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Classic argument. What do you use, which is better?

I'm a PC man, because I'm not easily distracted by shiny objects.

The ammount of gripes I hear about IPods puts me off a little but the Mac OS in a PC would be interesting. It fills me with less dread than Vista.

I use a PC.

Have thought about a Mac but the almost complete lack of games stops me...

Currently running vista 64 and loving it. It's limited on games for now but that'll change. Untill then I have my old beater and the best yet is my wife wants me to build another this may.

Even if performance was really an issue the ability to customize would still be a winner in my book.

So yeah, pc

I use a PC. I haven't had many problems. I have a few friends who swear by Macs, but my PC does what I need it to without any fuss so I've never been all that tempted to switch.

Mac = win.
Win = fail.

Facte.

If you want a computer for day to day use, (not including games) have little or no IT knowledge and therefore want something that just works out of the box then a Mac is fine I suppose.

Never mind that your paying well over the odds for old hardware and a glorified Linux GUI. Or that a PC of equivalent power (which unlikne a Mac can be upgraded later) can be put together for about 1/4 of the price of the Mac.

Macs are essentially computers for people who don't like computers. Whilst people are scared by technology (and lets face it they always will be) there will be a market for Macs.

BTW before anyone brings up the security benefits of Mac's. Mac's are only less prone to viruses because no one write viruses for Mac's. Its not down to any superiority on the Macs part.

I love tinkering and building computers, heck its my job! So I'm a PC man.

What I like about PCs is that all I have to do in the future is open it up and put a new part in. I don't have to go buy a new one although I did just do that. I won't have to actually go buy a new one until computers have integrated personality chips or a natural disaster.

I echo the sentiment that Macs are for people who don't like or can't use computers very well. Not trying to dis anyone here, but every time I see a mac user I can't talk about computers with them because they don't know anything about computers.

I use a wide variety of equipment ranging from Windows, Mac, Linux and Unix in my job as a videogame producer. I am not scared by or incompetent in new computer technology. I spend a lot of my time working out how the new technology works, starting from proprietary and experimental equipment, so it can be used for production.

In the workplace we are starting to use more Macs than we used to because for a lot of the high end jobs we have to do, such as Photoshop, video editing and compositing, the tools are better and to get the PC hardware and OS to the level required you have to spend as much money and you end up with a bastardised system that is harder to maintain than a Mac.

I prefer Macs for my personal computers (I mean the ones I buy to use at home) because they are just easier to use. I'm not short of money and can spend the extra to get a well integrated system. If I wanted a super cheap computer for email and surfing, I would buy one of those new EeeZe PCs or whatever they are called that have a customised Linux system and GUI. You can get one for about £250 and it will do everything you want except for playing games.

PC for those who want to buy new computers every 2 years.
And like patches for their games.
Modern video consoles win it at games.
Mac for those who prefer design as primary stat

There is commercial software available on the market that will run Windows on the Mac. I'm not talking about Bootcamp. The software is not expensive either. I use a PC at work.

G

I hate them both. I use a mac at uni & a pc at home. the amount of times macs have eaten my work, crashed an unsaved pro-tools session, & frozen is equal to the amount of times my PC has bluescreened just as the porns starting to get good...

they both fail.

PC user.
Used to have to use a Mac (photo studio didn't have a PC version of PS).

At least MS doesn't charge you for "updates".
I can play games on my PC if I want to.
The case comes in more than just black and white options. White=expensive. Black=moar expensive for mac.

Used to work in an apple warehouse. too many horror stories to ever want to use an apple product.

I'm a mac user but I like and own both. My PC runs Army Builder and I use it to see how the websites I build will look on a PC. Everything else is done on my mac. I've built PCs before, I like the fact that I can do that. But in my experience every Mac I've owned has been far superior to any PC I've owned. I also like the fact that I can run windows perfectly fine on a Mac now. I can't do it on my home Mac though since it's an older one and doesn't have an Intel processor. My mac is 5.5 years old, and does not feel slow at all. My PC is 6 years old, and takes 3x as long to do anything. My PC crashes sometimes but it's usually minor. My mac rarely crashes, when it does it's usually catastrophic. I've lost 3 hard drives in that 5.5 years, I learned my model has an extra hot hard drive area and sooner or later my power supply will just stop working and need to be replaced and it's not a simple fix like it would be on a PC. I'd have to send it in for service.

I wouldn't mind building a new PC though. Just for the fun of it, to build the ultimate gaming machine and all that. But since I do graphic work and a lot of video editing and own my own copy of some expensive software, it would be better for me to just invest that money into a new Mac tower and install Windows on it for games.

