which computer is more idiot proof, a dell or a mac?

[OS]

It's for me. :Q
Seriously.

I'm tired of fighting with my computer. I just want a computer that gets on the net, plays mp3s and doesn't give me drama.

 

[deftron]

I believe any computer will proove you are an idiot

 

[C'DaleRider]

Get the Mac........it'll cost more, but from what I understand they are much more "idiot-proof".

 

[Ryan]

I can't believe this question is being asked.................

 

[RGN]

Originally posted by: OS
It's for me. :Q
Seriously.

I'm tired of fighting with my computer. I just want a computer that gets on the net, plays mp3s and doesn't give me drama.

Macs have iTunes. iTunes is worth having a mac, as is most of the iLife products. If your not a hardcore gamer, buy the mac.

 

[jcovercash]

Originally posted by: RGN

Originally posted by: OS
It's for me. :Q
Seriously.

I'm tired of fighting with my computer. I just want a computer that gets on the net, plays mp3s and doesn't give me drama.

Macs have iTunes. iTunes is worth having a mac, as is most of the iLife products. If your not a hardcore gamer, buy the mac.

 

[Anubis]

im gonna says macs. because even an idiot can figure out a PC. no way a iudiot can figure out how to use a peace of crap like a mac

 

[Wolverine27]

Originally posted by: OS
It's for me. :Q
Seriously.

I'm tired of fighting with my computer. I just want a computer that gets on the net, plays mp3s and doesn't give me drama.

You sound like a Mac commercial. Go with a Mac.

 

[atusername]

How do you download mp3s on a mac?? There is no Kazaa or WinMX........ :Q

 

[HappyPuppy]

Dude, you're getting a Mac!

 

[Kadarin]

I'll agree with the above; I have an iMac that I use to post on ATOT while watching tv, and it also doubles for mp3 duty. It looks and works great.

 

[Ferocious]

I just bought a DELL a few months ago.

If it weren't for the games situation....my next system would probably be a MAC.

When the PS3 comes out though...I very well might go with Apple.

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: atusername
How do you download mp3s on a mac?? There is no Kazaa or WinMX........ :Q

Gnutella(Acquisition), Kazaa(somewhat, through Neo), Direct Connect(Direct Connect), OpenNap/WinMX(insert one of many program names here).

 

[SuperSix]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Dude, you're getting a Mac!

 

[mpitts]

If you don't play games, a Mac is the way to go.

Once you have one, you will really start to appreciate how well things can be done.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Why not go with a PC and then install Linux ??? Would be less than a Mac .. Very stable ... Easy to use ... pretty idiotproof as long os you dont log in as root and screw around not knowing what you are doing

 

[murphy55d]

Have you ever used OS X ? Learning a whole new OS may be a bit daunting.

(i never used OSX so I cant say, but it may be something to consider if youre used to Windows)

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: murphy55d
Have you ever used OS X ? Learning a whole new OS may be a bit daunting.

(i never used OSX so I cant say, but it may be something to consider if youre used to Windows)

It's not too bad(it's what I had to myself). You'll want to get familar with the common key combos quickly. Cmd-Q, Cmd-W, Cmd-O, Cmd-C, Cmd-V, Cmd-X, and Cmd-H; MacOS is more GUI oriented, but due to the nature of where the key combos are, they're easier to reach than Alt-F's in Windows, and you tend to use them more as a result. Don't forget Force-Quit(which brings up a window to let you select a program to force quit); it's cmd-option-esc, or availbile in the Apple Menu. Also get to know the layout of the file system(Applications in Applications, your home directory in /Users/<username> and the Documents directory inside of that, what /Library folders are for(preferences, Fonts, logs, and startup items are the most common things you might need in there), and why you can't see the Unixy folders MacOS brings(var, bin, usr, etc; they're hidden to keep users out, you'll need to open them up through the terminal).

GUI wise, you should have no trouble adapting, as the Dock is different, but not too different from a Windows taskbar. Finder windows should also be easy once you figure out the different buttons(expand/close/minimize, the different view buttons, the "hotlink" buttons to different folders, and the button to close the "hotlink" toolbar). You'll find connecting to servers a bit different, as there isn't any direct "Network Neighborhood" option. Go to the Finder, and either look in the "Go" menu, or do a Cmd-K; both do a "connect to server". From here, you can type in or select what server you want to connect to. If you're typing in the address, and you don't specify a protocol, it will try AFP(Apple File Protocol), so you'll want to do smb://<server name/IP> if you're connecting to a Windows server; selecting it through the GUI will take care of this.

The terminal is the only thing you might encouter a problem with. If you don't have a lot of Unix experience, you'll have a difficult time, although if you've worked in even the Windows terminal before, you'll have a leg up. Get to know the man command(manual pages), ls(list directory), mv(for moving and renaming), cp(copy), ./(the command to execute a file, ex: ./WipeHD), su(for changing what user you are in the Terminal), and Open. The last guy is important, it simulates a double click in the Finder. You'll want to use it to open hidden folders(usr, etc) and GUI applications if you're in the terminal. Application wise, I'd like to note the 3 kinds of apps in OS X, Classic, Carbon, and Cocca. Classic apps are old apps for the "classic" MacOS's(9.x on down), Carbon apps are those written to run on Classic MacOS and X through the Carbon library, and Cocca apps are those programed just for X in its Cocca language. Most of these newer apps aren't really apps, but whole folders called "packages", which contain the app, plus seperate files for a lot of resources it needs, making it mostly independant. The OS will show them to you as single-file applications(you double click, and they open up the application, even though you double clicked on a folder), but the Terminal won't. Keep this in mind if you do work in the Terminal(and if you use the Open command, tell it to open <application name>.app; application packages have .app appended to the end invisiblely).

