MAC vs PC drama drama drama

lol the subject line seems more controversial then my question. Anyway, I have like 10 diff Windows based PC computers (all desktop, most of them I built at home) and I've recently been having the urge to buy a notebook... I have NEVER EVER used a MAC computer in my life. I would like to learn, and from what I've heard/read, the new macbooks are very good computers indeed. Here are my questions.

1. I have as I said, never used a MAC. will that be a problem? What I mean is, am I so far into windows right now that I am better off sticking with a PC because I will be too stubborn to learn to use and troubleshoot the OSX tiger? (eventhough the new MACS are windows compatible)

2. Can anyone give me some NONBIASED advantages and disadvantages to buying a MAC or a PC?

3. All the computers I am currently looking at are similarly priced, though the Macbooks are a bit more expensive. Obviously they also come with a few bells and whistles that I may/may not use (ie. isight camera, bluetooth)... So since the cost is about the same, I have to return to my previous question, which one is better?

I suppose I should tell you what I'm looking for in a notebook so you can give me a better opinion. I want a thin/light portable notebook (14.1 inches or smaller, but I dont think I want to go as small as 12 inches). I will be using it mostly for school, and basic multimedia stuff (watching movies, music, internet, maybe some dvd burning, etc...) Please dont let "Basic" be misleading. I am obsessed with buying top of the line electronics, so while a 400 dollar laptop would probably be more then sufficient for me, I will spend 3X that much. I want a core DUO minimum while a core 2 duo is a plus. I MUST have at least 1GB RAM (of course!)... I wont need a dedicated vid card as I dont plan on playing too many games on this....

Ok I think that covers everything, any advice is greatly appreciated, sorry this is so long but I need to know soon so I know what to buy! Please give me an honest opinion, and not one that says "PCS SUCK MACS RULE!" or vice versa (even if that opinion may be true)

 

1. I have as I said, never used a MAC. will that be a problem? What I mean is, am I so far into windows right now that I am better off sticking with a PC because I will be too stubborn to learn to use and troubleshoot the OSX tiger? (eventhough the new MACS are windows compatible)

Getting used to using a Mac computer won't take that long.But what you need to ask yourself is:
Why do i want a mac?
What are the advantages?
Am i buying a Mac because of all the advertisements?
What will i use the Mac for that i can't do on pc(vice-versa)?

I am better off sticking with a PC because I will be too stubborn to learn to use and troubleshoot the OSX tiger?
We'll it depends how advanced you are on a Pc?
Are you ready to sacrifice all the things you get on a pc that aren't compatible with MAC?

mAC are probaby better for graphics and for people who specialize in something specific like recording music.

which one is better?
Nobody can say pc is better or mac is better it all depends on a lot of things.


To round everything up i'd say that if you need a computer to write things and to surf the net i'd go with a pc cause there cheaper but if you want to make podcasts... then go with mac.

That's about it.

 

You are very fortunate that I happened to be browsing this forum because I can give you some good information.

I have been a PC user for over 12 years. I had never been interested in a Mac but, was always intrigued by the loyalty Mac users had towards their brand. As a PC user I have had Sony, Dell, HP, IBm etc..and could care less which "brand" I owned so long as it was cutting edge fast and ran all of my programs efficently.

I went to the NYC Mac store and played with a few of the Macbook Pro Core 2 Duo machines. Not much more than fiddling with the widgets, surfing the net and using the internal camera.

I made the decision to go with the Mac and I will tell you why. I am sick and tired of viruses, defragging my HD, spyware, constant updates, slow boot up times and so on. With a mac there is no need to get into the registry and mess around, no viruses, no defragging, no spyware no nothing..it is a simple machine to use and required about 3 hours of learning to get accustomed to using it. A friend of mine referred me to the Apple website that has a specific tutorial that helps you make the transition from PC to Mac. It is called Switch 101, here is the link: http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/

I am having so much fun with the Mac that I am considering switching my home PC over but, I cannot and will not because there are quite a few programs out there that do not work or are not available with a Mac and I have quite a bit of knowledge having used my PC for so long. It is possible to use 2 operating systems on the Macbooks now with a program called boot camp but, I prefer to keep my Mac OS as mac and the PC OS as Windows.

