Mac vs. PC....computers geeks needed!!!

[V4junkie]

Absolutely nothin

[Cheech]

Buildit.

There are lots of sites for freeware/shareware for the mac.

I've used the shit out of "Mac The Ripper" on library moobies.

If you wanna back up your drive get an external. They're pretty cheap.

I picked up a SeaGate 1.5TB external in the spring for $140 at Microcenter.

You like looking for moobs in the library? Dude, you probably need to get out on the bike more.

[Cheech]

Absolutely nothin

Threadjack complete.

[Cypress]

She doesn't need to buy either one. She said she has had it for four years, that she's not tech savy and that she only really needs it for internet use. I really don't see her doing any real hardcore photo/video editing so, she doesn't need top-of-the-line. I've told her many times that if she would like that I can reformat her laptop and install a fresh copy of XP on it and she would be good to go without payin' a crap load.

[RSVDon]

Re-engaging Mac vs. PC argument in 5...4...3...2...

[V4junkie]

She doesn't need to buy either one. She said she has had it for four years, that she's not tech savy and that she only really needs it for internet use. I really don't see her doing any real hardcore photo/video editing so, she doesn't need top-of-the-line. I've told her many times that if she would like that I can reformat her laptop and install a fresh copy of XP on it and she would be good to go without payin' a crap load.

I missed the third option. Makes sense to me, try that first Pratt! Save some $$$ and buy us all wings?

[Cheech]

Re-engaging Mac vs. PC argument in 5...4...3...2...

oneeeeeeeeeee.........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3r_hrWzSXA

[wrillo]

She doesn't need to buy either one. She said she has had it for four years, that she's not tech savy and that she only really needs it for internet use. I really don't see her doing any real hardcore photo/video editing so, she doesn't need top-of-the-line. I've told her many times that if she would like that I can reformat her laptop and install a fresh copy of XP on it and she would be good to go without payin' a crap load.

you know the specs on it? If she isn't running a modern processor with at least 2 GB of RAM, I say new computer

[Artmageddon]

I have 2 PCs at home, 2 at work, and a G5 mac at work.

I turn on the mac about 3 times a year when someone brings me a Quark file. It was top of the line a year and half ago, and I found it slow even then.

I build my own PC's with better stuff that Apple uses at a third of the the cost. It runs faster(I'm a designer running memory hog design software and RIP programs too), never had a virus(Avast rules), and between the 4 PC's the only time one of them crashed in the past year is because I kicked a cord in the back pretty hard and knocked the video card loose.

Macs are good computers, don't get me wrong. I have nothing against them, but their marketing.

To me, most of their appeal is to people that are trendy and/or anti-establishment, but in reality by buying a Mac for that reason is the exact opposite of that. If you are trying to be different and get the same thing that everyone else does, that makes you the same as everyone else. Kind of like trying to be a Hot Topic goth.

Not saying that everyone that owns a Mac is like that either, so don't take it the wrong way.

Vista(at least ultimate) is not the greatest OS ever, but not as bad as everyone thinks with the service packs. I only run it on one PC at home that I just built, because I got free Windows 7 upgrade which will come with any PC purchased in the next few months.

There are actually things that I like about it, but I am running the 64 bit version. 18 GBs of RAM is nice.

Get what you want though, you're the one using it.

[Dave]

macs suck for one simple reason IMO... no right click...wha? I cant see the properties of ANYTHING??

fuck that.

PC for lyfe.

[Zach]

macs suck for one simple reason IMO... no right click...wha? I cant see the properties of ANYTHING??

fuck that.

PC for lyfe.

or get a regular mouse and get your right click back...

[wrillo]

macs suck for one simple reason IMO... no right click...wha? I cant see the properties of ANYTHING??

fuck that.

PC for lyfe.

:lol:

[Dave]

or get a regular mouse and get your right click back...

I've got right click capability.. stop spreading your message of hate.

my experience. No Mac Ive ever used had the capability.

does the menu pop up when u right click like on Windows?

