Are you a PC or a MAC ?

[im2]

I've had a PC since they first came out - 1983 or 84.

I work in IT

I've implemented thousands of pc/windows server/exchange/sql systems

I switched to mac 6 months ago.

It was one of the best things I've EVER done.

I don't have to go home and patch/scan/update/worry if my wife f*d up the computer by downloading a 0day virus/trojan/malware etc.

Most of the programs actually work, and are intuitive.

That being said, I still use windows at work because I have to

smc

Same same same here

[vlaletom]

Whaaaaooooohhh the oficail PC vs Mac war has started again

Well i have some news : this war as no reason to continue now, because here is a secret :

MAC ARE NOW OFFICALLY PC

think of it as this :

INTEL yes INTEL cpu

IBM/Hitachi HDD

ATI/NVIDIA graphics card

and all the usual hardware manufacturer you find on PC.

OS == freeBSD + the only part that apple is still doing "aqua graphical interface" insted of classical X windows found on unix plateform.

Can run Mac OS X / windows / linux / whatever ...

Most of the time people refer PC as bieng "Microsoft windows TM" but that is a misunderstanding of what a Pc is

As the concept of Pc was to produce plain hardware unlinked to the OS (unlike Mac) and didn't even had to be conected with i386 architecture...

Now Mac are little overpriced (not so much nowadays) but do ROCKS, as they combine the power of UNIX with a great graphial interace, and all the traditional partenership with software devlopper so they do port there soft to Mac os (for example the lack of adobe suport to linux is painfull)

I would certainly not have said that a few year ago when Mac OS 9 was still around and mac where waaaayyy behind os like NT4 or any unix.

The swich to concentrating in only developing a graphical interface, secure partenership, and make design product out of commonly available hardware really saved them.

Now i personally works on windows and linux, and don't have any real need for a mac ... but i am working in the software/sys admin buisness

For somone that whant's a working & simple solution mac is perfect.

[TeeJay]

I've had a PC since they first came out - 1983 or 84.

I work in IT

I've implemented thousands of pc/windows server/exchange/sql systems

I switched to mac 6 months ago.

It was one of the best things I've EVER done.

I don't have to go home and patch/scan/update/worry if my wife f*d up the computer by downloading a 0day virus/trojan/malware etc.

Most of the programs actually work, and are intuitive.

That being said, I still use windows at work because I have to

smc

That was one of the reasons why I wanted to get a Mac rather than a PC. I am sick of the patch/scan/update hassle that comes with PCs, but sadly, my budget couldn't stretch that far, so I didn't really have a choice in the matter

[takashi]

PC here Couldn't agree more to recommend ThinkPad (now owned by the Chinese, Lenovo). It's just soooooooooo tough. Mine just refuses to quit. I have a very very old Thinkpad 760 which still runs on Windows 95, is still running. Now on more than 3 years old ThinkPad... again running flawlessly.

As for Apple's hardware being overpriced, I think it's no longer the case. Read the article here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/apple-...vista,1985.html

If you are a hardcore gamers, PC/Windows based is still the best solution for you.

[Chronus]

My brother got a Mac for home and loves it, but all he does is check email and browse internet and not too much else... He loves it though.

It's too high a price for me though, but then the newest PC I'm running is about 3 years old and runs the games I throw at it, MS Visual Studio, DJ software etc...

It all depends on your budget and what you want to do with it.

If you are looking at a laptop, and just for browsing/emailing, have you seen the Asus eePCs? I think there are linux versions with solid state hard drives for around 200-300 pounds that will do the job, and be cheaper.

Personally, i am not bothered if the computer looks nice or not, as long as it does what I want it to do.

[andreww]

Having used macs from the very beginning (I'm a graphic designer) I used to promote macs and would often get into this sort of PC/Mac argument. As macs have gained popularity over the past half decade I have stopped actively trying to convert people, as I really liked being one of the few people who really understood the brilliance of Apple's products. I remember being the only person on the train with an iPod, and I felt special. I really believe that these day people are buying their first macs because it is the "trendy" thing to do. But, they will also buy their second mac because it is the smart thing to do.

[Bibbs]

Been an "IT Professional" for a while now.

Started programming on an Apple IIe in the 80's, and then moved onto the first Gen of MAC.

That was the last time I used one. That will hopefully not change.

I've been using Unix and MS since.

I have 1 Apple product. A sh*te iPod that is packed in a box somewhere.

I really don't like them.

[smc]

Hardware wise, a Mac is a PC to a point.

Mac users pay a little extra UP FRONT to get hardware that has drivers that work. A cost benefit analysis would show that Macs are actually cheaper.

