Windows or Mac?

Wibbs · 26-03-2010 11:49AM

Helix wrote: »

if you know anything about computers get a pc

macs are for people who cant use pcs without breaking them

Actually that sums up the difference in mindset in a way. Nothing agin Helix BTW. But like with cars most people neither know nor care whats under the bonnet. Hey I like cars and tinkering, but there are cars I wouldnt recommend to someone who didnt like to tinker. I mean why should using a tool mean you break it?

IMHO for the vast majority of people, the PC is a tool. End of. A glorified typewriter with a sound system, a games room and a million TV stations and books attached. Like a car is a conveyance from a to b in comfort and safety. Pick the one that suits you. Luckily we have a choice. If apple was the only choice I wouldnt be happy. Indeed they probably wouldnt be as innovative anyway. Ditto with Linux and MS.

For those who get off on the technology itself, cool buy the one that floats your boat, but it doesnt make it the best solution. I would sell my liver for a vintage ferrari 250 california, but the fact is a new mid range hatchback will do the job with much less hassle and may even be faster. Horses for courses, though I will say the flat panel iMacs are teh sexy.

sink · 26-03-2010 11:55AM

Windows; for I play games.

mickoneill30 · 26-03-2010 11:57AM

Oafley Jones wrote: »

There's nothing I hate more than people who use Windoze or M$, its completely juvenile and used by the worst posters on Macrumors etc.

+1. At least it's pretty much died out from forums like Boards. It was all the rage a few years ago. Instant press of the ignore button for me whenever any muppet posts about linsux or windoze (I don't think the Mac has an equivalent "funny" name) etc.

There's a lot of uninformed opinion on this thread. No point getting into a holy war.

Stephentlig wrote: »

I'm not that good at computers to be honest, but my wife has a mac and I have windows vista, I find the macs very troublesome, and diffilcult to use, which one do you think is best and why?

For the question above I'd say to the OP do you have any friends that can help you out? Do they have a Mac or Windows machine? Get what they have.

Voodu Child · 26-03-2010 12:04PM

I spend most of my computing time in a web-browser, word processor, photo-editor, audio apps etc.

I don't care about the OS, I just want it to start up my applications and then get the hell out of the way. I could happily use Windows, OSX, or any number of Linux distros and I have done. But I choose to use Windows. And I get to choose whatever hardware I want, instead of being forcefed some overpriced piece of junk.

Elessar · 26-03-2010 12:11PM

Mac definitely. First used them 6 years ago in college, then bought myself an iBook G4 and never looked back. Had a Macbook Pro for 3 and a half years without problems.

Sold it last month in anticipation of the new CoreiX models arriving. I'm still waiting. Using a noisy, hot and frustrating windows 7 box. Windows 7 is a leap ahead of vista but IMO it cannot compete with the sheer simplicity and ingenuity of OSX.

It has been announced that Steam is coming to OSX next month! Including all of Valve's Source engine games. Since I only ever really used this PC for steam gaming, it looks like once I get the new MBP I'll rarely ever use it again. Xbox 360 for everything else

Hurry up Apple.

26-03-2010 12:18PM

Wibbs wrote: »

Well technically if you look at compatibilty Macs "win" there as you can run all the oses on the same machine. Its a personal thing too. I find Win 7 dog slow out of the box and knowing windows itll get slower and slower and slower over time(WTF is that about?). Agreed, though they do aim at a different market.

Yea they defo need a thin, light and cheap mac in the lineup. The air is an overpriced, over delicate POS. I suspect they'll not go that route though. They'll look to the iPad to hit that market. The current one is a testing the waters thing I reckon. Actually I think the air was too. Just to see how many would buy a PC without all the usual bits, like CD drive etc.

Well yes you can run windows in a vm if you want but when I was buying a new machine I sat back and did look at the options. I am not anti-mac as I said I was looking at the air and seriously looking at the macbook pro 13' and tbh if I was going to the US or knew someone going I would probably have got one.

But at the Irish prices and the fact that I would probably end up on windows in a vm or booting into windows an awful lot of the time I couldn't justify spending 100's of euro more for an admittedly beautiful looking machine.