Ive never used a Mac that I liked. and Ive had the same PC for 8 years...only had to wipe it once...and that was this year and it was my own fault.

Mac says they are about user friendliness...depends on the user.

[wrillo]

Mac says they are about user friendliness

well then why is their stereotypical user such an asshat?

[Mr Anderson]

Disagree... If you are tech dumb, get a PC. You don't want to have to figure out which programs will or won't work with your MAC, and how to get them to work. More people know how to use PCs, which will get you more help when you're in a jam. With a MAC, you'll have to pay someone to do it/fix it, or you'll have to figure it out yourself.

Get a PC, load it with Avast anti-virus software (free), and don't look MAC. err, I mean back

+1 get a pc. My mom is not tech smart and pc helped her out. edit it only cost 300 to build her one lol.

[ReconRat]

Originally Posted by buildit

more confusing than an advanced physics question for string theory.

Everything is possibly related to everything.

Seriously, how hard was that?

Schrödinger's cat called, he wants his box back...

Seriously, until a quantum computer is offered, I don't much care. I work with and use all of the above. I'll stick with the PC. But only because I build an image of the computer, and can replace it quickly from a server. So when it's attacked, I just start over. And the PCs are cheaper. Most of the guts of a MAC are the same as a PC now, just a different operating system. The MAC will keep you out of trouble way longer, without noticing any lack of being able to run software. With the exception of trying to download old MAC software that just isn't compatible.

The future might be a bit different, I expect MACs to be attacked by trojans and viruses much more frequently. But the same is also true of PCs. Eventually there really won't be much difference between the two.

So it's what everyone already said:

PCs cost less

MACs cost more

PCs do more

MACs need less work

PCs are very popular

MACs don't get attacked much yet

If you just want to surf, write, print, play music and movies...

Get the MAC if you don't mind paying the higher price.

Be prepared for a higher cost of repair, and sometimes difficult to do.

But that's also true of a PC at a lower price, if you are careful.

And oh yeah, what Cypress said, your current laptop just needs a fresh start and maybe add some RAM memory...

[dmagicglock]

my experience. No Mac Ive ever used had the capability.

does the menu pop up when u right click like on Windows?

Ive never used a Mac that I liked. and Ive had the same PC for 8 years...only had to wipe it once...and that was this year and it was my own fault.

Mac says they are about user friendliness...depends on the user.

if you want to right click you just use two fingers when you click on something instead of one and it will give you the right click options you're use to seeing with windows. Or you can hold down the control key and click with one finger if you wanna do it the hard way

[wrillo]

if you want to right click you just use two fingers when you click on something instead of one and it will give you the right click options you're use to seeing with windows. Or you can hold down the control key and click with one finger if you wanna do it the hard way

yeah, sounds real user friendly... need a manual to get to the properties

[dmagicglock]

yeah, sounds real user friendly... need a manual to get to the properties

i guess it just depends on if she's a girl who likes to double click her mouse with one or two fingers? whats so bad about that?

[Zach]

my experience. No Mac Ive ever used had the capability.

does the menu pop up when u right click like on Windows?

Ive never used a Mac that I liked. and Ive had the same PC for 8 years...only had to wipe it once...and that was this year and it was my own fault.

Mac says they are about user friendliness...depends on the user.

Uh, yeah, you just plug in a 2 button USB mouse and start using...

Or you can just hold down the main button for a couple secs and the same info will pop up.

Not too hard.

[John]

macs are too expensive for what you actually get inside. a PC is a much better value. with the mac you are paying for image and shiny white plastic. vista does suck though...

[buildit]

I was going to load more pics but my PC crashed.

[dmagicglock]

is there anyone on here who's ever actually owned a mac within the past 3 years and said man... this sucks, i'd rather be using my PC

[Strictly Street]

Hmm.. A tempting topic for the flame war fairy.

A semi-informed opinion is what I'm trying for here.

Starting at the beginning.

