Macs & PCs

[carrowsboy]

Longtime PC user here, haven't used a Mac in over a decade.

I'm shopping for a new desktop & my friend highly recommended an iMac saying they were more user friendly for what I wanted to do (internet, CD/DVD burning).

I recently bought a Dell Inspiron 8600 and am sending it back. Didn't even have it 3 days and there were huge problems. Disc drive doesn't work, screen freezes up, etc.

My friend asked "if you are spending so much money, then just buy a Mac. It is so much better and easier to use."

My response was that I really don't know that much about them, or even anyone who uses them. Everyone I have asked about their Mac or their friends' Mac raves about them.

So what am I missing out on? What are your thoughts?

[Diego360]

1. Have used both and like the Mac.

OS X is powerful and stable, much more elegant and easy to use than my current rig (a Dell running XP). Internet-- a wash between the two platforms, or maybe slight edge to the PC for greater variety of Internet software (how many FTP programs do you really need, though). CD/DVD-- Mac, hands down.

BUT- software for PC is more plentiful. Initial costs are also less with the PC, though they even out in the long run since Macs hold their value better and are IMHO more reliable and made with better components.

YMMV of course.

[JaySherman]

2. I echo that statement

The biggest problem you're going to run into with a Mac is that lack of compatible software. If you decide to go PC, I'd recommend getting it from www.alienware.com or www.emachines.com. These companies don't cut corners by using cheap second rate hardware. Mainstream retailers like Dell do. That's why their PC's suck so much.

[oostevo]

7. Emachines?

If you and I are thinking of the same Emachines, I am sorry to say that you are quite wrong. Emachines integrates everything to save money, and thus makes computer with quite poor performance.

Really, if you decide to go with the PC, save yourself money and build yourself the best computer you can by looking through www.pricewatch.com.

[beevul]

21. I'll second that...

good deals on pricewatch, for sure.

[scubadude]

15. CD/DVD now belongs to the PC

I have used Windows Moviemaker 2.0 on massive digital movie files and it smokes! The best thing is it's free and supports many ditital formats.

Here's some backup: http://www.windowsmoviemakers.net/WMM2Review.aspx

Ron

[WilliamPitt]

3. Macs suck

*ducking, fleeing, giggling*

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

13. that post amazes me

when u type on yur PC is there a mirror nearby?

[Rooktoven]

29. Macs suck less than PCs running windows

But more than PCs very running Linux. Overall you get quality hardware with macs. Most problems with Dells are due to crappy Microsoft software (read: windows) and Dell installed crap.

For the record, I'm typing this on a mac powerbook-- which my office given me for home and work use. (I like that the wireless works with little effort, and I can do this laying on the bed.)

For serious work I prefer Linux though, far and away.

[cprise]

4. Macs deserve raves

especially the current crop.

If you want something that just works, and won't be attacked by dozens of viruses and hackers and spyware and popup ads, etc etc... then get a Mac!

:)

[SmileyBoy]

18. And if you want to be frustrated by a shitty mouse, get a Mac!!!

Amazing that Apple invented the mouse. PC's have blown Macs away in that regard.

[Rooktoven]

31. You can use a 2 button mouse w/ mac

Just get a usb mouse (any logitech) and the right mouse button works like command (apple) click in OS X.

[Atman]

33. This is the most stupid Mac myth ever

It drives us Mac users nuts...JUST GET A MOUSE WITH AS MANY BUTTONS AS YOU WANT! Jesus H! You pan a good product over a $9 replacement part. Yup...ANY mouse you choose. I've picked a cheap 2 button scroll mouse at Sears in an emergency for $9. Personally, I use a Kensington Expert Mouse Pro, and it has 10 buttons. And you know what? I still constantly have my left hand on the modifier keys. So if I HAD to use the one-button mouse (which is a beautiful piece of work in and of itself, buttonally challenged as it is), it wouldn't make much difference. I'd deal. But I sure as hell wouldn't put up with all the shortcomings of Windows just because of it.

So there! That proves it once and for all! That, uh...lemme see here...what does it prove again?


Sheeeeeesh.

[ben_thayer]

5. What dygger said...

I am forced to use the Dell/XP combo at work, but when I get home I scrape the Microsoft off my shoes and sail away on my G3.
Macs RULE!
:)

[Emillereid]

6. We have 3 PCs, one old mac and one iMac in our house --

Guess which is more popular -- right, the iMac. I started out on a PC, but because my significant other is into photography and graphics, we got a Mac. We now are owners of a second Mac.

