Thread: Mac vs PC

I have a Macbook laptop I bought 5 years ago and it's still going strong. It still runs as fast and smoothly as day 1. I am a MAC from PC convert and i'm never going back. I'm not an apple fan boy, but you gotta hand it to them their stuff works and works well. Laptop PC's last about 2 years until they break down(my own experience/observation with others). Macs take a while to get used to but its pretty simple. If you do decide to go with mac, get a solid state drive macbook, they're super fast. Almost every single time a computer has a problem it has to do with moving parts(my own experience).

My goal is to have my laptop for 10 years or more. So far its going for 6 years here soon and it looks like its going to do fine =).

@ JayKim (voted for PC)

Have you used MAC before?

I would like to know because it is more interesting to hear from people that have used both and have been able to make a decision based on experience. Thanks.

The best way to buy a computer is figure out what software you really need, then buy the computer that runs it the best. I have used both, I like PC better. Both platforms do 98% of what most users need, so unless you have specialized biz requirements to run a specific program, network VPN. You can find PC's that look as good as Macs. Its not a big debate thing like it used to be 5 years ago. Its what comes out of the box that matters, not the label on it.

Originally Posted by healthstatus

You can find PC's that look as good as Macs. Its not a big debate thing like it used to be 5 years ago. Its what comes out of the box that matters, not the label on it.

True.

I just need computers for general use. surfing internet, photos, vids, music (making music) and making documents word, excel and occasionaly media videos. So I imagine that the mac will be fine for that.

The looks are a bonus but the main thing that pricked my ears up towards now leaning to a mac for my next purchase is the fact that there are people saying they are less buggy. They are faster. They don't get viruses (I find that hard to beleive??). They don't keep asking for updates that interupt constantly.

If all those things are true then I think that I might try converting to the other side, when I need to change next, just to escape these annoying traits that plague pcs.

I only use mine for the internet so a $350 walmart special is plenty for me.

My wife has the ibook, imac and ipad. But then she is cool and I am not

Originally Posted by Alty

Have you used MAC before?

I have.

Bought my Macbook pro around year and a half ago.

I have configured bootcamp so I can use OSX or Win7 from the same machine, which is very handy.

I rarely use the Win7 at home anymore (have a Win7 for work).

I force myself to use the OSX most of the time, just so I can learn it better.

Just to set the expectations right...

Yes, the Mac is also a computer.
It also crashes, but my Win7 does not crash often either.
It can get destroyed by a virus (a couple of weeks ago that was the big news), maybe not as often, but as a lot people think macs can't get infected they don't install antivirus.
It has security risks. Big ones (current one on the news? your passwords are stored in clear text, unencrypted. Can you believe that?).

All in all, I am happy with the change. The aluminum case for my laptop is gorgeous. Yes, I paid an extra for it.

I am happy with it. Still struggle with "simple" things like networking troubleshooting or configure some fancy network printers, that still does not come naturally to me. I still need to google some shortcuts. I probably know less than 50% of what the OSX can do for me. Still learning.

You probably will take a productivity hit while you learn it (just like when you used your first Windows Me, or something like that).

I think it is cool to know two operative systems (well, three, as I also know Linux)

Mac by miles.

I enjoyed using Windows XP but when my old Gateway finally bit the dust I tried to switch over to Windows 7 and I just couldn't stand it any more.

For day in, day out, getting things done, Mac is the winner by miles.

I have an iMac I bought a year-and-change ago and my wife has a Macbook she bought recently.

We also still have a custom built PC that runs XP plus my wife's old Dell laptop kicking around.

Go to an Apple store or Best Buy and play around with a Mac for a half hour or so.

One of the keys to it is you dont have to shut it down and reboot it all the time, you just use a "sleep" mode which is fast to get into and out of. Even if you do a reboot once a month or so its super fast compared to Windows.

Downloading and installing programs is so fast and easy you wont believe your eyes.

