Mac vs. PC

[JustinPopovic]

After being a PC user my entire technological life, I made the switch to Mac this past summer.

At first, the learning curve was a little frustrating but I am finally through all of that and LOVING the Mac! I am probably twice as productive just due to the improved performance. My old laptop was a Windows Vista machine and I can't tell you the number of problems and inconsistencies I experienced.

With my Mac, things just work. Period. In 3 months, I had to restart just once due to some issue with my browser freezing. Compare that to multiple reboots daily with my Vista machine.

Also, I do a lot of internet marketing and some web design. The tools available out-of-box with the Mac are beyond superior.

I know one of my concerns was that I would not be able to find certain applications that were compatible with the Mac. So far, this has not been an issue at all. I do a lot of technical work and I have always been able to find freeware, shareware or paid software to do everything I need.

I'm curious what the rest of you think. Are there lots of Mac supporters out there? Maybe you're a windows guy/girl and refuse to switch to Mac?

[Lil Chris]

We are not going to do a mac/pc flame war here. Please choose your words carefully.

Thanks
-Chris

[Savage]

I've only been using my Macbook Pro for about a week, and I haven't seen a need to even boot up my PC during that time.

It's taking me a while to get used to it, but there are some good tutorials for PC-to-Mac switchers at apple.com/support. I've found those helpful. Took me a while to figure out what to do instead of ctrl-c, ctrl-v.

So far I really like it. It's a lot more responsive than Vista ever was, and I haven't had a single crash. I especially like how fast it boots up and shuts down -- faster than I've seen with any version of Windows.

Since most of my work involves using web apps, I don't need to use a lot of native software, so it's not a terribly difficult switch. For FTP I've been using Transit, and for HTML editing, Coda is pretty nice.

I also like how iCal integrates with my Google Calendar, and Mail integrates with my GMail account.

I have my Macbook connected to a 24" Apple display when I don't need mobility, and I'm able to use my wireless keyboard and mouse from my PC.

[Algernon]

I'm new to the Mac as well. Still so much to learn, but mostly a fun ride so far.

For those involved in Indie film production, there is really no alternative to the Mac.

But I didn't "switch" to the Mac. I simply added it to my collection, along with Windows and Linux.

I don't believe in either/or.

I thought you didn't either, Steve. After all, Holons News once rated your website as Turquoise. Quite high on the Integral scale. Remember that?

Embrace and extend!

[spirit4711]

I mainly use Ubuntu Linux; MS Vista when I need some specific Windows apps. Works fine for me. I've dabbled with friends' Macs over the years but never felt the need to switch.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by Algernon

I don't believe in either/or.

I don't believe in either-or when I want both options, but in this case, I don't seem to need both a PC and a Mac.

I believe in either-or when it comes to an inefficient computing environment vs. an efficient one.

I thought you didn't either, Steve. After all, Holons News once rated your website as Turquoise. Quite high on the Integral scale. Remember that?

Arg... don't remind me! Those people were way too cult-like. I keep my distance from them these days. They seem to derive great pleasure from labeling and judging people. I got labeled 4 different colors by 4 different so-called integral experts. Then they all started arguing with each other about why the others were wrong. And yet during that entire process of online debate, which went on for weeks, not a one of them had ever met me or even so much as talked to me on the phone once, yet they were posting their personal assessments of me as if they had me all figured out from my online articles. No wonder they couldn't agree. It was nuts!

[Adrienne]

Originally Posted by JustinPopovic

After being a PC user my entire technological life, I made the switch to Mac this past summer.

At first, the learning curve was a little frustrating but I am finally through all of that and LOVING the Mac! I am probably twice as productive just due to the improved performance. My old laptop was a Windows Vista machine and I can't tell you the number of problems and inconsistencies I experienced.

With my Mac, things just work. Period. In 3 months, I had to restart just once due to some issue with my browser freezing. Compare that to multiple reboots daily with my Vista machine.

Also, I do a lot of internet marketing and some web design. The tools available out-of-box with the Mac are beyond superior.

I know one of my concerns was that I would not be able to find certain applications that were compatible with the Mac. So far, this has not been an issue at all. I do a lot of technical work and I have always been able to find freeware, shareware or paid software to do everything I need.

I'm curious what the rest of you think. Are there lots of Mac supporters out there? Maybe you're a windows guy/girl and refuse to switch to Mac?

I made the switch from PC to Mac about 8 months ago and I am glad I did. I am/was a PC guru and now I am earning the title with regards to Mac. I am glad I made the switch.

I actually wrote 2 blog articles recently about things I love about Mac, and also some things I have ended up missing about windows and programs I loaded on Mac to give me back what I considered to be a loss of functionality.

