Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge mac or pc

hi kids,

i'm in the market for a lap top.
been wanting a macbook for ages.
came up through my computer years
on a pc, and that's pretty much all i know.
yet...i still think i want a mac.

open to pro and con views on both sides.

if i were to go mac, it would be a
13"macbook pro w the i5 processor

consider the debate open

Heh, that's basically what my HP is, running Windows7 64bit. And cheaper.

Macs are proprietary, you have to pay for software, Macs are more expensive, I hate the interface, harder to find someone who knows what they're doing on a Mac unless you want to go to a Mac store and have them bang you up the yin yang for "service". Macs are for girls, yuppies and people who don't know how to use a computer.

Macs are better integrated, PCs crash more often if you don't know what you're doing. You have to be somewhat more computer literate with a PC

Don't sugar coat it, Alex.

They're not a bad product. Personally I wouldn't mind having a Macbook Air all pimped out with Windows 7. I know of one person on this site who did that.

Boutique brands, I think is what you're talking about. I come from a graphic design background and I built up resentment on the elitism I experienced in that industry. 20 years ago you couldn't get all the leading edge graphic design software on the PC, which I why I bought a Mac in '95. It was a hunk of crap and died within a couple years. I started building my own PCs after that and never looked back (and the graphics software versions "caught up" on the PC to the Mac counterparts not long after). But even so, the attitudes remain.

Actually I'm not sure what's more annoying, Apple elitism or Linux.

I don't need status, I don't need to make a statement, I'm just trying to get crap done and Windows 7 is finally a decent version of that OS. Thankfully I was able to skip ME and Vista. Ugh. I wish I could build my own laptop like I do my desktop, but I treat it like an appliance. When my current laptop dies or becomes obsolete in a few years I'll go back to Costco and buy whatever $7-800 will get me. And it will just work.

Mac is not PC.

Best regards,
Mac

I use PCs they're cheaper. We replace our four computers about every 2 1/2 years at the office. Most people I know that use Macs are academics, lawyers, publishers or in gov. institutions.

a pc can not handle porn like my mac can. never got a virus on this thing and I look at some pretty questionable stuff

Actually the mac virus thing is changing. Just saw a story about it recently.

Just say no to fruit.

Fruit makes you poop.

You won't be constantly damning Bill Gates to hell if you get a Mac - have a heart - the guy has had it tough.

Mac's are stable. Their software is better integrated and accessible. They are much more stable. They are NOT much more expensive when compared with equally specced PCs. They are certainly more durable. My 2004 G5 PowerPC is still going sweet and nearly as fast as the latest.

They are and always have been the computer of choice for the graphics, printing, photography and music industries.

We have the new Macbook Air 13". It is a very cool computer. I got it for my wife. It has heaps of grunt, speed and is a delight to use.

On the downside (maybe): the OS Lion comes pre-installed and no installation disk is supplied. There is a hidden repair boot partition if things go wrong but you will still need internet connection if you need to reinstall Lion.

But you will probably never need to do that.

(edit) I forgot to say that the reason we got the Macbook Air for the wife is that she can't bear her PC anymore and I hate having to constantly fix it for her - and her PC is only 6 months old running Windows 7 64bit.

Worked and played in the Windows environment for 20 years. Then I switched to Mac 'cause I got sick of searching through levels of menus trying to remember how to perform a task that I might only do once every six months or so. None of that problem with a Mac. They're very intuitive in their design and therefore extremely easy to get the hang of using if you jump in and start playing around. It's hard to make a mistake on a Mac that you can't undo with the push of a button. As for viruses, I haven't run antivirus software since 2004 and no problems yet. In Windows my software was finding viruses and isolating them every single day.

Once you go Mac, you'll never go back!

I have a HP laptop with XP for work (Sony Vaio with Windows 7 for personal use). My wife, daughter and son all have Mac's. I have had my HP/XP for about 4 years (never had one problem with it), during that time I've replaced all of the Mac's at least once due to unrecoverable issues.

I really liked my first Mac but found most things I wanted were for PC so been using PC ever since. I found Mac more user friendly. Just got a great deal right from HP, had it built custom by them and was only $800 delivered but it is a desk top PC. 8GB RAM a terabyte hard drive I5 processor blueray and DVD burner primary drive and a DVD burner secondary drive etc... 2 year warranty and they give you 21 days to return it for any reason, even if you just don't like it.

On a related note, a buddy of mine was in town for the weekend. He's been a big Mac guy from their first introduction. He'd just gotten a new iPad as his Mac laptop was too big to travel well.

He HATED it.

You can't do anything with it. Great screen, No ports. Sixteen gig hard drive. No 'back' button. If you want to go to the previous screen you go to 'home' and navigate back. He wanted to get some pics I had taken but there was no way to do it. We ended up taking the card out of his camera and putting it in my PC and copying the pictures. Every time he went on Facebook he'd end up with a mysterious picture on his desktop (we never did figure that one out).

He's taking it back and getting a netbook (for half the price). He said if he got another tablet he buy an Android (he has an Android phone so he knows the OS).

I really expected him to say he loved it even if it sucked. He's THAT devoted.

I've got six computers including a Mac. I never use the Mac as it always gets the spiral/hourglass of death and it can never find my HP printer on the network. No problem with the PCs.

Haven't had a PC hang on me since Win 95. Virus, either.

The Starbucks analogy is pretty accurate. It's not about what's real, it's about how you feel about it.

Macs = Harleys

I've always had PCs both at work and home. Until last year I always built my own, and rarely had a problem, still don't.
A couple of years ago I started running Linux as an OS. I have it set up in a dual boot with windows xp. The only thing I use windows for is itunes and for downloading books from barnes and noble.

