Thread: PC vs Mac

Well I find for people who aren't IT workers macs are generally a revelation for them. All of a sudden - they can do stuff on their computer. Also, from a family support network perspective they are a godsend... I've converted my family and I've basically gotten rid of my support obligations.

I'm told windows 7 is a huge step up for MS, but still this is only a recent thing. Also, if you want the full house version that matches the OS X functionality it's pretty pricey. I think my upgrade was only $30.

Apple phone support is also **really** excellent. Their extended warranty is pricey on the laptops but not too bad on the desktops - and is well worth it to get three years of phone support.

Machines starting up faster, while it could be argued, is inevitable. Many software vendors install some sort of start-up software which periodically checks for updates or waits in the background till use. Many do it unnecessarily (why does itunes need a background service to check for updates??). You can control what's running at start-up but that obviously detracts from the usability.

Every PC that has been in family eventually turns into a 5 minute coffee grinder, furiously processing something for that time between pressing the power button and actually getting to do something. Gets old fast. I have no idea why. I don't want to know why. I want to use the thing not give it dynamic psychotherapy.

Keyboard shortcuts are handled by the software. Its bizarre that a software vendor will use two sets of keyboard shortcuts for the same software on different platforms but if you say so.

They do have different setups. I won't bore you with minutiae but I know what I prefer. Even the OS keyboard shortcuts are better for me in Mac land.

You can buy a box from the likes of Dell that will fire up and run straight out of the box, and as mentioned before I don’t know what you’re doing to make the PC fall over and implode?? We run servers and workstations that get rebooted 4 times a year for patching and software updates, otherwise they stay on the whole time.

My mother had two Dells and they both went the same way. The first was running XP and turned into a coffee grinder. The second was a Vista machine that she wished she never bought. I tried to convince her to get a Mac because of the last Dell/XP coffee grinder but she feared change. That thing managed to completely stuff itself and lose a fair bit of data with non-hardware related failures. She had a number of phone support sessions with Dell where someone got into the machine via telnet and did things but after the 3rd implosion she bought a Mac. Never been happier because now she can just turn it on and work. Her latest Dell box is here with Linux on it. Unless she has a hardcore net porn addiction she's concealing, as far as I know all she ever did was read emails, tinker with quilt software and Photoshop and surf quilt and dog websites.

The OS having to contend with thousands of hardware types means the cost is kept low. Again buying from the likes of Dell means you have a system that’s been validated on the OS you want to run and with the volume associated with dell means it will be supported for a fair while.

True, in theory, but not in our experience. In the end, no better than any other PC I think. You still need to be tech savvy or lucky or insulated to stop them grinding to a halt or crashing into the mountain.

Originally Posted by discomuzz

You may be correct. But, how many hours of fuffing about do you need to get this stability?

IMHO, you get this straight out of the box with Macs. No patches. No search for matched components. And the OS is FAR more stable than anything I have ever come across on PCs.

You can buy them online and know what the heritage of the machine is.

It's worth the extra dollars in the end.

I am sick of 'playing' with P.C.s.

I don't have to fiddle or fluff with my PC. It was stable out of the box.

Mac and Patches....

This MacBook Pro I got needed over 1gb of patches when I plugged it in...
Then I upgraded to 10.6.* and it need all those patches again?

Thats 2gb of downloaded patches...

Our Windows PC's have their patches managed by a sever at home so patches are only downloaded once.

I didn't start this thread with intension of saying either system is better. But it looks to have degenerated to that.

I actually like both systems.

Originally Posted by mowog

I didn't start this thread with intension of saying either system is better. But it looks to have degenerated to that.

I actually like both systems.

Its just healthy debate (and nothings easier to stir up then a Mac user)

I have no problem with Mac's either, just the superiority complex that comes with them.

At the end of the day its all good for the consumer because its making MS and Apple improve their products in a big way.

I think a lot of it comes down to the user.

I have a friend who has been breaking Macs on a weekly or monthly basis for the last ten years. I think he has the Mac equivalent of Ron's ability to buy faulty goods.

So much so that his wife bought a PC so he wouldn't mess with it.

Guess which one performs without a problem.

Originally Posted by abaddonxi

I think a lot of it comes down to the user.

I have a friend who has been breaking Macs on a weekly or monthly basis for the last ten years. I think he has the Mac equivalent of Ron's ability to buy faulty goods.

So much so that his wife bought a PC so he wouldn't mess with it.

Guess which one performs without a problem.

Ahhhh yes................

Now you are on to Computer Personalities and you've mentioned what I call The Hardcore Fiddler.

The fiddler is best characterised as one who can not leave anything alone and is on a constant quest to improve their gear with software/hardware and yep, even firmware fiddles and upgrades.

They also have a stack of free software from PC User mag and similar and absolutely HAVE to apply any New OS, upgrade or service pack as soon as it is released.

The fiddler in me wanted to add another monitor to the PC. I have 2 already. So the goal was monitor number 3 (now maybe 4)

My boys are techno junkie updaters. So In their reject pile was a Nvida 9600gtx PCI_Express card.

How simple was this... Open side install the card start the PC. And waited for Win 7 64 bit to short its self out. In about a minute it was sorted and settled.

2 cards with 2 different GPU's both happy together.

Originally Posted by mowog

The fiddler in me wanted to add another monitor to the PC. I have 2 already. So the goal was monitor number 3 (now maybe 4)

My boys are techno junkie updaters. So In their reject pile was a Nvida 9600gtx PCI_Express card.

How simple was this... Open side install the card start the PC. And waited for Win 7 64 bit to short its self out. In about a minute it was sorted and settled.

2 cards with 2 different GPU's both happy together.

*GROAN!*

Maybe im a Luddite?