Kassem
Hey everyone. In one of the threads I started, it was obvious how samer and other members were trying to say that Mac's are much better than PC's. Samer also suggested that I would give the Mac a shot at some stores and I'll take his advice for that. But I really want to know what makes a Mac better than a PC! The way I see it, it doesn't make a difference, it's just that a Mac looks better, has a bitten Apple logo on it, and is way too expensive! So prove me wrong please...
xterm
Why do i like Tabboule more than Fattoush or Rocca Salad?
Kareem
It's not about tabbouleh or fattoush, this is a good question IMO, I have no idea what's so special about MAC things, and Apple product in general, other than being insanely overpriced...
Windows 7 is so enough for me, I wonder what could Mac OS offer.
Thanks.
arithma
I agree with the over expensive.
You can get a PC and install a linux, a windows, a bsd. It's all legal and fair play.
Get a Mac and you will get stuck in their world, feel the guilt, or just ordinarily hack around.
As a technical person, I believe in functionality rather than aesthetics.
As for stability, Windows XP was already very stable. I am not a microsoft fanboy, but I am indeed a Mac Fanboy hater. I don't find so many Windows fanboys either.
Unfortunately I will probably have to get a Mac Mini soon just to develop for the iPhone. It's just like Steve Jobs has personally bitten me in the ass.
In short: I hate Macs because they are pretentious, expensive, locked in a self arrogance (vendor lock) and don't necessarily do anything a lot better than anyone else except look more shiny (which I could understand attracts the graphics people, but never the tech guys).
I am the proud owner of a brandless (read compal) laptop :)
Cheers
rolf
Yes, OSX is better, in my opinion, and from my standpoint. The GUI doesnt occasionally freeze like windows, it doesnt have weird display bugs and you dont have to worry about viruses, and it is up and running very fast, is reliable, and doesnt require maintenance.
Macs are overpriced, but their hardware is reliable (althought they have trouble with their peripheral and other "non-critical" problems), plus they look good, and you get OSX. That's the price to pay.
Now if someone likes linux or windows, or sticks to windows for practical reasons (understandable), then it is a personal choice and I respect that.
kareem_nasser
first time i saw them using Mac in Doculand but for real Hardcore GFX designs and it is not a desktop but a screen only (sorry i dont know its name).
arithma
kareem_nasser
Yeah it is like TouchSmart.
Joe
The distinction between Macs and PCs is imho, a hardware one. Sure a Mac is a computer, especially since they abandoned PowerPC chips for Intel. But this is not the point. Buying a Mac (or any Apple product, for that matter) is buying a piece of equipment built from the ground up by this company. A Mac is not a PC, because it's not a piece of equipment made by random people, and then has a generic OS (Linux, bsd, Windows, ...) installed on it. Mac OS X was intended for Macs, and Macs only.
Now what is great about Apple, is something more than simply shiny looks. I am currently reading a book about ergonomics of machine interfaces. The idea is to take into considerations matters like usability, usefulness or efficiency when designing an interface. I realize now how superior Apple are in this particular point. Everything is where you expect it to be, and the overall feel of the interface is a lot smoother.
Most of you probably know, when it comes to computing, I am a linux fan-boy. I simply love the freedom of building your own machine, (not to mention the gorgeous stability of Unix systems, but that's not the point here). Having someone build the whole thing from the ground up doesn't suit me. However, I cannot see anything wrong with what Apple is doing, and strongly advice you to try out the Mac if you have a chance ;)
Aj_BlaZ
mac ftw and windows ftw (if you know how to secure it and bla bla) if you want prof comparing you need to google reviews and stuff like that it also depends on your needs like for example games well windows ftw ....
samer
I have no idea what's so special about MAC things, and Apple product in general
I could throw dozens of arguments your way, but I think the best way for you to find out is to actually try an Apple machine before making up your mind.
other than being insanely overpriced…
That's a
myth.
It all comes down to two things. First, which product fits *your* needs better (and for that, you will have to actually try an Apple machine). Second, what machine is within my budget.