To me the benefits of pc are that you can go into best buy or staples, or what have you, and buy just about anything you need to upgrade or repair your machine. With Mac, or any notebook, for that matter, you are dealing with proprietary hardware, which means you can't really fix it yourself.

I understand the emotional bias by some here against Macs - there ARE a lot of posers that buy Macs just for their image. And like many Harley owners we hate posers. HOWEVER - the Harley/Mac analagy ends there. Because Harley reliability, design and peformance is akin to the PC - not the Mac.

My 13" Macbook Pro runs both IOS and Win7. I simply partinioed the drive and gave 1/4 to the Win7 and the rest to the IOS cause that what suited my needs.
If I ever reformat my hard rive Ill run Parallels so I can switch between the two on the fly vs rebooting.

Mac stuff is only expensive cause it works with little effort (that comment is mostly true but also a bit of Mac arrogance on my part.... cause its true!).

As for the IOS interface vs Windows... some things are very similar and others are very different.
My personal laptop is a Mac and my work laptop is a PC. I only use my work PC when I have to otherwise I do everything else form my iPad or Mac.

You will spend a lot of money for the Mac. So much so that you could probably buy two Win laptops for the same price however your Mac will outlast and out perform your PCs for years (assuming you are comparing off the shelf w/ off the shelf and NOT thinking custom built vs. Mac.... and even then I think the Mac would keep up).

If I could offer one suggestion it is to buy the better version of the Mac you are looking at. Meaning Pro vs non Pro, largest hard drive you can get and max the memory (same applies to a PC if you go that route.

I should add also...
Last years trip to SWTF... I had my Macbook the whole time... no issues.
Macs CAN get viruses but not as often as PCs and they usually go away as fast. In ym two years with my mac and all the crap I downloaded (some stuff on purpose to see if I could slow it down) and nothing.... keep on ticking.

You will have to get used to the aluminum case (it can be cold) but get a nice Incase cover for it.

The subject is laptops.

I'm with John, I also make a living doing graphic design and have done so for 25 years..I have always used a PC. Mac/Apple use to make the design programs (photoshop/illustrator/quark) that was touted as the industry standards..screw that I have used CorelDraw since day one and the funny thing is that Adobe (who makes all of the mac design programs) now makes them for PC's as well... there must be a reason for that. I do my own upgrades, build my own computers and fix my problems without tech support. Try that with a mac. I do like my wife's Ipad2, maybe because he company pays for the unit, subscriptions & software.

From my iMac to my iPhone to my iPad(soon). Seamlessly connected. No viruses or daily security updates. Support is in english, not Engrish. Boots in 15 seconds. Now let's talk Vista...

Let's talk System 7.

Windows is just a poor copy of the MAC OS. If you want to be a real PC man you should stick with DOS.

Macs cost more but they usually come with more. If the clock speed is the same the Mac will be faster to use.

I'm using the same Mac I bought over four years ago and it's still faster than the one year old PC at work that gets a Windows update every few days and needs an intrusive virus program.

My Mac came with a backup program that works in the background, my PC came with one that needs constant supervision.

For less than $100 I can run all my PC programs on my Mac almost as fast as on a PC, not that I want to.

Besides, my Mac was assembled by a very much nicer class of Chinese people than assembled my PC.

The great thing about a Mac is that you won't have to run windoze 8. I have an old powerbook that is never a problem.

Being a Mac (home-) user since the late eighties I'd never, ever turn to Windoze. Unfortunately we have to use pc:s at work...

I don't know guys... I use a Toshiba laptop running Windows 7 and love it. $450 dollars for a laptop with a quad-4 processor, super amazing graphics, 640GB HD, Windows 7 and other amazing stuff. Windows 7 works well... no crashes, great features, easy interface and more. I edit audio and video with it therefore running some pretty demanding apps, yet it runs flawlessly. I'd recommend a newish Win 7 laptop to just about anyone.

As a side note... I just LOVE my new Ipad. And I'm happy to say it interfaces with my Win 7 laptop quite wonderfully.

Well, there you have it! I bet you everything is clear now, isn't it?

Well, to summarize:

I think I was on the money when I said that Macs are better integrated, but more expensive and you're stuck with paying for the service at the Mac store.

As far as reliability: You really have to be a bit more computer literate with a PC. However, With Win 7 and a bit of computer savvy, a PC will be just as reliable as a Mac. Yes, you have to install an anti-virus program, but that only has to be done once. It will update itself automatically.

Keep in mind though that IF you do experience problems, it's SO MUCH EASIER to find someone to help you with a PC than a Mac. With a Mac, you have to go to the service center, wait for a few days for your mac to come back and pay a premium for it.

Interface is subjective. I hate it, personally. It's not intuitive to me at all, but to each his own.

Think about this too: Much easier to find free apps for the PC. You have to pay for every app on the Mac.

And another thing, PC is the only way to go if you want to do something out of the ordinary, as in try to make it do the things it wasn't designed to do. You're locked in with a Mac.

Hope this helps.

With 600 bucks you can buy a very reliable laptop with a 17" screen, HDMI out, usb, extended desktop and 300-500 GB of storage.

Or: with the same money you can buy 1/2 of a 15" Apple device.

The masses in America have on average 60 days of expenses in the bank. Meaning if they lost their job in 30 days they can't pay their bills. If you use the assertion that the Mac is much more expensive, lets call it a H2 and the PC a Camry.

They are not an affordable purchase for the average earner with a very usable platform at 1/2 the cost. That is why they sell more Camry than H2. Apple is not worth what they charge. I don't know a single person who cannot succeed in life, school or business without an Apple.