Things I Took For Granted on a PC Before Switching To A Mac. « Adventurous Philosopher

Things I miss about OSX when using Windows « Adventurous Philosopher

[yossarian]

I first switched about 3 years ago. For awhile I had both PCs and a Mac, but eventually I just wasn't using my PC anymore, so I got rid of it. I've been 100% Mac for about a year.

They do have their problems, but the issues are just far milder than on PCs.

And if you know anything about working with Unix/Linux, Macs are a joy because if you want to you can do everything from the command line just like a Unix box. (I guess technically Mac OS X is a skin on Unix)

Finally, if there is some killer app for which you absolutely need windows, you can install windows on your Mac (and dual-boot) using Bootcamp. You also have the option of using Linux emulators like Wine to run Windows programs in Mac OS X.

Mac OS X is great for people who know a lot about computers because of the Unix backend. This significantly increases the cool stuff you can do... learning Unix scripting saves so much time.

Mac OS X is great for people who are totally computer illiterate because it really is very simple and streamlined. When I let illiterate people use my Mac (always on a guest account ) they tend to be able to figure things out just by diddling around, generally because of the nice clean graphics that invite them to experiment. On a Windows box there is so much graphical noise that old people are intimated and confused, they tend to go into paralysis and get frustrated.

[The Big D]

IMO that "Mac Tax" in terms of cost vs. hardware config is pretty ridiculous. So no macs for me. I typically run Linux on my machines because I'm very comfortable with it.

I like OSX, but not enough relative to Linux to justify the pricing.

[cacheborn]

I have been using Windows/Linux. Tried Mac for few months, at that time I was not very impressed but it was an old machine. Mac is excellent in terms of stability. Sometimes I do feel like trying out the latest ones.

I use vista only to play AOE3. (and do some other stuff). I have some strong views on windows but as Lil Chris said, no point is starting a flame war.

I am all for Linux. The only con about using Linux is sometimes you don't have the time to play with it. If you want to get things done quickly, it can be frustrating to look for solutions, trying them out and so on. On the plus side, no viruses and stable as a rock.

[yossarian]

Originally Posted by The Big D

IMO that "Mac Tax" in terms of cost vs. hardware config is pretty ridiculous. So no macs for me. I typically run Linux on my machines because I'm very comfortable with it.

I like OSX, but not enough relative to Linux to justify the pricing.

The mac hardware is still way nicer. There are all kinds of great hardware features that genuinely improve your experience that you simply can't get elsewhere.

In terms of pure specs it doesn't match up per dollar, but really squeezing out an extra gigahertz does not significantly improve your computing experience anyway. Your every day computer shouldn't be geared for power but for usability, which is specifically what macs focus on.

If you need a giant beast for certain tasks that is when you set up a linux server in the closet and access it remotely from your everyday machine. Or at least that's what I do.

[The Big D]

My biggest issue with mac hardware is that they won't sell me a laptop with a 1920xwhatever display unless I want to go to a 17" macbook pro which will run over 3k by the time I put in reasonable mem. That screen is a 100% requirement for me, and I have lots of options in the $1300-1500 range in the PC space that meet my requirements. So the mac tax is over a 100% markup for my requirements.

[stanmrak]

I love Mac's!!! Very user friendly.

[ragtag]

I guess I'm somewhat of a power user, and run both OSX (Mac), WindowsXP (dabbled with Vista) and Ubuntu (...and a few other linux distros).

I used to like OSX a lot more before, but after a while it began tasting a little off. Apple is all about lock-in and they're happy to drop support for older hardware (e.g. Snow Leopard doesn't run on G4/G5 machines, and there is no way to connect the new display port CinemaDisplays to a year old MacBook). I guess they just expect you to get a new machine every couple of years. It's a *NIX system, but Apple tend to do stuff their own way. The Finder has had some small bugs (like not showing files, showing incorrect dates on files and more), and TimeMachine is not a reliable backup solution. At work I've seen Macs that just fail for seemingly random (mostly software related) reasons. I do find Macs to be nice computers for the home user with a bit of cash to throw around, but using them in a demanding professional environment, has been a less than stellar experience for me.

Oh....and please stop with the Mac vs PC, because PC=Personal Computer, and a Mac is just another Personal Computer that happens to be made by Apple. It should be Mac vs. HP/Dell/IBM etc. hardware or OSX vs Vista/Ubuntu/WinXP etc.

[spirit4711]

That's indeed one problem with the Apple machines - only Apple makes them, hence the price. A PC you can build yourself, or buy a low-end clone, or a high end brand. Much more choice.

Linux rules, and Vista is not so bad either - it's stable on my laptop.

