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24-February-2007, 06:48 AM
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Mac or PC?
So I'm thinking of getting a new laptop - my first new computer in something like 5 or 6 years. At first I just automatically went to PCs, but then I realized that there isn't any good reason why I shouldn't also be looking into Macs. So I'd like your opinions, please. Should I go PC or Mac? As a note, if Mac, I'd probably have to get whatever software that is that emulates Windows, since I have a ton of MSWord stuff I'd still need to use.
Thanks for your help.
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Aporetic 
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24-February-2007, 07:21 AM
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Itīs becomming more and more a matter of personal taste, really. PCīs and Macīs uses the same line of CPU these days, running win xp on a Mac should be pretty easy.
Mac: Nice design, able to run both System X and Windows, pricey... PC: You should be able to get a more powerfull system for the same amount of money.
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24-February-2007, 07:24 AM
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Macs are pretty. You can't hit a mac. So get a PC -- when you get angry, you don't feel as bad about hitting it.
...That's about all the advice I can give you. If you want a reasoned response, don't look at me. 
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"A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right." -- Thomas Paine Being intelligent is not a felony. But most societies evaluate it as at least a misdemeanor. -- Heinlein Creationists make it sound as though a "theory" is something you dreamt up after being drunk all night. -- Isaac Asimov
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24-February-2007, 07:42 AM
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Actually thats closer to a reasonable response than you might think...
I think macs are GOOD quality- i would never buy one though. I can get a much faster machine- or swap machines all around for what a mac would cost- and the mac isnt as buildable or adaptable
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24-February-2007, 08:00 AM
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Re: Mac or PC?
If you're computer illiterate and have money to burn, get a Mac. A Mac will protect you from doing almost anything that might interfere with what the designers already anticipated you need to do.
If you're somewhat computer literate and less than affluent, get a name-brand PC. A name-brand PC will not protect you from screwing up the system if you decide to tweak things without knowing what you're doing, but will, untweaked, deliver a lot more bang for the buck than a Mac. Plus you can use it to learn more about computers and actually implement what you've learned. If you're computer literate, on a tight budget, and already have most of the software that would be bundled with the name-brand PC (including the OS), build one from scratch. You'll be able to do exactly what you want to do (within the limits of current technology) and be able to stay cutting edge much longer than the two previously mentioned options. But if you are committed to a laptop, scratch option three.
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A person's name, or a mark representing it, as signed personally or by deputy, as in subscribing a letter or other document. Last edited by Maksutov; 25-February-2007 at 03:45 AM. Reason: typo
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24-February-2007, 03:33 PM
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Here's the thing: a Mac won't let you very far off the beaten path, and you'll be paying through the nose for updates and upgrades. But, if your needs aren't especially exotic, and you're not interested in gaming, then it comes down to "can you afford it"? A PC is considerably more flexible in that there's a lot more software development for it, and much better hardware for the price. However, again, if your needs aren't especially exotic and you're not a gamer, and you're looking at getting a laptop, then hardware upgrading isn't really an issue for you. Processor speed isn't really an issue either. Not anymore, anyway. So it really all comes down to your needs. Does Mac have the software you want to use? Does the PC? If one or the other won't do the job, then you have your answer. If they'll both do it fine, then go with price. (Which will end up being the PC.)
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In Fallout 3, 'happiness' is a warm junkyard dog and a loaded gun. It's mostly the loaded gun. - Moose's one-line review. "your going to regret that one. You are now a colonoscope... - Chrissy, corrupting PraedSt's wish.
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24-February-2007, 04:07 PM
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Either way, you can get Microsoft Office for Mac and PC. Macs don't get viruses because people don't write viruses for that OS, it's much easier to pick on Windows. However, there are still software compatability issues with a Mac. Granted you can run OSX and WinXP/Vista on a Mac now...
The iMac starts off at $1049 for the basic package. You can get a Mac Mini for nearly half of that, but it's just the box and nothing else. The MacBook starts off at $1049 or so, and the MacBook Pro (the successor of the Powerbook) starts off much higher than that, I think $1599.
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"4th Law of Modern Thermodynamics: Where Mihoshi is, Chaos Reigns." ~W. Hakubi "Gun control is hitting your target; Recycling is reloading your brass." ~ Lex of Dirty Work.
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24-February-2007, 04:53 PM
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Thanks for the advice, everyone.
