[Closed] New computer required, PC or Mac?

Theres a good discussion on here, and on google..

Personally i have just changed to a mac and its not comparable to a pc with regard to spec.

Depends what you want from a computer.

When you say not comparable, is that in a good way? Also, does a Mac 'see' your iPod and are you able to import directly into iTunes?

Spud - think about what you have just asked in your last post, then go sit in the dufus corner...:D

I must be having a thick day as I can't see my mistake... enlighten me?

Spud - Macs are far superior to PCs and they work incredibly well with ipods, just like everything else made by apple does.

Sorry, I am coming at this from a use 'em - don't understand 'em angle.

Ta

Macs have one clear advantage:

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Cable clutter? You have not seen the HPs then. And they come with touch screen.

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I can't be arsed to get into all the whys and wherefores again - but I got a mac laptop a few years ago having always used PCs before. Would never go back.

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If you buy a Mac you can run windows on it.

There isn't a standard type of PC, so for comparisons you need to narrow down what you're looking at. Generally, Mac have very good components, build quality and come with some superb software (for free).

Mac for me, I switched in 2005.

This is a 'no brainer' !!

Go and do a Mircosoft software update and then do a Mac update......I did one on my work PC yesterday and I lost the will to live after the 6th hour!!

Buy a Mac....you will never regret it
Piece if piss to use, no virus issues....easy life all the way, everyday !!

And they look better than ANYTHINY else on earth ! 😉

Go and do a Mircosoft software update and then do a Mac update......I did one on my work PC yesterday and I lost the will to live after the 6th hour!!

Yeah because Mac updates always go smoothly:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/16/apple_update_perl_breakage/
http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/12/snow-leopard-guest-account-bug-deleting-user-files-terrorizin/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/27/snow_leopard_incompatibilities/

Oh and I've [u]never[/u] had a Windows Update take six hours, even downloading and installing a full service pack takes like 20 minutes.

no virus issues.

"Apple is recommending the use of anti-virus tools to protect Mac systems... The admission that security scanner software was a good idea for Mac users came in an unheralded update to Apple's support site made on 21 November 2008"
-- http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/02/apple_mac_av_advice/

I've yet to hear of anyone ever actually getting a virus on a Mac though - we have loads of them at work with no anti-virus software, and I've downloaded all sorts of dodgy software on mine 😉

So you have no way to detect any viruses on any of your work Macs and so far you haven't detected any viruses? Genius. 😉

a virus does not generally advertise the fact that its running havoc on your computer regardless of platform grumm.

for the record Macs are beautiful pieces of kit. But I love the quirks with my windows platform and I can't afford a mac!

No you can tell they don't have viruses because 'they just work' 😉

I have had viruses on PC before - reinstalling the operating system gets pretty tedious.

windows 7 advert - " im a PC but, i wish i wish a Mac"

once you go Mac you will never go back .

happy mac user .

Went to Mac after windows 98 and have never regretted it.

I bought a mac a few months ago after using a PC for the last 20 years and it is an absolute joy to use. Just a pity I need to use a windows PC for work.

Mac here aswell...
i like:
mac os x- i move around the computer alot faster/easier than windows
the design of the laptop- I dont get why PC supporters are always like 'you only like it because it's pretty'...why do i want a laptop that looks like someone covered it in glue then threw it in the waste plastics bin?
nice innovative touches-magnetic closure, magsafe protector, backlit keyboard etc etc etc
The trackpad on laptops with the finger gestures is so good, keep trying to do it on windows laptops!
installing programs/uninstalling is so easy
No viruses
Shuts down/starts up in seconds, and the sleep function actually works.
It should hold its value pretty well should I ever sell it
And apple customer support is really good.

I love seeing GrahamS trying to persuade people to buy a pc over a mac. It's comedy genius...or does he really mean it? 😯

wouldn't go back to PC's after 3 years on Mac

how many have you heard say the opposite - 'I was on mac, went to PC and would never go back to mac'?

no, thought not

i have an XP netbook for my kids to use and its a nightmare for bugs and freezes.

Everytime I go to my parents' house I'm condemned to using a Mac, horrible things with cack keyboards and nothing works as you'd expect. It's always a relief to get back to my PC.

Never had a problem with viruses despite over 15 years of PC use, either.

Everytime I go to my parents' house I'm condemned to using a PC, horrible things with cack keyboards and nothing works as you'd expect. It's always a relief to get back to my Mac.

