Yes, i know this debate is as old as the hills, but humour me.... Thinking of next computer : Mac OR PC? Pc im ok with, but regards to the Mac, several things concern me: 1. Being beholden to Apple for repairs 2. Incompatibility with other user's software/files ect 3. incompatibility with hardware ect thoughts?
As far as software compatibility, you can now run Windows on the latest Macs. So you can combine the hardware costs of an Apple, with the reliability of Microsoft Windows.
I'd prefer the OSX system on a pc... Not the other way round. Windows isnt really reliable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU1l9M3zKvI
It's a question of what you want to use it for. MAC: Style Aesthetics Sassy User Interface Very loyal fan base Not many games Difficult to upgrade Very few viruses & spyware ! PC: Wide user base Free software (if you know where to look) Very easy to upgrade Tonnes of games Archaic software (Windows - all versions) Choice of Operating Systems (Linux, etc.) Gazillions of viruses, spyware, trojans, root-kits, etc. There is little speed difference nowadays between PC & MAC for video editing, DVD authoring, etc. (i.e. all multi-processor tasks). Windows is reliable if loaded and setup in a proper manner and run with decent hardware specs. You have to then maintain it regularly which is where it normally falls down because people don't ! The choice is yours !
Windows isn't reliable? Apple and all those Linux geeks can say and do what they like, everyday pc users have Windows and nothing will change what is a closed market no matter how crappy people say Windows is.
One mouse button! You want me to drag the CD into the trash-bin to eject it? F*ck off! Macs are for gaylords.
Speaking as a 'gaylord' Apple employee, of about 2 weeks, I'd go for a Mac if you can afford it.... and I'm typing this on my PC, which will shortly be replaced by a mac. There's an eject button on the keyboard to eject CD's, by the way... and there are no file compatibility issues any more. The latest macs can dual boot into windows or Mac OS, they run internet, graphics, photo apps, at twice the speed of a windows machine, and if you're interested in internet publishing, desktop publishing (e.g. marketing for your own business), making video, dvd or making music, then a Mac is the way forward. With two weeks Mac experience I can accomplish far more on a mac than on a PC If you want to spend your life updating virus software (which mostly behaves just like a virus) and rebooting your machine (at 5 minutes a time) then stick with your beige box. If you want to make a good decision for you, write down a list of what you want to do with the machine, go to some PC sellers, and an Apple store, and try them for yourself.
so it'll run any software that runs on XP?...doesnt this take up lots of processing power, effectivly running two operating systems?
To answer for Mike, no its dual boot, it doesnt concurrently run two operating systems, you choose which one to run when you switch it on. Also, all modern Mac hardware is now Intel Architecture so the "expensive to upgrade" con goes out the window. I have actually just build a video editing machine for a customer, using the Dual CPU PowerMac. the EXACT same hardware (as macs are now intel based) in a Dell machine was 3K, the Mac was only 2K. So not only was the mac cheaper, it runs two OS's so the guy can run Final cut on Mac or Adobe Premiere on PC. It was a no brainer basically, theres no reason not to buy a mac in the current market. And you can attach a two button mouse and it then has two buttons, which co-incidentally so doe the Mac pro mouse.
thats kinda what i was looking for! So Macs use standard interfaces we're familiar with from dells ect, and not some hybrid method that only Apple use? Eg, all my usb powered peripherals will plug straight into a mac?
Yes, they'll work as per normal, some will require mac drivers if they are special bits of kit, but 99% of the time, its plug and play. And as long as you buy an intel mac, you can upgrade it like any pc....
There's actually software available now which will let you run 2 operating systems concurrently. It's 3rd party though, and I haven't used it, so I can't comment on how good / stable it is. Too late for your customer, but Adobe are finally catching up on the Mac-Intel compatible software.... As I said before, go and have a play for an hour or so with a Mac in an Apple store or reseller... it's really down to whether YOU like it these days... make a list of the stuff you want to do first, and try it out.
As an IT tech having worked with PCs for the whole of my career I can quite happily recommend a Mac to you. I bought one over Christmas (iMac through John Lewis online via GreasyPalm cashback, cashback being used to pay for the extended warranty) my wife wasn't too happy about it initially but she now loves it. The Mac operating system is very intuitive and there is lots of easy to find, and use, support on the Apple website. The biggest reason I chose a Mac was the whole virus spyware issue, its such a pain on PCs and takes up so much time and performance! The Macs have moved on a long way since the Intel chips were added in. With regard to software, you need to be aware that there are differences and although you can usually by a Mac version Microsoft certainly charge a lot for Office. I run a free open source office suite called NeoOffice http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php the version that has just been released certainly does all the things I want it to - it allows you to save into MSOffice format or save the file as a PDF which is really handy. I would recommend having a read of Macworld magazine, there is a lot of useful info in there that will help you with your decision. Three final things; (i) I would recommend upgrading the amount of RAM in the machine if you can fund it (I have a standard spec 20" iMac and wish I had asked for it to be configured with 2GB, its not slow its just that sometimes you want things to run a little quicker - video editing in iMovie etc) (ii) Internet explorer is no longer supported on Macs so you'll have to use Mozilla Firefox (available on PCs too) or the built in Safari internet browser - not an enormous issue unless you regularly access sites that don't support Firefox/Safari (iii) Go to an Apple store and try one out, someone else mentioned this but I'd definitely second the suggestion - like they said, take a list of things that you need it to do then ask what else it can do for you. Good luck, hope you get what you need. Greg
no, not really. dont have the dosh for one. but i appreciate macs are a specialist, minority thing, so its good to read something positive about them. greg - not sure about upgrades - the unit alone would stretch me!
i guess the other thing thats difficult to accept, is the equivalent Mac seems to have a much lower spec than its rival Dell say.
