad that one one of the biggest selling points for Apple is that it can also run XP. For twice the price.

For me, I am happy with my $800 beige box (instead of a tres cool pastel) running Mozilla and I just added a 400G hard drive last week for $200.

To each his own, right?

[eeyore]

72. I've done every one of those things on a mac...

Those are all super simple tasks to do on most macs. The best part, thought, is that that you don't need drivers to run any kind of newly installled drive. It's all 100% plug and play. Don't be fooled by the hype that you can't upgrade macs - total bs.

[Fox Mulder]

37. I broke the tie!

Mwuhahahahaha! :evilgrin:

[liontamer]

38. both

why choose?

[Placebo]

39. Flip-flopper!

:patriot:

[liontamer]

68. i prefer to think of myself as fluid

:P

[begin_within]

41. I think the most important consideration is what you want to do with it.

If the type of work you want to do is creative work, such as vector graphics, using Illustrator, or image processing using Photoshop, or if you want to do music composition or recording and editing, or video work, including video editing and DVD creation, or publishing in full color, or web site design, you will be happier with a Mac, because the Mac excels in these areas, and still the majority of people who work in these fields use Macs, from what I have read. Creative work. The Mac was built from day 1 as a graphics machine, and graphics simply look better and are easier to create with it - compared to Windows, where things don't look as good, to my eyes. It's possible to do any of these tasks on a PC, but the software has typically been a little bit behind in those areas. If your main focus is anything else, such as business work, simply browsing the internet, or playing games, a PC is fine. The Mac comes with a pre-installed set of great programs such as iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes, iDVD, iWeb, Garage Band and iWork, that all work perfectly right out of the box - no installation required and they were all designed all work together with each other. They are simple, basic programs not pro-level programs, but they make doing highly technical tasks, such as editing video, easy for the beginner. And you can later upgrade to pro-level programs such as FinalCut HD, and so forth. And the Mac OSX is extremely stable and rarely if ever crashes (I have been running 10.3.4 for a year now with no crashes at all.)

[Tyrone Slothrop]

49. I always hear that

But I've always had the opposite experience.

I do some amateur video editing on my PC at home (Premiere or Avid), and I've never really had any problems with it.

Recently, I did a project with my friend who insisted that we had to use his Mac with Final Cut as it was going to be so much better than my lowly PC. By the time we were finished cutting our 5 minute short, his Mac had crashed or seized up at least 6 different times.

[Book Lover]

55. I have been running the Adobe Creative Suite on my PC

and have been running a successful pickup production work business for years on it. Adobe products and deliverables are functionally cross-platform (well, PC-Mac platforms. I can't speak to any X-nix variant).

[qanda]

73. Actually PCs have gained a lot in the music recording area

The new AMD dual core systems are running very stable for ProTools. In fact, over at the Digidesign User Conference they say they are even more stable than MACs.

Here's a snippet:

The new AMD dual processors have achieved over 100% better performance than Mac G5 and P4 systems on PTLE. With rock solid stability, they easily push past the 32 track/160 effects limit and currently provide more processing power than the current HD-3 core cards.

[CanuckAmok]

43. You people are all stupid.

[Solon]

44. Pfft! Amateur, I'm posting to DU using this...

[hyphenate]

76. OMG

Those were the days...........

My first PC was a 16MHz with a 30MB hard drive. It was expensive! And an amber monochrome 13" monitor. Top of the line dot matrix printer. It lived for quite a long time, too.

[querelle]

46. PC.......

.....at home, but a Mac at the office. I like both equally, althought the Mac is considerably easier to use. Idiot proof? The only reason I still use a PC at home is because I've had one for years and all of my personal data (tax returns, etc.) are formatted for a PC. Although I do get weary of all the security holes in Windows and I'm not tech savy enough to install something like Linux.

Q

[Lowell]

48. What about Unix?

I work on Macs, PCs and Unix Sun stations at work. At home it is 100% Linux. Not enough choices here.

[atomic-fly]

51. I use both...

G5 loaded with graphics software...
Dell with Web Dev software.
also ibook and dell laptop(was using for coldfusion)
I really like my G5 and 24" plasma screen...
at home I have an old compaq...it is sloooow.

[NewWaveChick1981]

54. Both, actually.

Hubby has a PowerMac G4, which I use frequently. I have a Dell laptop of my own, and I use a different kind of Dell laptop for work. I can use both Mac and PC with equal proficiency.

Truth be told, I prefer a Mac, simply because it's superior in the graphics department. Unfortunately, Mac users are treated like lepers when it comes to software and video games, so I keep up with PC stuff too.

[sakabatou]

56. I can work with both

But I hate it that it comes with iDVD and no DVD burner.

[saltpoint]

66. Got both in the house, use 'em both, prefer the Mac for graphics.

[LSdemocrat]

70. I use a PC, but I have nothing against Macs

They both work well in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing. For highly inexperienced computer users I probably would recommend getting a Mac.

[hyphenate]

75. I look at a friend's 4 Macs

and wonder why. It's like a collection, not a work setup.

I have two PCs--one a desktop, and more recently, a laptop, which I'm using as a backup and as a portable. There is no need to have more, just because "I can."

If one isn't good enough, replace it! Don't keep adding! With a PC, I can swap out components as I need to, replacing them with newer pieces and or more power.

I've been building and rebuilding for 18 years now, and no Mac can stand up to the amount of flexibility that a PC has. I try to tell my friend that as he orders yet another Mac.

They used to say that the Mac was better for software like Photoshop and other graphics work. Not anymore. Now there is far, far more available for the PC and little difference in the same software designed for both.

Non-geeks might like the Mac because they aren't mechanically inclined (as with my friend, who is hopelessly useless with all things technical), but PCs now have enough "user-friendly" components to make them just as easy for those who like to be hands-on right out of the box. For those of us who enjoy using our brains and tweaking the unit, it's a delight. :)