I use PC's at work and have a Dell XPS desktop at home purchased just over a year ago. It has Vista installed and has never given me trouble. Having said that I work as a SQL DBA so buggering about with windows is second nature.

I purchased an Intel Macbook pro in 2006, OSX has satisfied my inner geek by giving me a new command line to play around with and familiarized me with Unix/Linux type stuff. This has been dead useful when supporting the odd Linux/mySQL install that turns up hidden on client networks.

Given the choice once I get home from the office I'd sooner be using OSX over Vista however I can never get the macbook pro off my wife...Once I have enough cash the XPS will probably be replaced by an iMac with Sun Virtual Box running windows to deal with a few work things. Since my daughter was born I seem to have little time for the PC games which were the main reason for the XPS purchase.

I'm sure you would be happy with either, the bad old days of windows 98/ME and PC's shipping with woeful hardware specifications seem to be over. Windows 7 is getting a thumbs up all round so go for that if you do go PC.

I love seeing GrahamS trying to persuade people to buy a pc over a mac. It's comedy genius...or does he really mean it?

Wasn't my first post actually in support of the Mac?

I'm a PC man myself, but I'm no apologist. I do think Macs are really good for certain people, as evidenced by the replies on this thread.

They are a much more closed environment, which is why stuff "just works" on them. Many people are happy with that.

PCs are much more open, which means you get more choice, but also means it's completely impossible to fully test anything, so there can be more issues with them.

It's a compromise either way.

It just grips my sh*t a bit when indoctrinated Mac users pretend that it isn't and that everything is just shiny and perfect in Mac-land 😀

my macs have been shiny and perfect for four years now 🙂

[i]how many have you heard say the opposite - 'I was on mac, went to PC and would never go back to mac'?[/i]

/Waves.

I have to be honest, I just don't get it. Everything that works really well on a PC or linux/whatever, they've changed on the MAC and the only reason I can see is so it's different, not better. I rarely bother digging hard on these discussions any more because trolling MAC owners is so easy it's boring but I couldn't see what was SO much better than a PC. I read the threads and people will come up with long lists of why they went to a MAC, invariably bad things about PC's rather than good things about MAC's and I just don't get the same problems that people talk about, never have.

If someone can come up with a series of reasons other than the tired old 'no viruses' (I don't get viruses on my windows or linux pc's) or 'it looks great' (of no interest to me), I'll be happy to read it but no-one ever does.

I've had this mac a few days and have already had it crash a few times and had to do a clean install on it. Serves me right for buggering about with it though.

The thing with Macs isn't really to do with the software, it's to do with the build quality and design - you do pay for it though.

2 Macs and 1 PC.

iLife

for me its mostly about the software and ease of use

What is so special about Mac software RS? There is no software that you can get for a mac that you can get a comparable shareware version for the the PC for free.

It just grips my sh*t a bit when indoctrinated Mac users pretend that it isn't and that everything is just shiny and perfect in Mac-land

😆 😆 😆

Bit like singlespeeders really.

Garageband for one is a superb piece of software - if anyone knows of a good PC equivalent then please let me know as I'm always being asked to recommend one.

ilife, I know you get pc software which does the same but the experience is not in the same league.

is garageband free? Just looking at the website now, that does look very good indeed.

I did read a couple of years ago that Microsoft Works was better on a Mac than PC and that came from the Microsoft programmers. Don't know if it still is.

it is if you buy a mac

Yup it's free, and it integrates really nicely with imovie, itunes etc. Also if you get really into recording you can upgrade to Logic (the professional version of Garageband basically) and open the Garageband projects.

The mac laptops also have a surprisingly good internal mic you can use with it.

My soundcard and midi keyboard for which I spent literally at least a day installing drivers and messing about to get them to work on my PC - worked straight away as soon as I plugged them in to my Macbook.

Doing the work I do (community music education etc) would obviously be possible on PCs, but it's so much more efficent and pleasant using Macs.

I'm not going to claim everything is perfect, but it's just generally much more pleasant to use.

Mac vs PC - the other side:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3ZTCZW_cRw

Oh and also...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JixbzFjv_cU

😉

Still a large amount of 'missing the point by a country mile' going on; when you cook, do you sing the praises of your oven or do you just eat? When you shower do you sing the praises of your shower, or just get clean?
When you ride your bike, do you spend ages praising the quality and sophistication of your bike or... Oh yes, it's STW, my mistake...