FYI: today, an all-in-one Apple desktop (the iMac) retails at
$1200.
Arithma wroteYou can get a PC and install a linux, a windows, a bsd. It's all legal and fair play.
Wrong. You can run all of the above on an Apple machine. Nuclearcat runs ubuntu on his iMac (IIRC).
Buying a Mac (or any Apple product, for that matter) is buying a piece of equipment built from the ground up by this company.
Exactly.
kareem_nasser
OK the main difference known are most usually known are the OS, and Libraries for gfx like OpenGL, sound etc.
And recently they changed from IBM Power-PCs to Intel based cores and architectures.
arithma
A little back to earth comparison: prices :)
http://store.apple.com/us/configure/MC118LL/A?mco=MTM3NDcyODk
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Xplorer_X7_7700_Notebook/
If you also take the OS off (if you're more into linux, the savings will be huge).
What do you get in style you can compensate in pure mowing power.
The other link is where I got my unbranded laptop. It works great, no glitches whatsoever yet.
crazy
Hey,
I worked on both, mac and pc, mac os and win 3.1, xp, 2000, vista, and now 7.
When you want to throw stability arguments, security arguments etc. to defend one or the other, you're just talking rubbish. I've seen a mac crash as I've seen a pc crash, same shit different color that's all. If you don't know how to maintain your machine you'll make it crash sooner or later.
Samer, for the prices, its now that apple got their prices down, but not long time ago, buying a mac was actually really expensive (comparing to PC).
Coming to the machine built by the company (apple) or the other (dell, asus, acer, hp etc.) it does not mean that apple is better, actually if i'm not mistaken, Asus is the best at hardware now, and Apple is not second.
Another idea, talking about design, I prefer sony's design way more than apple's, its a matter of taste.
I'm not defending PCs over mac, or the opposite, I'm just saying that in the end its just a choice you'll need to make, I prefer working on windows maybe because I'm used to, but it doesn't mean I don't know my way around a mac^^ or linux.
My tower is at 90% Asus material, win7 on it (had win vista before) and I never has a problem, nor security, nor virus, nor hardward crash (only hdd but that was electrical, lebanon's power amazing;) ). My friend has a macbook he keeps restarting it, apps crash on it a lot.
And on the other side, another friend has a PC and a Mac, his pc crashes a lot, but not his mac.. it just depends on how you maintain your machine.
Hamboza
Hello guys, i have both Mac and Pc.
if some people just hate macs but never tried them then shutup, cause most people are relaxed with what they are used too, otherwise, like some of you mentioned what you really have to do is reall try it. Like Crazy said, its about what u need out of your computer. For me for example, i play games a lot, and i also have a lot of work to do on the computer and i have to stay connected 24/7. So in terms of heavy gaming, 100% PC, not because it has more performance (cause it doesn't, my mac is faster) but because all games come to pc and very very few come to mac.
As for stability and security, i have to say that mac is the best hands down, i dont need an antivirus, never crashed or nothing, that's why i do all my work on it cause it is very stable and very secure.
what you really need to do is think of a list of things you need your computer for, and then try a mac, and decide what suits you better.
Personally speaking (own opinion): for games i prefer a gaming console, ever since my ps3, i rearly use my pc for games, unless its a cheap game not worth getting on ps3, but for my serious work and connectivity, i'll never leave my mac. I love microsoft, but they always screw their operating systems with one problem or the other, though win 7 is an advancement.
arithma
*Comes clapping hands loudly*
The supposedly geeky should immediately see that a Mac is a clear vendor lock in product. It may look slightly better, and a bit more user friendly, nut it comes at a great cost.
drama ahead. At the cost of your soul. You are selling yourself to the Macs :)
Everything extending out from the Mac OS X will have to be a Mac. That is just outright insane.