[JustinPopovic]

Thanks to everyone for the responses. Its interesting to see/hear about everyone'e experience and I've learned that there are a LOT of technical people around these parts

It looks like we have a lot of Mac fans out there but the Windows people and Linux people make good arguments for their choices too. I know I'm a Mac convert now but I'll always remain open to new platforms and technologies.... except Linux, not sure I'm techie enough for that

Originally Posted by ragtag

Oh....and please stop with the Mac vs PC, because PC=Personal Computer, and a Mac is just another Personal Computer that happens to be made by Apple. It should be Mac vs. HP/Dell/IBM etc. hardware or OSX vs Vista/Ubuntu/WinXP etc.

Good call. I like the OSX vs. Windows description better

[declank]

Originally Posted by spirit4711

I mainly use Ubuntu Linux; MS Vista when I need some specific Windows apps. Works fine for me. I've dabbled with friends' Macs over the years but never felt the need to switch.

That pretty much explains my usage, except I'm on Fedora Linux because I was exposed to Red Hat ages ago. Operating Systems are quite generic but I find that the Open Source/UNIX environment suits my needs best in terms of productivity. I don't think there can ever be an "ideal" desktop OS, since OSes have to be generic (it's very hard to make them tailorable without trading off user-friendliness).

I never felt quite at home with OS X but I do see the fantastic out-of-the box attraction. The Windows 7 hype is frustrating, Windows should have had features like HomeGroup introduced ages ago. I'm not anti-MS, since I play around with .NET as a hobby and regularly use Vista.

[UHF]

I built my own pc in January for HD video editing. Core i7 940 2.93GHz (overclocked to 3.4GHz) quad core with hyperthreading - equivalent to 8 cores. 150GB 10k rpm VelociRaptor hard drive. 1TB additional hard drive. Up to 24GB DDR3 memory. nVidia 9600GT graphics card. BluRay burner. Half the price of a Mac Pro and easily upgradable. It all depends on what you want.

[ellie]

I've done both, I don't know what it is but I love my macbookpro.
It's so pretty

Mac Virtual Machines and Virtual PC. Automation and Virtualization Software for Desktops, Servers, Hosting, SaaS - Parallels is really good, meaning you have duel screens OS open at the same time and just drag and drop between windows, rather handy. I use it instead of bootcamp.

[Patricia]

I've been considering getting a Mac for a while now, but haven't yet. One of my concerns is, indeed, concerning software options. But I can't ignore the fact that the vast majority of people who get or switch to a Mac say they're glad they did. So my curiosity has been gradually increasing.

I don't mind the learning curve so much. And I can't say that until I actually get one, but I have a feeling that I would still use Windows for certain things, even if I was happy with the Mac. But who knows? I'm glad I can read other people's experiences here (instead of the flame war we see everywhere else) because this gives me a better idea of whether or not I'd like to buy one soon. Right now I'm actually looking for a netbook and having a hard time deciding among all the available options and also whether to go with XP or Windows 7 (Windows 7 seems to have the same Stereo Mixer issue Vista has and that's a deal braker for me, but anyway...). It's crossed my mind to get a MacBook Air instead, but of course the price different is huge between that and a netbook.

But yes, as a Windows user I definitely want to try a Mac.

[Melchior]

As far as laptops go, I really like Lenovo for both quality and design. Desktops... well, I haven't really owned a good one yet so I can't really say. Although, I would probably want to build it on my own rather than get a ready made one and have to upgrade. (In other words, Macs are pretty much out of the picture...)

As for the the OS, Windows is all right, although, I'm thinking of switching to some flavor of Linux for my next comp, with a dual boot to Windows 7 probably. The thing is, the applications that I use are simply more readily available for either of those two operating systems (i.e. Linux for work, Windows for play ). Mac OS takes more effort than I feel should be required for either of these tasks, compatibility issues as well. For everyday use, I can say that moving around on a Mac is certainly a bit prettier and handles easier, it's just that my priorities aren't met as well.

[Daffy Duck]

I like Macs and I like Windows. They both work great for me. Been using Windows for over 10 years and Macs for a couple. My Windows PCs don't crash anymore than my Macs do, which is almost never for both of them. I do agree that Macs are more friendly, but if you're experienced with computers then either one should work just fine. Windows generally requires more maintenance.

I also like Linux!

[Barcs]

My 2 cents.

I have a technical background and specialize in PC repair. Windows Vista is exactly what made Apple as popular as it is today. Vista was a complete flop, and is the reason why Windows 7 is already out. As far as hardware goes, most Macs use Pentium processors now and many other components that used to be Microsoft/PC only. Macs can even run Windows and many other Microsoft programs now, so the only real difference in the hardware is that you will pay a lot more for an Apple. For software, I personally prefer Windows, but it depends what your goals are. If you are into gaming, then you are probably better off going with PC. If you are into graphic design, video editing and production, then you are better off going with an Apple. For business use, both are not that much different. There's not really anything you can do on Mac that you cannot do on a PC, and vice versa, besides the compatibility of some games and applications.

