which is better...pc or mac?

[fluxquantum]

my friend and i are aguing about which is better. i am a pc kinda guy myself but he swears by mac. this is his argument:
"I think in the future, more home users will gravitate to macs. Computers will become more of an appliance or a tool, people dont wanna bother with driver issues and software incompatibility. An easy to use computer, no trouble." i don't have much evidence to provide a counter argument, but does anyone know anything? please provide opinions. thanks.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

<< does anyone know anything? >>


no.

its a matter of opinion. they're different. neither is better or worse, just....different. is ford better or chevy? nissan or toyota? red or purple? chocolate or vanilla?

 

[n0cmonkey]

Like BingBongWongFooey said, its a matter of preference. Who cares? I use them both, along with atleast one other architecture. I am in the process of collecting parts for a new PC and I would love to get another Mac, not to mention a nice Alpha, Ultra Sparc, Hammer (when it comes out), and Itanium. Live and let live.

 

[smp]

its a matter of opinion. they're different. neither is better or worse, just....different. is ford better or chevy? nissan or toyota? red or purple? chocolate or vanilla?

Chevy is better than Ford
Toyota is better than Nissan
Red is better than Purple (This one was kind ruined by that obnoxious purple dinosaur, otherwise i might have said purple)
Chocolate is far better than vanilla

Macs are better than PC's

j/k

It is a matter of opinion.

 

[n0cmonkey]

<< Red is better than Purple (This one was kind ruined by that obnoxious purple dinosaur, otherwise i might have said purple) >>



The Joker makes purple much better.[/i] >>

 

[FOBSIDE]

it bugs me when people say pc to refer to machines with the x86 architechture. pc means personal computer. apple makes personal computers as well. back to the topic at hand...

the reasons he swears by Mac is because hes a Mac user. i use both equally. i would never tell someone to get one over the other because its far superior. there are certain times when one is better for a certain type of usage. for pure gaming i would recommend, a windows box. for multimedia work i would recommend apple. i wouldnt recommend one over the other for everyday usage. i would, however, recommend someong get the system theyre not used to using if its possible. its good to keep yourself enlightened to both sides. i can honestly say that i was against apple until i bought a laptop. i love em both now. its preference but it should never be a biased ignorant preference that makes you think one is better.

 

[n0cmonkey]

<< i can honestly say that i was against apple until i bought a laptop. i love em both now. >>



OS X convinced me to get a Mac

 

[Nothinman]

CompUSAs in my area can't keep the Mac stuff in stock, it's selling like hotcakes. I think many people like them because, like your friend said, less hassle and much easier to use. OS X kicks XP's ass all over the place. But if you want to play many games you pretty much need a PC or a console.

 

[nortexoid]

i don't know how on earth the apple design team came up w/ OS X...i've tried pondering something that would even remotely match it's aesthetic appeal, and can't...i haven't seen anything close.

macs are sweet if you:
1) use apps that would benefit from them (i.e. photoshop when using certain filters)
2) have a lot of money and no clue
3) have money want something good looking and solid for general use (i.e. surfing, etc.)
4) have money, want somethign good looking, and would benefit from the platform.

 

[n0cmonkey]

<< 2) have a lot of money and no clue >>



HAHAHAHA! Its funny, but true.

OS X is a well built OS, even if Linus doesnt like it

 

[thornc]

I hope some say I can buy a mac, and still be able to eat the rest of the month...

Man, macs are really expensive in Portugal, in contrast pc hardware is dead cheap, well the most common parts...

 

[FOBSIDE]

<< I hope some say I can buy a mac, and still be able to eat the rest of the month...

Man, macs are really expensive in Portugal, in contrast pc hardware is dead cheap, well the most common parts... >>



cant argue with you there. unless youre in the united states they are quite high priced. you have to take into consideration what you get too though. software and hardware, not just hardware. it comes with the OS and quite a few nice pieces of software. of course since an apple is bundled all together, it will be a bigger price at one time than slowly upgrading parts of an x86 machine.

