Debate This: Mac v. PC

I love my Mac, but I am perfectly happy with my PC's, too. I have two laptops - a Sony VAIO, and a Toshiba - and IBM T40 at work. And we have some servers and desktops to do other stuff. I back everything that I care about up regularly, but so far haven't had any issues.

At home I work on my Mac, but I have to say I dislike Mac Office, but that's because I love Office 2007 - and I get a bit cranky because a normal mp3 player needs a few extra steps to load music on. And I prefer VMWare over Parallels if you do need to run any Windows apps. You will, 'cause not everything works on a Mac..:p

Just a couple of lessons learned.
 
I have both and like both. The mac is amazingly fast and the things you can do on it are very cool and easy to figure out!
 
Wow! I'm feeling really lucky, I have all Dell computers, two laptops and a desktop and have never had any problems of any kind (knock on wood)! But I have always heard wonderful things about the MACs :)
 
PC for me!

Hi, I don't post much but wanted to post on this topic. I vote for the PC. In all my experiences in using a PC and fixing all of my relatives PCs, the number 1 issue I see is people unintentially allowing spyware-like programs to be installed on their PC. An actual virus...believe it or not is not as common as one might think. The biggest problem are these websites people visit that install these spyware programs that weasel their way onto your pc and can cause it to go haywire. It makes me think of that Orkin Pest control commercial where the big cockroach rings the bell asking if anyone ordered a pizza :) trying to get in the house. There is a free program available from Microsoft (Defender) to protect you from these rogue programs. My FIL is what I call "click happy". He visits websites and no matter what pops up (and trust me he gets LOTS of pop-ups) he clicks ok and doesn't realize he is allowing these programs to get installed. This leads to his PC basically being taken hostage by spyware that causes his PC to do all sorts of things not to mention the dreaded blue screen of death. There is also a free pop up blocker built into Internet Explorer to stop that nonsense. The other issue is old hardware that either needs to be upgraded or updated with the software that takes care of either blocking vulnerabilities or updating/fixing manufacturer and OS compatibility problems. Again, free software is available to take care of this for you and can be set for a regular schedule to check for updates on your behalf and install them for you. I know not everybody is a power user or pc tech that can troubleshoot these problems but the newer Windows operating systems (Vista and now Windows 7) and IE browsers have been developed to do all of this for you. Please don't flame me :) it's just my experience. My hubby and I have set up Pop with these tools that we turned on and voila no more rebuilding his pc every other week and Pop is surfing away (he is 81 years young and addicted to browsing!). It's kind of like the set it and forget it way of operating. We recently bought him a new pc with Vista on it for $300 that works flawlessly and has all this stuff pre-installed and turned on so you really don't need to be a techie since it's available right out of the box. One of my best friends is a Mac user and we debate this one all the time :)
 
I just wanted to bring this topic back up to let you all know that I got my MacBook Pro for my birthday in April and I love it!

There are a few things I'm a little upset about, for instance, I can't tether my BlackBerry 8310 to the Mac. Both Apple and AT&T have spent a few hours with me trying to get it to work, and finally Apple said it just won't work due to certain PPP settings and modem configuration on the Mac. But I looked into wireless network cards and they are actually cheaper per month than tethering, so I guess it works out for the best in the long run.

The only other thing I wish is that my scrapbooking software was made for Mac. It is only made for PC (for now, a Mac version should be out later this year or in 2011), so I have Parallels running Windows 7 on the Mac so that I can still do digital scrapbooks. It is nice to be able to run both the Mac OS and Windows in coherence so I can switch between the 2 with the click of the mouse (no restarting like Bootcamp!).

Just thought I should let you all know that I LOVE MY MAC!!!! And yes, I got the AppleCare Protection Plan so I'm good for at least 3 years. ;)
 
Congratulations Brandie!

And welcome to the world of Apple! More and more applications and programs are becoming available for Mac due to the increase in Mac users. Polar just released the software for the personal trainer program for my HRM for Mac. We also have a dual system for the few things we need on Windows. It's becoming less and less necessary for me, but DH is in school, so has to keep his Mac with a dual system.

I wish you many happy years with your Mac!

bigbadbrandini said:
I just wanted to bring this topic back up to let you all know that I got my MacBook Pro for my birthday in April and I love it!

There are a few things I'm a little upset about, for instance, I can't tether my BlackBerry 8310 to the Mac. Both Apple and AT&T have spent a few hours with me trying to get it to work, and finally Apple said it just won't work due to certain PPP settings and modem configuration on the Mac. But I looked into wireless network cards and they are actually cheaper per month than tethering, so I guess it works out for the best in the long run.

The only other thing I wish is that my scrapbooking software was made for Mac. It is only made for PC (for now, a Mac version should be out later this year or in 2011), so I have Parallels running Windows 7 on the Mac so that I can still do digital scrapbooks. It is nice to be able to run both the Mac OS and Windows in coherence so I can switch between the 2 with the click of the mouse (no restarting like Bootcamp!).

