Why Mac?

Notts_Dave

Notts_Dave

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I've been given a Mac to play with. I think it is a G4 machine with a 499mhz processor and 1gb ram. Why should i choose a Mac over my 1.5ghz Windows XP machine?

Forgive my ignorance if this is a dumb question i'm totally new to Macs....
 
PC snobbery?
 
Before my last comment provokes an outcry from Mac users. Many prefer the interface as opposed to windows. To me windows just seems more universally accepted from software and hardware manufacturers.
 
sbowler579 said:
Before my last comment provokes an outcry from Mac users. Many prefer the interface as opposed to windows. To me windows just seems more universally accepted from software and hardware manufacturers.
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Yes Windows is more universally accepted, and there are more to offer help and assistance when and if needed.

BUT ...

Show me one virus that can infect a Mac! As long that you don't install Windows on your Mac, there is no way a virus will hit you. It's that simple. This alone made me move over.
 
Wail said:
Yes Windows is more universally accepted, and there are more to offer help and assistance when and if needed.

BUT ...

Show me one virus that can infect a Mac! As long that you don't install Windows on your Mac, there is no way a virus will hit you. It's that simple. This alone made me move over.
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But I've never ever had a major virus on my PC, the only time I did it was very easy to get rid of.

Trick is not to go on dodgy pr0n sites.
 
before this thread heads south can i just say that any pithy comments, bitchyness or general messing about will result in people being restricted from viewing this part of the forums.
 
Why Mac? I prefer the stability of the operating system. I prefer the interface and I prefer the software that is available for Macs. That and my macbook pro is the most incredibly featured and well put together piece of hardware I've ever bought.
 
Some interesting coments. I have been lent this machine for as long i want it and thought i'd have a play with "the dark side". My only experiance thus far has been talking to the graphic design team in an old job who basically told me Macs are rock solid and the system architecture can do so much with so little.

Anyway not wanting to start a war......
 
That requires a user action to infect the computer. Mac users are smarter than that ;)
 
I have found that the Mac is far quicker to process images than a PC with a greater spec, But I only use the Mac for Photos and use PC's for everything else. I am a Network and Server support engineer.
 
I'm interested in seeing where this discussion goes as I'm at a bit of a crossroads. At the moment my PC is getting a little old and I want to upgrade. Thing is, do I spend £800 upgrading what I've got to get a PC that will do everything I want or do I spend £1300 and get a mac which will have a similar performance but just be a bit nicer to use?

The point people make about viruses and the dreaded 'blue screen of death' feels like an over-reaction to me. I built the PC I use at the moment and have never had a single issue with either viruses or BSOD. I guess it's how people use their computer but mine's been stable as a stablised stable thing in a newmarket stable. The only issue I've had with PCs performing badly is when my wife bought a cheap laptop. Buy cheap, get crap I suppose.:shrug:

I also like Flight Sim and want to get FSX which is another reason I don't want to go Mac. Wouldn't it be nice if I had about £5k and I could get both:(
 
The best way I can sum it up...... A Mac is a pleasure to use, you actually feel like it's on your side. Whereas a PC is a complete PITA and feels like it's fighting against you :shrug:

And just to qualify, I work in the graphics industry and use PC's and mac's all day, every day. Any problem I ever get at work will be on a PC. I've NEVER had a mac give me grief. Just last week one of my staff downloaded and installed Windows Service Pack 3 for XP. 30mins later - blue screen :thumbsdown: unrecoverable system :bat:
 
Yantorsen said:
But I've never ever had a major virus on my PC, the only time I did it was very easy to get rid of.

Trick is not to go on dodgy pr0n sites.
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I was going to say "but you have to be running an antivirus", until I read further down this thread!
 
Why a Mac? After using PC's since my 'state of the art' 286 way back when , since I switched to Mac its the first time I feel that the computer has really worked for me, rather than me having to work to get the most out of the computer. I don't feel as though I am constantly fighting to get the best out of it.

End of the day my Mac is an absolute pleasure to use. The hardware is superb, the software is fantastic, the package is (imho) unbeatable. So good, in fact, my entire company has switched over to them.
 
Notts_Dave said:
Some interesting coments. I have been lent this machine for as long i want it and thought i'd have a play with "the dark side". My only experiance thus far has been talking to the graphic design team in an old job who basically told me Macs are rock solid and the system architecture can do so much with so little.

Anyway not wanting to start a war......
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I am sure if people replying here, me one of them, keep this civil then no war will start!

One reason why Mac seems, and in most probability is, more solid is because Mac is a relatively closed system. By that, just think how many different manufacturers do mother boards, graphics cards, IO cards, etc. for the Windows platform vs. for the Mac platform. Seeing that, it becomes easy to see that the code for Mac is less coplex and less demanding than that of Windows.