 

[freebsddude]

<< i don't know how on earth the apple design team came up w/ OS X...i've tried pondering something that would even remotely match it's aesthetic appeal, and can't...i haven't seen anything close.

macs are sweet if you:
1) use apps that would benefit from them (i.e. photoshop when using certain filters)
2) have a lot of money and no clue
3) have money want something good looking and solid for general use (i.e. surfing, etc.)
4) have money, want somethign good looking, and would benefit from the platform. >>



Cool! Makes sense. I would just add one more: If you have money, why not buy them both ?

 

[fivepesos]

<< "I think in the future, more home users will gravitate to macs. Computers will become more of an appliance or a tool, people dont wanna bother with driver issues and software incompatibility. An easy to use computer, no trouble." >>


am i the only one who enjoys the flexibility of x86 (cause yeah Macs are personal computers too just like wintels)? and as long as i buy generally brandname hardware i have very few driver issues or software compatibility. just remember, your ease of use mac comes at a cost, flexibility. anyone regularly update their video card on a low cost apple machine? i dont think u can on imacs and towers are expensive.

ive heard the appliance argument for a long time, and i agree (set top boxes like tivo and xbox) for many applications but i also see the continued use of flexible information systems (PCs, x86, apple, whatnot). how long have been predicting the demise of the desktop pc? like immediately after the explosion of windows 95 and pentiums into homes (maybe ~4-5 years now). anyone posting from an information appliance? do u just use your pc for email and internet access? i dont. not that macs are very capable at those two tasks, they look great at those tasks (i dont actually own an apple, although im looking at a midrange ibook for school). macs are great for multimedia (or so those damn creative people tell me, im technical not creative). but i bet very few mac users would categorize their pc as just an appliance.

theres no reason not to get a mac, they have loads of cool features and a helluva operating system. osx is very cool and will have loads of *nix apps soon or right now.

which is better...pc or macs? whatever suits your needs. im running all x86 hardware here at my home right now (although ive been looking into purchasing sun blade system, but im broke student). and ive also been looking at a new apple laptop for school, but ive got a few issues to resolve before i buy one.

im kindve concerned about software developement under osx. im a computer scientist student and ive been using mostly vim and g++ (sometimes kdevelope) under linux and visual studios 6 under windows (although i recently recieved a free vs.net academic version). besides g++, what else is available for osx? codewarrior i believe. i doubt my vs.net copy would run emulate under anything. cost for a developement environment is a big concern, if it is cheap and i cant get it under an academic license, then i realy cant use it (legally anyway).

i know content creation (photoshop, imovie, etc) are great, but what about just basic boring office stuff. ive gotta have compatibility with ms office. but i cant afford office for apple (see above, broke student).

i just decided to spin this reply off into a new post. let me get a link for ya.
new post

 

[n0cmonkey]

<<

<< "I think in the future, more home users will gravitate to macs. Computers will become more of an appliance or a tool, people dont wanna bother with driver issues and software incompatibility. An easy to use computer, no trouble." >>


am i the only one who enjoys the flexibility of x86 (cause yeah Macs are personal computers too just like wintels)? >>



You arent the only one. Im building a new x86 machine now (parts are on order...). I still want another Mac though for general desktop stuff.



<< theres no reason not to get a mac, they have loads of cool features and a helluva operating system. osx is very cool and will have loads of *nix apps soon or right now. >>



Exactly why Macs are a good thing.



<< which is better...pc or macs? whatever suits your needs. im running all x86 hardware here at my home right now (although ive been looking into purchasing sun blade system, but im broke student). and ive also been looking at a new apple laptop for school, but ive got a few issues to resolve before i buy one. >>



I want one of the cheapo suns too *drewl*



<< im kindve concerned about software developement under osx. im a computer scientist student and ive been using mostly vim and g++ (sometimes kdevelope) under linux and visual studios 6 under windows (although i recently recieved a free vs.net academic version). besides g++, what else is available for osx? codewarrior i believe. i doubt my vs.net copy would run emulate under anything. cost for a developement environment is a big concern, if it is cheap and i cant get it under an academic license, then i realy cant use it (legally anyway). >>



Software development is going great on OS X. Im not sure if this was actually a question or not...



