HELP! Mac vs. PC laptop?

Question

This is regarding my last question. I saw that alot of people suggested the Mac. I have had a Iphone and I have a Ipod (nano), so I know some about that brand, I have never operated a MAC though. I have always had either a Dell or IBM. So I do have some questions, what makes a MAC better then a PC? How long (years) does a MAC normally last before its outdated? What are some PC brands to stay away from?

Answer 1

Actually, I know a bunch of people who switched from PC to Mac and then back to a PC..



PC=Variety of specs, options, quality, prices, vendors, support

Mac=One vendor, limited options, still more expensive. Look below for more information..



Today, Macs use a subset of PC hardware. Why spend extra to get the same CPU chips, graphics cards and OS X isn't as secure as you think..



Don't believe the lies that Macs are better than PCs at graphics/animation.. Dreamworks Animation http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/ under studio click on Technology of Animation, an independent film maker I know uses PCs, a graphic artist I used to know uses PCs also.



A number of PCs can also run OS X (Mac OS) http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=os+x+on+pc&btnG=Google+Search&aq=0&oq=os+x+on+ as well just that Apple makes it illegal in order to get Market share.. The reason why Mac can run native Windows is because it is using a subset of PC hardware,



If you decide to buy a Mac for running Windows, you will still have to get the same virus/spyware protection, and run into the same issues as a regular PC.



Now is a Mac worth buying for OS X?



I say: NO... for the following reasons...



ADVANTAGES WINDOWS :

Aprox 90% of the market is Windows and most PCs have windows already pre-installed.

1) Some websites require Internet Explorer, to run IE on Mac you really get ies4osx which is the Windows version of IE running really buggy and illegal if you don't have a legitimate copy of Windows.

2) Supports devices (printers and other things you hook into the computer).

3) More business software/games

4) Want the dock on OS X (Mac)? google/yahoo rocketdock, objectdoc.

5) Used by businesses.



ADVANTAGES LINUX :

1) FREE (most versions are)

2) Install software by eitjher 1) Synaptic Package Manager, 2) Add/Remove 3) Opening a .deb or .rpm file (depending on distribution)

2) Like the Mac OS X effects? go yahoo/google COMPIZ FUSION which can do any cool effect a Mac can do and many ore....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4Fbk52Mk1w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3gkX9HDfEE (there is no flickering when you use it like on the video, not sure why the person has the flicker)

3) Mac OS X Doc? google/yahoo Avant Window Navigator.Cairo Dock, http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3rf5q_cairo-dock-mac-os-x-leopard-dock-on_tech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0hzi22g2DE

4) It is FASTERr/MORE SECURE to surf on the internet

5) Some Windows programs work with Wnehq/Crossover (also avail on Mac, but why pay $$$)



Instructions how to download, burn and boot http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/use-ubuntu-live-cd-to-backup-files-from-your-dead-windows-computer/

Dual Boot Instructions http://apcmag.com/how_to_dual_boot_windows_xp_and_linux_xp_installed_first.htm



SECURITY

Mac OS X was hacked in 2006 less than 30 minutes, and within 2 minutes in a contest in 2008, and within 10 seconds in 2009. In 2008, Linux and Vista were not hacked until another day when restrictions were lowered. Vista was next, and then Linux. In 2009 Windows 7 fell shortly after the Mac but Linux was unscathed.

Macs are standardized with Cameras, if your Mac gets hacked, the hacker can turn on your camera with more ease.

Please Note: All OS's have vulnerabilities.

http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Mac-OS-X-hacked-under-30-minutes/0,130061744,139241748,00.htm

http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/27/Gone-in-2-minutes-Mac-gets-hacked-first-in-contest_1.html

http://www.infoworld.com/article/09/03/19/Researcher_cracks_Mac_in_10_seconds_1.html

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsoft-Finds-Irony-in-Mac-OS-X-Getting-Hacked-Before-Vista-SP1-82135.shtml





VIRUSES

Mac OS X has viruses (and significantly on the rise), a friend of mine has a virused Mac. As more users use Macs, more viruses will come out for it. Especially when users think "they are safe".

http://infosecurity.us/?p=4005

http://blogs.chron.com/techblog/archives/2008/07/malware_authors_take_aim_at_growing_number_of_1.html

http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/poll_have_you_noticed_an_increase_in_malware_viruses_etc_on_your_mac/



QUALITY/PROBLEMS

Contrary to belief, Macs are not better quality. Apple also has been changing suppliers to try to "lower the price" and thus lowering quality. Even with the lower prices, Macs still cost more, they spend a higher percent of budget trying to make it look pretty, and marketing.