I built my current desktop from scratch several years ago, and it has served me well, but it is time for something new, and I don't see any reason why I shouldn't get a laptop. Given their power and reliability these days, plus their portability and the availability of city-wide high-speed wireless networking, laptops seem to have the advantage over desktops. I use my system for word processing, web browsing, and some multimedia stuff, but I don't play games anymore. I hope to be watching more movies on my system and doing more multimedia web stuff in the near future, so I do need a laptop with some decent capabilities. I guess my interest in Macs comes from the notion that they are more stable and secure (since my last Windows update I've had a series of lovely crashes), and the perhaps fallacious belief that they are simply easier to manage than the average PC. I'm not sure yet, but I may be willing to give up the ability to delve into the deepest recesses of my system (which I don't often do) for the ease and stability of a Mac. But expense is also a consideration. My decision is at least a few weeks away, anyway... Thanks again.
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Aporetic
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24-February-2007, 05:31 PM
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Let us know your final decision. I'm considering buying my stepson a laptop as a graduation gift. It looks like I can get a fairly good one (as opposed to a top of the line model) for about $800 from Dell. I'm still considering alternatives, though.
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24-February-2007, 08:29 PM
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That depends upon what you want it to do. If you want to run Adobe software really fast, get a MAC. If you want it to run Adobe software at a slightly slower pace while being able to run nearly all of the other programs and commonly-used software out there, get a PC.
By the way, PC's aren't inherently more hackable than MACs, and the money you say on a PC can be spent bullet-proofing your system with a router and antivirus software. MACs get viruses, worms, and trojan horses, too.
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I am Mugs, of the Alien clan of Usa, Nordamerica, a Terran, of Sol. A human. Whoever says "perception is reality" is daft. It's merely an abstraction, and often not a very good one.
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24-February-2007, 11:24 PM
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That said, I'd go for the PC, mostly because there's much more software available (and for the other things people have mentioned).
__________________
"It's turtles all the way down."
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24-February-2007, 11:34 PM
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OpenOffice is pretty good, but it won't read Word files with 100% compatibility. It appears to have problems with tables, or rather, it would show the tables properly, but show several/many pages of data, all overlapped, on a single page.
It's mail merge functionality is also thoroughly incompatible with Word's (which has been regressing steadily into uselessness, I might add), and seems insufficient for really serious work. (60,000+ letters per year, 15,000 of them needed within a week's period.) Each of them requiring on-the-fly adaptation depending on the data. Sometimes you just can't get away from Word.
__________________
In Fallout 3, 'happiness' is a warm junkyard dog and a loaded gun. It's mostly the loaded gun. - Moose's one-line review. "your going to regret that one. You are now a colonoscope... - Chrissy, corrupting PraedSt's wish.
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25-February-2007, 12:10 AM
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Another assessment The Dell gives you a couple more PCI slots and couple extra ports (e.g. parallel and serial) but the one examined costs $900 more. "Macs are more expensive" is a myth. What you can't do is get a super-stripped-down Mac. You have to do an actual comparison to see what's cheaper. Quote:
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"I have a cunning plan that cannot fail." S. Baldrick
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25-February-2007, 12:45 AM
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__________________
In Fallout 3, 'happiness' is a warm junkyard dog and a loaded gun. It's mostly the loaded gun. - Moose's one-line review. "your going to regret that one. You are now a colonoscope... - Chrissy, corrupting PraedSt's wish.
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25-February-2007, 01:01 AM
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The dell has a significantly larger screen (15.4" vs 13") The dell has an 80 gig HDD, the mac has 60 The dell has a gig of ram, the mac has 512MB The dell is still $136 cheaper Or, if you go to a higher end model: Quote:
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A larger screen (17" vs 15") Twice the RAM (2GB vs 1GB) Twice the video card memory (256MB vs 128MB) Faster CD/DVD burner (8x instead of 6x) More hard drive space (160GB instead of 120GB) If you downgrade the RAM to 1GB, the price drops to $1802, and it still has significantly better stats than the mac. So, it is absolutely true that the macs are more expensive than the PC's for the same level of performance.
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25-February-2007, 01:41 AM
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__________________
Aporetic
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25-February-2007, 01:45 AM
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If I go with a PC, I'll probably stay away from Dell. Their last several advertising campaigns have annoyed me, and I know a guy in management there who has made the mistake of telling me about some of their business practices. I'm one of those people who occasionally takes moral stands on purchases (e.g. I wouldn't buy a Mach 3 razor until they stopped that ridiculous ad campaign about how using one would make me feel like a fighter pilot, which I was actually offered after college, but turned down because I have no interest in it). I also won't go to a movie theater that has advertisements before the movies. I know that's weird, but I'm a weird guy.
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Aporetic
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25-February-2007, 01:51 AM
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I will NEVER buy a Dell. EVER. I wont comment about your friends comments on the companies business practices- but its highly likely that if he and i talked we would be in complete agreement.
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