Mac or PC (Personal Question)
Could people who have OWNED a PC AND a MAC in the LAST 3 YEARS, please post three pluses and three minues about MACs and PCs? I'm doing a survey for a website of mine, and everyone who posts a good reply will get their username mentioned. I'll post the link on this thread this Wednesday.
So you know what I'm looking for, here's mine:
PCs
Good (1)Lots of Games 100,000+ (2) Many online applications (3) 128MB graphics cards out
Bad (1) DVD creating isn't easy (2) $$$ crashes often (3) sercurity problems (eg. Windows XP)
MACs
Good (1) Excellent for designers. (2) Great interface look. (3) OS X Level 3 cache NEVER crashes.
Bad (1) Not enought applications (2) Poor support. (3) 1/4 printers on the market support Macs.
Thanks to all in advance for your replies!
So you know what I'm looking for, here's mine:
PCs
Good (1)Lots of Games 100,000+ (2) Many online applications (3) 128MB graphics cards out
Bad (1) DVD creating isn't easy (2) $$$ crashes often (3) sercurity problems (eg. Windows XP)
MACs
Good (1) Excellent for designers. (2) Great interface look. (3) OS X Level 3 cache NEVER crashes.
Bad (1) Not enought applications (2) Poor support. (3) 1/4 printers on the market support Macs.
Thanks to all in advance for your replies!
Comments
PC--bad: design, OS, device conflicts
Mac--good: design, OS, no conflicts of any kind
Mac--bad: price/performance, software availability, difficult/limited upgrades and custom configs
Does that sound complimentary or what??? <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />
ZoSo
<strong>
Bad (1) Not enought applications </strong><hr></blockquote>
Not enough applications? What applications would you need that aren't availible for Macs?
<strong>
Bad (1) Not enought applications (2) Poor support. (3) 1/4 printers on the market support Macs.
Thanks to all in advance for your replies!</strong><hr></blockquote>
Let's see nearly every Epson, HP, Lezmark and Canon is mac supported and you say only a quarter are. what is the other 75 percent?
<strong>
PCs
Good (1)Lots of Games 100,000+ (2) Many online applications (3) 128MB graphics cards out
Bad (1) DVD creating isn't easy (2) $$$ crashes often (3) sercurity problems (eg. Windows XP)
MACs
Good (1) Excellent for designers. (2) Great interface look. (3) OS X Level 3 cache NEVER crashes.
Bad (1) Not enought applications (2) Poor support. (3) 1/4 printers on the market support Macs.
Thanks to all in advance for your replies!</strong><hr></blockquote>
i'm gonna have to not agree with your 'crashes often' argument for the pc. win2k/xp is on par with os x. win95/98 is on par with mac os 9 as far as crashing.
the sad thing is that all of your good points for using a mac are not exclusive to mac. they can all be said about the pc, but the reverse is not true.
[ 06-16-2002: Message edited by: Inhale420 ]</p>
Good ~
1. Large Windows user base. Inexperienced users can get support from just about anyone.
2. Tweakers/Hackers/Enthusiasts can custom-build a system, spending as much or little money as they wish.
3. Loads of games & more applications available for windows.
Bad ~
1. Windows applications generally crashy. Windows often slow and crashy also--by no means a "rock-solid" operating system.
2. Loads of hardware vendors manufacturing different hardware leads to incompatibilities and occasionally unsupported hardware.
3. Very little innovation in the Windows world. Windows generally waits for good ideas and than borrows them rather than developing them on their own. Overtime, these monopolistic practices may bring innovation to a hault.
MAC:
Good ~
1. OS X provides extreme stability and grand flexibility due to its UNIX base.
2. Apple's consistancy and interopobility between hardware and software lead to virtually no hassles with hardware/software compatibility and functionality.
3. Great deal of innovation, both with software and general design.
Bad ~
1. Inexperienced users may have diffuculty finding free support from friends, because most of them are probably using PCs.
2. Apple hardware is expensive.
3. Fewer gaming titles available. Probably not a gamer's platform of choice.
GOOD:
1. ubiquity makes learning and finding help easier
2. greater volume of software and hardware available
3. on the cheap
BAD:
1. when things go wrong they really go wrong
2. programs and interface more complicated
3. relatively insecure
(4. generally ugly as sin)
Mac:
GOOD:
1. close-knit community for support
2. applications and interface easier to learn
3. fixing problems is easier
(4. look fine in the living room)
BAD:
1. expensive
2. lack of help from the neighbors
3. software compatibility with Windows a constant battle
Just because MS is the dominant business system doesnt mean you cant use a Mac for the same purposes..... likewise why can't you use a PC for design again? Please people, deal in facts.
I like my new Mac because its has a relaxing, stress-free operating environment where I can manage a lot of digital media effectively and easily. I have been using PCs for many years, its not that I don't understand Windoze inside and out, its that theres no point in dealing with it when theres a better system available running OS X.
