To mac or not to mac

sw67

I change computers every 5 years buying a new one every year - i have had macs for 16 years and pcs for 5. I have had both good and bad macs but the operating system on the macs and integration makes it worth it for me

Macs are better made , run better and last longer if you take out the odd bad mac/pc

Current set up is imac / ipad / iphone 4 for me and compac and dell laptops running windows 7 for the kids

Bowling_4_Gold

Up to you OP, really. They look pretty good and generally run quite smootly, but boy are they expensive!

I now use a Mac at work, but use PCs at home. People are always saying that it's difficult to switch between using Macs and PCs on a regular basis, but to be honest, I'm not finding it difficult. All of the essential progams I use, e.g. Photoshop are very similar across the two platforms. I just prefer to use PCs in personal time as I am more used to them and can install more software on them. They also work out cheaper in most cases (which is quite a big factor for me! ).

Queen-Bee_2

Hi, I bought a Mac last year - after 20 years of only ever using PCs, windows etc.

The migration of my archived emails (8 years' worth in Outlook) never happened, despite being told by Mac staff that this was possible... Turned out I had over 40,000 emails with various attachments etc - and transferring them to Entourage was just too much..

That apart, I am a 100% Mac convert. I took out One2One membership - that enables you to book as many one to one tutorial sessions with staff at your local store as you want - and have made full use of it. It is a quality machine, haven't had any of the many many glitches with it that I used to get with windows. It is reliable and intuitive.

I am not a gadget queen - far from it - I hate IT and until now, hated computers - there always seemed to be something you couldn't possibly have known when they went wrong that left you stranded until someone else came along and sorted it out for you (or thought they could sort it out for you and ended up making matters worse).

With the Apple, I have peace of mind. I bought it because of the fantastic customer support and have not been disappointed once (apart from the Outlook !!!! up and frankly, not many people need to transfer the amount of stuff over that I did). Sometimes the staff can be arrogant - my only criticism - but even then, I am minded to make allowances cos they usually know what they're talking about and always find a solution.
QB

spud17

With the Apple, I have peace of mind. I bought it because of the fantastic customer support and have not been disappointed once

You've got me beaten there, I can't compare, because I've never used any customer support for my PCs.

mcac

I'm no expert, but I run both a PC & a Mac.

Just a couple of things that came to mind:

If you want to run the Sage accountancy programme, Mac doesn't support it.

Viruses - I've had several on the PC, but none on the Mac.

The Mouse - the Macbook has an intuitive trackpad; swipe, pinch, drag etc. When I switch to the PC I notice this small difference the most.

Dragging and dropping files from one application to another on the Mac is v easy.

There can be Adobe Flash issues with Macs i.e. Mac-crash. I don't fully understand why, but here's a recent link (that's not a proper link, sorry)
www(dot)reuters(dot)com/article/idUSTRE69L4ZX20101022

If you're using Mac's Safari for internet access you will come across some downloads that aren't Safari compatible i.e. Nectar's Search tool which allows you to earn Nectar points on your searches. Not exactly a dealbreaker, I know, and easily overcome if you download Firefox.

If you're buying a Mac for business, you can be eligible for a business discount. This varies and I don't think it's ever as much as the student discount unless you're buying multiple machines. To qualify for an iPad business discount you have to purchase 10+

Microsoft Office/Word in my view has the edge on Apple's iWork/Pages, but you can download the former onto your Mac if you really miss it.

I guess if I could only have one computer I'd plump for a Mac on the basis of the fantastic customer support and the overall design of the products. I just hope Apple and Sage get something together in the future.

vix2000

I too have always had a pc and not really thought about mac or apple until the event of the iphone. I have had every one as they have come out, and hate using any other phone now.

I have been coveting a macbook air for ages but the size put me off as I am currently using an asus s6fm which is 11.6" which I find a perfect size for me. When the rumours of an 11.6 air started I waited avidly for news and having seen it would love it, I love my asus but the air is lighter and thinner. My only grouch is no sd slot, but a usb reader would solve that.

My idea is to run windows 7 with office 2010 and any other familiar stuff on a partition with ios on another so I can play around with it and if I get on with it and prefer it to windows I would consider switching. If I knew I coudn't run windows 7 and office on it I wouldn't consider changing.

M0DB0Y

install Mac OS X onto a PC. There will be no support from Apple. If you want their support dont do this. Google build your own x86 mac.

dx052

For what its worth, if your just using a Laptop to browse the web and use the odd spreadsheet and write a few letters I would stick with Microsoft. However if your using it for anything to do with music, photography, film etc I would go Mac.

23n1th

Its not the case that macs are better for design, music, photography and film any more. It may have been so in the past but not now since all the programs which made macs better are available on windows. Not to mention the movie industry uses linux for its rendering farms.

Build quality is always bought up but if you compare like for like price-wise, rather than a £1000 mac with a £300 computer, you'd find the build quality the same.

home_alone

I am buying an imac for my daughter for xmas very impressed with it, although i will stick with my old windows laptop, maybe next year.