On the flip side of that, you get lesser applications, lesser hardware and accessories for the Mac, along with less 3rd party support,
 
ranarama said:
The point people make about viruses and the dreaded 'blue screen of death' feels like an over-reaction to me.
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I rebuilt my Windows XP system yesterday, as a developer I find myself installing, patching, unistalling software frequently and find at max every six months I need to cleanout my pc to solve performance issues. I installed XP SP1 from my install media and after install and applying service pack 2 the damn thing bluscreened while performing a Windows Update. Thats a record for me.

If I had the money I'd move to Mac for personal use as the problems with Windows systems really begin to wear thin after a time. IMHO it boils down to the fact that with Mac, all the hardware is chosen specifically for the OS so there aren't any support and maintenance issues, everything just works so you pay a premium for it. With Windows the OS has to try to support every possible combination of hardware permissible so it's little wonder that there will be issues and vulnerabilities.

And Macs are shiny :lol:
 
Wail said:
One reason why Mac seems, and in most probability is, more solid is because Mac is a relatively closed system. By that, just think how many different manufacturers do mother boards, graphics cards, IO cards, etc. for the Windows platform vs. for the Mac platform.
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Exactly, you beat me to it! :)
 
I have just switched over to Mac's after about a year of deliberating.

i like the way that the system is much more stable than a Windows PC. i haven't had a program "hang" or fail on me since i bought it 2 months ago.
It is also a lot quicker to process images in Photoshop and also a lo quicker to transfer them onto the computer in the first place.
It seems a lot quicker to do everything.

I haven't had a lot of experience with the Mac yet, but already i am preferring it to my Windows machine.
 
Wail said:
Very few word say the most!

I know of some viruses for the Mac, but these are not in the wild. This is the first time I hear of this. Not to dispute it, but I am shocked!
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I know very little about viruses but I believe they are pretty much all designed to make money (apart from your spotty disaffected teenage hacker 'ake your computer delete itself' kind) by infecting email and forwarding on spam from and to recognised email addresses. It seems logical to me that because PCs are so much more abundant and that the owners are generally less tech savvy than Macs that any aspiring money spinning virus creator would make viruses for PCs to maximise their money making potential.

Now that Macs seem to be getting more and more main stream, I presume since the launch of the Ipod and the increased 'coolness' factor from owning a Mac, a logical progression is that there will be an increase in 'less tech savvy' owners of Macs over the next few years. There's probably more to it than that but I would expect more viruses to be appearing on Macs because of their rising popularity and with that their lower user technical ability.
 
Wail said:
Very few word say the most!

I know of some viruses for the Mac, but these are not in the wild. This is the first time I hear of this. Not to dispute it, but I am shocked!
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"not being able to get a virus" is a very common misconception with regards to Macs - there are planty of Mac virii out there, and they will increase in number as the number of Macs increases. No computer connected to the internet is safe, regardless of firewalls, operating systems, or whatever you want to say will keep you protected. If someone wants in to your computer, they'll get in - simple as that.

As for them being more stable, a lot of this is due to (as has already been mentioned) the amount of differing hardware that is available for PC's, and also the number of software applications that are available. Show me a Mac that can run my choice of hardware, with my choice of software - and I'll show you a less stable computer!!!

It's horses for courses. I do agree that Mac's seem much better for graphics/design though, my dad uses them and swears by them. I use PC's and swear at them.
 
Chris M said:
I rebuilt my Windows XP system yesterday, as a developer I find myself installing, patching, unistalling software frequently and find at max every six months I need to cleanout my pc to solve performance issues. I installed XP SP1 from my install media and after install and applying service pack 2 the damn thing bluscreened while performing a Windows Update. Thats a record for me.

If I had the money I'd move to Mac for personal use as the problems with Windows systems really begin to wear thin after a time. IMHO it boils down to the fact that with Mac, all the hardware is chosen specifically for the OS so there aren't any support and maintenance issues, everything just works so you pay a premium for it. With Windows the OS has to try to support every possible combination of hardware permissible so it's little wonder that there will be issues and vulnerabilities.

And Macs are shiny :lol:
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All points I can't argue with (even the shiny one), I just haven't had a problem with my home PC, the cheap rubbish we use at work is dire mind.
 
All very interesting. Thanks for the comments guys. I think I'l give it a go with Mac as it has cost me nothing except my time. So i'll go and play for a few months.
 
having started using mac os again recently i find it spectacularly backwards, in all honesty i think the windows gui is much more effective and performance wise i don't notice any difference between either
 
I think you will find, regardless of what people say, is that those who have moved over to Macs have all good things and no (or very few) bad things to say about them. I'd also guess it is only the tiniest percentage of those users who would ever go back to a Windows based machine having tried a Mac.

