Is it actually worth getting a Mac?

morris994

2010-09-07 02:43:43 UTC

Im not an expert on Macs but ive been wondering the same thing.

I currently run a Media Centre PC hooked up to a 42 inch plasma screen on my wall which i use for iTunes, ripping all my DVD's too, photo libraries and playback of movies etc throughout the house. Ive been thinking about moving across to an iMac with the i5 processor (mainly because i have an iPhone 4, an iPad and an iPod Nano and thought why not go the whole hog and have an iMac).

Ive owned alot of windows based PCs with XP, Vista and now running Windows 7 and in all honesty have had nothing but trouble with them. I have a few friends who use macbooks and iMacs but they mainly work in the publishing and printing industry where apparently MACs are the norm for desktop publishing etc. But they cant speak highly enough of them and working with them has prompted them all to move across to using them for personal use as well.

I think the thing would which sway me is the build quality. I own alot of Apple products and for lack of a better term they are just made "right". They feel good, they look good, the software and UI is pretty much perfection. They just seem to always be made to work perfectly with the user in mind whereas ive found PCs and windows are never user friendly. Ive also never had any issues with reliability of Apple products that ive owned, never had breakdowns, never had replacements, never had faults or errors and ive been using iPhones for 3 years now and not one single problem.

My main concern would be software compatibility but everything i use (iTunes, word processing stuff, AutoCAD for work etc are all compatible with the Mac OS) - AND YES, FOOTBALL MANAGER IS COMPATIBLE WITH IT YOULL BE PLEASED TO KNOW ;-)

I think your best bet would be to go to an Apple Store if theres one ion your region (we just got one in Newcastle) and use one. I went in last weekend and used an iMac and i was blown away. The 27inch monitor is sensational!!

?

2010-09-07 02:30:37 UTC

Macs cost a lot not because of power but because of brand! The hardware you actually get in a Mac is the same as those you would find in a normal PC. If you check the prices of the hardware and total it up together, you will get a price that is much lower than a Mac. The reason why they're fast is also mainly to do with Mac OS X 10.6 which is fast since it doesn't really consume a lot of memory and Apple has tried putting a whole bunch of features to give your computer a better performance.

A Mac is good for the multimedia section mainly and is much more secure than a normal PC as there are less viruses on Macs (this doesn't mean you don't need to worry). Football Manager will work on a Mac, if you read the box it has the Mac logo on it. Most students do get the Mac's and they are pretty good for those. Browsing, downloading and all that will still work!

They are not really good in the hardcore gaming section as most games are not developed for Mac OS X but, it is possible for you to install Windows into your Mac by dual booting (Use BootCamp).

anonymous

2010-09-07 03:13:58 UTC

I have owned Macs and PCs, and there are not may differences between the PC and Mac platforms. Macs and PCs are susceptible to hacking (see sources). PCs have more software, but also more viruses. Football Manager is for both PC and Mac. You can do all the things that you listed on both platforms. I would say there are two things you should consider before purchasing a Mac.

Firstly, a Mac may not work with your external hard drive, printers, MP3 player, etc. For instance, a PC formatted iPod will not work with Mac. You will have to reformat you iPod. You may not be able find drivers for every device you own. This is true especially with printers. Also, similar to the issue with iPod, if you have large external storage devices they are not likely to work with a Mac without reformatting them. All these things may mean a large initial investment in Mac compatible hardware outside of just the computer!

Secondly, the internet is designed for PC. I have found that not every web page works or looks the same on Mac. One major problem are adobe flash using pages. Some times the web page elements don't work right, often leaving the pages useless. I have found this with even major websites (like toyota.com). Most will still work on Mac, but you should be aware of this. Adobe Flash seems to be getting worse and worse on the Mac. On my PC, I have had relatively few problems with Flash. Also many pages don't look right on the Mac. It might just be the alpha settings, but sometimes its plainly obvious what platform a web page was designed on. Some webpages still require Internet Explorer!

Both of these gripes are relatively minor, if you were going to buy new hardware anyway and you never run in to a web page designed only for PC. But I find these things annoying on a regular basis. I am firm believer that if you go Apple, you must buy only Apple products to get the best experience. PC is much more forgiving in this regard.