PCs and Macs are just tools...

So as long as you get the job done in the end then it doesn't really matter if the tool was a joy to use and perfectly executed your every wish, or was a impossible to use and cut your hand to ribbons?

And you'd be just as happy showering under a cold dripping hosepipe as a hot power shower with pulsing massage setting?

Talk sense man. 🙂

I am talking significantly more sense than most in the PC/Mac debate; it's about the end product, it's all about the showering rather than the shower, about the meal rather than the oven, and although I'm in a minority, I think it's about the ride not the bike...

...and for ****s sake, for browsing the inanities of STW, it really, really doesn't matter!

for browsing the inanities of STW, it really, really doesn't matter!

You're right there. And for that crap like this I'm quite happy to switch between my XP netbook and my iPhone, depending on whichever is closest to hand 🙂

And there's one thing they are both good at:

+1 😀

i use macs and pcs equally in work, the software we use for molecular biology is often compatible with one or the other
they both have pros and cons for day to day usage and their own quirks but generally the macs only real benefit is slightly more intuitive interface
i have both mac and pc laptops at home but use the mac for music stuff garageband and nin is awesome! mac for work stuff office etc because of forementioned slickness and pc for browsing/ games

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or

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though I should point out that the suggestion that a mac is somehow sexy or will ensure that sexy women will be attracted to you if you own one says a lot about some mac people...

Bought my daughter a Apple Note book has she wants to do Advertising
which mainly you find the Apple being used.

One thing she dont like say is the MSN on the machine
apparantly she says works better on a PC.

One thing is you dont need an antivirus software as all built in
but do sell it to some who think they need it.

Alot has and noticable gone into design through out the Apple range
of products and the simpicity in human usage to there products.

A great thing Apple do in there shops is workshops where you
can say buy software and they show you how to use this.
Costs me around £ 70 quid per year, but to see my daughter fly around
her Mac with great results.
Well worth the cash.

We have 4 macs in our house (powerbook 17", intel macbook, 20" iMac, 24" iMac). 3 of them have broken & have had to be repaired.

I thought Apple did have the edge, but now, with Windows 7, that's no longer true. Windows 7 is great & will give your old PC a new lease of life.

For 'general' computer use (internet, Word processing, spreadsheets) the PC/Mac discussion is on an equal par.
For 'ease' of use with processing photos, videos, managing and editing....the Mac pisses all over a PC.

No extra software to install.....everything ready to plug and play....SOOOO much easier than a PC, no matter what the deluded PC lovers and huggers on this thread will have you believe!

For 'ease' of use with processing photos, videos, managing and editing....the Mac pisses all over a PC.
No extra software to install.....

really? So do Macs come with Photoshop, Lightroom and CaptureNX already installed then? 🙄

Photoshop, Lightroom and CaptureNX already installed then?

Do PCS?

Presumably not but Gster seems to suggest that Macs do

No of course not, but "the deluded PC lovers and huggers on this thread" aren't claiming that PCs are perfect out the box and don't need anything extra installed.

Hmmm been a Mac user and Mac developer since 1986 so I've seen some changes. Pc's are great in a coporate enviroment IF you have the right level of skills to suppport them.

Macs are easier to look after, harder to add to cporate networks and come with more useable software.

You pays your money and takes your choice.

BTW Typing this on a MacBookPro which is running Windows XP under Parellels which gives me the best of both worlds.

really? So do Macs come with Photoshop, Lightroom and CaptureNX already installed then?

No but hes talking about iphoto, imovie, iweb etc etc....which are all pretty good programs for your normal user. Cant say I remember mr PC coming with anything equivalent. Microsoft Movie Maker in no way compares to imovie btw...

i have a genuine question for the mac monks on here, as my wheezy old desktop is looking increasingly more likely to end up in a skip within the next 6 months, and i'm considering converting to a mac...

it's at least 3 times the price, but i'm prepared to listen to the pros/cons.

(a mac mini with some soft-ware, and a keyboard+mouse is over £1000)

how/where do you learn to use them?

i've been using pc's for years, and i'm just starting to get the hang of them - if i can't find the icon or drop-down i want, a right-click will usually give me the answer.

