just a few questions

triple h

i was here before asking questions and i thank ye for the help ye gave. i plan to buy a state of the art (future proof) pc or mac next april (saving scheme money) i am reading all about pc's and mac's.
i have 4 questions.
1) are mac's really 100% safe from hackers?
2) my accountant wants to download programs (business software) for accounts. i did not ask him yet but will he give out to me if i get a mac?
3) one guy i know pleaded with me to buy a pc because he hates when he gets mac mail cause he has to go to a lot of hassle to open that mail and he says i would be putting a lot a stress on him. ---does a mac person have to go through hassle to open pc mail?
4) i want to put all my music on the computer. everyone i know has a broken ipod. where did i hear or read that apple make the best stuff and it allways works. is the ipod the only flaw and would creative work better with the mac?

i should point out that if windows do not have vista by april, it will be an easy choice, i will buy mac leopard. (or is it tiger, i forget)

limey_tank

triple h wrote:

1) are mac's really 100% safe from hackers?

No. But you're in a way better position than if using Windows.

triple h wrote:

2) my accountant wants to download programs (business software) for accounts. i did not ask him yet but will he give out to me if i get a mac?

That depends on the software. Microsoft Office works on Mac, and you can use Excel for accounting. Even better, Neo Office is free, and contains a similar program to Excel.

Oh yeah. Macs can now run Windows as well as Mac OS, so you can handle that Accountancy software.

triple h wrote:

3) one guy i know pleaded with me to buy a pc because he hates when he gets mac mail cause he has to go to a lot of hassle to open that mail and he says i would be putting a lot a stress on him. ---does a mac person have to go through hassle to open pc mail?

I've never heard such nonsense. There's no difference. I send tons of 'mac mail' to PC's and webmail and receive PC mail and read it on my mac no problem. Your friend may be confusing HTML mail with plaintext. When sending attachments, there's even a little button on the Mac Mail program which allows you to make the attachments PC compatible, but it doesn't actually seem to make a difference.

triple h wrote:

4) i want to put all my music on the computer. everyone i know has a broken ipod. where did i hear or read that apple make the best stuff and it allways works. is the ipod the only flaw and would creative work better with the mac?

Apple don't make the best stuff and it doesn't always work. As Apple is using mostly industry standard components, so it's as likely to break as any other computer. I don't know about Creative. I'm very fond of my iPod and the only time I've heard of them breaking is when they've been treated roughly.

Oriel

1) No.
2) He shouldn't.
3) Not at all.
4) iPod is not the only flaw.

K.O.Kiki

There's a good comparism of mp3/portable video players here @Extremetech -- although you have to remember that you'll have to look into finding programs for all non-iPod players for Mac use.

Oh, and

1. Safer than Windows
2. Your accountant is lazy :P
3. Bullsh!t -- I smell a Windows fanboi
4. (see above)

440Hz

triple h wrote:

4) i want to put all my music on the computer. everyone i know has a broken ipod. where did i hear or read that apple make the best stuff and it allways works. is the ipod the only flaw and would creative work better with the mac?

Ok. im not going to reply to the other stuff cos its been answered.

This is just crap. I had a huge argument with a guy in Harvey Normans on Saturday (and normally im a total doormat and never say boo but...). He was trying to sell my a creative or iriver telling me that ipods are crap and always break.

I have had 4 ipods and they all worked perfectly without any issues. The first one (mark one green and black screen is still working after 6 years).

So I dont know what your friends are doing to their ipods but NOT ALL ipods break.

ipods work best with iTunes but you can own a mac and use ANY mp3 player quite easily. It is just a matter of personal taste.

But I find ipods to be perfectly reliable and would NEVER consider buying another brand.

triple h

ok people, thanks for the help. i may have more questions in the future.

gutta

insecurea wrote:

not the only flaw.

Poor little insecurea.

440Hz

gutta wrote:

Poor little insecurea.

ouch!

Oriel

440Hz, if your first ipod is working perfectly fine, then why the hell did you buy three more?!

440Hz

sinecurea wrote:

440Hz, if your first ipod is working perfectly fine, then why the hell did you buy three more?!

Cos im obsessed with gadgets!!

Well the first one i upgraded and gave the older model to my sister. I did the same next time round with the other sister and then again with my dad!

Upgrade upgrade upgrade!

uncle_sam_ie

440Hz wrote:

Cos im obsessed with gadgets!!

Well the first one i upgraded and gave the older model to my sister. I did the same next time round with the other sister and then again with my dad!

Upgrade upgrade upgrade!

Same here. I bought a G4 iMac four years ago. Since then, I've sold it, bought a G5 iMac, a fourth Gen iPod, a fifth Gen iPod, a Shuffle and also a Macbook pro. I'm addicted or maybe just mad. Lately I've been think of selling my G5 iMac and getting Mac Pro. Maybe you should go with the PC you could get hooked too.

TerrorFirmer

I think iPods are nice, but personally, I've had 2 break, and a friend of mine, the only other person I know to own an iPod, had his break after about 16 months as well.

I'm sure such cases are in the vast minority but I have been somewhat put off iPods now...:(

Funny though about the "Mac mail is harder to open" - I'd love to hear him elaborate further on the specifics of this.

Gordon

My ipod is 2 years old and it's grand, not a single problem bar overheating sometimes, but that's apparently fixable by software upgrades which I can never be bothered downloading.

440Hz

uncle_sam_ie wrote:

Same here. I bought a G4 iMac four years ago. Since then, I've sold it, bought a G5 iMac, a fourth Gen iPod, a fifth Gen iPod, a Shuffle and also a Macbook pro. I'm addicted or maybe just mad. Lately I've been think of selling my G5 iMac and getting Mac Pro. Maybe you should go with the PC you could get hooked too.

Hehe!! Im the same! 5 Macs in my house at the moment and that is after selling two of them :P AND I have 'forced' at least 8 friends in the past 6 months to come to the bright side!

addicted aint the word. I think I need help.

[anyone from Apple reading this, yes, Id like a job]

K.O.Kiki

How can it be addiction when it's so good for you?