The difference in cost is huge, mind you; You can get for the cost of 15" Mac Book Pro ($1600) a monstrous Core i7 gaming machine.
if some people just hate macs but never tried them then shutup, cause most people are relaxed with what they are used too, otherwise, like some of you mentioned what you really have to do is reall try it.
You really don't have to try it to know it's pure evil. Seriously though, I have tried the Macs of my friends. And it is all about maintenance. I keep running my Windows 7 for weeks on a single run. No problems. The real issue is that Windows is simply more popular, so it is a sweeter spot for hackers. But run through your tasks safely, and you shouldn't get bitten in the ass.
Just seriously, look at the spec difference and the price tag. It doesn't end there! Then they sell you out for an AirPort, a time machine and god knows what other kinds of nonesense. It simply is a world domination, and the feeble minded can't see through.
Note: My seriousness level is all around the place, I am joking, ranting and flaming all together. Before you jump in to attack, please try to digest what I am trying to say. Only for a second. I don't think I'll convert you back from Macs (you're already a lost case) but at least I can try and have a little conversation, not a flame war. Keep it light. So don't shut up, talk up :)
Regards to all, PC lovers and Mac lovers :) Hell to dog lovers as well.
Kassem
hahaha! That seriously cracked me arithma! But hey, I do agree with you on this one. It's all about how you treat your computer. I've always said "A CPU is much worth to me than a human soul" (at least the CPU cannot be evil, but let's not talk about humans...) and my friends just go nuts at me whenever I say stuff like that. I do care alot about my laptop and I do maintenance checks/virus scans oftenly. Many people keep saying that HP's products are crap when it comes to stability and stuff like that, but my HP Pavilion dv9000 is working just fine and never had issues with it over the past 1.5 years, while on the other hand Kareem's dv9000 is dead already :)
Hamboza
Arithma, your and advance geek, and you are right, windows is more popular, and even a huge common ground for hackers, but i dont agree with you when it comes to the supposed conspiracy theory, common, its not like Apple is an evil corp trying to dominate the world, and yeah its more expensive, i paid 1800$ for a toshiba laptop 4 years ago, but it was a great performance laptop back then, and now some months earlier i bought a macbookpro which is more expensive (2300$, thought i only paid 1700 cause i know some people). Anyways, i have to say that you do get what you pay for, so YUP iam a "lost case".
Kassem @ "the CPU cannot be evil, but let's not talk about humans" i feel you...but i wouldnt take it to that extreme, or we'll start having a cult here.
Hamboza
by the way, i didn't mean to offend anyone when i said "if some people just hate macs but never tried them then shutup" i was talking about some people who really try to talk you into not going for a mac or saying apple this or apple that, and they really have no experience with a mac, an believe they do exist, a friend of mine was one trying to convince me not to get a mac and he was all hyped up on it as if he is on microsoft's payroll, and then i found out that he hasn't even worked or touched a mac, so yeah...that's when i tell him to shutup (but not politely at the time)
arithma
So back to the topic: what is so special about a mac? (special may be taken as positive or negative regarding your view point)
Here's a little list I can think of:
1 - You need it to develop for the iPhone
2 - The hardware and the software bundled work well out of the box
3 - Is really good for not so tech savvy people (so I've heard)
4 - Has good visuals based on OpenGL rendering (Quartz Extreme)
5 - Has less support for customization (can be better for it)
6 - Looks pretty cool
7 - More expensive
8 - Is based on Unix
9 - Has 10% of the market share
10 - Lots of people are religious about it
11 - Not a lot of games available for the platform due to market constraints (not due to capabilities, so there's room for improvement)
12 - Taunted for usability advantages - though there a lot of doubts about that, other OSes are on par as far as I'm concerned if not better --- It is not an overwhelming fact, and it is highly subjective
13 - Not a lot of antiviruses (if any?) but is actually vulnerable to attacks
14 - Applications are self packaged (follows from 8), so there's no Registry clutter which makes it more durable per install
15 - Runs Apple software better (iTunes, Quicktime..)
16 - Gets the Microsoft productivity tools later than people running Windows
