Apple computers

#5
#5
Co-worker got a iMac, it kicks the crap out of my dell. Next computer I buy would be an Apple.
 
#6
#6
On the positive side:

the iLife software is great and it all works together seemlessly.

the interface is nice. some very cool features in the OS and it's robust.

very stable against viruses -- never had one yet.

works well with Windows based machines

can even be used as a Windows machine - you can dual boot either OS if you have some apps that require Windows.

works well with external devices - most are true plug and play (e.g. camera's etc.) no need for driver downloads etc.

Great design


Downside:

pricey

have to relearn an OS - basically Windows copied Mac so there are lots of similarities but still must relearn some stuff

less software available
 
#7
#7
It's like using Unix versus Windows....

There's some great stuff out there, but overall, unless you have lots of time to re-learn, you'll far better off with a Windows machine that has tons of support/software readily available.

Nothing against Macs, but at this point in the game, there's really no huge reason to go with a mac other than personal preference. Since time is money, not only are you paying more for the machine, but you're 'paying' more with the time it'll take to learn it. I'm speaking about most people taking the initial plunge into owning a mac, not current mac owners already familiar with the system.
 
#8
#8
It's really actually pretty simple to learn. The basic premise is the same as windows, just looks funnier. The next computer I get will be a Mac IF I can afford it.
 
#10
#10
they can, but there are much more people writing viruses for Windows because that is what most people have, so they don't waste their time writing for Macs...not worth it I guess.

They can get them, just not many out there for them to get. Yet
 
#11
#11
The next one I get I think is going to be a mac, as far as video editing they are much more powerful, and they look quite nice :)
 
#12
#12
RockyTopEmpire said:
The next one I get I think is going to be a mac, as far as video editing they are much more powerful, and they look quite nice :)
Click to expand...

They run on the same hardware now. Any overhead given up to the OS can be made up for with the cost savings between the systems in most cases.
 
#14
#14
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not against MACs in the right situation. Nor am I saying they aren't good computers. I just think in many cases, it's easier, cheaper, and more convienent to use a Windows machine.

But, I don't suppose there will ever be a change if people don't branch out. Apple just need to lower their prices across the board in my opinion, but it's not my company.

When I finally saw the new Air notebook that's coming, I was pretty freaking impressed. Granted, it's limited in ports/etc. but the thing is tiny. Thinner than most cellphones on the market. It's quite amazing to hold in your hands and see how thin and light it is.
 
#15
#15
DrRosenRosen said:
I just think in many cases, it's easier, cheaper, and more convienent to use a Windows machine.
Click to expand...

except that you have to reformat the hard drive once a month to get all the virus and spyware bullcrap off of it, so that it will function.
 
#16
#16
Fine Vol said:
I hear apple can not get an internet virus and no pop up.
Click to expand...
Not true. People with Macs can, and sometimes do get viruses.

DrRosenRosen said:
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not against MACs in the right situation. Nor am I saying they aren't good computers. I just think in many cases, it's easier, cheaper, and more convienent to use a Windows machine.

But, I don't suppose there will ever be a change if people don't branch out. Apple just need to lower their prices across the board in my opinion, but it's not my company.

When I finally saw the new Air notebook that's coming, I was pretty freaking impressed. Granted, it's limited in ports/etc. but the thing is tiny. Thinner than most cellphones on the market. It's quite amazing to hold in your hands and see how thin and light it is.
Click to expand...
First let me say that I would take a Mac any day of the week over a Dell. Now if it's either a Toshiba, or building my own computer, then it may be a different story.

That said, it completely depends on what you're doing with your computer. Ask yourself these questions:

  • Do I need a robust office suite?
  • How much photo/video editing will I be doing?
  • Media management?
  • Internet usage?
If your computer will TRULY be a "personal" computer, i.e. almost strictly for media management and internet usage, then you'd likely find great value in a Mac. IMO their OS is inarguably a better performer than Windows.

Problem is, for things like actual productivity and especially business usage, Windows still runs the game.

And don't let cost play a role. You need to spend as much as will get you the right computer for you.
 
#17
#17
milohimself said:
And don't let cost play a role. You need to spend as much as will get you the right computer for you.
Click to expand...

And for most people, that would be a budget Dell when you get down to it.

Even video editing/etc nowdays are moving from exclusively Apple systems. Gone are the days all the video professionals are banging away on macs while the rest of the world uses PCs. Pixar, etc. all have huge server farms pumping out this stuff on all kinds of hardware.

Round and round this dicussion can go. I've been closing to picking up a mac, but haven't yet. Moving to Intel chips will help them and I'm all for competition in the market place. Usually makes all the products better.
 
#18
#18
I switched to a Mac last year. Short version: I doubt I'll ever buy a computer with Windows on it again.