'mac-friends' of mine will tell me endlessly about how [i]intuitive[/i] they are, but with no right-mouse-click and funny apple-logo buttons to press they can reduce me to tears of despair and frustration within minutes.

for the record - they're NOT INTUITIVE, no, shutup, they're NOT. so, how/where would i learn all the new apple-stuff?

really? So do Macs come with Photoshop, Lightroom and CaptureNX already installed then?

For most people they are not necessary though. iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD, Garageband etc are all really nice pieces of software that integrate well together and are easy to use - plus surprisingly powerful.

but with no right-mouse-click

There is a right mouse click ;). I learned just by using them and messing about - lots of built in tutorials or stuff online for pretty much all of it though.

For most people they are not necessary though.

Perhaps, but those are the applications that I and many others use for processing photos which, according to GSter, is where the [i]"Mac pisses all over a PC"[/i] because there is [i]"No extra software to install"[/i].

What he actually means though is there is no extra software to install provided that you are happy with the limitations of iPhoto. Just like there is no extra software to install if you are happy with the limitations of [url= http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/features/photo-gallery.aspx ]Windows Photo Gallery[/url].

And I don't really think you can argue that most people don't need photoshop, but that Garageband is useful! I'm sure even in uber-creative Macland, more people take photos than compose their own songs.

Oh not this again?

Macs are fine, it's the brain-washed users I can't stand 😉

My favouritre "intuitive" bit of UI is to drag the disc icon onto the trashcan to eject the disc... obvious really.

That said, I'm thinking about getting a Macbook just to learn xcode (which I understand is free, unlike Visual Studio on Windows).

Does it hurt when you are assimilated by the Apple hive mind?

Mac vs PC - the other side:

Disappointed - a heavy-handed spoof, and not even factually accurate.
Couldn't be bothered with the rest.

 

Does it hurt when you are assimilated by the Apple hive mind?

Imagine being smothered by a velvet cushion 😉

it sounds like the mac naysayers on here have used a mac for about 15 minutes...ah well....

There is a right click on macs..
To eject a disc you can press the eject key on the keyboard, right click on the disc and select eject, or drag it to the trash can which handily turns into an eject symbol incase you're completely retarded.
iphoto is far more powerful and offers a much wider range of function than the poor,poor software that is called windows photo gallery.

The mac mini is overpriced imo, but if your gonna spend a grand, why not get the new imac with the superb monitor?

'mac-friends' of mine will tell me endlessly about how intuitive they are, but with no right-mouse-click and funny apple-logo buttons to press they can reduce me to tears of despair and frustration within minutes.

Exactly. I had the misfortune to have to use a Mac for a college course and I almost threw it across the room.

Macs seem to be for people who just want to be different for no good reason.

Has anyone seen the Simpsons episode where Bart and Lisa go to the "Mapple" store and Bart impersonates "Steve Mobs" telling the visiting apple acolytes he's been ripping them off for years and investing all his money in Microsoft stock- priceless.

But then say you had macs rather than windows from the beginning of your computing using life....surely you'd think the same but vice versa...

and not even factually accurate.

so completely different from the real Mac Vs PC ads then? 😉

free, unlike Visual Studio on Windows

Visual Studio Express is free.

iphoto is far more powerful and offers a much wider range of function than the poor,poor software that is called windows photo gallery.

"far more powerful"? "poor,poor software"? Really? what can iphoto do that is so amazing? (I would look at the tour, but I don't really want to be forced to install QuickTime).

Ah well, I guess us poor PC users can always just install Picasa. 🙂

so completely different from the real Mac Vs PC ads then?

They were, at least, original, and you have to admit they are more amusing than the "Seinfeld and Gates buying shoes" debacle!!

I am a PC and I created Windows 7 😆

Jesus, even I thought the Mac vs PC ads were a bit sickly until I saw the Windows 7 ads - they're truly laughable.

"I thought to myself, I want [i]control[/i]"

FFS...

They are nothing compared to this complete embarrassment

more amusing than the "Seinfeld and Gates buying shoes" debacle!!

Amen to that!

I would never even attempt to defend WIndows as "cool"!

I would never even attempt to defend WIndows as "cool"!

Amen to that too.

Hitler finds out about the WIndows 7 launch party video:

😉

Well I have a macbook and it runs Windows 7 only 🙂 Oh and for what it's worth the hardware is bottom dollar, but you pay that Apple tax for it!

What software do you need for making a Hitler video? Looks like fun 🙂