# Mac vs. PC



## SuckLead (Jul 4, 2006)

Me and my dad were talking about this new Vista software after some co-workers had brought it up at work this afternoon. Me and my dad both thought that now may be the time to think about switching over to a Mac. Neither one of us knows much about Macs, but most people we know (not all) love their Macs. 

So what is the general thought from everyone here? Mac or PC? And why? My PC is getting up there in age and there is no way on God's green Earth that it can support Vista. Explorer updated and we can't use that anymore, either. If I hadn't switched to Opera months ago we'd be screwed now. 

So argue one way or the other. Should we get another PC when the time comes, or should we switch to Mac?


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## john doe. (Aug 26, 2006)

I made the switch to a Mac three years ago and would not hesitate to get another.


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## js (Jun 29, 2006)

I have a Mac and PC.

I love my Mac G4.  I use it for almost everything I do, I'm using it right now. The only thing I use my PC for anymore is for gaming or copying/burning DVDs.


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## 2400 (Feb 4, 2006)

I switched to Mac in 95. :smt033


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## samskara (Jul 19, 2006)

I use PCs because I'm a heavy gamer and Macs are lousy for that. I think its pretty much like deciding on a gun, try both and see what you prefer.


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## Benzbuilder (Sep 7, 2006)

I have been a Mac user since System 7 (1994). Haven't had any complaonts yet. I did have a used iBook that died after 3 years (G3). Replaced it with a G4 iBook, that was a year ago. I am planning on getting a new Macbook Pro this year. They have a great platform. Easy to use, media oriented. If you havn't used iTunes for your music try it, they have a version for windoze. It is amazing mp3 data base. It even has a juke box menu that displays the album artwork associated with each song. Very cool, artwork even shows up on my iPod.
In short, *buy a Mac and never look bac.*


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## -gunut- (May 8, 2006)

I prefer PC. Macs are ok but there are things I don't like about them. Mainly how hard it is to see what all is open and to transition from window to window. I also don't like how they are not compatible with almost everything. I know if you tried vista you would be hooked. Leaps and bounds better then XP from what I have seen so far. I also enjoy games and nothing is better with Windows.


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## jeepgirl (Jan 17, 2007)

after going thru 1 PC a year, 2.5 years ago i got an iBook G4 and i will never buy another PC. i used to work for apple doing tech support, never had any horrible calls for support, easy job, "my computer won't turn on"..."well, sir, is it plugged in?"...click. haha. i would agree with what samskara said about them being lousy for gaming, i can't seem to find any games that will work on a mac (mostly i just want prison tycoon and CSI) but my mac works great for anything/everything else i have needed it to do!

www.apple.com/switch


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## Wandering Man (Jul 9, 2006)

I'm pretty much stuck with PC's. All of the software I need for my business only comes in PC format. Since some of what I do is computerized testing, I have to go with the same kind of equipment that the test was developed on, otherwise I distort the norms.

For me, the choice of computers boils down to what I want to use it for. If I were mostly doing word processing or graphic arts, I would probably go with Mac. But because I operate in a business environment, its got to be PC.

WM


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## Benzbuilder (Sep 7, 2006)

I would like to add that the newest macs will run windoze XP. With paralells, you can have XP running in a seperate window without having to reboot into another operating system. You get Paralells free with a new Mac. You just need a copy of XP.


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## SuckLead (Jul 4, 2006)

-gunut- said:


> I know if you tried vista you would be hooked. Leaps and bounds better then XP from what I have seen so far. I also enjoy games and nothing is better with Windows.


That's the problem. This computer is pretty much a dinosaur right now and it can't handle Vista. So we're probably going to need a new computer in the next year or so. I want to get the right one because my family tends to keep everything until it rolls over and spits blood. My dad's thrilled to have me around because if I wasn't here to fix it this computer would have died years ago. I'm no techie, but I can figure some things out.

Here's another problem. My dad is a compulsive downloader. He'll download just about anything. The man downloaded a calculator... even though Windows has a calculator already! He has kept it somewhat in check since he crashed the entire system and we had to reinstall Windows a few times over the course of a month just to recover from some bad program he got. But he still does it sometimes. Will a Mac make it easier or harder for him to do that (I'm looking for harder) and if it doesn't matter, which will hold up best to this issue? He won't listen to anyone, he's one of these people who thinks nothing was meant for him, just other people (which is why I have to pick his pockets before he goes to the airport, otherwise he'd take knives with him in his pockets).

