PC or Mac

Middlers

Having had Windows based PCs for years, I am now contemplating going for an Apple Macbook (not very moneysaving I know). Apple claim to not need anti-virus etc. The trade off appears to be the price which is extortionate when compared to other options. Reading this board it appears that most of the problems encountered by people are on Windows based PCs. Is this true? Other people's thoughts and opinions would be welcome.

jaydeeuk1

No doubt this will descent in to an apple v pc war! Yes, like for like hardware, apple prices are expensive. But, the quality is supposedly higher, the OS more robust and far less susceptible to stupid users, sorry, I mean viruses and spyware, and they look pretty which I believe is the main selling point.

If you can afford one, go for it.

I'll go duck.

Marty_J

I'm a Mac user, and I love them to bits. Mac OS X is so much nicer than either XP or Vista, and while any computer can get a virus, the chances of getting one on a Mac are far lower than getting one on a Windows PC.

Apple are more expensive than some PCs, but they're also cheaper than others. Apple came top for computer manufacturers in the American Consumer Satisfaction Index last year for the fifth year running, beating runners up Dell by 10 points.

In a 2009 survey, they also came top with 81% of their customers saying that they're "very satisfied" (the runner up ASUS only had 67%).

They consistently have the highest customer satisfaction in the PC-industry, they have the highest brand loyalty of any computer manufacturer, they make beautiful computers that run a beautiful operating system, and many of the problems that plague Windows users are a thing of the past when you use a Mac.

If you switch to a Mac, it's very likely you'll never want to use a Windows PC again.

Black polo necks are of course optional.

Leopard

(You should be aware that Marty J is grooming himself for the role of successor to Steve Jobs. )

sweetstudent

Leopard wrote: »

(You should be aware that Marty J is grooming himself for the role of successor to Steve Jobs. )

I was hoping for that job!!! lol

I was going to say that Mac's also last a LOT longer than PC's, and depreciate slower than PC's do.

I made the switch to a Mac and i cannot stand a windows based OS now, (which i am forced to use at work untill i can get the IT dept to switch to Mac's)

asininity

Now a days the only difference between macs and pcs are the OS's used and the asthetics.

If you're looking for as pretty machine that doesn't suffer from viruses buy something from the likes of asus (there are others) and run linux which is much cheaper.

Macs are just pretty PCs using a variant of BSD (OSX).

DatabaseError

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

....the OS more robust and far less susceptible to stupid users, sorry, I mean viruses and spyware, and they look pretty which I believe is the main selling point.
If you can afford one, go for it.
I'll go duck.

QFT - my bold

Before this does descend into the usual....

If you are capable of installing a couple of security programs, and not being an idiot, PCs are very secure (I'm running 5 virus and malware free with very little maintenance...(I ran my first virus/malware scan since xmas on them all yesterday, nothing to report))
If you want something which is initially expensive, but which will keep most of its value for many years (though you're unlikely to want to sell it), then, so long as the software you want to run is available on the mac, no reason not to get a mac

Sput2001

asininity wrote: »

Now a days the only difference between macs and pcs are the OS's used and the asthetics.

...and the price tag.

Marty_J

Leopard wrote: »

(You should be aware that Marty J is grooming himself for the role of successor to Steve Jobs. )

Once that restraining order runs out, I think I'm in with a good chance.

asininity wrote: »

Now a days the only difference between macs and pcs are the OS's used and the asthetics.

If you're looking for as pretty machine that doesn't suffer from viruses buy something from the likes of asus (there are others) and run linux which is much cheaper.

Macs are just pretty PCs using a variant of BSD (OSX).

True, and while I agree that Linux (in all its various flavours) is a fantastic operating system, it doesn't quite have the ease of use OS X has; it has something of a steep learning curve for many people. It's getting a lot more user-friendly all the time though.

NickMidgley wrote: »

...and the price tag.

Whether Macs are more expensive than PCs depends entirely on the PC in question (and the Mac for that matter, given that they range in price from £499 to £1,899 and up).

asininity

Marty_J wrote: »

True, and while I agree that Linux (in all its various flavours) is a fantastic operating system, it doesn't quite have the ease of use OS X has; it has something of a steep learning curve for many people. It's getting a lot more user-friendly all the time though.

Now I dont think its that much of a learning curve the main problem is that very very few PCs come with it preinstalled and the vast majority of windoze users have never installed windows let alone linux. Linux is actually easier to install. Really once its installed its just a case of getting used to it like you'd have to with OSX. Though I agree it never used to be and even now depends on the distro.

Also its really a rule of thumb that for the equivalent price you'd get a more powerful PC.

Marty_J

asininity wrote: »

Now I dont think its that much of a learning curve the main problem is that very very few PCs come with it preinstalled and the vast majority of windoze users have never installed windows let alone linux. Linux is actually easier to install. Really once its installed its just a case of getting used to it like you'd have to with OSX. Though I agree it never used to be and even now depends on the distro.

Linux is great, no arguments there. I'm just not so sure it's ready for primetime yet (though it does seem to be increasingly popular). It'll get there though, I have no doubts about that.

Also its really a rule of thumb that for the equivalent price you'd get a more powerful PC.

I guess that's broadly true, though not always. Dell's XPS range for instance, is roughly a similar spec to many of Apple's computers, and is about the same price, or even more expensive.

Apple just don't have a budget or cheaper range of machines as most other manufacturers do. It's not so much that they make expensive computers, but that they don't make inexpensive ones if you get my drift.