Just thought I should let you all know that I LOVE MY MAC!!!! And yes, I got the AppleCare Protection Plan so I'm good for at least 3 years. ;)
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I haven't read through very many of the comments so I don't know if anyone has said this. If you buy an apple laptop, be sure to pay the money and get the extended warranty. I never bought it with my desktops but I have learned that laptops take more of beating (mac or pc). One mac repair at your cost and you'll have paid for the AppleCare.

JMNSHO.

Oh, and we use only macs. We had a dell several years ago, got the klez virus which destroyed the dell. Bought a mac after that and haven't looked back.

One book that is really good to get with your new apple (if that's what you get) is "Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual". I used it as a quick reference guide when we got our first mac.
 
I have both, but my main computer is still (and probably will always be) my Mac. The only reason I got a PC as a second computer is because there is some software I'd like to run and it's only for PC's (boo, what's up with that?? These days, most software should be able to run on both!).

But I love my Macbook--and am drooling over the newer ones, although my "older" one (circa 2008) is still going strong and hasn't given me any issues *knock on wood*.
 
I have only owned Macs since 1985. I currently own 5 Mac computers. I love my Macs and find them user friendly and easy to use. I also love how easy it is to upgrade Macs
 
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Glad you're loving your Mac Brandie! Three years ago I got my first Mac and I will never go back to PC's. Never. And, ditto on getting AppleCare, it's totally worth it and I am generally not a warranty-buying kind of person.
 
I've had a Sony Vaio and Dell Inspiron laptop and each of them lasted for 18 months :confused:. WTH? They were crap from the start and whenever I would have a problem with them I would call customer service and not even begin to understand what the Indian gentleman on the other end of the line was saying. It was a nightmare and utterly frustrating.

After the Dell died I got a Mac in August of last year and I really like my Mac. Also, more importantly I have had NO problems with it at all!!! But if I ever do have a problem with it, I will take it to an Apple Store and the dudes there will fix it for me. YAY!

At work we have a Windows based data collection system and it's a PITA to copy and paste from Windows to the Mac OS. So, I just end up doing some of my powerpoint work on the PCs at work and moving them onto my Mac when they look pretty. I can run Windows on this Mac using VMWare, but it's so slow I don't even bother.
 
Mac, no doubt!

my family always had macs when i was in high school/college, but i switched to pc's in med school and used them exclusively for years. but, i have gone back to the mac very recently, and can't believe that i wasted so much time and $ on pc's! i absolutely love my macbook and will NEVER go back to pc's. the security, the ease of use, everything about the mac makes it well worth the price.
 
papaya said:
Hi, I don't post much but wanted to post on this topic. I vote for the PC. In all my experiences in using a PC and fixing all of my relatives PCs, the number 1 issue I see is people unintentially allowing spyware-like programs to be installed on their PC. An actual virus...believe it or not is not as common as one might think. The biggest problem are these websites people visit that install these spyware programs that weasel their way onto your pc and can cause it to go haywire. It makes me think of that Orkin Pest control commercial where the big cockroach rings the bell asking if anyone ordered a pizza :) trying to get in the house. There is a free program available from Microsoft (Defender) to protect you from these rogue programs. My FIL is what I call "click happy". He visits websites and no matter what pops up (and trust me he gets LOTS of pop-ups) he clicks ok and doesn't realize he is allowing these programs to get installed. This leads to his PC basically being taken hostage by spyware that causes his PC to do all sorts of things not to mention the dreaded blue screen of death. There is also a free pop up blocker built into Internet Explorer to stop that nonsense. The other issue is old hardware that either needs to be upgraded or updated with the software that takes care of either blocking vulnerabilities or updating/fixing manufacturer and OS compatibility problems. Again, free software is available to take care of this for you and can be set for a regular schedule to check for updates on your behalf and install them for you. I know not everybody is a power user or pc tech that can troubleshoot these problems but the newer Windows operating systems (Vista and now Windows 7) and IE browsers have been developed to do all of this for you. Please don't flame me :) it's just my experience. My hubby and I have set up Pop with these tools that we turned on and voila no more rebuilding his pc every other week and Pop is surfing away (he is 81 years young and addicted to browsing!). It's kind of like the set it and forget it way of operating. We recently bought him a new pc with Vista on it for $300 that works flawlessly and has all this stuff pre-installed and turned on so you really don't need to be a techie since it's available right out of the box. One of my best friends is a Mac user and we debate this one all the time :)
Click to expand...

No flames here! Just curious why you prefer the PC over the Mac? Have you used a Mac? Is there something you have seen in your PC that you think makes it superior to a Mac? DH and I are still up in the air about what our next computer will be. We've had nothing but trouble with Vista. We ended up switching back to XP before eventually going to Windows 7. We haven't had any problems with Windows 7, but Vista was a nightmare. And I'll NEVER buy another Dell ever. Even the Dell tech who serviced mine when the screen died after just a few months pretty much admitted they were crap.
 
I've never had a mac b/c in northern MI there are no Mac stores. The closest service center would be about a 2 hour drive, so service for one would be a nightmare. However, I have to agree with Liann that Dell's are crap and the company will not stand behind their product! Even if you did get a PC, do NOT get a Dell!!
 
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