Oh, yeah, I do use iTunes for stuff I don't want the entire album of. My CD Burner is rather busy. LOL! I don't own an iPod and don't really want one.


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## Revolver (Aug 26, 2006)

SuckLead said:


> That's the problem. This computer is pretty much a dinosaur right now and it can't handle Vista.


Would a 7 year old PC be considered a "dinosaur"? I don't think it can take the resources being sucked from and wasted by XP nor would I ever want to have to deal with XP. I have yet to see a PC with XP to be as reliable as my HP Pavilion with ME. I can only imagine how horrible Vista will turn out to be with issues that will surface. My next computer will probably be a Mac. Hopefully that won't be for a little while longer though. Am I the only one who misses the days of Windows 95?


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## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

Actually, Revolver, I am pretty satsified w/ my XP setup.

One thing to do w/ ANY computer is to get an imaging program. 2-3x a month, I run drive image. It copies the entire main hard drive and saves it into 1 file on my 2nd hard drive.

W/ Win 95. 98 and XP, it has saved me a few times. Install something new and stuff acts buggy, or something just goes wrong on its own. I have used it many times on both versions. IT puts things back to the way they were before any mess up.

I did this after spending entire nights reinstalling Win 3.1 because something screwed up. Then, installing each program 1 at a time.

It's a lifesaver. 30 min later, U are back!


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## Wandering Man (Jul 9, 2006)

Revolver said:


> Would a 7 year old PC be considered a "dinosaur"? I don't think it can take the resources being sucked from and wasted by XP nor would I ever want to have to deal with XP. I have yet to see a PC with XP to be as reliable as my HP Pavilion with ME. I can only imagine how horrible Vista will turn out to be with issues that will surface. My next computer will probably be a Mac. Hopefully that won't be for a little while longer though. Am I the only one who misses the days of Windows 95?


Windows 95? Heck, I miss the old DOS days. The only time things messed up was when you typed in the wrong command. You could get around the screen without a mouse. You could save everything you needed on a 5 1/4" floppy. And the computer started in just seconds.

WM


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## Todd (Jul 3, 2006)

samskara said:


> I use PCs because I'm a heavy gamer and Macs are lousy for that.


I'm with ya there. A lot more choices for gaming with a PC.


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## bangbang (Jan 18, 2007)

I'll never get a Mac...not because I am a PC Elitist...but because they have a closed system. By that, I mean there is hardly any upgrade paths right now for the Mac. There are about 17 trillion vendors making things for the PC world, and only a handful that make hardware for the Mac. 

Apple almost owns that sector. I personally customize and build all of my computers...so for me, buying a $2000 complete G4 (or whatever) is not going to make me happy. 

I like picking out the RAM, Motherboard, Processor and hard drives myself. I like cutting corners where I can to save, and then spending more on the components that are not as important to me.

My last 4 PCs have shared the same case...I have had to replace my power supply once in that time though.

On my next PC rebuild, I will get a new case...I think 7-8 years is enough for one case...

For someone who wants to buy a complete computer, and not upgrade or tinker with it...I feel the Macs are a GREAT option. 

I also like to play a few games in particular...and Mac does not give me that option the way the PCs do.


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## OrangeSkies (Jul 5, 2006)

Both are good computers and which one you ultimately buy will most likely depend on what you intend to primarily use it for. 

A big advantage of the PC's over the Mac's is that there are literally millions of software titles available for them. There are far fewer for the Mac. Spare parts are also more readily available and interchangeable on a PC than a Mac. 

And I don't know for sure, but I believe getting your Mac serviced would also be more expensive than a PC due to there being far fewer repair centers for Mac's.


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## SuckLead (Jul 4, 2006)

Revolver said:


> Would a 7 year old PC be considered a "dinosaur"? I don't think it can take the resources being sucked from and wasted by XP nor would I ever want to have to deal with XP. I have yet to see a PC with XP to be as reliable as my HP Pavilion with ME. I can only imagine how horrible Vista will turn out to be with issues that will surface. My next computer will probably be a Mac. Hopefully that won't be for a little while longer though. Am I the only one who misses the days of Windows 95?


