Apple Mac help? (mac vs pc info)?

Question

I am considering buying an apple mac book but all i want it for is just to mess around and record using garage band as i play instruments and sing and i have used them in music. Am i completley wasting my money for the reason i want one or not or should i just get similar software for my pc or what.i am only 14 years old. Any info between pc's and macs is VERY appreciated. What are the differences?
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Answer 1

Mac is a waste of money.. Go for the PC and dual boot with http://www.ubuntustudio.org or Ubuntu and install the programs listed on Ubuntu Studio.



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...



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: Deleting your Data (Snow Leopard), 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://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=5006

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

http://cybernetnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/reliable-laptops.jpg



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.



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/



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



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 Starting Price: $500

Ending Price: $500

15" Screen

CPU: 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo [5% slower]

Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD [Not as good/fine for general use[

Memory: 3GB DDR2 SDRAM [75% of ram)

Hard Drive: 320GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm (same)

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dndozm4&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=laptop-inspiron-1545



Cybperpower Notebook Xplorer X5-2900 Starting Price: $755

Ending Price After upgrades (not including 5% rebate): $860

15" Screen

CPU: (upgrade to) 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (+$100) [FASTER]

Graphics: Nvidia GFORCE 9600-GT 512MB [MUCH FASTER/BETTER CARD]

Memory: 4GB DDR2 SDRAM [MORE MEMORY]

Hard Drive: (upgrade to) 320GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm (+$5) [LARGER HARD DRIVE]

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Xplorer_X5-2900_Notebook/detail



Macbook Starting laptop Price: $1000

Ending Price After Upgrades: $1200

13" Screen (SMALLER)

CPU: 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (SLOWER)

Graphics: Nvidia GFORCE 9400 256MB

Memory: (upgrade to) 4GB DDR2 SDRAM (SAME)

Hard Drive (upgrade to) 320B Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm (SAME)

http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MC240LL/A?mco=NjcxMTQ3Ng





**(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: ($700)

CPU: 2.33 GHZ Dell Inspiron QUAD (4 Processor) CORE

SCREEN: 20inch Screen

MEMORY: 4GB Ram

HARD DRIVE: 500 GB hard Drive

OPTICAL DRIVE: 16x DVD/CD Read/Writer

GRAPHICS: ATI Radeon HD 512MB

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dddwra4&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=desktop-inspiron-537s



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 ($1300)

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

SCREEN: 20inch Screen

MEMORY: (upgrade to) 4GB Ram (SAME)

HARD DRIVE: (upgrade to ) 320 GB hard Drive (LESS HARD DRIVE)

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

GRAPHICS: Nvidia Geforce 9400M (APPROX SAME BUT LESS MEMORY GAPHICS)

http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MB417LL/A?mco=NDE4Mzg3Ng



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 more 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 either 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 FASTER/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



Equivalents to ILife

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

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



FREE Windows Stuff

http://www.comodo.com/products/free_products.html

http://www.iobit.com/

http://www.ccleaner.com/

ANTI-VIRUS

Avira Antivir (FREE) for 2009 personal edition is free (there is a paid version) the free version was rated the best by consumer reports 2009.

http://www.free-av.com/ Avast (Free- Click under Free Software and download Avast Home Edition) http://www.avast.com/



ANTI-MALWARE

Windows Defender (FREE)

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/defender/default.mspx

Malware Bytes (FREE) Limitation - No Realtime protection on free version.

http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html?tag=mncol

Super Anti-Spyware (FREE)

http://download.cnet.com/SuperAntiSpyware-Free-Edition/3000-8022_4-10523889.html?tag=mncol



