Windows or Macbook - what do you use and why?

sweetstudent

I am another Mac covert, after having to use what can only be described as a cobbled together operating system i went out and brought my fantastic black MacBook, needless to say i have not had one problem with it, yes i do agree programs are limited, but being at uni i simply brought iWork, which is very comparable to Office, Safari is the best internet browser and does not suffer what IE suffers and as many of the previous posters many applications are integrated, for instance in iLfe, iDVD instantly gets pic/songs from iPhoto, iTunes so easily and much more simplier than Windows does it.

I have to use Windows at work and i hate as everything is so complicated and slow, however i have managed to conversions so far....... Another thing is when using a Windows laptop i become annoyed that there is no two finger scroll or two finger right click.

I would say get a MacBook, however as this is MSE i would try the apple refurb store, another point about Mac's are that you can take them to Apple Retail stores and get the Mac fixed/sent off there, not waiting in for PC world to collect!!!!!!

Leopard

You are one extremely wise student and you are possessed of one of the most beautiful laptops Apple ever made. :cool:

I congratulate you and I wish you well with your Masters Degree - which you will, without any doubt, obtain. :T

Essenchill

Quick techie question in relation to Mac - I have a PowerBook (G4) and it's running OS X Version 10.3.9 but in order to use a (new) iPod with it, it needs to be running on 10.4.11 or later. Is it easy enough to 'upgrade' (and not lose everything on my Mac) or cheaper to start from scratch? Any advice appreciated!

sweetstudent

Essenchill wrote: »

Quick techie question in relation to Mac - I have a PowerBook (G4) and it's running OS X Version 10.3.9 but in order to use a (new) iPod with it, it needs to be running on 10.4.11 or later. Is it easy enough to 'upgrade' (and not lose everything on my Mac) or cheaper to start from scratch? Any advice appreciated!

I would try and get a Tiger upgrade, i think Tiger will still support the PowerPC chip. Alternativly you can always get the sexy new MacBook and the Apple dudes will transfer all your files for you!!!!!

Or try eBay

normanmark

I'm on a 5th Gen Macbook, with dual boot of XP.

The Windows vs Mac debate is a long & tedious one. Both have their plus & minus points.

I just use Mac, personally, because some Logic Studio is Mac only & better than any other DAW for the job.

Marty_J

A:I wrote: »

I fail to see where you are going with this. Why are you comparing these two?

The reason I bring it up is in response to your assertion that Macs don't last longer than PCs.

Forget about Macs; would it be reasonable to expect an expensive computer to last longer than a cheap one?

Ok then.
iMovie = VirtualDub, Avidemux, Cinelerra, Kino All of which are freeware!
Garageband = Audacity, Ardour, Traverso Again, ALL freeware!
iDVD = IMGburn

Your comparisons are still way off.

Inconvenient? If 6 clicks of a mouse is too hard for you?]

It was just one example of how many things are easier on a Mac.

Let's not forget, you also have to run the uninstallshield wizard, which takes a lot longer than just deleting something.

Yes, Apple choose what PC hardware to put in.

Which is different from any other computer manufacturer how?

Why would i want an all in one design? Seems to me more trouble than it's worth. What if i wanted a bigger screen?

I'm not saying that you should want an all in one design. But you're comparing your computer to one. All in one designs are more expensive to design, manufacture, and ultimately purchase, so you're not comparing like with like.

You don't want an all in one design, and that's fair enough. However, I do want one. They take up less space, I loathe having wires everywhere, and I can pick it up under one arm and move it to a different room if I fancy working somewhere else. So, no matter how cheap, cost effective, upgradeable or generally wonderful your computer is, I wouldn't want it.

This isn't a slight to you or your computer, it just wouldn't suit me personally. So, I pay a premium to get what I want. If that makes me silly, or unwise with money, then so be it.

What if i wanted to upgrade my hard drive to 1TB, would i have to pay apple the £150 they charge, when i could buy a 1TB drive for ~£70 and install it in my PC myself.