Sample of problems: Overheating Macbooks, OS X- not responding to keyboard, some units with 16bit screens, etc. Apple statistics are misleading since Mac users with problem machines are more likely to go out and buy a new computer than PC users. Apple is lowering prices which means you can expect lower quality than in the past. Apple had switched the manufacturers producing parts. OS X also has problems slowing down.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-10020263-17.html

http://www.tuaw.com/2008/08/01/apples-quality-dwindling-my-macbook-pro-sob-story/

http://www.appledefects.com/

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/os-x-operating-system/107748-mac-os-leopard-running-slow.html



Repairs are more expensive than PCs since the IMac, Mac Mini are compact units, and Apple charges a premium for their services. Some repairs can be done by another repair service but the compact design of the computer causes problems.

With an IMac, if the problem is with the monitor, the whole computer would have to be brought in.

IMac and Mac mini lack expansion.



PRICE

A similar equipped PC is much cheaper to purchase than Mac. Lets use Dell (but you can compare with another PC Brand if you like)



**(LAPTOP)

Dell Inspiron Laptop $849 dropped to $799

15" Screen

CPU: (upgrade to) 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100

Memory: 3GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM

Hard Drive: 320GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm

Optical Drive: Blu-ray Disc Combo (DVD+/-RW + BD-ROM) - WRITES DVDS,CDS, READS Blue-Ray Disks



Macbook $1349 just dropped to $1224

13" Screen (SMALLER)

CPU: 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (SAME)

Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 (SAME)

Memory: (upgrade to) 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (LESS RAM)

Hard Drive (upgrade to) 250GBSerial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm (SMALLER HARD DRIVE)

Optical Drive: (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) - (Writes CDs, DVDs, cannot read Blue-Ray) (WORSE AND 1/2 SPEED)

http://www.dell.com/content/products/results.aspx/notebooks?c=us&cs=19&dt=SmallGrid&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn#subcats=&navla=55103~0~857204&navidc=Processor&navValc=Intel%20Core%202%20Duo&a=55103~0~857204

http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MB402LL/B?mco=MTkzOTI0Nw



**(DESKTOP)



PLEASE NOTE: I compare Apple Mac's vs Dells best deal. If you really want an all-in one the Dell all-in-one has more ram, wireless keyboard and mouse and equivalent to $400 for free making the Imac still more expensive when you matching specs. Personally I don't think the All-in-Ones are a good choice, and consider them overpriced, lack expandability and repairs both more expensive and require the entire computer.



PS: Apple knows that they need to make Macintosh look different than PC so all Macs except the Mac Pro will not have a tower option. Apple's low end lacks expandability but it makes the Mac "look different", if Mac had a tower for low-end, more people would realize the similarities between the two.



Dell: (At The Moment) Specs Below costs $809

CPU: 2.4 GHZ Dell Inspiron QUAD (4 Processor) CORE

SCREEN: 20inch Screen

MEMORY: 3GB Ram

HARD DRIVE: 500 GB hard Drive

OPTICAL DRIVE: 16x DVD/CD Read/Writer

GRAPHICS: (upgrade to ) ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO 128MB



The Mac Mini since it has no monitor, keyboard, mouse, very skimpy on options and setup and is not the best deal... The IMac is better price than the Mac Mini.



IMac ($1400)

CPU: 2.4 GHZ DUAL (2 Processor) CORE (SLOWER CPU)

SCREEN: 20inch Screen

MEMORY: (upgrade to) 2GB Ram (LESS RAM)

HARD DRIVE: (upgrade to ) 500 GB hard Drive

OPTICAL DRIVE: 8x DVD Reader/Writer (1/2 speed)

GRAPHICS: ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO 128MB

http://www.dell.com/content/products/results.aspx/desktops?c=us&cs=19&dt=SmallGrid&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn#subcats=&navla=55103~0~861680&navidc=Processor&navValc=Intel%20Core%202%20Extreme&a=55103~0~861680,55103~0~861681,55103~0~857204&page=1

http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MB323LL/A?mco=NzMyNjMy



Equivalents to ILife

http://www.jakeludington.com/ask_jake/20070830_ilife_for_windows.html

http://www.xsellize.com/showthread.php?t=20518



LINUX INFO:

http://distrowatch.com/

http://polishlinux.org/

http://www.desktoplinux.com/

http://polishlinux.org/

http://www.ubuntu.com/



http://www.kubuntu.org/

http://www.freespire.org/

http://www.pclinuxos.com/

http://xwinman.org/gnome.php

http://xwinman.org/kde.php

http://www.linuxalt.com/

http://screencasts.ubuntu.com/

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SwitchingToUbuntu/FromMacOSX

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SwitchingToUbuntu/FromWindows

http://www.linuxfoundation.org/en/OpenPrinting/

Answer 2

In terms of what makes a PC better than a mac, that's really up for debate.