If I was getting one for free I'd take a mac as a friend of mine did who got a fully loaded macbook pro from work and he had been fairly anti mac before always choosing IBM thinkpads for work and he loves it. But he is on windows 7 half the time but as it didn't cost him he is not bothered.

anniehoo · 26-03-2010 12:27PM

starbelgrade wrote: »

Can you still get 2000?

Yup..workin off it now

recylingbin · 26-03-2010 12:28PM

mac for a bird, pc for a bloke, netbook for the gheyz.

pc with linux for the win!

sink · 26-03-2010 12:34PM

Elessar wrote: »

It has been announced that Steam is coming to OSX next month! Including all of Valve's Source engine games. Since I only ever really used this PC for steam gaming, it looks like once I get the new MBP I'll rarely ever use it again. Xbox 360 for everything else

Hurry up Apple.

Unless Apple allows people to upgrade to the latest graphics cards, even with more games it will still lag behind. I'm waiting for the day Max OS X is platform free so I can install it on a machine that I build and maintain myself.

Elessar · 26-03-2010 12:41PM

sink wrote: »

Unless Apple allows people to upgrade to the latest graphics cards, even with more games it will still lag behind. I'm waiting for the day Max OS X is platform free so I can install it on a machine that I build and maintain myself.

Officially, never gonna happen. Unofficially, you can already do it

The Mad Hatter · 26-03-2010 12:45PM

For years I thought I hated computers. Turned out I hated PCs. On a mac, been using it for almost a year. Won't be going back.

Sink: the whole point of OS X is that it's locked to the hardware. That's Windows' problem - when you're trying to be compatible with billions of different combinations of hardware, you're bound to be crash-prone. New macs are very high-spec, though - designed to last for years. (I admit I'm not a hardcore gamer, and imagine PCs will still be the way for hardcore gamers, but I think probably the vast majority of gamers will be happy with a good system rather than the best one.)

26-03-2010 12:57PM

Agree with post above.. It's the reason things like bluetooth etc work so well on Macs straight out of the box. I wouldn't even bother trying to link my phone to a Dell. It took all of 2 mins to start surfing the net on my mac using my phone's 3g.

And someone said overpriced crap hardware.. Yea it's overpriced but it's far from crap.

The Mad Hatter · 26-03-2010 01:06PM

Deleted User wrote: »

And someone said overpriced crap hardware.. Yea it's overpriced but it's far from crap.

Actually, there's been a few tests done comparing them. The general consensus is that the cost of Mac hardware is about equivalent to Dell or HP, and far cheaper than Sony. It's just they don't come in second-rate. (I'm excepting the cost of cables and things, which is far too high.)

Also a variety of studies say that the long-term cost of owning a Mac is much lower.

snollup · 26-03-2010 01:19PM

Elessar wrote: »

Officially, never gonna happen. Unofficially, you can already do it

Really! How?

ScumLord · 26-03-2010 01:20PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Agree with post above.. It's the reason things like bluetooth etc work so well on Macs straight out of the box. I wouldn't even bother trying to link my phone to a Dell. It took all of 2 mins to start surfing the net on my mac using my phone's 3g.

And someone said overpriced crap hardware.. Yea it's overpriced but it's far from crap.

Win 7 improves all this, I plugged in a Bluetooth adapter at home, picked up straight away, found my phone right after that then the pc went off and found the software. My phone was connected up within 10 minutes and all I did was plug in the bluetooth dongle.

recylingbin · 26-03-2010 01:27PM

I've never had a problem with the bluetooth on any machine I've owned. You cannot use Dell as the yardstick.

ScumLord · 26-03-2010 01:40PM

recylingbin wrote: »

I've never had a problem with the bluetooth on any machine I've owned. You cannot use Dell as the yardstick.

Dell have really gone downhill of late. They used to be great PCs but the consumer market ruined them. When they mostly sold to businesses they where great. I'd never buy a Dell again, overpriced rubbish these days.

Voodu Child · 26-03-2010 01:44PM

The Mad Hatter wrote: »

Actually, there's been a few tests done comparing them. The general consensus is that the cost of Mac hardware is about equivalent to Dell or HP, and far cheaper than Sony. It's just they don't come in second-rate. (I'm excepting the cost of cables and things, which is far too high.)

Who did these tests? An Apple employee?