There's plenty of software for Macs -- all that any normal person would ever need. Unless you're into shoot em up video games(definitely more PC software) I think the Mac is the way to go.

The interface with Mac is just easier and more straight forward -- doing anything on a PC seems always take extra steps. Creating files and putting them away are much easier on Macs. Very stable too. The mac seems to be able to open almost anything too -- I had some old files made on ami pro ( a windows program) that our newer wintel machines couldn't open, but sure enough the mac can -- go figure.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. I'm a Mac person

and so are at least 3/4 of the people who bring their computers to the neighborhood coffeehop. One day we had my elderly (late 2000 clamshell iBook, two sizes of newer iBooks, a 15" Powerbook, and a 17" Powerbook set up at once. It looked like a Mac showroom.)

[frogbison]

10. Have an new G5 at work

Operating system 10.3+. Man! It is just so easy to use. It is so intuitive that I'm quite sure that the major obstacle to getting things done is me, holding on to an old operating system. My G3 (OS 8.6) at home seems like a dinosaur --- but light years ahead of a pc.

[gold_bug]

9. I like mac best

I love OS X. But WinXP is pretty good for Windows. And you'll get more hardware power per dollar with Wintel. If I was gonna but a new computer today I'd probably get this one:
http://www.apple.com/education/emac/
for about $1100 you get G4 altivec power, a CD-R and DVD-R combo, 80 gig HD, 512megs RAM and the almighty Panther OS :) Of course the $600 PCs are ubiquitous, but they don't really compare to the mac IMHO.

[REP]

11. Mac

The only software availability problem is with games (blame M$ and their buy-out of Bungee for one). I'm not a gamer, and they can have my Mac when they pry it from my cold, dead hands.

[alfredo]

12. the keyboards on the Mac are excellent. The feedback is so nice.

Even the one button mouse is not bad. I use a trackball, but the mouse that comes with the iMac is elegant.

all the features you have seen them discuss above are true, but one thing you will soon appreciate is the design. I am not just talking about how it looks, but how it all works together. They want nothing to get in the way of what you are doing.

There is no lack of software. There may not be a bunch on the shelves, but there is plenty. One site I frequent has over 9,100 Mac software programs. Most of them are free,or shareware.

The community is very good, and very helpful, kind of like the Linux crowd, but not as geeky. More right brain people use Macs.



BTW, I just read that the FBI uses Macs in office. Cheap IBM laptops are used on the road.

[Zech Marquis]

26. G men using G5s

sounds like a commercial to me :evilgrin:

[beevul]

14. Pc.

If you have the knowledge, build your own.

There are alot of places you can get what you need at low prices.

Any of those like dell, gateway, and the like...garbage IMO.

I'm not so hot on XP either, but thats just me. I'm no microsoft lover, but 98SE has been decent to me.

If you build one yourself, you don't proprietary bios/half featured software/hardware. You also don't have to pay a bunch of money for shit you might not want, or things installed that you wish weren't, added into the "package".

You get what you build.

Then again, if you don't want to mess with it, that isn't an option.

My PC ...I watch tv, listen to the radio, dolby digital sound. 80 GB storage+superdisk+DVD,...but then, I used to IRC alot when I had broadband, and wasn't playing EQ.

I guess it depends on what you use your computer for, and what your expectations are based on that use.

[ConcernedCanuk]

16. PC here, but "tweaked" by myself

.
.

well, with the help of different software/hardware.

like 2 extra fans,(processors don't like heat)

and "filtered" all the air intakes.

3 hard drives, to speed it up.

Major operating system on one, add-on programs on another, and files/graphics on the other.

reasoning? - well the slowest part of the whole read/write is the mechanical movements inside the HD, so if C is doing this, D is doing that, and E - well you get the idea. And if I wanna take my info anywhere, I just yank the third HD, its in the spare CD port.

Not only the speed and portability of all my files, I am wearing out HD's at approx. 1/3 of normal wear.

Windows defrag suks, so I installed one that reboots, shuts down all them other extra background program and sails through without the infamous "disc contents changed, reading disc information"(something like that - I haven't seen it for ages) then it starts defraging all over again.

And everyone else is right about the availability thing, up here, there is not ONE Mac dealer, and only one sorta "backyard" type guy that will service/repair Macs.