Pres
Good:
1.)Friends don't pick on me
2.)Games
3.)Net is sometimes faster
Bad:
1.)Hackers/Viruses
2.)Crashes often
3.)Interface
Mac:
Good:
1.)OSX/UNIX
2.)Hardware exteriors
3.)Community
Bad:
1.)Price
2.)Kernel Panics
3.)Less software
It was a hard decision to make.
Comparison with WinME and OSX
[ 06-17-2002: Message edited by: CubeDude ]</p>
Those of you who are calling Windows XP/2000 buggy, crashy, and slow are definitely smoking something! No need to lie - you can still hate Microsoft. Windows XP is just as stable as OS X and Windows 9X was just as unstable as Mac OS 9, etc. Windows XP is FAST and internet browsing is SO much more enjoyable on a PC. There is also the advanced hardware available that can handle the OS for an affordable price. If you have a dinosaur for a computer, don't piss and moan about an OS being slow. WinXP screams on most of today's budget PCs.
In terms of style, there ARE many very stylish PCs out there - so you can knock that one off the list. The difference is, PCs are made by many companies - so it's all relative. Also, not everything Apple designs is the best style going. Apple also has HORRIBLE support and warranties and their build quality is not on par with their price tags. I find it alarming when a company has little faith in their products, but expects you to pay a premium for them.
<strong>I am laughing hysterically at the biased and downright inaccurate 'Cons' pointed at the PC versus the Mac!... (edited to shorten) ...their products, but expects you to pay a premium for them.</strong><hr></blockquote>
What are you expecting...? Someone comes to an Apple-based internet forum, asks users that are primarily Mac users to share their "Personal" opinion of the pro's & con's based on THEIR experience(s) with both platforms... Do you think any of the answers are dishonest...? No..! That really IS their perception or opinion.
It's not as if any of us need to "justify" our Mac usage... I can buy any computer I want, but I CHOOSE to own Macs after using all sorts of OSes over the years... I've used Amiga, Win 3.x, 95, 98, NT (many versions), 2000 and I am composing this reply on my IBM ThinkPad running WinMe.
I still prefer the Mac OS and Mac hardware. Period. If I TRULY felt that a WinPC was better... why would I own 4 Macs, frequent Mac sites and engage in Mac forums...? I own no Apple stock... if I thought a WinTel PC was better, I'd OWN them instead of Macs... due to anonymity, I could just LIE and say I OWN all PCs... but no.
I (as most here do) feel that what Apple has to offer in hardware and in it's operating system(s) is preferred over Wintel PC Hardware and/or Microsoft Operating systems of most (all?) flavors.
So Why are you surprised to see a bias...? we wouldn't BE Mac users if we didn't prefer them... right?
P.S. - I own this PC Laptop for testing purposes (before I got VPC).
<strong>NO, WinXP generally does NOT crash or have programs that crash.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Yup. Sad but true. Constantly at the labs here, everything from dells to gateways, XP (and IE on XP in particular) is horrendously unstable. Three or four times a week, and these machines are nothing but MS Office computers.
[quote]<strong>XP is NOT generally harder to use or to learn.</strong><hr></blockquote>
LOL!!! Oh my dear God! That you can say that with a straight face is laughable!
Here we go (a cut and paste from my post on macnn):
1. Peripheral support and integration: The Mac has always had (and continues to have) a solid advantage when it comes to peripherals of almost any kind... internal or external. The MacOS was designed from the ground up to seamlessly integrate additional components with the OS in a manner which does not require Hardware installation Wizards and, when those fail as they seem to do about 25% of the time (yes, even on XP), manual installation, troubleshooting and editing of device drivers, memory locations, etc. The integration simply is not there, whether you wish to believe it is or not.
2. Ease of use philosophy: The macintosh philosophy has always been to design the computer in such a way that the interface is easy to understand and use. The Mac interface encourages experimentation, allowing the placement and arbitrary reorganization of files and applications anywhere on the hard disk without any negative impact on the ability to run those applications or access those files. The Mac has always tried to give users the confidence to understand how to use the interface (whether Apple has always been successful is another discussion). Microsoft, on the other hand, does not seem to have a solid grasp on how to accomplish this task. The Windows interface reflects this, with the standard XP being an extreme example of this approach, with wizards for everything from moving a folder to emailing a picture. Windows seems to have been designed with expert users and programmers in mind, with endless add-ons to attempt to help users do tasks that they would never be able to accomplish themselves. The Mac is about making technology accessible, and allowing a user to actually USE it. The Windows approach is to keep the computer complex, but to give the user a virtual technician to guide them through the hard parts. Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a night, etc.
