Buzz Out Loud Lounge: The PC or The Mac--That Is the Question
IBM PC-compatible
by benanzo - 9/11/07 9:54 AM In reply to: I was just going through this as well. by three_toed_frogdoesn't seem to mean what it used to. When I opened the case of my Dell XPS 410n Ubuntu machine I was dismayed to find that nearly every component (besides HDs and PCI-E cards) were some weirdo proprietary contraption cooked up by Dell's engineers! I couldn't simply buy a new Antec PSU or a new motherboard and install it in this machine should something crap out after my warranty wears off. Every essential component is custom to this machine...which puts me in the same boat as Mac users, non-upgradability. Sure I could put in a new proc in 2 years, but by then Intel'd probably have a new socket, requiring me to get a new mobo...and guess what, no mobo on Earth is going to install in this machine. Whatever happened to the good ol' ATX standard??? There's no such thing as a formfactor-compliant OEM machine anymore. If you want swappable hardware, build the machine yourself.
Even if you did decide to afford it, not the case.
by fbbbb - 9/12/07 4:01 AM In reply to: I was just going through this as well. by three_toed_frogThe Mac Pro uses specialised or EFI-dependent componentry for some of it's subsystems, and the FBDIMM memory needs better heat dissipation as it's indirectly cooled.
You aren't going to get away with throwing whatever you can buy off the shelf in there like you can with a Dell Precision.
Like the attractive yet fragile and inadequately engineered Macbook Pro, the Pro isn't a Pro - it's for undemanding graphic designers or video producers in quiet, undemanding environments. A genuinely Pro machine is something like the Dell Precision, or ironically an XPS 700-series gaming desktop - puts up with much greater environmental variations, is more rugged, is more versatile, is more powerful in many ways and is far, far better supported.
As I might have said before, it depends on what you need to do. I recommend Macs to everyone I know who I don't think can be trusted around computers. That's slightly disingenuous, but I allocate them for people who're either too busy to learn or just don't want to - and things end up a tad more productive than them working on a Windows machine. It's partly a state of mind and partly the whole ownership experience of a Mac.
However, everyone around me who actually knows what they're doing and use Macs all use them as unimportant roles. It's probably quite ironic that I use Macs - somewhat reluctantly - in a very important role in my work. But I would rather be relying on truly "Pro" HP or Dell gear... if they ran OS X that is, which is what some of my most important tools run on.
The thread displays suck...
by fbbbb - 9/12/07 4:02 AM In reply to: Even if you did decide to afford it, not the case. by fbbbb... my replies to posts don't appear anywhere near the post itself.
Bummer.
For me it just works and works better
by linvacda - 9/16/07 5:09 PM In reply to: I was just going through this as well. by three_toed_frogI purchased an iMac G5 (non-intel) right after a surge took out my Desktop PC (Windows) computer. I have a Toshiba Windows XP Home laptop and I put Virtual PC into my iMac just so I can run windows programs I just can't find on the mac or that I like on the mac. I ended up deciding that I'll for the foreseeable future be a Mac (Apple) customer. For me it brings the enjoyment back into computing. Sure there are some threats to the Apple OSX but so few if any that you just enjoy the computer so much more without worrying if your protection software is up to date or working right. Oh my Toshiba is going to have to be completely reformatted as soon as I can as even with the best protection software something is causing me a blue screen every time I boot up and I can't use it unless I choose, after laborious boot up attempts to choose the last best bootup configuration.
Apple Computers are top notch in their construction and I feel their quality is as good as you get. As for add ons or upgrades to hardware there are some limitations there but many are overcome with USB 2.0 or Firewire 400 & 800 ports. Apples just work and work superbly . When you do have a program (application) that goes mushuga then you just reboot the program and not the whole computer and it's working again. Apple includes great software, in my opinion, and more and more third parties are seeing the advantage of the Apple Operating System, many of the features Microsoft attempted to copy in their Vista. If you also check the iMac (Intel) 24" model with 2.8Ghz processor can be had for around $2200 which is a big investment but working under virtual environment test found Windows programs actually ran faster and better under the Mac OS than the native Windows Vista Computers.
I chose the Mac and my next laptop will also be a Mac, when I buy one. It cost more but in most cases if you equip a Windows Vista computer with equivalent software and applications then you will pay more for the Windows Computer. Anything less will save you money and may work for you but I still love my old (Power PC, G5) iMac and use it 95% of the time over Windows.
Got 10 years left on my Mortgage...
by SwampYankee01 - 9/11/07 10:04 AM In reply to: The PC or The Mac--That Is the Question by morepunkthanuand 3 daughters to send through college. no question here, as a software project manager it's a PC everytime. I need to make a living and corporate side of the world pays alot better than the mac side. PC by a 6 figure landslide.