So, I'm probably "imbedded" with PC, regardless(or is that irregardless) of Mac's benefits. I have heard tho that people that are into major graphics swear by Macs, but I'm just a foolaround PhotoChopper, so no biggie.

Oh, and it's a Dell

an Ooooooold Dell

[asthmaticeog]

37. You nailed it

"people that are into major graphics swear by Macs"

Hells yeah, we do. I'm an Art Director, and I've used both platforms professionally. Mac runs away with it. It's font handling is far superior (not a big deal to programmers and 'net surfers, but when you've got like 2500 fonts, oh good LORD, does it matter!) and the color-management built into the OS dusts anything on PC that I've had to buy seperately (though in fairness, it's not like I've tried everything). My service bureau wants Mac files, my printer wants Mac files - even if there weren't any intrinsic advantages to the machine and OS, I'd have to have one to be technologically relevant. Plus if I switched now, I'd have to rebuild that font library I've spent a decade building. (And before anyone says "free fonts," there's a very, very big difference. I promise.) I've bever run into the problems people talk about w/r/t software availability, but I'm not into games. If I get into games, I'll spend $150 on a game console for the TV, not a grand on another computer.

My roommate OTOH is a technician and an avid gamer, so it makes perfect sense for him to have a PC. He put his machine together himself out of parts he ordered from a discount house, and the thing just amazes me - it utterly SMOKES, and it was dirt cheap. He'd be a fool to run a Mac. We run a linux box between our two machines so we can split our DSL bandwidth without running seperate firewalls, and we're both pretty happy about our computer situations.

[SmileyBoy]

17. PC's are more user-friendly. Also, Mac mouses are the worst.

The mouse for my Gateway computer fits snuggly in my hands, moves at a decent speed, and has a rolling wheel.

Mac mouses are too small, move slowly, and have no wheel.

[burrowowl]

19. PC mice are

good because when the left click craps out you can program the right click to do what the left click used to do.
I have a Mac, unfortunately people I know have PCs with tatada XP. XP is full of glitches which I have helped them overcome until the next one comes up. If one likes diddling with the computer instead of using as a tool, i.e., doing work or something with it besides diddling with the computer, stay with PC. If not get a Mac (with which you can Unix too) or go Linux.

[ConcernedCanuk]

20. I find this hard to believe that just a mouse could create these problems

.
.
.

And priding myself on being informed before expressing an opinion

especially when it could be inflamatory,

I performed an in-depth research on this problem with as many sources as possible,

and have found the alleged problem with MacMice if ya wanna call them that

[beevul]

22. Of all the mice...

I have ever used, I like the wingman gaming mouse best. A little spendy, but man, what a mouse.

[Awsi Dooger]

23. You will be amazed at the stability of OS X

Jaguar and Panther are remarkable, virtually crashproof. In 15 months of Jaguar I have had one application quit, and twice got the spinning colored pinwheel when an application stalled. That's it, period. Not a single cursor freeze. And I NEVER had to restart during the three instances, a force-quit of the application solved everything.

OS X is Unix-based and not quite as intuitive as Classic (OS 9 and earlier), but certainly more sensible than anything on a PC. I work on PCs during my job as a casino sportbook consultant and honestly can't believe they are the overwhelming choice.

Macs are more expensive, and eBay is generally a sellers market, not buyers market, for recent model Macs. Incredibly, they can fetch near-new prices. Your best bet for a good deal on an iMac is either DealMac.com, http://dealmac.com/?sess=ec15687997f6f827ad9e1d7ba020a9cb or the Apple Store itself, http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa, notably the Special Deals page. They feature discounts on recent Macs, and the refurbished models are especially attractive in price.

Keep in mind iMacs have a G4 (Motorolla) processor and have yet to be updated to G5 specs. That is expected shortly, likely within the next few months. The G5 processors are significantly faster and more advanced, much more than the leap from G3 to G4. But prices on G4 iMacs are sure to drop once a G5 version is available.

[RebelOne]

24. I like them equally as well.

I use a Mac G-4 at the office and a PC at home. I have found, though, that the Mac is a little more user-friendly. My PC is an emachine, but it serves it purpose, as I only use it for surfing the Web.

