Mac or PC

[-Jiggy-]

Why do you prefer Mac/PC?

[mayorofawesometown]

PC. Macs are for uber nerds.

[-Jiggy-]

I've always owned a PC but my next purchase will be a Mac and also for the foreseeable future. When it comes down to it, it's just better craftsmanship all the way around.

[krystal]

I would like a Mac, but I am too cheap to buy a Mac. I'll just stick with my god-knows-how-old Thinkpad.

[hoshi]

Oh god - I foresee bloodshed.

PC, all the way around. Macs are vastly overpriced, more difficult to upgrade, and the OS is not all that great. They tout their whole "not having viruses" as if it's because their OS is superior, which is retarded. If you were an a-hole who could program and you wanted to cause the most damage possible, would you make a virus for the OS that like 10% of people use or the one that about 70% use? Obviously, they go for the majority: Windows. AKA a PC. That being said, a so-called "PC" can run any OS...it's just that people identify PC (Personal Computer) with Windows.

That being said, Vista is crap. XP is great, though.

I spent about $800 4 years ago for a desktop (built my own) - at the time, it was upper middle level. I could run any game out at the time, and can still do so now after $175 or so of upgrades over the past year or so.
The only catch is that I may need to add in 2 more case fans if I upgrade much more - it's not running hot yet, but I suspect it would get a little warm if I used a top-of-the-line gfx card (the ones that are $400-ish) since I leave my comp going 25/7. I can get several months uptime before a restart.

As far as laptops, most windows-based mass-produced laptops BLOW! You have to do your research. I bought a laptop from ASUS (**not*** Acer, dont get 'em confused!), and it can run every game I through at it, and, of course, oblivion on full. I've dropped it twice, and one of my friends accidentally put a chair ON IT and then proceeded to sit in the chair. It still works perfectly. And amazingly cheap for a high quality laptop - about $1,200. Mine can preform just as well as any macbook and at 1/2 the cost or less.

[zdunklee]

Gaming/productivity = get a PC

Web Design/Photography = get a MAC

[Titan!]

I lust for an Imac, but my budgetwill probably keep me using windows

By the way, does everyone realize that the letter PC stand for Personal Computer, and a Mac is by definition a personal computer ?


I what you really meant to ask was Windows or Mac ?

[zdunklee]

But Titan, Mac brought that one on themselves in their Mac vs. PC commercials, they aren't called Mac vs. Windows.

[Mark the Valet]

Give me a PC any day.

[Titan!]

But Titan, Mac brought that one on themselves in their Mac vs. PC commercials, they aren't called Mac vs. Windows.

Yes they did.

By the way, even as a photographer and Mac lustee, I have seen problems with them freezing up, losing files, and in general acting weird

[peachs]

i am a pc lover. XP is my operating system of choice...

[Titan!]

Windows XP and Adobe CS3 are amazing together

[airhornahole]

I prefer a PC. Of course, I have never tried a Mac, but still, PC's kick Mac's ass.

[Titan!]

I prefer a PC. Of course, I have never tried a Mac, but still, PC's kick Mac's ass.

I used Macs at school all last year and the summer before that and HATED them, However this year CC got all new super spiffy shiny brand new 24in Imacs and I fell in love the first time I used one.

I have a fund set aside to buy one someday.

[hoshi]

Windows XP and Adobe CS3 are amazing together

Truth.

Lol, yesterday at work one of our regulars came in (I wait tables - I'm a college student) and told me that her husband just spent like $4,000 on a new mac and software. She said he bought photoshop.

My first thought was,
People actually buy photoshop?

[Titan!]

Well, yes there are those of us stupid enough to actually pay for a quality product

http://www.fbhw.proboards43.com/index.cg...hread=3373

[0rz0ski]

I call BS on this poll. WILL NO ONE THINK OF THE LINUX USERS????

[-Jiggy-]

I call BS on this poll. WILL NO ONE THINK OF THE LINUX USERS????

The desktop market share for Linux is less than 1%. I didn't find it necessary.

[Biff]

If it came down to it I would buy a Mac over a PC but I know a guy who programs computers so I get new computers dirt cheap.

[Queenie]

PC only because that's what I have worked on forever.

[burnking]

I call BS on this poll. WILL NO ONE THINK OF THE LINUX USERS????

