I'm thinking about buying a Mac; I have a PC right now?

Question

I really want to buy a Mac but I've never really used one for more than a short period of time and I'm afraid I'll buy it and not have a clue what to do. Can you please tell me what the differences are between a Mac and PC? Also, what kind of software does a Mac come with? Does it have word, powerpoint, etc. ? Thank you

I am looking at the new Macbook by the way.

Answer 1

I would avoid the mac for the following reasons.. (Mac does come with ILife which is GarageBand, IWeb, IDVD, IMovie, etc... and IChat.. But there are equivalents on the PC) and it does not come with word, powerpoint.. Microsoft Office is available to buy, open office, neooffice are free.. Please note: Open office is available for Windows, and Linux..



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 the same hardware as PCs. Why spend extra to get the same CPU chips, graphics cards and OS X isn't as secure as you think..



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 . Linux and Vista were not hacked until another day when restrictions were lowered. Vista was next, and then Linux.

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://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/

Answer 2

You won't have a clue what to do, but it won't take you more than an hour or two figure things out. It's not rocket science.



Macs come with iLife (GarageBand, iPhoto, iTunes), but they do not come with an office suite. You can buy Microsoft Office for Mac (which includes Word, Powerpoint, Excel), you can buy iWork for Mac, or you can get OpenOffice for free.



Here are some advantages and disadvantages for Mac.



Disadvantages:



1. The plus sign on windows does this thing called "zoom" (except in iTunes, where you'll transform the window into a "mini-player" and back again) instead of maximizing the window. Presumably, this changes the shape of the window to exactly fit its contents, except that in Finder's column view, you'll still get truncated filenames displayed... and if you change documents or webpages to something that requires another shape, you'll have to press the zoom button again to resize things.



2. There's no easy keyboard navigation for the top menu (no equivalent of Alt in Windows)



3. There is a universal toolbar at the top of the screen, which is another one of those "nice in theory" things, but it's annoying if you have a very large screen (say, an Apple Cinema Display or extended desktop), since the menu for applications will be far away from the windows for those same applications.



4. You can't cut and paste in Finder. Or you can but it's not intuitive. You have to look up how to do it.



Advantages:



1. Mac OS X has a beautiful interface with very smooth animation.



2. Even though OS X has a point-and-click interface on the surface, underneath there is a sophisticated Unix-like filesystem hierarchy and a fully functional bash shell for terminal commands.



3. Software installation isn't as easy as Linux distros' package management, but drag and drop into the Applications folder (once you get used to it) is at least easier than the setup.exe-next-next-next-next-finish routine in Windows. Unfortunately, a few software packages for Mac OS X do make you jump through the installation wizard hoops.



4. If you buy into the whole Apple experience (and can afford it), it's nice how everything is guaranteed to work together (Apple TV, iPhone, Apple Airport Extreme, Macbook, Apple Cinema Display).



Honestly, though, it's not that big a deal. Crazy fanatics like to get in long debates about which is "better," Macs or Windows PCs, and the truth is they all get the same job done. Computers are just tools. They're not religious objects of worship.

Answer 3

Mac is a very easy to use and easy to get used to platform specially for beginners, that is partly what it is famous for. There are some ups and downs to making that decision though.



Pros: Fashionable hardware, easy to use interface and programs, superior security because of its smaller market share.



There absolutely ARE viruses and Trojans that run on Mac, some of these answers should be better researched.

Cons: Prohibitive cost (far over the market price for the hardware you are receiving), not compatible with most games and standards apps, other then online downloads apps must be purchased at a premium from the Mac store because most retailers do not carry Mac Software.

Answer 4

There are many advantages that others have brought out which I don't need to repeat. Initial cost is a minus.



Now, please note that I said "initial cost" not merely "cost". Off the shelf, Macs cost more than PC's. Dig deeper. Macs come with software that you have to pay extra for if you get a lower priced PC. Macs come with hardware that you have to pay extra for a lower priced PC. And, most importantly, Macs have a longer useful life than comparable PC;s.



Again, please note that I said "useful life", not merely "life". A typical PC will last just as long as a Mac. The different is that the PC will lose it's usefully as Windows security patches start to weight it down. If you install a second major OS update on a Mac, it will slow down the Mac much less than a second major OS update on a PC.



The initial higher expense evaporates when you consider the cost of software and the earlier replacement of the PC. In the long run, Macs are cheaper

Answer 5

When you get used to Mac it's really convenient, when I first switched to Mac from using PC my whole life it really was horrible trying to get used to it, but now that I'm used to it, it's way better.



If you play a lot of games, I'd say to stay with PC. Mac doesn't come with Microsoft Office so you have to download it or buy the '08 Mac version.

Answer 6

there is office for mac. if u really want to check out a mac go to your best buy or apple store and you can mess around for a while. they are amazing and i want a macbook as well

Answer 7

Yes you need to get a Mac

Answer 8

in addition to the above - there are no viruses or trojans for MACs!!!!!!