I know I have no intention of going back to Windows. My Macbook has been a pleasure to use, and now we all have Macs in the family - except my 18 yr old lad who 18 months ago had the opportunity to have a Mac, but chose a Dell instead. He is now asking for a Mac :)
 
Thing that gets me about macs is the cost of the hardware.

I'm running a dual core Laptop with 2gb, and a 120gb hard drive that i bought from these very forums for £100. Stuck an official copy of Leopard on there and i have the best of both worlds :)

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Never had a 'hang' and it dual boots Vista for when i need windows.
 
got a virus the other week in my pc, first time in years...bleedin' nightmare it was though. no geeks knew how to resolve the situation so eventually reinstalled. everything. backed up all important stuff but still...PITA! might nip out and get a mac in the next few days. helps when you work in education too ;) so not much to lose really!
 
Chillimonster, not the best thing to show off as its a violation of the EUA for OSX. Legally you're not allowed to install OSX on anything but Apple branded hardware.
 
well i know its been said but for me its the whole stabilty of the system, the fact that i have 44 gig of my 250 gig left and its still as quick as the day i bought it, the fact that when i had a pc i was always having to format it all the time and i lost loads of information all the time i love my mac and company's are making more and more software for mac then ever before
 
seems to me its a bit like marmite, some love it, some can't stand it, the rest are afraid to try it...
 
i don't know what you people are doing to your pc's but mine rarely if ever crashes :/

and as for the people who've moved to mac having nothing to complain about i guess i'll have to be the odd one out, i honestly do not understand why everyone is so impressed.
 
The OP is in the best position here, get an old Mac and see how you get on with the interface before spending £££s on a new one. It isn't the sort of thing that you can try for 20 minutes and expect it to behave exactly like windows, you need to live with the OS for a few days to get used to it...
 
Crikeybaby, thats my plan. Over the next few weeks time permitting I plan to install a wireless card, dob it onto my home network and start playing. I doubt wether i'd buy a new one but as my mate is loaning me this unit i can test the water for free. I dont think a few days is long enough, it took me ages to get "into" XP so i'm going to use and abuse the Mac for a couple of months before I consider it my main machine... who knows i might even pay my mate for it.....nah.

On a different note, i think the Mac is a G4, how does that figure in the current line up? Are we now on G10 (???), is it way off the pace relevant to new machines ? etc etc etc
 
Notts_Dave said:
On a different note, i think the Mac is a G4, how does that figure in the current line up? Are we now on G10 (???), is it way off the pace relevant to new machines ? etc etc etc
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G4 is a loooong way back now. It was 32 bit and before the move from PowerPC to Intels (which was a heck of a boost). Current Mac Pros you're looking at 2xQuad Core 2.8ghz 64 bit machines, generally with a LOT more ram. I can't wait to get my mitts on one once I sign another decent deal at work.
 
alexkidd said:
i don't know what you people are doing to your pc's but mine rarely if ever crashes :/

and as for the people who've moved to mac having nothing to complain about i guess i'll have to be the odd one out, i honestly do not understand why everyone is so impressed.
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I moved to Mac about two months ago. I confess to having spent much of my time on Google trying to overcome driver issues/known faults/hacks every time I attach a device. Example, this weekend I installed a wireless print-server so the Mac & two Windows PC's could print wirelessly. Windows machines were a doddle, Mac is a nightmare (or rather the support around it). Google shows many others with the same issue and so many different workarounds but to no avail. I haven't discounted the Mac yet but patience was never one of my virtues.

Someone said earlier it will take a few days to get used to?, budget for a bit longer than that.
 
I don't have a mac, and my widows XP very very rare crashes (touch wood) but I'm right on the verge of going to a Mac, mainly because I can't get the same spec for less £ on Windows.


What I hear you all shout, but bear with me.


We have to compare like for like, and I'm look at a Mac Pro desktop. I had a quick look at scan for prices, and I could not get a duo Xeon set-up for less than a ready built mac. Also after going into an Apple store I do get the feeling that customer support will be excellent from Apple

When talking about the cost of upgrading a mac too many people compare a PC with an iMac and I don't think they are the same thing at all. An iMac is a laptop with separate keyboard really. OK a powerful 24" laptop.

You also have to pay for design and nobody can say the Apple are bad at design. I'm sure if Microsoft went for a closed system with hardware they could make a machine just a stable as Apple, they just choose a different marketing model, and made a shed load money because of it.
 
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