Should I buy a Mac or a PC?

Other Chit-Chat
#61

Aren’t there still some things a Mac running windows can’t do? I remember looking at this issue when Vista came out and there were problems and I was thinking about it but one of the radio systems programming software from butel.nl that I use to program the scanners we use in news would run but no USB to serial converter would run on a Mac running windows, little things like that can be a deal breaker.

I stayed PC and now with Windows 7 all is good, my older retired laptop which is my desktop (asus G50v) is running Windows 7 32 bit and my mobile laptop (Asus G51 quad core) is running Windows 7 64 bit and only one bit with Arc 396xt which hangs up in 64 bit OS and won’t run but all else is perfect, from programming to video capture and rendering to running Wirecast (telestream) and Streambox for real-time live video encoding and broadcast.

I’m not against Mac’s, I am sure they are useful for something but I remember that one little bug back a few years ago had me having second thoughts so thoroughly evaluate everything you think you will possibly use that computer for and find out if everything will work because if the one program that won’t work in windows on a Mac is important then you won’t be happy.

m

#62

And since you can’t legally put Mac OS on a non-Apple computer, it’s a double win for Mac.

#63

I honestly think though it would be ideal to be fluent in both Mac and PC as they are both widely used these days and Mac’s being used in places they weren’t before. For personal use though and if you are only going to have one machine then I would really make sure everything will work on the mac or in windows on a mac. Whatever tool does the job best I say use it.

M

#64

Simple request: Can someone list a couple companies that use Mac as their standard computer?(other then Apple) The only places I’ve seen Mac’s use both about equally. I’m sure there are plenty of places that are Mac exclusive and this isn’t an argument for or against Mac. Just a curiosity of mine.

#65

You are likely to run into a media agency ( advertising, graphics, video film, etc ) house that is either an all Mac or all Windows facility.

At one time Mac had a comparative advantage for those types of customers but it doesn’t seem to be there any more.

I was talking to some professionals the supply computers for the film and video industry. For example a production house that uses Adobe Premiere Pro Production suit - They said the west coast usually uses Macs, the Atlanta and SE market, Windows. Other than that the editors have the same editing software and production workflows.

#66

And it most often runs faster on a Mac.
In fact you can run Windows, Mac & Linux all at the same time.

BTW: NI is not supporting anything above XP for this year’s FRC.

#67

Stop and think about what you’re saying. Current Macs use essentially the same hardware, and certainly the same (Intel) processors and memory as any other PC. There’s no logical reason why they would be any different. On an equal-specification basis, they’re identical. (Of course, on an equal-cost basis, Macs are somewhat less successful when measuring raw performance, because of their higher markup and greater emphasis on features that don’t directly translate into computational power.)

If that’s officially true, it’s unfortunate. (Got a link to their statement?) XP is almost nine years old, and two (arguably 1.5) major versions behind. Vista was available for them to evaluate as a release candidate in 2006, and unquestionably mature and stable by SP2, in early 2009.

#68

Some folks think it’s only one version behind…us folks who bypassed Vista completely. And XP still works. And it’s still available on new computers.

#69

I’m one of the people that have yet to determine if 7 is an upgrade or not. Vista however was definitely a downgrade. I’ll still stick with my good old XP for as long as I can.

#70

I feel that a lot of people have been brainwashed by apple. Mac does have a lot of advantages, like they can’t get viruses and the user interface is pretty nice. But I feel that they are very overpriced, especially laptops. And yes, Windows Vista is terrible, but the new Windows 7 is fantastic, speaking on behalf of 4 of my friends who have expressed similar opinions of it.

If you want a nice, inexpensive laptop that is powerful, you should go with a Asus.

#71

I’m gonna go ahead and say Apple is basically the soviet union brainwashing you with all their propaganda. Just gonna throw that out there.

#72

MAC DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!:P:P:P:P:P

#73

Dell Studio XPS series.

I’ve got the S-XPS 1645 it’s sooo awesome! As stylish as a macbook but as powerful as an alienware. And it comes in glossy black… can you really resist that??!

#74

Microsoft isn’t stupid, though. They offer Windows and Office for Mac because Microsoft is making money on the Operating Systems and Office copies every time they sell one.

If you think about it, Microsoft is genius for making their products cross-platform (if you will). Most companies use Windows and Office so if you could put them on Mac or Mac os, why use the non industry-standard software?

#75

It’s not that Macs can’t get viruses, it’s that there aren’t many viruses written for Macs because the majority of CEOs and/or business executives run Windows, so it is more worth it to write a virus to extract information from what has a high probability of being a CEO’s computer over an Average Joe’s (lol…rhyme!) computer.

#76

The above phrase I’ve heard dozens of times. However, I’ve yet to find truth to it. A friend of mine got a virus on a Mac and called Apple for help. They told him that he was wrong and then argued that viruses for Apple don’t exist. This went on for 30 minutes and ended abruptly when he proposed a bet. If they were so sure a virus was impossible on Mac, he’d write one and send it to them. If he couldn’t do it, he’d agree with them. They got off the phone pretty fast. This story is secondhand given that I wasn’t on the phone with my friend. However, it is certainly illustrative of the situation. Mac’s don’t tend to get viruses only because people tend to not write them for Mac. Mac doesn’t have a better security or anything, they just are less popular with the virus programmers.

If anyone can find something in a Mac that prevents it from getting a virus, I’ll eat my words. Until then, I await.

#77

Apple is mostly a hardware company, and Microsoft is mostly a software company.

Microsoft makes operating systems to work on as many computers as they can. As a result they have to deal with making their software work with all kinds of third party stuff. It’s a serious challenge, and they do a pretty good job of it.

Apple makes their operating system to work on their hardware only, so they have an easier time of writing drivers, etc.

#78

Most viruses aren’t targeted at CEOs, or anyone in particular.

There are elements of truth to both sides’ explanations of why Macs basically don’t get viruses.

#79

This post = WIN :slight_smile:

#80

Macs have always seemed anemic to me, and I’m not even that terribly computer savvy.

I have cousins in the Film and Photo editing industry, and they swear by Mac, but I find that to be the biggest niche for Mac.