I'm not going to get into which is better or worse, and why I think one way.



Macs have about the same lifespan of Windows Machines at this point, all hardware becomes outdated after approximately 3 years. Most macs though have been known to last for 5-7 years. (we have one in our office from at least 10 years ago that still works)



I typically suggest Dell when it comes to Windows, because I've had better experience with them than any other and they tend to have extremely good customer support.



If you want to know my take on Macs vs PCs I will gladly give you both the pros and cons I typically find, just send me a message, I don't want anymore burning wars on either side.

Answer 3

Let me start by addressing one of the other answers, people who like Macs can know what they are talking about and are not idiots.



Here is my personal background. I switched from PC to Mac after working in the computer industry as a programmer and network tech for almost 20 years. One of the reasons I left the computer industry was that I simply got tired of maintaining Microsoft products. I was a Mac basher for years, and told Mac users that they needed to get "real computers." In my first year of graduate school at Wake Forest University, I needed to play a video for a presentation, and all of sudden my PC started playing the audio in the video I had at half speed while playing the video itself at full speed. i was able to fix the problem after about an hour and half of work, but it was, for me the straw that broke the camel's back. I had been reading some about the new Intel Macs that could run both OS X and Windows, so I decided I had nothing to lose and bought my first Mac.



I also purchased Parallels with the Mac so I could run Windows. Within a few months, however, I was not running Windows at all, and I decided to delete it off of my system, and I have not run Windows on my Mac since. I simply have no reason to.



The biggest thing for me, is that in the 3 years I have been a Mac owner, I have never had to re-install a single piece of software to get it working rights. I have not had to re-install the OS. (I typically had to reinstall Windows every year to year and a half because it simply got too slow.) When the case on my Macbook developed a small crack, I took it to a nearby Apple store, and the problem was fixed within 2 hours. Apple has much better customer service than any other computer company I have ever dealt with.



After years of making fun of Macs, I decided that Apple does indeed have a superior product. It is going to take a lot for me to ever go back to using Windows. Do they cost more, yes. But I believe they are worth it. Not to mention, they are the only computer on the planet that allow you to easity run Windows, Mac, or Linux software.

Answer 4

bypass with a mac laptop. the recent OS X "Leopard" can do way extra effective than vista in any case, and there are video games accessible for mac. Oct. twenty 6th i'm making plans on procuring the recent iMac for $1199 if it comes pre put in wth leopard. in any case, a mac is a lot extra stable than a laptop, i exploit them the two contained in an analogous day (macs at college, my laptop at homestead) and that i admire mac using fact the OS isn't a POS. homestead windows freezes each and all of the time and continually is susceptible to viruses that could even destroy your difficultpersistent. Mac's are based on the unix OS, a unmarried kernel working equipment, which makes them lots much less susceptible. in case you think of approximately it, mac is a extra helpful purchase than laptop, advantageous it fee slightly extra effective than a laptop, yet contained in the top it relatively is going to additionally out. purchase a webcam, anti virus, probably spend money repairing stupid blunders on your laptop, upload some desent application and you probably spent extra effective than that on a laptop, once you have merely bought a mac. And the OS will take a pair of day to income if that, it relatively is a lot simpler to function than a laptop. And apple has a help menu contained in the menu bar that has laptop to Mac translations (all classes=macintosh hd, etc.)

Answer 5

Absolutely nothing makes a Mac better than a PC. People who don't know what they're talking about (eg idiots) like Macs. There's no real reason for you to get a Mac, especially if you're an avid PC user. A Mac has a similar shelf-life to a PC.



Some PC brands I wouldn't recommend are Compaq, Acer, eMachines (eMachines are the WORST), and Toshiba. Toshiba, Compaq, and Acer aren't that bad, but they're more budget brands.

Answer 6

I've had both and I definitely say Mac is better, they're more user friendly, they never overheat and downloads and updates take so much less time!