Mac or PC? No extremist answers please!?

Question

I am a student who is going to university in the fall and I am looking for a laptop. I will be studying engineering, but I also would like to be able to use my laptop for photo editing, and possibly video production.
I have done some research on the internet, but most people either love or hate the other kind of computer. I am looking for some neutral information, with pros and cons for both types.
If you have had experience with both computers, that would be even better.
Thanks!

Answer 1

Talk to your University, FIRST.



They will recommend their preferred OS, Windows or OS X, or even Linux, based on the types of engineering software they want you to learn. FYI: I run all 3 on my Mac within OS X (under Sun's Virtual Box).



Then, go to the nearest Apple Store and take a Mac for a "good hard test drive". They will explain why OS X is safer and / or better, and WHY, than Windows, in their opinion. And, talk to them about all your photo and video editing questions. There is NO shortage of great OS X software for these, free and otherwise.



Then, only if your school requires Windows, ask them this Question:



Does a Mac run Windows, too? Yup, it does, but you do have to pay for a full Windows x32 OEM disk, not an Upgrade disk, for about $100), But, isn't that the best of both worlds? Note: OS X doesn't run legally on a Windows PC.



TIP: Only when you have ALL the facts, can you make an informed decision.

Answer 2

I think that with a Mac, you can have the best of both worlds. They work well and are beautiful. If you're into photos and that stuff, they have better software for that. But there are some things that Windows still does better, so you could always easily install a copy on the Mac. So if you can afford it, go for the Mac. But if you just need a nice computer, there are plenty of cheaper alternatives. Windows isn't that bad. There are more programs out there for it than for Mac. So it depends on your budget and what you want to do. Since we live most of our lives online these days, the operating system isn't much of an issue.

Answer 3

I retired as project manager of a large Windows IT department. I am quite knowledgeable about Windows and still help family and friends who have Windows machines. When I spend an hour or more troubleshooting a minor Windows problem, only to find I need to delete some obscure item in the registry, I renew the appreciation of my decision to switch to Mac. The hardware, operating system, and the superb software suite included with every Mac are the same. You don't deal with the idiosyncrasies of a multitude of hardware vendors or an operating system that's trying to work with the vast variety of scenarios. Most of the staunch PC advocates I deal with have little or no experience with a Mac. Browse the questions in this area of Yahoo Answers. Look at all the Windows problems people are having. True, Mac is still in the minority, but notice that you see very few questions about Mac problems. When you do see a problem, it's easy for someone to answer because there are a lot less variables in the equation.

Answer 4

Mac - no crashing, no problems with viruses and stuff -- basically has a extra stable platform. the only down area is that i don't be attentive to a thank you to do each and every thing with my Mac that i will do with a working laptop or laptop the place place of work artwork is in contact. So it extremely is like I actual have one existence at homestead on the Mac and yet another at artwork...Macs are extra high priced on the beginning up, yet considering the fact that they hardly have subjects like laptop it finally ends up being cost effective because of the fact I in no way might desire to call in experts to repair my laptop!

Answer 5

ive done a bit of photo editing on the macbooks and i own a PC. ii find that the macs are reasonably good at photo editing and as i used the lowest end ones, i can only assume that the more expensive ones are fairly decent. they do take a little while to get used to if you are used to using a PC and also they seem to have a lot of trouble working on a PC network. personally i would go for a higher end PC for photo editing, if you want it to work well. also another pro for the Macs are that the touch pads are VERY good, yet a mouse is still way easier to use. i would go for a PC mainly because i believe that macs are rather overpriced and PC's do tend to work with more things. also if you're going to get the PC get windows 7, it is AMAZING.

Answer 6

Listen here, I'm the MacOSXpert and I can tell you an infinite amount of ways a Macintosh can benefit you, But since this is Yahoo! Answers I will tell you only these:

1) Why buy a PC? With a PC you can get:



•Viruses,Spyware,Trojans- Oh my!

• Blue screens, Sudden crashes, Losing ALL YOUR HARD WORK all in a flash.

•Not user-friendly, Requires advanced ideals to be able to work with seamlessly.

•PCs are easily vulnerable.