[Zech Marquis]

25. stay away from Dell

not only are their PCs lousy, that's one of the biggest repuke companies out there, and of course they've outsourced alot of good paying jos to India and the Philippines. I bet when you called tech support, you got someone on the other end with a very heavy accent :argh:

I'll be buying an iBook in about 45-60 days, and I can tell you that Macs can do anything you need or want to do, without all the hair pulling and other ordeals with Windoze. The only cross application you MIGHT need is Office--depending on your job/school--although you can open Word docs in Panther using Textedit. The iMac, IBook, and eMac all come with Appleworks, which will open,edit and save Office files (Word), and the Mac versions of the Office apps are actually very good--more expensive, but still quite good.

The only way I'll get a PC will e for that Gateway Media Center mdel that looks like a big dvd player--mainly for recording shows and playing flight simulators. But I seriously doubt I will do that now. Why? As you probably know, the Xbox 2 is in development by M$, and soeome from Redmond took a photo of what the next Xbox dev kits will be...at the mment they're using Power Mac G5s :wow: the next Xbox will be using chips very similar to the ones you'll find in the Power mac G5s now and aTi graphics cards--again, VERY similar to the Power Mac. I think that speaks for itself :D

[ConcernedCanuk]

27. Sorry, too late - - luv my Dell, best PC I've had so far

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AND, I get support for this 6 year old beast, even though I bought it used.

All I hadda do was register it (free) with the service code on the inside, and it was originally registed in the USA even!

More info at post #16

ps: sorry about the repuke part didn't know !! :shrug:

[carrowsboy]

28. YES!

I just bought the Inspiron 8600 and had HUGE problems. AOL doesn't work right, the CD/DVD drive does not read discs, etc.

I'm trying to return it now but am having MAJOR problems with customer service.

I feel like I have lost $2600. How will I get it back?

I have been sick all week and have cried a few times. I called my friend who suggested I get a Mac. I told her I don't really knwo much about them but will go today for a demonstration at the Apple Retail Store. I started asking around and while not many people own one, they said their friends that do LOVE them.

I figure I can't do much worse.

I just feel so frustrated & sick with Dell.

[Rooktoven]

30. It's not usually the PC that sucks, but rather windows.

By a copy of Mandrake or Suse Linux. It's pretty easy to pick up the KDE interface. Or go to knoppix.org and have someone burn you a cd of knoppix linux. You can boot directly off the CD and learn how the KDE interface to Linux works with no effort at all.

[ProudGerman]

38. And its not usually Windows either

Its crap software installed ontop of Windows that is usually the culprit. That's the entire problem with Windows, its ubiquitous. If Macs were dominating the market the same as Windows based PCs were, they'd have just as many problems with crashes, hacking, virii and everything else people bitch about Windows for. The same goes for Linux as well.

My wintel machine, that I built, is as stable as any I've heard a Mac user boast about. Every last problem I've ever had with it, and they've been few and far between, has been the direct result of something else I've installed without fully researching the program.

My brother is running the same OS as me, XP, and he crashes a couple of times a day. The only difference between him and me, who can't even remember his last hard crash, is that he is overclocked beyond the limits of good sense, and he installs other programs willy nilly.

Let Macs, and Linux as well, gain substantial market share and watch the problems for both of those OS's rise as well.

[TreasonousBastard]

32. Go with the Mac, if...

you don't have any specialized software you need and you are prepared for Apple's curious notions about repair/replacement. I know two poplw who got lemons, and Apple refused to replace them after dozens of trips to the repair shop. They are apparently the exception, though. Most Apple products work very well and for a long time.

I've been drooling for a Mac for years, even moreso with the new OS, but can't justify the cost at the moment. It's gotta be a discretionary purchase if and when I have the money. I've got too much PC software that probably can't be easily replaced on a Mac. Of course, if the Windoz emulators out there work well enough, I'd be happy.

I have it on good authority that two button wheel mice CAN be used on a Mac.

Since OS X is more or less Linux based, or BSD or some damn thing, a number of Linux apps have been successfully installed on Macs, although with a fair amount of tweaking and diddling.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

34. As the replies to this thread indicate

PCs are fun for techie types who like to play around with the hardware and software.

Macs are best for people who don't have the expertise or patience for that and would rather get right down to work.

For example, here are the typical installation instructions for a piece of Mac software:

1. Insert disk

2. Click on Install

Compare and contrast this with the typical PC installation instructions.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

35. AMIGAS RULE!!!

Oops! This post is 10 years too late.

[asthmaticeog]

36. Don't you mean 15 years too late?

Still, I loved Amigas - learned graphics on them in like '88, and it's my gig now. I'd love to get an old Amiga just for giggles if I had anywhere to put it.