Mac vs PC
by indy1333 - 9/11/07 11:11 AM In reply to: The PC or The Mac--That Is the Question by morepunkthanuThat question is the one issue that otherwise nice and mild-mannered people will kill each other over. I personally prefer Windows 'cause its what I grew up on. Mac has some awesome machines though. It really depends on what you want to do with the machine and how much you want to spend, though. As for Linux, if you are just using the machine for Internet, email and word processing, I would go with Ubuntu.
It is amazing.
by fbbbb - 9/11/07 12:58 PM In reply to: Mac vs PC by indy1333My first ever threatening fangirl private message was Apple related.
The new switchers, like born-again Christians or recent ex-smokers are the absolute worst. These guys, who almost invariably are moving from their bottom-dollar PC's or the PC they built - which they lacked the simple skills to make it run stably - to a Mac and the scales fall from their eyes... yes, congratulations you now own a half decent PC.
For those moving sideways from top-notch Window gear, it's less impressive. Pretty certainly, but lacking in many respects.
Not always the case
by RedMozzy - 9/12/07 10:04 AM In reply to: It is amazing. by fbbbbI don't really agree with your post as I built my own PC which runs very well but Windows does have its issues with stability and security.
I am not a fanboy of any OS as I use Windows, OSX and Linux, all for different reasons. I will say one thing though, out of the 3, Windows has def crashed more than both the other put together BUT OSX has crashed before and I admit that Linux is not for the faint hearted.
It's funny you should mention that.
by fbbbb - 9/12/07 10:18 AM In reply to: Not always the case by RedMozzyFor the most part I don't waste time building my own PC's and I have no stability problems (unless the machine is at fault).
Get a Mac
by firi - 9/11/07 7:57 PM In reply to: The PC or The Mac--That Is the Question by morepunkthanuYou can have both worlds
People keep forgetting/
by welrdelr - 9/12/07 5:44 AM In reply to: The PC or The Mac--That Is the Question by morepunkthanuPC means "personal computer" and has nothing to do with the processor class/ architecture. The common ones are: PPC, SPARC, ARM, x86, AMD64. Originally, Macintosh machines used the PPC architecture- which, by the way, is a different instruction set from the common x86- as their preference. Operating system has nothing to do with processor architecture, it deals with kernel and applications.
Mac v: PC
by msgale - 9/14/07 8:27 PM In reply to: The PC or The Mac--That Is the Question by morepunkthanuActually the first Macs used a Motorola 6800 processor. It had a 9 inch BW display, one 400 KB - 3 1/2 disk and 128 KBytes of RAM
RE: MAC v PC, Simply put ...,
by Jimmy The Lip - 9/16/07 3:45 AM In reply to: Mac v: PC by msgaleIt should be said AC or PC, most if not all who have negative remarks about MAC’s do not have one. I started out using a Commodore 64 and things have progressed somewhat since then. I do not want to think about all the PCs that I have owned since, due to amount of cash that I have spent on them to keep them running to my satisfaction and what I am left with today. Bar none with my purchase of my 24in iMac, with service plan and taxes in came to just under $2800.00. I have never looked back; I have never seconded guessed or questioned my self about the cost. I have found more programs to be used on a MAC than I have time for, all free and more coming every day.
Any one that I have talked to/with, that has done the same thing feels the same way. In ending, I’d like to say and or leave you with the following thought(s), much of your time is and or will be spent in waiting (mine was) for your PC to run through it’s, check this, check that, run, virus, worm, malware and whatever scans. The question to be asked at this juncture, isn’t your time worth something, time that could be better spent utilizing this tool. If you add up all the time taken to keep your PC running free of problems in the last two years and the cost of (all) these software programs (also time taken to up-date) by comparison, the cost of a MAC is a whole lot cheaper in the long run. I’m not an expert by any means when it comes to computers; I am however just an average Joe like you, who likes to spend a lot of time on his computer, the difference is not rocket science?
Since my purchase I say the following, ONCE YOU GO MAC YOU’LL NEVER GO BACK BECAUSE YOUR FREE FROM OF OLD PC”.
Totally Agree
by dmdzine - 9/17/07 5:37 PM In reply to: RE: MAC v PC, Simply put ..., by Jimmy The LipIt is funny how all the mac bashers do not seem to actually own a mac, or if they did, it was many years ago (before OS X). While I will admit that OS X has some flaws, my Macbook is by far the best computer I have had the joy of using...
Try Mac, you won't go Bac. 
Macs are good...
by Magishine - 9/17/07 12:22 PM In reply to: The PC or The Mac--That Is the Question by morepunkthanuOSX is a nice OS. Plus now, if you need the other two, you can just install them. A mac is the only system in which you can install the other two major OSes on one machine, so it gets points in my book.
| Forum legend: | |
 |
Locked thread |
 |
Moderator |
 |
CNET staff |
 |
Samsung staff |
 |
Norton Authorized Support team |
 |
AVG staff |
 |
Windows Outreach team |
 |
Dell staff |
 |
Intel staff |