From a technical standpoint, I prefer Windows because there are many more options in control panel, where Macos seems much more basic. While it is true that Macs are more secure, this is not because they have better security than Windows. It is because they have a smaller market share, especially in the business world, and this makes them a much smaller target. If Apple starts to outsell Microsoft corporately, then you will start to see tons of viruses infesting Macs as well.

I personally think that Apple should stop making machines, and should focus solely on their operating systems. This is where they excel. Their hardware is overpriced, and often difficult to upgrade. MacOs is what makes Apple what it is today. This way users will get a choice of what OS they want to put on their new machines and they aren't forced into buying one thing or another. They could buy a Dell, HP or Sony with MacOs preinstalled instead of Windows. I think that would be much better, instead of Microsoft having a monopoly over all of those companies and their hardware.

[Kedar]

I personally do not like Apple because of the way their company operates. They always had the "we are elite" feel to them and the bitten apple doesn't appeal to me.
I feel like they don't play well with others in terms of compatibility and customization.
Their limited selection also doesn't bode well with me. It's too hard to be different when all macbooks look alike. It reminds me of a cult.

I think VISTA is the main reason that so many people are switching over to Macs. I dislike Vista and I had a desktop running XP for years.
It worked. It never crashed on me. I don't know why PC's got such a bad reputation for crashing. It has never happened to me or anyone that I have seen use a PC.

Macs are also expensive. I feel like if I bought a PC for the same price as a Mac, then I could get a lot out of it.
Even better. If I BUILT a PC with the same budget that I would have if I was buying a Mac, then I could make a machine 5x better.

I also feel like PC's have many more choices. Windows just provides the OS and Sony, Dell, HP, Toshiba, etc. make their own machines.
Since I just bought a laptop, I get a Windows 7 upgrade.

I'm going to obtain Windows 7 soon.

[Gene]

I've looked at Macs and still am a Windows user. I have no great need or burning desire to buy a Mac. Once upon a time I would have bought one just because I had an urge to try one for an extended period of time. I am getting better and less attached to things.

[KtotheB]

Hardcore MAC fanatic here...

[Lupe]

Vista was a complete flop

except for its voice recognition Voice Recognition Software

[ellie]

Question has anyone gone from mac back to pc?

[mako]

Originally Posted by Kedar

Macs are also expensive. I feel like if I bought a PC for the same price as a Mac, then I could get a lot out of it.
Even better. If I BUILT a PC with the same budget that I would have if I was buying a Mac, then I could make a machine 5x better.

Well, you would have a better machine in terms of hardware, which would of course give you an advantage.

I think the price you pay for macs give you something else. Do you really need so powerful pc to do a text edit? (Maybe in Vista) This is what I liked about mac and specifically about the latest Mac OS X release: it boots faster, it is faster, it shuts down faster. My macbook is 2 years old and I really don't need any hardware upgrade and won't need it for the next 2.

I think Apple is thinking really differently here: did you ever upgraded your TV? Not really, maybe after a few years you bought a new one, bigger.

It's not all about hardware. I think macs are worth their price, they give me more value. What Apple does is designing overall experience, not only a part of it (operating system or hardware).

From a technical standpoint, I prefer Windows because there are many more options in control panel, where Macos seems much more basic.

I've read recently an interesting article (Don Norman's jnd.org / Simplicity Is Highly Overrated).

Once upon a time, a toaster had one knob to control how much the bread was to be toasted and that was all. A simple lever lowered the bread and started the operation. Toasters cost around $20. But in the Korean store, I found a German toaster for 250,000 Korean Won (about $250). It had complex controls, a motor to lower the untoasted bread and to lift it when finished, and an LCD panel with many cryptic icons, graphs, and numbers. Simplicity?(...)

Make it simple and people won’t buy. Given a choice, they will take the item that does more. Features win over simplicity, even when people realize that it is accompanied by more complexity. (...)

The complex expensive toaster? I bet it sells well.

[Andrew Brunelle]

I'm a PC. I just like Windows. I'm sure I would like Mac, too. I had a Mac in the mid 90s and it was a piece of junk after 2 years, but this was before Mac became what it is today and before Windows started its downward spiral. I bought a Compaq Presario laptop about 7 months ago and it comes with 3 GB memory and Windows Vista. I really don't mind Vista and I don't see what the problem with it is.

I'm sure sometime in the future I will also be a Mac Guy.