Or you could buy one and install it yourself in your Mac. It's certainly more involved than doing so on a traditional PC design, but still doable.

Or if i wanted 4GB of memory, would i pay apple almost £100?! No, i would pay £40 less for much faster memory and put it in my PC.

Why do you think Mac users pay Apple £100 for memory?

I've never purchased memory from Apple; as you point out, it is vastly overpriced.

Oh really?

Yes, they're not. Try buying an empty iMac case at PC World.

Or I could spend 10 minutes on google finding freeware alternatives.

And I'm sure they would work every bit as well.

Have you ever actually used iLife for any length of time?

Oh and @ converse, by no means am i a Windows fan, i can admit that Windows has allot of problems; i just dislike Macs and their pricetag.

Does the same go for expensive PCs?

Should everything cost the same?

tlck9

mac mac mac all the way

It doesnt crash, there is tons of free open source software that rivals the big players, relatively secure/virus free, software is easier to use and they look great

Price, well they are slightly more expensive, but then you do get quite a bit of software with them from start - unlike windows where it is the OS only

and then the technology is far superior and therefore you pay for what you get

twigling online, a bit of word, then get windows, but use it all day then a mac is worth the investment


ps paid £20 for my apple memory upgrade and apple store installed it free, now I dont get that with pcworld, in fact i'm sure to upgrade they charge £50 plus the memory

BillScarab

tlck9 wrote: »

mac mac mac all the way

It doesnt crash, there is tons of free open source software that rivals the big players, relatively secure/virus free, software is easier to use and they look great

My Windows PC hasn't crashed in the 2 years I've had it. Tons of opensource software for Windows, possibly more than for OSX. Can't argue about the security, personally I don't find much software hard to use and looks are subjective.

Price, well they are slightly more expensive, but then you do get quite a bit of software with them from start - unlike windows where it is the OS only

As has been pointed out ad infinitum they are not more expensive when you cpmpare like with like. Windows is not OS only unless you don't consider IE, DVD Maker, Movie Maker, Photo Gallery, Media Player etc. as not software.

and then the technology is far superior and therefore you pay for what you get

The technology is the same. Apple use the same CPUs. GPUs, hard discs etc. as Windows PCs

twigling online, a bit of word, then get windows, but use it all day then a mac is worth the investment

No idea what twigling is but word runs on Macs so if you rpefer them why not buy it for your Mac?


ps paid £20 for my apple memory upgrade and apple store installed it free, now I dont get that with pcworld, in fact i'm sure to upgrade they charge £50 plus the memory

But most people don't pay anyone to install their memory and anyone sane wouldn't go near PC world in the first place.

abcdefghijklmnop

pulliptears

Mac. Originally because it was stipulated by my Uni (graphic design degree). I detested it for the first week or so and kept sneaking back to my laptop!!
Now, I cant use PC, I find them overly complicated.

tlck9

Windows PC hasn't crashed in the 2 years I've had it. Tons of opensource software for Windows, possibly more than for OSX. Can't argue about the security, personally I don't find much software hard to use and looks are subjective.


You are very lucky then, I run two macs and two PC with windows, unfortunately my company have yet to see the light and remain PC based...

my high spec dell crashes when it has a paddy trying to carry out jobs my mac would do in a flash....

The technology is the same. Apple use the same CPUs. GPUs, hard discs etc. as Windows PCs

I actually mean that the technology is built for the macs, therefore it will run seamless, it will allow hardrive to work out of the box, no searching for a driver when the one on the disk doesnt work

and finally

No idea what twigling is but word runs on Macs so if you rpefer them why not buy it for your Mac?

no one is going to pay £700 for a mac, when all they want to do is run word or browse the internet

I already have MS office for the Mac and use it everyday...


finally, my other half browsing Ebay picked up a trojan the other night on his Windows, what a pain in the %^$£ that was. Given the chance I would dump my Pc's and move completely to mac and that comes from someone who works with PC's everyday and works in IT!!