A) Macs can not get viruses. They can however get Spyware, usually harmless spyware. You can easily become immune to Spyware and Trojan horses as well. In all my years of using Macintosh, I have not once encountered a Virus on my Mac.

B) On a Mac, Our 'Blue screen' is a Kernel Panic, which is much more informative and simple to fix.

C) On a Mac, you need basic knowledge to work seamlessly together. The more technical you work with your Mac, the easier it is to understand advanced computing.

D) Macs are very secure computers with built in firewall and an all-around safe OS.



2) Why buy a Mac? On a Mac, you don't need to use 'Boot camp' to install the windows OS.

You can simply use Wine to install and use windows programs onto your Mac, sure it takes a while to absorb the ways of the Terminal. This includes every single piece of Windows program you can think of!



3) The Apple corporation acknowledges college students with great pride and provides education discounts on ALL items they sell, in-store and online at Apple.com

Not only that, iTunes has it's own little database of college prep podcasts, audiobooks and many more!



4) Macs are fast computers, even with little memory and all the amazing features on it.



5) Terminal.app- This nifty application which is found in the Applications>Utilities folder is built into every new Macintosh and is a great way to make the most out of your Mac.



6) Macs are very portable and easy-to-use, as a College student, a Mac would be your best choice due to many reasons including it's portability. (Macbooks, Macbook Pros)



7) Mac gaming- Gaming on a Mac has very little flaws. As I've pointed out, you can use ANY Windows application on a Macintosh thanks to a program called Wine.



8) Everything High-end is built into your Mac. Apple isn't stingy on SOME parts they put into their products. Graphics, Hard-drives, Material, Software, etc.



9) Macs are the most Eco-Friendly computers currently on the Market. You can control how much energy your Mac outputs and when it comes time for Disposal, Macs don't hurt the environment thanks to environmentally-friendly material!



10) Macs run Windows better than PCs (Like Dell, Toshiba, Gateway, Panasonic, etc) run Windows.

That's right, Macs run Windows faster and with better performance than it's PC counterpart.

The shame!



11) Macs have something for everyone. Whether you're a Parasitologist (Studies Parasites) ,McDonalds employee, A Lawyer, A Doctor, even President of the United States, The Macintosh Operating System has something for you.



12) Macs are great for ANYTHING.

You can watch movies, play games, Study for a test, Listen/Edit/Create Music, Edit/Create Brilliant Hollywood Quality Movies or simply browse the internet. Macs will do it, Faster and with better Performance than any High-end PC.



I hope Apple can count on you to be it's next satisfied customer.



Be sure to include these when purchasing a Mac:

Carrying case

iWork

iPod or iPhone

Answer 7

Mac Pros~~

The look and feel of the macbook is very good

it doesn't freeze/crash as much (but still does)

very few viruses for OS X

comes will all the software you need

no error messages (well, you know like the weird .ddlelfdlwldfjgdofkghdfkgjhd things..lol)

Mac Cons~~

Not much software for it

more expensive

Isn't as popular so you may have trouble finding people to fix it other than people who work at Apple



PC Pros~

More software available for it

Cheaper

Many manufacturers make PCs, so if you don't like one brand, you can get another (unlike macs where you need to stick with apple hardware)



PC Cons~~

Freezes and crashes more than macs

prone to viruses (more than 1,000,000 viruses for pc are made every day!)



well..thats all I can think of right now...tired and about to go to bed :-)

Answer 8

PC.



Pro: Price/Performance

Accessibility

Nearly everyone grew up with a PC. Ctrl Alt Del is so natural.

Much larger selection of programs.

Better hardware.





Mac: Looks.

the screen.



A decent specced lappy from asus that is about $1k will outperform a Mac everyday and twice on sunday.

Answer 9

Mac

You get what you pay for

PC can crash and you lose everything

Mac lasts a long time

PC can get viruses

Mac Its hard to get a virus on a Mac

--PC has more choices for editing

--Mac has more professional editing software.

Answer 10

a mac is a personal computer(PC) except in apple tv adds

Answer 11

Go for Normal Laptop with good configuration.

Answer 12

Performance: PC

Show-off: Mac



Enough said.

Answer 13

I would get a PC personally. They have more programs made for them and more applications. They are more user friendly and have more programs that will be used by your school.