LINUX INFO:

http://distrowatch.com/

http://polishlinux.org/

http://www.desktoplinux.com/

http://polishlinux.org/

http://www.ubuntu.com/

Answer 2

Truth is more important than opinion. If you want truth read this and take the steps I give to see if I am correct. But don't blindly think I am wrong. Price is something that has come up in the answers here. Time you do your homework. Go to the major PC manufacturers' web sites and customize their PCs so that they will be roughly equal to the Mac that you want. Print that page out. Go to Apple's web site and print out the specs and price for the Mac that you want. Show these printouts to your father so that he can see that a Mac and a PC which have the same specs have about the same price. Every time I've done this with Dell or Gateway, the Mac ended up being less. Next bit of homework for you. Go to eBay and count how many people are buying six year old Macs. Now count how many people are buying six year old PCs. For a computer that has 10% of the user base, the Mac has more than 50% of the market among old computers. The reason for this is longevity. The Mac retains its usefulness about twice as long as the PC. This means you $$ replace a Mac half as often as you replace a PC. Price is one thing, but you should be looking at cost instead. The Mac costs half as much as a PC.

Answer 3

im a huge mac fan and i have never been let down since transferring from pc. garage band is fantastic as well as the rest of the ilife package. you will not be disappointed. if your very aware of the price tag you can always check ebay for a deal. if you have a NUS card that will get you a discount off the mac price. if your needing to go with a laptop start with the standard macbook. but if your just using it at home and have a monitor already i would recommend a mac mini which is only going to set you back £500 there is pc alternatives but if you want to get a new computer mac is the best there is.

Answer 4

Mixcraft is an equivalent of GarageBand for Windows. Personally, I prefer Windows 7. It is much faster and more stable than Windows Vista.



Mac always cost about twice as much as PCs with equivalent hardware; this is known as the Apple Taxes.



And yes, both crash on regular basis. No matter what Apple claim, Mac do crash at least once a month and so does Windows. No big deal, you can use Task Manager to quit non responding programs on Windows or force quit on Mac.



Mac has poor compatibility with previous version of Mac. For example, plenty of people are complaining that they have to buy a new version of their programs just to update from Mac OS X 10.5 to Mac OS X 10.6



Windows has similar reputation with Vista. A handful of applications that was design for XP doesn't work with Vista. Fortunately, Microsoft release updates that make them work on Vista. Everything that works with Windows Vista also works with Windows 7.



I will skip to the deciding factor that differentiate Windows (PC) and Mac. When people decide between Windows and Mac, they decide on the interface, or which one look better, has better appearance.



Windows use the taskbar to show applications (and pin applications in Windows 7). Launching applications is done from the start menu as you know. Mac uses a Dock to both pin applications, and open applications. The problem with Dock is that it is impossible to tell from applications that are pin and applications that are open but minimize. This has become an annoyance on a regular basis.



To install a program on Windows, simply double click exe or msi file to install. To uninstall, simply go to add or remove programs and click uninstall. On Mac, to install an application, drag it to the program folder. To uninstall, drag it to the trashcan. Unfortunately, it is not easy as it sounds. Many applications have dependency that can't simply remove by dragging to the trashcan. As a result, Mac many users would experience a lot of error notification on startup and are force to remove files manually.



Also, most applications only work on Windows. As a result, Mac users miss out on many applications and is confine to a limit to only a handful of applications that work with Mac. When you use a Mac, you are confine to a small Apple ecosystem. You can only use a few applications, and devices, like some printer, that work with mac. It really limit what you can buy and use.



I personally like Windows 7. It may not have a pretty face like Mac does, but it gets the job done. While Mac ship with little programs that you can do tricks like picture distortion and mirror effect, it only fun to play with a few time and have no real use in the long run.

Answer 5

The difference is price. You will pay 2x as much for a Mac than for a PC.



If you have a decent PC I would dual boot Ubuntu Studio. Its an entire (FREE) operating system designed just for recording.



http://ubuntustudio.org/



Don't get a mac they are evil. I have one I would know.

Answer 6

buy a PC and use the money you save to get a decent recording interface, Mic, and monitors (reference speakers). There is a wealth of excellent free/very inexpensive software for the PC the will get you recording very quickly (reaper is wonderful http://www.reaper.fm/)

Answer 7

get one ! there amazing :) garage band is great its a software just for the musical instrumetns and it you can play any instrument sound on there :D if you take music gcse it helps a lot cause you an compose at home

Answer 8

This question will have arguments from both sides. I prefer PC's but they are both good. if you don't want to waste your money, your existing pc will do the job. if it aint broke don't fix it