Edited: After reading some of the responses, I decided to give a counterpoint to some them. First, Mac hardware reliability is going to be similar to any of the manufacturers. I have owned two macs, a mac mini and a Macbook air. The macbook air would overheat almost as soon as I turned it on, which meant the processor would down-clock to an unusable speed. I couldn't watch videos on youtube! My netbook plays youtube videos better. The mac mini was the loudest damn thing ever and was so slow and not very useful. Now the reality is that I also have owned a Dell M1210 that had all the same problems as the Macbook Air. The truth is that all the computers are made in basically the same factories in Shenzhen, China. Don't let brushed aluminum fool you. I can give dozens of stories of dissatisfied Mac owners. My friend is on her third ipod classic. Another friend's Macbook stopped reading disks and had the audio ports fail after a year. In fact Apple does not report machines repaired by Applecare. They close threads in their forums when you complain too much. They are no better than anyone else.

?

2016-06-01 07:08:15 UTC

I'm of the opinion that buying a mac is never worth it...especially for playing wow and surfing the internet, there is literally no benefit to doing those things on a mac yet you'll pay twice as much to do it.

philipscown

2010-09-07 06:53:21 UTC

Last point first - as a student you would get educational discount on hardware, some software, and AppleCare.

I have experience of a range of desktops and laptops. No manufacturer is perfect. However, my Apple problems have been resolved more quickly, and with a lot less trouble than the windows machines I've used. For example, when my son's Apple ibook motherboard failed the staff in the Apple shop confirmed the problem, then removed the hard drive and put it into another, new, ibook. Job done in about 15 minutes. With my Toshiba laptop a comm.s board problem took two weeks to fix - and that was with the benefit of an extended warranty.

This stuff is a little old now - but I believe it still holds true:

Alexander Chancellor

Friday June 8, 2007

The Guardian

While in New York, I paid a visit to a glamorous downtown computer shop in the hope of being tempted. Although I have a laptop that works perfectly well, I wanted an excuse to buy a new one, especially as computers are much cheaper in America than they are in Britain.

With my friend, Mike, a patriotic believer in the American way of commerce, I approached one of those knowledgeable and personable young salesmen that Macintosh employs to encourage customers to part with their money.

"What kind of computer do you have?" asked the salesman. "A PowerBook G4," I replied. "A PowerBook G4?" exclaimed Mike, striking his forehead with his hand in mock horror; for he knew that I wanted to be persuaded to replace it. "That's a good machine," said the salesman. "How old is it?" "About five years," I said. "Five years old!" shrieked Mike. But the salesman said: "I'd hang on to it if I were you. It should be good for a while yet."

"Who on earth trained you to be a salesman?" asked an astonished Mike before we left the shop empty-handed; the young man just smiled. I am beginning to be worried about the future of the United States.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,2098261,00.html

______________________

When you pay the apparently higher price up-front for an Apple it should be considered an investment - less time wrestling with Windows problems or suspect hardware later.

http://www.macobserver.com/article/2002/06/13.9.shtml

While nothing is perfect, Apple users tend to be happier about their computers.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1851295,00.asp

__________________________________

There's some evidence for the lower cost of ownership at these links:

http://ecosystems.wcp.muohio.edu/studentresearch/coralecology02/gardner/articles/macandwindows.pdf

http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/biztools/article.php/3720551

http://www.zoliblog.com/2008/08/06/apple-vs-windows-pricing-its-all-about-tco/

http://www.macobserver.com/article/2002/06/13.9.shtml

http://www.macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/9080/

unfortunately the Pfeiffer Article is c.1000€ at the discounted rate.

Bobby Lance

2010-09-07 04:00:09 UTC

Will(You)! Join the Good side(Mac)! I been using a Macbook for 2.1 years. No problems have happened plus it's easy to use because of its simplified interface(more simplified than Windows 7).

And one more thing, the price is high because all the things you need is in it. Not like PCs wherein when you buy PC, it is cheap but you still need to buy an Anti-Virus software which costs $50 and up plus other more software.

anonymous

2010-09-07 02:27:57 UTC

Well if you want it to use in education purposes mac is best. But for games and entertainment windows laptop is best for you. You can get some good windows laptop info in this site

http://laptopinbangladesh.tk

Thanks for your question

anonymous

2010-09-07 02:21:56 UTC

Macs suck, they don't play many games or any Windows programs