Overall I am very happy I made the switch, I think anyone who uses a PC laptop would be impressed too. It is very fast, the OS is also very cool with programs that just evaporate when you minimize a window. Also, no need to unistall programs, just drag it to the desktop and the program is gone. Kinda scary to think that if you drag the wrong Icon you lose the program but, perhaps there is an easy way to restore it like a "go back" button on Adobe Photoshop but, I don't know so I can't say.

The only negative I can say is that my little cousing now calls me one of those losers he sees at Starbucks with their Macbooks reading poetry and wasting time. Not a title I enjoy or a group I choose to be associated with but, I do like the Macbook.

 

Thank you both very much for your posts! To be honest, I want a MAC for no other reason but to try something new... I wont be doing anything except writing research papers, and surfing the web, so a PC would be more then fine (and very cost effective) but I've always wanted to use a mac... right now the only issue for me is whether I want to spend 1300 on the higher-end macbook... Agghh, if only they were cheaper!

Anyway thx again, I have a few more weeks so I'll think about it, but I think i'm really leaning towards a mac because of alot of the convenience features ericbee listed (virus-free, no degrag, etc. etc.)... I still have all my desktops so if I ever need windows, I can always leave starbucks!

 

I'd just like to add that the reason for mac having no viruses is because it's not very popular so virus-writers don't write viruses for it.This means that the more popular Mac becomes the more viruses and spam for it.

BE carful.

 

Once you go MAC, you don't go BACK

 

I have used both Macs and PCs for a number of years and I'll say that, while I'd definitely take a Mac over Vista, Macs don't hold a candle to the PC. I'd even take Linux over Mac, and I'm no fan of Linux' crappy GUI.

The historical advantage of Macs as computing platforms was in graphics. That advantage is long since gone as PCs have better graphics cards and processors. And Mac users are kidding themselves that Macs are more secure. As someone else pointed out, since Macs make up such a small market share, there is little reason for virus-writers to target them. But malware for Macs DOES exist (see http://antivirus.about.com/od/macintoshresource/Macintosh_Viruses_and_Mac_Virus_Resources.htm for a small sample), and there are fewer options for properly securing them. I seem to remember viruses as far back as 1997 or so, so this is not new.

I feel the MacIntosh has become merely an overpriced toy. Although I do think the Mac might become a practical alternative for those of us who find Microsoft Vista to be too much to stomach, and I agree with ericbee that they are fun to use, they are clearly inferior technologically to Windows and perhaps even Linux-based PCs.

 

Most people just don't seem to understand what that means. The mac is not virus free cause it's so good is caue there is no virus to spred. If you're doing professional photo editing or something ppl go to mac. But Pc also have the same quilty as mac. It really depends on software for those kinds of things. But in your case PC would be a good idea. Cause a lot of stuff programs doesn't work with mac. Microsoft office can run in mac but a lot of people is having trouble with them and it's not FULL microsoft office. Some featchers doesn't work.

 

Ive had years of experience with both mac and pc and here is my honest oppinion.

A lot of people have said that mac is not virus free. It is true, there ARE viruses for mac, but you will hardly ever encounter them. Why? Because its IMPOSSIBLE. period. to get into a mac without the admin password, there is no around this even in an emergency. Say if you forgot your password.

PC's are better at running games, simply because there are more games for them, its not that the software or hardware is superior. The same with office apps. But not by much, mac is catching up in that area. Mac dominates in lifestyle, and is getting better everyday.

Another note, there are lots of games for mac, just not as many as pc.

One final note, when i bought my mac, i didnt need to use any tutorials, it was so easy to set up and use, no problems, no fuss, eassy. It took 2 hours and i was listening to my favourite songs.

