Mac vs PC

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GB

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My cousin works for Apple and when he got his first mac he gave me a tour. I was very impressed. He convinced me that when I am ready for my next computer then a Mac would be a great way to go. I have been doing a lot of research lately and I really believe he is right.

I would love to hear from others who own or have owned a Mac to hear what your experiences have been, both positive and negative.

Here is what I can tell so far...

Macs are more expensive than PC's. There is no getting around that. Part of what you are paying for is the Apple name as well as pretty packaging.

Most programs will either run on a Mac or have similar programs for Mac that do the same thing. There ae some programs that just will not run or a Mac and have no mac alternative. For those programs, there are ways that you can run the PC program on your Mac, but they cost $ (namely buying a copy of Windows).

Macs just work. you do not have to spend time configuring and loading and figuring out anything. They do what they are supposed to do pretty intuitively and easily.

There is no need to worry about viruses with a Mac. That is not to say that that can't change in the future, but as of right now, there are no real viruses floating out there that will infect your Mac.

So tell me your experiences.
 
I've used both MACs and PCs in the business world and at home. They both perform well in both environments.

For me, application availibility is not an issue. I pretty much use MS Office and a browser and not much else other than the utilities that support peripherals.

I have always appreciated the way the MAC operates and how simple everything is. One of the real advantages I see is that protection packages such as Norton Internet Security, Trend Micro, or McAfee are not needed with the MAC. These packages really slow down the PC's operations. The computer and software takes longer to boot up and processes are slower.

The initial cost is clearly a negative factor, but the operating system is a bigger plus. My next computer will be a MAC too.
 
I had one running OS9 back in the day when I was doing graphics. Apple always had the best graphics or artistic software. I couldn't get the hang of the OS and only used it to run one or two programs. Other than that, it was my custom built PC. I was into graphics, gaming and sound editing so I needed the best of the best for components.

My next computer will be an E-Machine. lol
 
One of the things that I think makes a lot of sense (and is one of Apples big marketing points) is that all the software that comes pre-loaded on your Mac is all made by apple so it all works seamlessly with everything else on the computer. I think that makes a lot of sense. Everything integrates in with everything else. You do not get that on a PC.

I do not need a lot of extra programs either Andy. I do not play games on my computer, other than the occasional web based game. I use it for the internet, music, and photo (and once I get a new computer video) editing.

From what I understand, Mac and PC are basically the same as far as internet goes. The upper hand might go to PC just for the fact that most sites are still written primarily with IE in mind so every once in a while you would get a site that won't work unless you use IE. Those are getting fewer and fewer as time goes on and I actually have not used IE in years and have not had that problem more than a small handful of times.

I have heard that while Macs once were better for graphics application like working with photos and video, PC's now have reached the same level so there is not an advantage as far as what can be done, but where Mac has the advantage is that all the software you need to work with photos or video is already on your Mac and is free. Of course there are more robust programs you can pay for, but the basics are free and there to use.
 
Macs could handle faster CPU's and held alot more RAM so they processed those applications at a faster rate.

I think alot of the internal components today are compatable between the two. Used to be different.
 
Macs could handle faster CPU's and held alot more RAM so they processed those applications at a faster rate.

I think alot of the internal components today are compatable between the two. Used to be different.
yeah that seems to jive with what I have been reading lately.
 
I have a couple of friends that have Macs...They say, "Once you go Mac you will never go Bac"

Am I correct in saying your PC software want run on your new Mac??? I dunno....
 
James has told me that Macs are better for graphics. I think he would love one for his CAD stuff, but we can't afford that right now.

:)Barbara
 
I've been doing graphic design since 1992, mostly on a PC. I can't imagine how a Mac is better - I've always been able to do whatever I wanted to do on a PC, with the right software. I keep hearing that Macs are better than PCs at graphics, but when I ask for specifics, no one has the answer.

Years ago, on the Web design mailing list I've been on since 1996, one Mac user said, Macs kern better. I said, really, did you know X software on the PC has this kerning command, and you can adjust it in millimeter increments? No, she didn't know that. There were several other examples like that, and in the last several years, there's no response at all when I ask how they're better. It was true in the '80s, I think, but not anymore, and it hasn't been true for a very long time.

Another time, a guy said, well, Apple originated the graphical user interface and Windows just copied it. Why should I care who originated it, I said? No answer. I don't care who originated the keyboard layout or the mouse, either, I just want to use them.

The only time I've used a Mac was in a communication design class at the local community college. IT DROVE ME NUTS. When you're used to Windows, you will constantly be closing programs when you mean to minimize them. I don't call that intuitive.