I also like how macs handle the whole home entertainment aspect of things and sort of market their products as more of a home appliance like a TV instead of like a computer. I like things being easy to use. If I'm paying $4000 for something, I want to plug it in and have it work perfectly right out of the box and I want it to stay that way. When I finally move, I plan to get a new Mac. I'm also trying to wait till the new tower systems are released and also blue ray drives are an native option

Since Apple switched over to PC Mobos, and Intel chips, they are the exact same thing.

so IMHO get windows for gaming and run a dual boot so you can use Linux for everything else.


Mac OS is just a clone of linux at this point anyway.

I have a Mac because the network of the university has viruses everywhere in it, so I don't have to worry bout any viruses with a mac. And Macs don't get viruses, not because no one has written one, it is because its impossible, as any program that has to be installed you have to enter in your password to let the computer install it. And for gaming thats what I have a 360 for, there's absolutly no reason for me to buy games to play on a smaller screen with crappier graphics. And macs are just plan simple to use, for ease of convience.

Actually Mac are less secure than PCs. There was just no need to attack macs. Why mess with the 1%.

Any one that knows the base language to Mac can pretty much walk right in. Was it October or Novembr, 250 patches released for Macs.

The real reasons why I refuse to go mac are:

Pcs are more general purpose
I can get in and tinker(upgrade)a pc
I've always been a little anti-trend. Now that so many are going Mac, I have less desire to do so.
Mac users sometimes tend(not always) to be elitists.

And, IMHO, Steve Jobs represents about everything that is wrong with current American business.
Mac and Apple struggled for so long not because of Gates, but because of poor business choices made by Jobs himself(Refusing to liscence to IBM the largest office supplier at the time).
I refuse to reward someone who hurts his business because of stubborness and then blames his problems on someone else(The guy who came up with something similar and did liscence to IBM).

Linux

All I know is this: I F***ING HATE MAC ADDS!!!

Actually Mac are less secure than PCs. There was just no need to attack macs. Why mess with the 1%.

10% market share flucuating greatly depending on the orientation and use of the computer. Also you have no idea what you're talking about. Seriously. OSX has never had a "summer of worms". They aren't flawless securitywise but they are vastly superior than the rabies infested husk that was XP and is superior to vista with its overt security measures de activated (which a large number of users do, it's just annoying to have to say ok every time you want to launch a program). Even without the security measures de activated it's file system is more difficult to write malware for and its memory utilization means that a virus will never crash the computer itself, just specific programs.



I'm using a macbook pro with a windows vista partition. Both work great for what they are good at, the mac side is good for general work tasks, security, and speed. It's also better at organizing media files because it lacks the archaic file structure windows utilizes.

The windows side is great for games and running programs which do not function on OSX. Keep in mind thats not a slight, it's much more open and there are far more useable programs on windows than a macintosh. It's the nature of the open platform.




This argument is intrinsically about a closed and tightly controlled architecture and service combination vs low cost consumer oriented choice driven advancement. OSX is better at most tasks than windows is, but it's attached to a tightly controlled and designed computer architecture that is both difficult to use for a lamen who knows a PC (Read: everyone) and is quite pricey for the specs inherent to the hardware. PCs are dominant because they can be upgraded, run, and utilized cheaply. Macs are superior because they are more secure, more easily used once learned, and are simply faster due to the inherent superiority of the operating systems inner workings (seriously, use both for a while, Macs are faster).

The biggest issue with macs is the closed architecture and support system that makes it difficult to find programs, and they are essentially impossible to upgrade.



Argument over.

Hmm, I dont have much to add. I use a mac and ilove my mac. Actually most of the best games (blizzard, COD, spore, though I dont play those) all come out on macs. And putting the price in perspective, most of us have spent hundreds, if not thousands (H.B.M.C.) on plastic men. And Windows isnt bad, I just like the clean look and feel of a mac.

I hate comps in general, but I hate Macs less than PC's. I'm saving to get one of the new Macbooks. For all of you Mac people, have any of you tried running games through bootcamp? How has it worked?

Ozymandias, King of Kings

You don't run anything through bootcamp. Bootcamp just lets you dual boot two operating systems.

ShumaGorath wrote:10% market share flucuating greatly depending on the orientation and use of the computer. Also you have no idea what you're talking about. Seriously. OSX has never had a "summer of worms". They aren't flawless securitywise but they are vastly superior than the rabies infested husk that was XP and is superior to vista with its overt security measures de activated (which a large number of users do, it's just annoying to have to say ok every time you want to launch a program). Even without the security measures de activated it's file system is more difficult to write malware for and its memory utilization means that a virus will never crash the computer itself, just specific programs.