Hardware:

The laptop is 4 years old - so the hardware is a little out of date.

Nice things to have that the newer ones do is things like larger displays, Dual core CPU's, bigger hard drives and more RAM.

RAM and the hard drive you could add to the existing laptop, CPU and display, not so much.

So from a performance perspective , new would be nice.

But do you NEED all that?

No idea, but that is the hardware end of it anyway.

Software:

PC:

Windows XP home is useless, avoid it.

Windows XP Pro is still well supported in the educational community.

Vista, not so much, it's out there but not in heavy use.

Windows 7, the new operating system isn't released yet to the general public.

The feeling I get from system administrators is that they will not deploy this until at least the first service pack is out.

MAC:

All versions of the MAC software are supported to some extent.

By this I mean you may have to add something to connect to or from a windows network. Software to do this is readily available. However knowing what you need and how to install it might make you wish to have your own MAC guru to help.

If you are going to school for any graphics art courses, MAC wins hands down.

Schools:

They are no doubt running UNIX for their main servers. UNIX is the KING for servers but it is NOT user friendly at all, not even a little bit.

Both MAC and Windows can hook up to UNIX easily.

Other facts:

Windows is the de-facto standard of the business world at this time.

Student study groups/networks most likely run windows or MACs but not both (depending on the subject matter).

MACS cost twice as much as PC's up front.

PCs are cheap to get into but their long term cost can be higher than you thought. (depending on what software you buy).

Personal opinion:

If I didn't know how to do it I would get someone who did know how to set it up for me.

I am a cheap bastard so I would hot-rod the existing laptop with more RAM and a newer faster hard drive (if needed)

I would also flash the BIOS for more speed and features (NOT for the faint of heart, you do it wrong your toast)

Wipe the drive, destroy and then rebuild the partitions and start with a fresh install of Windows XP PRO.

Add as few applications as possible.

Get a USB backpack drive to load all my data on to keep it secure.

Install anti-virus, Malware and back-up applications.

Update these applications frequently.

Total cost ~ about $300-$400

New laptop ~ $1500 -$3000

I would avoid any "Custom" set ups such as Linux simply because you don't know how to use them and getting help recovering a file needed in the next 15 minutes for your term paper might be a hassle.

Anyway, that's my two cents worth

[John]

This is complete crap.. except for the 'vista' part.

A Quarter Pounder W/ Cheese® is a better value than a homemade burger grilled at the local greasy spoon' date=' but that doesn't make it a better burger.[/quote']

lets compare:

macbook air v. dell XPS 13

price:

the cheapest 1330 is 950 bucks.

the cheapest air is 1500

mac 0 dell 1

screen:

both 13.3"

tie

processor:

mac: 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

dell: 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

mac 0 dell 2

optical drive:

mac: no

dell: DVD +/- RW

mac 0 dell 3

memory:

mac: 2GB DDR3 SDRAM

dell: 3GB DDR2 SDRAM

mac 0 dell 4

HDD:

mac: 120GB (4200RPM) SATA

dell: 250GB (7200RPM) SATA

mac 0 dell 5

graphics:

mac: nvida 9400M

dell: nvida 9400M

push

weight:

mac: 3lb

dell: 3.97lb

mac 1 dell 5

height:

mac: 0.4-1.94 cm

dell: 2.31cm – 3.38cm

mac 2 dell 5

battery life:

mac: 5h

dell: 3h

mac 3 dell 5

the mac comes close... but it scores its points mostly in aesthetics (imo) not tech specs (save battery life). for 500 dollars more, you get a computer that is about a pound lighter, a cm or two thinner and 2 hours more battery, no optical drive and ONE usb port. is the apple logo on top really worth the extra cash? the apple price just went down recently too. the macbook WAS 1800. the dell went up 150. it was 800 in april when i looked.

http://www.apple.com/macbookair/specs.html

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m1330?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn

edit: i just raelized that the dell now comes with the nvida card too... so i guess thats a push.

Edited September 23, 2009 by John