3. OS simplicity: This realy only applies to MacOSs prior to 10, but I absolutely love being able to simply drag a System Folder to a disk and have it boot normally. I don't think I even remember the last time I installed the classic MacOS from a CD or disk, I just drag over a backup from another disk. I love having seven different systems on my hard disk and being able to boot from any of them on a whim. I appreciate the thought that went into the organization of the system folder (even if it did get a little too complex from about 8 onward).
4. The mouse: I am sure that with enough tweaking a PC mouse pointer can be calibrated to feel like an extension of my hand, but I've yet to see it. The standard PC mouse feels twitchy and numb at the same time, while the Mac mouse actually feels like it is connected to the pointer on the screen. For precise movements, there simply is no comparison, and this is important when drawing. I also appreciate that the mouse pointer vanishes when I use any other input device. Small things, maybe, but it is the attention to detail that matters, and MS simply doesn't have it.
5. Interface paradigm: Let's see, there is nothing that annoys me more on Windows than the non-spacial finder metaphor. When I put a file somewhere, by God it had better STAY there. When I open a window, it had better be exactly the way I left it. No changes, EVER. Menu bars attached to windows results in wasted screen space as there are often three or four "file" menus visible at the same time, as well as confusion when a single application decides that it needs several windows open, each with its own duplicate menu items that often do not properly indicate their function. The interface design encourages large application windows, and the design of Windows applications seem to work best when maximized to full screen, discouraging multiple application use. I have never been comfortable using multiple applications simultaneously on Windows, because it just doesn't seem to work right. Drag and drop is inconsistent, copy and paste is inconsistent (dear God...), apps are not designed to be used in page mode (as opposed to landscape), etc.
6. OS under-the-hood design: The registry. Nothing more needs to be said about that. The concept of opening multiple instances of applications instead of multiple documents inside an application. I don't know exactly why this one bugs me so much, but it does. Maybe it's the fact that when I open six documents on the mac, there is an obvious distinction between the application tools and the data. On Windows you get the exact same tools (and menus) in multiple document windows. Once again, poor use of space. And, of course, many applications do their own thing and open child windows inside a parent window, which pretty much requires that the parent window be set to full screen in order to do any work with multiple docs. Again, discouraging simultaneous multiple application use. I dislike the assignment of every document type to a single application. On my Mac I have thousands of .jpgs, .c, .h and .cpp files, and I have four image editors and two coding environments. Each of my files open in the correct application when double-clicked regardless of the fact that they have the same extension.
7. Windows is and has always been butt ugly. There just seems to be no concept of art at MS.
In the end, it would be instructive to listen to what a great many switchers say about it. Every person that I have suggested a Mac to has absolutely raved at how much easier it is to understand than their PCs. You can believe that there is no difference if you wish, but experience has shown otherwise.
<strong>I am laughing hysterically at the biased and downright inaccurate 'Cons' pointed at the PC versus the Mac.</strong><hr></blockquote>
If you don't like the responses, then submit your own.
Crashes often? The only cause of a BSoD on my PC has been through beta ATI video drivers. XP does not crash "often". My roomate with his G3/OSX box has suffered from more kernal panics than I have had BSoD's.
XP is only as stable as the drivers you use...
<strong>
Yup. Sad but true. Constantly at the labs here, everything from dells to gateways, XP (and IE on XP in particular) is horrendously unstable. Three or four times a week, and these machines are nothing but MS Office computers.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
Yeah some truth here. I spend half of my day at a lab with 85 PCs, and everyday I watch a variety of Microsoft applications die (mostly Word & IE). The OS itself doesn't crash too often, though occasionally--fortunately we restart these things once a day.
So while all this is going on, i sit at the lone macintosh behind the desk and chuckle. Perhaps this is not common, but this G3 300 running OS 8.6 seems more stable than the P3s throughout the lab
<strong>
Not enough applications? What applications would you need that aren't availible for Macs?</strong><hr></blockquote>
Every single piece of software where I work (big ten university library).
And for the job I'm considering moving to, commercial video editing, that company has to use PCs for the discreet products (edit, flame, etc.)
This is the ultimate compliment to Apple and why I plan on buying a new computer after MWNY.
And I quote
"Mac OS X is "the greatest thing since they put corn in a can.""
<a href="http://www.apple.com/switch/ads/davehaxton.html"; target="_blank">http://www.apple.com/switch/ads/davehaxton.html</a>;
Please no flames, I like my Apple computers, use them at work and home, but this absolutely made me belly laugh when I read it. Only @ Apple
<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
[ 06-17-2002: Message edited by: rickag ]</p>
<strong>
Every single piece of software where I work (big ten university library).
And for the job I'm considering moving to, commercial video editing, that company has to use PCs for the discreet products (edit, flame, etc.)</strong><hr></blockquote>
i think the notion of mac having all the software you would want would be for a general user...certainly pc has specialized software not available in any form on the mac, and the opposite is also true.