Shuma, I was referencing the early years of Apple, as to market share. It may have been a slight exageration, but not by much. The point I was trying to make was that even at 10%. thats 9 outta 10 people using PCs. Those 10% Mac users are generaly artistically oriented where as the pcs have been the overwhelming choice for businesses. Hackers that invent viruses do so to infect the most number of computers(some dream about bringing down the Netrix)and due to an understandable(Not agreeing with their actions) dislike for some corporations. That is why Mac has never had a summer of worms. Apple/Macs haven't fit the profile for the hackers to target, until recently. As Macs market share increases, and microsoft continues with its problems, they are starting to draw the attention of those nefarious malware writers.

Don't get me wrong. Mac is a good product. Just notice that I said "I refuse". No one has to agree or do as I do. They are just different machines with what I percieve as having different uses. For me Mac is like using a portrait artists brush when all I do is house painting. Overly expensive and inefficent for the purposes that I need a computer.

Personaly, As soon as my employees get trained and are proven reliable(unrelated field) I want to sit down and start learning/using Linux.

I personally run both vista and XP. I haven't found too many issues with vista, other than it uses a lot of ram all the time, which is minor at best. XP I have liked since I got it. Mac's, on the other hand, I do not like at all. i've used macs a lot, and simply prefer the windows interface. just my opinions. I don't hold a grudge against macs, but I don't know why so many people can't stand windows. Windows works fine, as long as you're not going around (usually obviously) suspicious websites and downloading tonnes of stuff.

Upgrading pc's to handle new software isn't a huge deal unless you're changing motherboards or powersources. speaking from experience, getting and installing new graphics cards, ram, processors etc. is neither a difficult nor daunting task. you just need to know what you're doing. it's not rocket science. and it's sometimes almost fun, a hobby it can be.

that said, I've got a couple of parts (including a powersource) that i'm about to install. it's going to be fuuuuuuuuuuuuuun.

That is why Mac has never had a summer of worms.

Actually, it's the vastly less vulnerable system of component interaction within the operating system of OSX. There is far less chance of an infection through an unguarded port that was left unguarded because MSWorks registration system resets protocols on some ports for no reason. OSX is a tighter ship that has had far less people run their hand through it, it's simply more secure. It's not so secure as linux, but far moreso than windows. Its not some hacker Bias. True, far less people develop malware for macs then do PCs, by an enormous margin, but that doesn't mean that Macs are just as vulnerable.

Overly expensive and inefficent for the purposes that I need a computer.

They are not dime store Dells, which means they will never penetrate the business market. That is specifically why its important to keep the sectional markets in mind. Macs are far more heavily utilized in professional graphic design (at a sub studio-business level).

I want to sit down and start learning/using Linux.

Linux is great to point at and say that you know how to use it. It's not actually useful.

It may just be my University, but everywhere on campus that there are public computers, they are all macs. Only Engineering and somewhat for Business Departments still use pcs and Business is pcs just for the computer classes, even though you can do the same stuff on a mac they want you to know pcs. I firmly believe that macs will become more widespread in their use in the upcoming years.

I wouldn't buy anything from Apple. Also, iTunes is a resource whore. I un-recommend it whenever possible. They're good stuff for public computers, as Ghost said... let the nubs walk all over 'em.

Of course, I've worked with PCs my whole life. I've done a lot of production work on Macs, and they're pretty stable for that use... but far too inflexible for anything else.

I had I iPod shuffle a couple years ago, but I found it in a gutter. I lost it a few months ago on a bus. Meh. Like I said, iTunes = suck.

Macs exist for the same reason as automatic transmission. Anyone want to fill that in with a sexist punchline?

Macs exist for the same reason as automatic transmission. Anyone want to fill that in with a sexist punchline?

So that people can not break their transmissions and get better gas mileage? The only reason manuals exist is because people like to feel they are better in control, even if it does nothing for them and in the end lessons the life of the vehicle and harms overall performance.

I tunes rests in the background and uses demonstrably less system resources than windows media player on a mac (as in itunes running on OSX uses less resource than winmedia running on windows). The windows client isn't as easily run because it uses the archaic and horrible file structure and memory architecture utilized by windows operating systems. It's not designed with windows in mind, and winmedia player runs about the same speed but with better codec support.

Actually, there are just something one can do with a stick that they can't do with an auto and the stick follows the first rule of engineering K.I.S.S.

As to the computers, Shuma I bow to your superior knowledge of the Mac systems. But I hope you'll understand why I'll still use the pc.