Windows PCs come with a fair amount of basic software, too. And I like having options when I want to add more functionality to my PC.

Also, I got an iPod Touch for Christmas last year; this past summer, a software update for it was released by Apple. After installing it, I could not access the iTunes store anymore. There were a lot of questions on the Apple forum about it; the upshot was, the software was flawed and Apple not only did not fix it quickly, but they didn't even acknowledge that there was a problem. They were still promoting the new version on the site, even though it broke your connection to the store. From forum messages, I gather this is not uncommon - if there's a problem, they just don't acknowledge it, and they fix it quietly and in their own time. So, buyer beware :ermm:
 
I have been on Macs for rthe past 5 years or so, using a G5 in my office for my business, and a MacBook for the rest of my life. Internet life was a little testy at first using Safari, but once I went to Firefox on both machines all the problems went away.

For me, the fact that I have not had a single virus since I've been on Macs is a testament unto itself. With such a small part of the computer world being on Macs, the virus writers don't waste their time. I've also heard that a lot of virus writers are Mac aficionados, and for that reason they leave Macs alone. Not sure if that's true, but I'm sold on my Macs. My MacBook has a dual operating system, so I switch between them to run software like AutoCad.

Joe
 
Do it GB. Get a Mac.

We had PC's for years. Each of them had soooo many problems. bugs, viruses, daily crashes, and all. We finally decided that enough was enough! Bought a Mac a year ago and haven't had a single problem.

iPhoto has some good basic editing and our photos look incredibly better because of it. I also use the "pages" software for creating professional looking documents and flyers. It's crazy easy to use.

I know you have an iphone, like us. You can set up your ical to sync with the calendar on your iphone (if your wife also has an iphone, her calendars will sync with yours too). The calendar is valuable to us, we both have kind of inconsistent schedules and it's nice that it can all sync up without having to do anything but enter it once.

iMovie is a breeze too.

Yes, Macs are expensive but they will last you two or three times longer than any PC.
 
Dh has been saying for awhile now that when his PC is on its last leg he will go with a MAC. This info is good to know. We (as in dh) run a website and he thinks the MAC will be a better way to go regarding the viruses, etc. I'm pretty computer illiterate so I'll pass on this info to him.
Thanks for this info.

Barb
 
Do it GB. Get a Mac.
Oh my mind is made up. I am getting one for sure. It is just a matter of when. If it were up to me i would have it in my hands already.

I have to say, my current computer has been a great machine. I am currently using a Dell laptop that i bought about 6 or 7 years ago I am guessing. I can not remember that far back, but I do not think I have had more than one or two viruses (which is one or two too many) and I caught them quick enough that they did not cause any damage. Aside from the power cord dying 3 or 4 times I have not had any hardware problems 9and the cord was covered by the warranty each time). The only reason I am getting a new computer is because this one is really starting to show its age. It takes 8-15 minutes just to turn on these days. I am completely out of space (easy to do with a 40gig hard drive) so i have most things on my external drive. With 512mb of memory things take forever to load. iTunes can take 5 minutes and forget about opening Photoshop.

I just really think Apple has put a lot of thought into the operating system and how things should be organized and how they should work. Things just seem to make sense. It is not a perfect computer. There are things that might be set up smarter on PC's. One thing I think is ridiculous is the Macbooks do not have a right click button. There is a setting that lets you turn on a right click option though, but you would think that Apple would have put more thought into something like that. It is small potatoes though compared to all the things they got right.
 
You're a patient man, GB. If my computer was that slow, I would have tossed it through a window by now!
 
LOL UB :)

My cousin, the Apple employee, has been kind enough to not only offer me advice, but also offer me his employee discount, so I will not be able to put it on my card. Too bad cause that would have racked up a nice amount of points.
 
I've been doing graphic design since 1992, mostly on a PC. I can't imagine how a Mac is better - I've always been able to do whatever I wanted to do on a PC, with the right software. I keep hearing that Macs are better than PCs at graphics, but when I ask for specifics, no one has the answer.

Years ago it was that way, not so much anymore. Macs could handle 2 gigs of ram where if you had 756 on an IBM you really had something. Same with the processor. The technology between the motherboards and CPU's were a real bottleneck. I remember certain graphic software that was only available for Macs and had some sweet tools. Now, everyone makes the same software for both machines. Like you, I was able to get everything I needed done on my PC but there were differances back then. You could usually acomplish the same task using third party plug-ins.
 
I talked with my wife last night and she gave me the go ahead to order my new computer.

I will be getting a 2.4Ghz MacBook Pro with 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive. To say I am excited is an understatement.
 
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