Running multiple programs at a time is no issue.

In the 15 months Ive been using this iMac I cant think of 5 times that it has crashed.

The biggest negative is lack of computer games. If you like PC games keep an old PC around bc Mac games are very limited.

Good luck!

Windows. A lot of the stuff that I use doesn't work on Mac or is too expensive/limited to be viable to me.

Also, I like being able to replace components instead of buying a whole new computer.

I have a macbook pro and I don't see me going back to windows. The biggest thing for me about macs is I plug things in the laptop and they just work. Period. No drivers, no this, no that. Plug it in, use it.

I never could decide. So I have both. Both are great for what I need them to do. They each serve their own purpose.

Get the best of both words.....A Hackintosh. I have HP Probook 4530 and it has been extremely stable dual booting windows 7 and OSX Lion. Almost the same hardware as a $2000 Macbook Pro for a couple hundred.

tonymacx86 Forum • View forum - HP Probook 4530s

I prefer OSX but do some gaming and .NET programming.

Thanks for all the replys.

It deffinately seems like Mac has got the majority of support on this forum.

I will seriously consider getting one when I need to change, It'd be cool (and a long process) to learn a new system.

I think Windows 7 is pretty good, but I've always had bad experiences with the PC makers. My MSI laptop's screen died when it was barely two years old, so now I can only use the laptop when it's plugged into an external monitor. The Acer I had before that wasn't bad but it's too slow for me to be productive - it has a single core and 512 mb of RAM.

I want to get the new Macbook Pro that's supposed to come out next month. I have a Nano, iPad 1, and iPad 3 (all were gifts) and they're great in terms of performance and usability.

Switched over to Mac this year, and will never go back. Within 2012, I will have all of my company computers migrated from PC to Mac. No comparison. 20+ years of using Windows and Office, and my only regret is that I did not make the transition sooner. I have installed office for Mac (which seems like heresy and an oxymoron) but after getting past the initial disgust of doing so, it really gives you the best of both worlds. No systems issues, no booting issues, no memory issues, no virus issues, no quirky misperceptions, and no random malfunctions. Simply put, Apple products work.

I will complete the conversion of all systems to Apple and never look back.

Really amazed by all the people who have had problems with Windows.. I suppose I'm in the minority that doesn't frequently experience problems with it.. Only really troubles I've had is with Visual Studio, and being a complicated program it's kind of expected regardless of OS..

On that note I am currently dual booting between Ubuntu (Precise Pangolin is quite nice) and windows depending on what I'm doing - so depending on the task I don't feel Windows is the best choice..

I am not certain the millions of issues are necessarily Windows caused. I think it is windows integration with agnostic hardware. Today, I was helping my 70 year old father over the phone deal with his dead touchpad on his PC. It was OS/Driver related. Mac has solved integration issues before they release product. Microsoft is notorious for releasing products with known integration defects, requiring dozens of updates, and patches.

You can buy 4 laptops now for every 1 entry level MacBook. So, conceivably you could simply buy and discard PC's as they broke down, and do this annually or biannually with a similar ROI. I have just found that I would rather spend more, and have hassle free computer use. I have enough problems :-) growing the business without wrestling technology. Took me a long time, a lot of tech support, and a lot of replacement equipment to come to this conclusion.

YIKES converted the whole company over.

I give you major props Vigilante!

I could never have a business with an actual location, employees, computers desks etc

I work on a Mac.

Every once in awhile I will have to login to my laptop which is Windows. After 3 minutes on that, I'm like WTF? I dealt with this shit for years? Seriously, Mac is like driving a Mercedes and when I login to my laptop, it's like driving an old Oldsmobile with 190,000 miles.

Additionally, when I login to my laptop after months of non-use, it takes HOURS to update all the software, many times of which, the computer needs to rebooted X dozens of times "for this to take effect".

No thanks.

Never, ever, will I revert back to PC.