<< i know content creation (photoshop, imovie, etc) are great, but what about just basic boring office stuff. ive gotta have compatibility with ms office. but i cant afford office for apple (see above, broke student). >>



XF86 works on OS X so most of the stuff available there are available for OS X.

 

[kellygirlbeads]

<< am i the only one who enjoys the flexibility of x86 (cause yeah Macs are personal computers too just like wintels)? and as long as i buy generally brandname hardware i have very few driver issues or software compatibility. just remember, your ease of use mac comes at a cost, flexibility. anyone regularly update their video card on a low cost apple machine? i dont think u can on imacs and towers are expensive.
>>



No... I agree. I've got an athlon box, a celeron box, and a sparc (college castoff .. nothing to brag about, its only 70 mhz with ~90 MB of RAM) . The two x86 boxes exist because they could be built slowly, over time. I can't afford to go out and buy a new $1500 imac, but I can afford to buy a case now, a motherboard next month, a processor the month after that, and so on.




<< theres no reason not to get a mac, they have loads of cool features and a helluva operating system. osx is very cool and will have loads of *nix apps soon or right now.

which is better...pc or macs? whatever suits your needs. im running all x86 hardware here at my home right now (although ive been looking into purchasing sun blade system, but im broke student). and ive also been looking at a new apple laptop for school, but ive got a few issues to resolve before i buy one. >>



Actually, I disagree. Cost is my reason not to get a mac, and its the reason I'll never own a mac. I really dont like the user interface (I'm probably the only one alive who says that - the finder bothers me), and there really is nothing I do that can be done faster on a mac. On the contrary, I frequently have 4 or 5 terminals open (ssh to my servers), running X apps (Xwin32 emulator), while browsing with IE, and talking on various instant messengers. While this is possible with mac's, its a LOT easier in windows (at least for me, I could be wrong). Not to mention things like MS Office and MS Visual studio, which I use occasionally (I almost hate to admit to using visual studio, but why do it by hand when visual basic can set up the ui in 30 seconds?)....

The only reason I'm even tempted to LOOK at a mac is to play with OSX, mostly because I'm a huge bsd fan.

 

[CTho9305]

OS X is a very nice OS.... its too bad they won't port the GUI part to x86 linux

 

[Saltin]

Macs are good














For Kicking : P

 

[n0cmonkey]

<< No... I agree. I've got an athlon box, a celeron box, and a sparc (college castoff .. nothing to brag about, its only 70 mhz with ~90 MB of RAM) . The two x86 boxes exist because they could be built slowly, over time. I can't afford to go out and buy a new $1500 imac, but I can afford to buy a case now, a motherboard next month, a processor the month after that, and so on. >>



Im too impatient for that. Im getting jittery just waiting for parts to arrive...



<< Actually, I disagree. Cost is my reason not to get a mac, and its the reason I'll never own a mac. I really dont like the user interface (I'm probably the only one alive who says that - the finder bothers me), >>



You dont need to use Finder. Ive seen atleast 1 alternative to it, and although it wasnt free, it was quick and fast.



<< and there really is nothing I do that can be done faster on a mac. >>



Me either, but I like them. This is definitely a valid point though.



<< On the contrary, I frequently have 4 or 5 terminals open (ssh to my servers), >>



I do that on my Mac.



<< running X apps (Xwin32 emulator), >>



I can do that on my Mac (havent had the need or want to try it out though) using XFree86 4.2.0



<< while browsing with IE, >>



I use Mozilla on the Mac.