OSX is basically unix-ish (read linux) except that you don't have to worry about drivers, and you have programs that work. You can however get just as geeky on OSX as you can on linux if you want to, you just don't have to.

On linux every geek with a c compiler forks their own version of the program and you have 12 different versions that all do parts of what you want but not everything.

On windows, you just keep getting the promise that the next version will fix all the bugs - oh and you have to pay for the "upgrade".

The only thing I can't do on the Mac better than Windows is play directx games, but I've switched to an xbox 360 for gaming anyway.

smc

[takashi]

Yeah... tell me that 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, etc... They are not free either.

[rolli]

since 1990 mac, and today the complete palette including the big pro with the 30" apple screen.

rolli

[digitalnrg]

Mac = Rolex

P.C = Citizens

[Pugwash]

OS == freeBSD + the only part that apple is still doing "aqua graphical interface" insted of classical X windows found on unix plateform.

Woah. OSX is significantly more than a GUI on BSD. The kernels are different, for a start. Sure, OSX uses a FreeBSD userland, but it doesn't use the .rc structure or the same user system. Yes, OSX has a BSD TCP stack, but so does Windows.

OSX has frameworks, like CoreAudio, CoreVideo, CoreData, etc. that make it so different to Linux and the BSDs. Application Bundles with language resources, kernel-based file indexing, quick look, parental controls, etc.

OSX is significantly more than lipstick on a daemon or penguin.

[startopia]

Definitely a MAC user, changed when the Intel Chips were introduced. I'm a pro photographer and like to program music so use an iMac for that and just ordered myself a pretty new 15.4inch MacBook Pro. The new aluminium MacBooks are quite literally sex in a 15.4" unibody. Even the standard (non-Pro) MacBooks chew up and spit out in seconds a task that my old top of the range PC used to deliberate over for minutes on end. Haven't looked back since I changed... And no, I am most certainly not an Apple "fan-boy"!

[chronoluvvv]

Mac = Rolex

P.C = Citizens

Mac = posers

PC = users

[Chronus]

I have 1 Apple product. A sh*te iPod that is packed in a box somewhere.

I really don't like them.

My sister works in marketing and did her masters at LSE where she did a project on the cult of Apple and the iPod. She says there are better devices out there but Apple's marketing make it a lifestyle and "cool" choice to go with their stuff.

At the moment she is working with new technology and still maintains her conclusions are correct. She now uses a different branded mp3 player (and not her phone).

[takashi]

For a great sounding portable MP3 player I would recommend Creative Zen X-Fi. Worth every penny spent.

[Bibbs]

My sister works in marketing and did her masters at LSE where she did a project on the cult of Apple and the iPod. She says there are better devices out there but Apple's marketing make it a lifestyle and "cool" choice to go with their stuff.

At the moment she is working with new technology and still maintains her conclusions are correct. She now uses a different branded mp3 player (and not her phone).

Totally style over substance. That is the whole Apple brand.

The hardware isn't the best, the software isn't the best .. but it's got a logo, and that makes it okay

A mate has been raving about his iPhone. It cost him a fortune, expensive contract and isn't anything 'special' from what I can tell.

My N95 phone was free (on a lower contract) and runs TomTom, bluetooths to my car for calls and and is a good mp3 player via BT - none of which the iPhone could do.

I'd rather something work properly (Microsoft/Nokia), than be gimmicky and cool (Apple).

[turboGUATE]

Everyone has different opinions, but here is mine:

I used to have a hefty Voodoo PC which I loved for everything I need it to do. But I changed it for a Mac when they switched to Intel and let me tell you: I WILL NOT GO BACK. My workflow is now really FLOWING, everything is there when I need it (no waiting or crashing), no viruses to hassle with, every app I need gives me joy to use it and it's deffinetly quite faster.

Of course it has bad things too, but they are nothing compared to all the trouble I had to deal with while using W. XP. I found it to be so usefull that my entire staff runs on Mac and the only PCs I use are the ones that handle the ripping process for my printers.

Anyways, it all depends on what you plan to use it, but if it were me, GO FOR A MAC.

Cheers!

[Chronus]

Totally style over substance. That is the whole Apple brand.

The hardware isn't the best, the software isn't the best .. but it's got a logo, and that makes it okay

A mate has been raving about his iPhone. It cost him a fortune, expensive contract and isn't anything 'special' from what I can tell.

My N95 phone was free (on a lower contract) and runs TomTom, bluetooths to my car for calls and and is a good mp3 player via BT - none of which the iPhone could do.

I'd rather something work properly (Microsoft/Nokia), than be gimmicky and cool (Apple).