Get to know the System Preferences a bit, as it's not too unlike the Control Panels of Windows. Most of it is pretty self explainitory, and make sure you use Software Update from time to time to keep up to date. Also, if you're wondering where a few things from the Windows Control Panels went, the printer stuff is now in /Applications/Utilities as Print Center, and "System", or at least it's closest relitive, is the Apple System Profiler, also in /Applications/Utilities(get to know this folder well).

Lastly, if you plan on doing Terminal work, and need access to the Root account, you'll need to crack open the NetInfo manager in Applications/Utilities. From there, there is a "Security" menu that allows you to enable the Root user(by default, users are locked out from it). You'll have to enable it before you can use it.

At this point, I've probably blathered too long, but that's basically all the issues I had when moving from Windows to OS X.

 

[SOSTrooper]

Originally posted by: ViRGE

Originally posted by: murphy55d
Have you ever used OS X ? Learning a whole new OS may be a bit daunting.

(i never used OSX so I cant say, but it may be something to consider if youre used to Windows)

It's not too bad(it's what I had to myself). You'll want to get familar with the common key combos quickly. Cmd-Q, Cmd-W, Cmd-O, Cmd-C, Cmd-V, Cmd-X, and Cmd-H; MacOS is more GUI oriented, but due to the nature of where the key combos are, they're easier to reach than Alt-F's in Windows, and you tend to use them more as a result. Don't forget Force-Quit(which brings up a window to let you select a program to force quit); it's cmd-option-esc, or availbile in the Apple Menu. Also get to know the layout of the file system(Applications in Applications, your home directory in /Users/<username> and the Documents directory inside of that, what /Library folders are for(preferences, Fonts, logs, and startup items are the most common things you might need in there), and why you can't see the Unixy folders MacOS brings(var, bin, usr, etc; they're hidden to keep users out, you'll need to open them up through the terminal).

GUI wise, you should have no trouble adapting, as the Dock is different, but not too different from a Windows taskbar. Finder windows should also be easy once you figure out the different buttons(expand/close/minimize, the different view buttons, the "hotlink" buttons to different folders, and the button to close the "hotlink" toolbar). You'll find connecting to servers a bit different, as there isn't any direct "Network Neighborhood" option. Go to the Finder, and either look in the "Go" menu, or do a Cmd-K; both do a "connect to server". From here, you can type in or select what server you want to connect to. If you're typing in the address, and you don't specify a protocol, it will try AFP(Apple File Protocol), so you'll want to do smb://<server name/IP> if you're connecting to a Windows server; selecting it through the GUI will take care of this.

The terminal is the only thing you might encouter a problem with. If you don't have a lot of Unix experience, you'll have a difficult time, although if you've worked in even the Windows terminal before, you'll have a leg up. Get to know the man command(manual pages), ls(list directory), mv(for moving and renaming), cp(copy), ./(the command to execute a file, ex: ./WipeHD), su(for changing what user you are in the Terminal), and Open. The last guy is important, it simulates a double click in the Finder. You'll want to use it to open hidden folders(usr, etc) and GUI applications if you're in the terminal. Application wise, I'd like to note the 3 kinds of apps in OS X, Classic, Carbon, and Cocca. Classic apps are old apps for the "classic" MacOS's(9.x on down), Carbon apps are those written to run on Classic MacOS and X through the Carbon library, and Cocca apps are those programed just for X in its Cocca language. Most of these newer apps aren't really apps, but whole folders called "packages", which contain the app, plus seperate files for a lot of resources it needs, making it mostly independant. The OS will show them to you as single-file applications(you double click, and they open up the application, even though you double clicked on a folder), but the Terminal won't. Keep this in mind if you do work in the Terminal(and if you use the Open command, tell it to open <application name>.app; application packages have .app appended to the end invisiblely).

Get to know the System Preferences a bit, as it's not too unlike the Control Panels of Windows. Most of it is pretty self explainitory, and make sure you use Software Update from time to time to keep up to date. Also, if you're wondering where a few things from the Windows Control Panels went, the printer stuff is now in /Applications/Utilities as Print Center, and "System", or at least it's closest relitive, is the Apple System Profiler, also in /Applications/Utilities(get to know this folder well).

Lastly, if you plan on doing Terminal work, and need access to the Root account, you'll need to crack open the NetInfo manager in Applications/Utilities. From there, there is a "Security" menu that allows you to enable the Root user(by default, users are locked out from it). You'll have to enable it before you can use it.

At this point, I've probably blathered too long, but that's basically all the issues I had when moving from Windows to OS X.

Damn I'm using this as my next instructional essay entree for my English class. Well done on a post lol

Probably a Mac is more idiot proof. But Dell has better support mostlikely, and more of us can help you with PC problems if you do run into some.

 

[rudeguy]

any response after his will be considered idiotic in comparison...this thread may now be locked

 

[txxxx]

If my brain is ok today:

DELL = PC = Microsoft = possible trouble

Apple = PC (well sorta) = Apple = possible trouble

Looks like your better off with a set-top TV box

 

[enjoi]

apple switch ad

heh, whatever you do DONT GET A MAC. reference to the video ^^

 

This post == Flame bait.

 

[notfred]

Because Apple makies both the hardware and the software, they're pretty good about not having any type of driver problems or anything. Actually, my mac has been entirely trouble free. Can't say the same about my Dell at work.

 

[wyvrn]

No computer is idiot proof. Idiots are going to screw things up regardless how easy you make it for them. In fact, adding some degree of difficulty weeds out many of the idiots who are too impatient to learn how things work.