 

hello everyone i am also considering buying a mac maybe for college at the end of this year and the biggest set back i have had with them is that they dont run as many games as windows but now i found out that they can run windows so here is my question...

is their any set backs or things that dont work as well on a mac running windows than a pc running windows?

i think this is cool because if i cant find a program for mac then you can just switch over to windows. wont that make the decision process easier knowing that if you do have any trouble that you can just switch over to windows? idk i think so

 

I am using WinXP on a MacBook right now and it is great. I bought a new 100 GB hard drive (which by the way is extremely easy to install) so I wouldn't be cramped for space and I have 20 GB for Windows ~75 for OS X. I basically just use windows for gaming and checking websites for compatibility when I am designing. I have used a Mac since the first one in 1984 (I was 5) and have reluctantly used PCs too (because it is impossible to avoid them) but this is the best of both worlds. You just choose which OS you want to use when you startup.

The only problems are:
1. No right mouse button means you have to use the little "Enter" key for Right clicks. (Get "Input Remapper" to change what all the keys do)
2. Windows cannot read the OS X partition, but OS X can read and write to the Windows partition (if you format as FAT32, limits to maximum 32 partition)

Good Luck Deciding

 

Zax you can do the same on a pc.have mac os and xp.

 

As I understand it the Mac emulator has marginal compatibility and is slow, as is almost always the case with emulators. Get a PC with XP while you can. Don't be lulled into this phony "get the best of both worlds" mentality, because in the computer world, things don't work like that; if you absolutely NEED a Mac, get one, but otherwise stick with what works - a Windows XP PC.

 

You might want to get windows xp fast cause they're replacing it with vista crap. They'll even give you a copy of vista if you want for free.

 

i hope vista flops.

 

yeah im trying this OSX86 stuff and it looks like im going to go down that route right now. i have a 250 GB hard drive for windows and what i plan on doing is putting in an old 12 gb hard drive and installing OSX on that one then when i need to save something ill put into my 250 GB one. ( i cant repartition that HD because its a family computer and windows takes forever to install along with all the other crap i have on it!) i have a question though, can you partition two hard drives into one partition so it looks like one hard drive? if so how can you do this? ( i have two old hard drives that i wold like to use for OSX) i feel so rebellious because im going to run OSX soon lol

EDIT: will i even be able to run OSX on my rig?
my computer's spec's
-AMD Duron 1.4 processor (overclocked to 1.75)
-1024 MB of Ram
-250GB HD (Win XP)
-(soon to be) 12GB and 6GB HD (this is where OSX will be Going)
-Nvidia Gforce FX 5200 128Mb Video Card
-piece of crap 17 inch CRT monitor

im mostly concerned about the monitor because i think it has a max resolution of 1280 x 1024 and the max refresh rate of 75 Hz (i think) and i noticed that on the mac i was working on today at school it was running at like 113Hz, will OSX adjust itself? or whats the deal on that?

 

Those specs should be fine for OS X. Who knows what the system requirements will be for 10.5 (comes out in the spring but as of now you are plenty sufficient for 10.4.

Boot Camp is not an emulator! Boot Camp is a partition assistant that loads a real version of XP on any intel Mac. There are no compatibility or speed issues. In fact with games on a MacBook or MacMini, XP is faster because it uses the shared video RAM more effectively. When Boot Camp first came out (i think it was) PC world who did benchmarks of a MacBook vs. a Dell, a Sony and other comparable laptops running Windows and the Mac ran XP faster!

The only "compatibility" issue I have encountered is no right mouse button on the built-in trackpad. (You can just use two fingers like you can in OS X. but you can remap any of the keys with Input Remapper to replace it.

That said you can definately save money by bying a PC and running OS X on it

 

cool! but one thing, can the right click issue be solved buy just getting a mouse that has two buttons on it? and ive seen mac mice that are two button compatible, wont those work on mac-windows?

 

cool! but one thing, can the right click issue be solved buy just getting a mouse that has two buttons on it? and ive seen mac mice that are two button compatible, wont those work on mac-windows?[/quote]

 

Yes, any two button mouse works for Mac or PC. Or a Mac running XP. I am referring only to Mac Laptops which only have a single "mouse" button.