Now that'll really set off the Apple fanatics

To be fair, until the Blackberry Storm, the iPhone appears to have been the best non-multitasking touchscreen phone, with best resolution screen but as with everything, technology moves quickly and there are higher resolution screens out etc.

[downtown]

Nokia and LG make good phones. I had a sony, but it didn't really last long. I suppose you'd have to get the top of each brand and compare them but it's different with Apple because they've only got one product line in the phone department, so there's not a lot for them to compare in terms of top line vs. consumer line.

that said, i can pick up a brand new in box 80gb ipod for 160 canadian off craigslist because there are so many of them on the market. it's good enough for the money. clearly not the best out there, though.

[smc]

Heh heh...

Everybody that actually uses a mac loves it (even coming the windows world).

Everyone that uses windows exlcusively bashes the mac, and they never speak of how great windows is to use.

To each his own i guess. I'm just glad there is competition out there or we would have been stuck with vista.

smc

[sp12]

I

Edited November 11, 2008 by sp12

[Pugwash]

The hardware isn't the best, the software isn't the best ..

Mac OSX is the best desktop operating system available.

I would love to hear of any desktop operating system that's better, as I would switch to it in a heartbeat.

Remember, I manage servers for a living, and am fluent in most current UNIXes and Windows variants. There's nothing better than Mac OSX on a laptop or desktop.

As for the hardware, the electronics are now commodity electronics, yet the cases are Apple design; some of the finest mass-market industrial design in the industry. Have you ever added a hard drive to a Mac Pro? Have you ever marvelled at the interior of a G5 Power Mac? Stuff other companies assume doesn't matter yet Apple takes care. The new MacBooks are visibly direct ancestors to the ground-breaking titanium-cased PowerBook G4.

... and let's not forget the iconic, in spite of the fact it was an abject commercial failure, Mac Cube.

[TeeJay]

Totally style over substance. That is the whole Apple brand.

The hardware isn't the best, the software isn't the best .. but it's got a logo, and that makes it okay

A mate has been raving about his iPhone. It cost him a fortune, expensive contract and isn't anything 'special' from what I can tell.

My N95 phone was free (on a lower contract) and runs TomTom, bluetooths to my car for calls and and is a good mp3 player via BT - none of which the iPhone could do.

I'd rather something work properly (Microsoft/Nokia), than be gimmicky and cool (Apple).

I avoided getting an iPhone for quite a while, because I felt I would have been giving into that kind of 'emo-chic' (TM ) consumerism, so had clone phones for a while. In the end, I did buy an iPhone (as the clone became unreliable) and I don't regret it at all. I bought one pre-owned, but in mint condition off the Bay, stuck my Pay as You Go SIM card into it, and it works fine. It can bluetooth to a TomTom no problem at all. It's got a good MP3 player (although I have heard the iPhone's MP3 player as being the worst MP3 player Apple have made... Seems okay to me...) It's also customizable, and able to take on new applications. Right now, mine is downloading a full copy of the Qur'an. Full Arabic text, optional English translations, and Arabic audio as well (Qur'an means 'recitation', and, unlike the Bible, is actually intended to be read aloud and listened to, rather than read silently) I'd like to see another phone with that kind of adaptive flexibility...

Gimmicky, maybe, but, if the gimmick actually does what you want it to do, where's the issue?

[Edit to add]

From my own experiences, I would suggest that the iPhone is something people can't truly appreciate until they have one permanantly. Having a look at a friends, or a display model, only really allows a cursory examination, and, while it gives a general idea as to the phone, much of what makes the iPhone so good, are 'the little things' which aren't immediately apparent during a 'five minute play about'. It's the little quirks of the software which only become apparent when the phone becomes personal property and gets used permanently.

[Nightstroker]

Mac OSX is the best desktop operating system available.

I would love to hear of any desktop operating system that's better, as I would switch to it in a heartbeat.

Remember, I manage servers for a living, and am fluent in most current UNIXes and Windows variants. There's nothing better than Mac OSX on a laptop or desktop.

As for the hardware, the electronics are now commodity electronics, yet the cases are Apple design; some of the finest mass-market industrial design in the industry. Have you ever added a hard drive to a Mac Pro? Have you ever marvelled at the interior of a G5 Power Mac? Stuff other companies assume doesn't matter yet Apple takes care. The new MacBooks are visibly direct ancestors to the ground-breaking titanium-cased PowerBook G4.

I have been a devoted PC user for about 10 years. After talking with several people and reading posts like this one from Pugwash, I cant help but think that that technological bandwagon has left me behind.

Also, to support this, I find it rather suggestive that Microsoft feels the same way, considering that they have attempted to immitate the Mac with Vista.

My next computer will be a Mac laptop.