Okay, here's a test then - im in the market for a laptop, and i'd like a 15" screen (because my old eyes find 13" too uncomfortable). Can you tell me what kind of 15" Macbooks are available, and whats the base price?

My budget is €800 by the way. You tell me what kind of 15" Macbook (new) I can buy for that price, and then I'll have a look and see what kind of Sony I can get. Thanks.

26-03-2010 01:51PM

God I really do hate 90% of the people on boards. Arguing shlte points over anything and nothing.

Earthhorse · 26-03-2010 02:20PM

Dismissing Macs as just about the look is missing the point.

To be honest, there is not a whole hell of a lot to choose between these OSes. As another user pointed out it's really about what applications you want to run. Chances are there is an equivalent of any software you can think of on any of the other OSes, but if you have one you really like or need to use then it's a good reason to stick with the OS it's on.

It'll be interesting to see how Steam fairs on the Mac. It could be the beginning of the end of the PC's stranglehold on that section of the market.

ScumLord · 26-03-2010 02:59PM

Earthhorse wrote: »

It'll be interesting to see how Steam fairs on the Mac. It could be the beginning of the end of the PC's stranglehold on that section of the market.

Steam is a con job it'll probably excel on macs.

Earthhorse · 26-03-2010 03:06PM

ScumLord wrote: »

Steam is a con job it'll probably excel on macs.

How is Steam a con job?

ScumLord · 26-03-2010 03:09PM

Earthhorse wrote: »

How is Steam a con job?

It's usually more expensive than buying the game in the shop. That and I still can't play a game I bought legitimately because their customer service is next to non existent.

Earthhorse · 26-03-2010 03:14PM

ScumLord wrote: »

It's usually more expensive than buying the game in the shop. That and I still can't play a game I bought legitimately because their customer service is next to non existent.

For a lot of the games there will be no equivalent in the shop for the Mac. Sorry to hear you've had a bad experience. I only know one person who games a lot and he's never had any problems with it.

GLaDOS · 26-03-2010 03:25PM

barochoc wrote: »

You'll have more viruses & trojans than you can possibly imagine after your first week with Windoze unless you purchase about 3-4 different programs that will strangle your performance & lead to you pulling your hair out. You'll then be bald

AVG and Spybot,both of which are free to download, clean as a whistle

OctavarIan · 26-03-2010 04:03PM

Mac because it renders fonts properly.

Sad Professor · 26-03-2010 04:26PM

If you compare like with like, Apple notebooks aren't that expensive. The problem is Mac haters tend to compare a Macbook Pro for a €1000+ to some piece of plastic s**t by Dell for €500.

There are legitimate reasons for disliking Macs (games, price, not having a piece of software you need, etc), but there are also a whole bunch of stupid reasons, such as them being fashion accessories. Anyone who says this is just revealing their own ignorance of Macs. Plus, there's something very ironic about Windows users accusing Mac users of being sheep. Glass houses, anyone?

Anyway this debate is pointless. It's like the Xbox vs playstation debate, both sides have already made up their minds. However, at least Mac users have experience of Windows (most of them switched from it), but the vast majority of Mac haters haven't a clue what they are talking about.

Oh I love this parody of Microsoft's "laptop hunters" advertisements:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbJSuduTrPs

ScumLord · 26-03-2010 05:24PM

ScienceNerd wrote: »

AVG and Spybot,both of which are free to download, clean as a whistle

Or Microsoft security essentials does the lot for free without constant and annoying adds. Microsoft have come allot in my estimation since the release of Windows 7 and good software like MSE.

Red Alert · 26-03-2010 05:25PM

Mac, definitely.

humanji · 26-03-2010 05:42PM

I have a mac and PC sitting beside each other at home. I see them as each having a unique personality. My PC is lazy teenager called Bill who rarely does what I want when I'm working, but once he gets motivated we have a great time together.

My mac is a pretentious interior decorator call Steve (but he likes to be called Stefan). He loves to show off and can do some really cool things. The problem is that he doesn't like me and thinks that I'm an idiot, so even though he claims to be trying to make my life easier, he's just making things overly complicated and never really let's me do what I want.

But in the end I have to recommend PC's as I just find them easier to download porn with.

Windows or Mac?

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