<< and talking on various instant messengers. >>



If Im not using a command line aim client (over ssh), I use fire which also connects me to yahoo!, msn, icq, and can connect me to irc if I really wanted it to. Nice interface and easy to use, although someone is trying to convince me to drop it in favor of another aim client.



<< While this is possible with mac's, its a LOT easier in windows (at least for me, I could be wrong). >>



The only way you could be wrong is if you didnt try it out on a Mac ahead of time. That was an opinion, not a fact so you would be correct for you.



<< Not to mention things like MS Office >>



I could get it for my Mac, but why?



<< and MS Visual studio, >>



I didnt even know what that was until I read the following:



<< which I use occasionally (I almost hate to admit to using visual studio, but why do it by hand when visual basic can set up the ui in 30 seconds?).... >>



Apple has its own free (beer not speech) development tools. Did I mention they were free?



<< The only reason I'm even tempted to LOOK at a mac is to play with OSX, mostly because I'm a huge bsd fan. >>



Thats what convinced me to buy an ibook. I thought "heck, if I dont like Mac OS X (which looked and acted sweet in CompUSA) I can install OpenBSD and be happy." Well I havent had to resort to my #1 OS yet, so I would definitely say Im sassified.

 

[n0cmonkey]

<< OS X is a very nice OS.... its too bad they won't port the GUI part to x86 linux >>



Apple has enough driver problems already.



<< Macs are good














For Kicking : P >>



Windows is good, FOR ME TO POOP ON! Sorry, that was one of like 2 things from the Conan(?) show that I could stand

 

[DCaladin]

Personaly I hate Apple Machines! Have you ever tried to fix one that had a problem? They are the worst machine to fix in the frickin universe. I was a tech for the local schools in my area and I would dread when on would break and yes they break... I dont buy computers based on color. I want funtion not looks!

If you build a computer only idiots can use... only idiots will want to use it.

ihateapple.com


I love this Gif.. Remeber the days of the C64.. I miss those..
http://63.229.177.25/gallery/mac-c64-load.gif

 

[n0cmonkey]

DCaladin, Ive had very few problems with my Mac. If you are using Mac OS < 8.6 you will have a lot of problems. 8.6 is rumored to be one of the best Mac OS versions out there. 9.2 isnt too bad, but I dont use it often, and Mac OS X is fairly easy to fix, atleast the small problems Ive had with it.

 

[FOBSIDE]

<< DCaladin, Ive had very few problems with my Mac. If you are using Mac OS < 8.6 you will have a lot of problems. 8.6 is rumored to be one of the best Mac OS versions out there. 9.2 isnt too bad, but I dont use it often, and Mac OS X is fairly easy to fix, atleast the small problems Ive had with it. >>



ive worked with Macs with problems before. the systems were hosed for reasons beyond my comprehension...people deciding to delete system files and such. its actually really easy to fix. you can do a full system reinstall without touching anything because its basically self contained in a folder. so its like getting a completely new OS. if you want to wipe everything the process takes a little longer...15 minutes maybe. that beats reformatting an x86 machine anyday.

 

[CTho9305]

<< DCaladin, Ive had very few problems with my Mac. If you are using Mac OS < 8.6 you will have a lot of problems. 8.6 is rumored to be one of the best Mac OS versions out there. 9.2 isnt too bad, but I dont use it often, and Mac OS X is fairly easy to fix, atleast the small problems Ive had with it. >>



i dont like apples quality control... at work we bought a new imac and it wouldn't turn on until someone took it apart and reset the mac-equivalent of CMOS (they use some fancy name ). and the previous imac we bought (a snow one) came with a flickery monitor and an inability to hold an IP for more than ~2 seconds before releasing it and rerequesting the IP.

 

[JetsFanatic]

both are good
which ever one you want to buy

I was helping a friend buy a computer for her daughter

They ended up getting an iMac because it looked cool.
both IBM and MACs did everything they were looking for

So it is whatever one you prefer