My main reason for switching was because of how shoddy most of the industry's laptops had become. I worked for 10 years in corporate IT support, and it was amazing how crappy just about all the major brands had become in their rush to the bottom, price-wise. Yeah, they were cheap, but you get what you pay for. Apple seemed to be about the only company making high-quality laptops. Other than the Thinkpads, perhaps, but IBM was in the midst of selling that business off so I wasn't sure what to expect there. So I bought a Macbook Pro. (You can see it over there in my avatar, actually.)

It's almost a no-risk proposition to switch these days; with Boot Camp and Parallels, you can run Windows if you need it for something. (At first, I ran Windows through Parallels all the time, but now I don't think I've fired it up in six months.) But the old adage that "there's no software for Macs" just isn't true anymore. You can do just about anything that you need to under OS X nowadays. And as I said, you can always use Parallels if you have to.

The OS is vastly better than Windows, both in performance and as a user experience. I didn't LOVE using it immediately; as a guy who'd spent 10 years supporting Windows computers, it was disconcerting to not know immediately how to do everything. There's a learning curve. But it's kind of like when Windows 95 came out -- you didn't really realize how much better the interface was until you went back and had to use a Win 3.1 machine again. Using a Windows machine just seems cludgy and inefficient to me now.

It's by no means a life-changing experience; I wouldn't recommend anybody scrapping a perfectly good PC that they're happy with to get a Mac. But if you need a new computer anyway, I'd recommend you at least consider Apple unless you're one of two things: 1) a hardcore gamer type, or 2) somebody who has to depend on shared business software like Access databases. Office for the Mac is probably 99% compatible with the Windows version, so if you do anything highly specialized, you might run into that 1%. Probably not worth it if that's something you need to use every day.

Whatever you do, don't get a Dell. They've gone in about six years from being the best-made PCs in the industry to being the worst.
 
#19
#19
I build my own computers and unless it's a laptop, I'll never buy a corporate made machine again.

There are ways to build your own Mac, but they are cost prohibitive. I recently built a system with the following specs:

AMD X2 4000 socket AM2 dual core 2ghz/core
MSI AM2 motherboard
2 gigs Mushkin DDR2-800
250gb Seagate HDD
X1950Pro Video card
Antec Case/w PSU
WinXP Home OEM

for less than $500. That's impossible to do with a Mac.

btw, I don't get viruses or malware either because I use AV and malware removal programs, plus I'm behind a firewall.
 
#20
#20
Well yeah building your own desktop its the way to go, very easy even if you have little IT know hows.


I just keep leaning towards getting a mac laptop this summer...secretly hoping my dell laptop will kick it so I feel better about it :)
 
#21
#21
MG1968 said:
AMD X2 4000 socket AM2 dual core 2ghz/core
MSI AM2 motherboard
2 gigs Mushkin DDR2-800
250gb Seagate HDD
X1950Pro Video card
Antec Case/w PSU
WinXP Home OEM

for less than $500. That's impossible to do with a Mac.
Click to expand...

Who's your hardware source? I can't believe that all of that is less than $500. Even assuming that you're not paying for your XP license, that's fantastic.
 
#22
#22
newegg for cpu ($60), motherboard ($83), memory ($46) and hard drive ($60)

ebay for video card ($86) and xp home ($80)

compusa for the case/psu ($72)

$487 before shipping and sales tax
 
#23
#23
Nice shopping, especially on the video card. Prices have gone way down since the last time I built a machine. Kind of sucks that a case still costs so much, though.
 
#24
#24
I have a dell laptop right now, that being said I will prob buy a macbook for my next computer. I haven't had many problems with Dells, except for some viruses and the damn keys pop off all the time (I have no idea why that is). Rosen brings up a good point though that the learning curve would take quite awhile on a mac if you've been a windows user all your life like I have.
 
#25
#25
Just a couple comments from my own experience. I started on IBM PC's with no hard drives. Bought the first version of the Mac with 1mb of memory (still no hard drive). A few Macs later then switched to windows then both for a while (including now).

1. The learning curve is really not much at all. You can do it without a manual or buy "The Missing Manual" and you're set. Remember, Windows is a copy of the Mac OS. Things work pretty much the same -- you can figure it out pretty quickly.

2. Office/business productivity is a non-issue. Office for Mac is very slick. Likewise there are some great Mac office programs that are highly compatible with windows.

3. Equipment quality and customer service has been consistently good in my experience. I've had 7 Macs (5 desktop and 2 laptop) throughout the years (since 1986) and never had a hardware problem.

4. The seamless integration of many Mac programs is pretty amazing.

5. I've never felt the need to know the behind the scenes workings (all those crazy Windows file extensions etc.) of my Mac OS. It just works and rarely crashes, runs slow etc.

6. It's not an earth shattering switch but many that switch find themselves thinking this is what my computer should work like.

I can see good arguments for either approach. I do think Apple has done a good job of removing many of the obstacles (other than price) to switching.
 
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