*counts on fingers* Mine is 8 years old. So far it is holding up well and really working like a champ, I don't ever think I've been this happy with a computer in my life (dude, I got a Dell). It is starting to get to a point where it isn't "new enough" to handle some aspects of the internet. Like Explorer. We can't get Explorer to work at all on this computer anymore, not since the last update of it. I'm only still online because of Opera. The computer is split up for each family member so we have our own area of the computer and my dad's crapped out on him not long ago. He couldn't do anything. So he now has two areas. LOL! I can see us needing a new one in a year or so, although I really have no complaints with this one.


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## john doe. (Aug 26, 2006)

I had my Mac serviced once and that was just a couple weeks ago. It was fixed pretty quickly and it cost me nothing because the power supply was a recall. I’ve had a Ipod go bad on me too. They asked me to send it back and two days later I got a new one back with no money out of my pocket except for the initial shipping. I think the service I get with Apple is far superior to what my brothers have talked about with their Dells or Gateway. My little brother doesn’t speck Indian (India) so communicating with the service tech was literally impossible.

As far as upgrades to my Mac I don’t worry about it. It has everything I need and I’m not a builder when it comes to computers. I’d ruin it.


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## SuckLead (Jul 4, 2006)

Well, that is the bad thing about Dell. I laugh so hard at their claims of great customer service. Their customer service is non-existant. If you're not buying a new computer from them they don't want anything to do with you and will about tell you so. I have had better luck with HK's customer service, and that's saying something!

I use Earthlink, so I know the Indian techie people well. I love the American names they all have, too, like they're fooling us. LOL!


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## rfawcs (Feb 11, 2006)

After owning about a dozen different Macs, I switched to using PC's completely about 4 years ago. I was tired of seeing the software I wanted/needed available for PCs but not Macs. I was also tired of paying through the nose for a Mac, compared to a PC, which is why I've built almost all of the computers I've owned. I've just built a machine for Vista, and should have the 64-bit version next week.

My XP machines are as stable as any Mac I've owned, and I've used Mac OSs from System 7 through OS X 10.3. 

You would probably be happy with either flavor of computer, but if you want the widest availability of software, get a PC. I'm not sure any more, but PC software was cheaper than Mac software, also.


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## Thor (May 11, 2006)

rfawcs, I'm with you. Macs are just too damned expensive as compared to a PC platform. Then there is the software availability issue. I've been told that's gotten far better as of recent. I generally build all of my PCs any more because I can build a damned good one for $500-600. Most of my PCs are 8-9 years old and with minor upgrades, I've been running XP on all of them. I even had an old (10 years old) 450 MHz pc running XP. It ran fine. I traded it to a friend for some newer parts. Last I spoke with him, it was still running well. What I've found is that the majority of the time, PCs get messed up by end user induced problems. I just wish that M$ would develop and sell an OS without all of the security issues that are common with the Windows platforms. The laptop I'm using at this moment is 8 years old and runs XP just fine. I DID have to do a bios upgrade in order to make XP install. No big deal for me, though. I don't see Windows Vista in my near future, as I would have to build new machines in order to use it effectively, although my current ones do exceed minimum specs for Vista. It'll take a year, anyways, for M$ to get most of the bugs resolved and companies like Comcast aren't even supporting it yet.


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## -gunut- (May 8, 2006)

This should help you decide... :mrgreen:

I feel this guys pain.


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## SuckLead (Jul 4, 2006)

-gunut- said:


> This should help you decide... :mrgreen:
> 
> I feel this guys pain.


LOL! "Mac killed my inner child." Love it!

I'm not a gamer, so that stuff isn't too important.


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## scooter (May 9, 2006)

Ive had compaq laptops for 10+ years now and with good antivirus/spyware no problems. I just dont go into places I even SUSPECT have that crap in them. I backup about once a month but have never had to restore........ yet(knock wood:mrgreen: )
I do agree MOST (probably the vast majority) of problems on PC's are "user created".


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