The desktop market share for Linux is less than 1%. I didn't find it necessary.

Is Mac vs. PC/Windows still extremely skewed? I think the last time I cared to know, Mac users were only about 10% of the market.

[boizalynne]

I miss XP
when we got our new computer, Vista was automatically standard and if we wanted XP we would have had to pay a ridiculous amount extra...

[Howie Feltersnatch]

I've always had PC's, my co-worker has a pretty sweet MAC notebook and I love the looks, functions and everything about it...but a computer for me is like a barber, I often bitch about my haircut but I always find myself back there in a few weeks.


as for the XP/Vista I plan to keep on loading my copy of XP to my future computers until Vista if fixed or something happens.

is that legal?

[Titan!]

I'm over most of my INTENSE dislike of Vista, it seems that after hundreds of fixes and updates it's working ok now

[Rock Monster]

...but a computer for me is like a barber, I often bitch about my haircut but I always find myself back there in a few weeks.

... and you usually go for one of the cheaper options.

[hoshi]

Well, yes there are those of us stupid enough to actually pay for a quality product

http://www.fbhw.proboards43.com/index.cg...hread=3373

...
Yes, because I was purposely trying to be insulting.
I was simply stating that Photoshop is by far the most pirated software on the web.

[nachash]

I had some random thoughts while reading this thread that I'm going to share. If you just want my verdict, scroll down to the bottom of the post.

1. Back in 2006 or so, Apple switched from PowerPC to Intel processors. With that move, basically the only difference between a PC and a Mac, from a hardware standpoint, is a security chip in Macs that OS X checks for when it boots up. This is Apple's way of making sure you only run OS X on Macs (Google "Psystar" or "Hackintosh" for further reading).

2. If you absolutely must run Windows software on a Mac, you can use Parallels or Boot Camp. What's funny about this is that at one time, there was a specific MacBook Pro that ran Vista better than any other laptop on the market. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you can go the aforementioned Hackintosh route if you're prepared to do some fighting and compromising, but you're likely not in the 0.000001% of the population who would read that and go, "Oh, that sounds like a blast! Where do I start?"

3. If you want to be able to easily crack open the case and upgrade parts yourself, get a PC. I've read horror stories about how Apple makes their cases overly complicated to get into. If you want to buy something off the shelf and just use it (Like most people), then it's down to a matter of how much you're willing to spend.

4. Apple may have 10% or so of the market now, but that's all they need. They enjoy much fatter margins than other computer companies, and they have just enough marketshare to force people to support them (There were articles on tech websites about companies being forced to support Macs around the time they had 7-8% marketshare). I really don't think Apple wants to be the only game in town, because right now, they're kind of the computer industry's equivalent to a european automaker. They charge a premium, and if they got into playing the volume game to please shareholders, I think that would ultimately hurt them.

5. Linux may have only around 1% marketshare, but back when Vista was 6 months to a year old (And even now, I would argue), Ubuntu completely stomped it in terms of stability and usability. I switched some time in the summer of 2007, and haven't looked back since. It definitely isn't for everyone, however.

6. hoshi, one of the problems with Windows is that in the early days, there was no concept of user permissions, or not running as administrator all the time, which all the UNIX-derived stuff has had since at least the early 80s. Don't believe me? Find a Windows 98 box with multiple user accounts and see if you can browse and access everybody else's files. Without getting into too much technical detail, Microsoft decided in the 90s that they were going to encourage programmers to code every app under the assumption that the user was logged in as administrator. That's starting to change with Vista and its UAC feature. You don't even really need anti-virus software anymore, as long as you password-protect your admin account, create a user account, and only use that user account. If you hit cancel on most of the UAC password prompts that come up, you're pretty much not going to get a virus. Doing this gives you a rough equivalent to sudo on Linux/BSD, only it's a little over 25 years later AND you have to actually to create another account.

My verdict: Do like hoshi said. Either build a mid-range gaming box or have one built for you, and be sure quality parts are used throughout. This is one area where all the OEMs, even Apple, cut corners. If you're using solid hardware, it may cost you more right now, but you can be sure that some random part won't take a dump in the next 6 months. In fact, I'm typing this on a mid-range gaming box that I bought back in 2004, and other than a network card dying, I've had no hardware problems. Just stick to quality components, and you won't be crying about Dell's motherboards being DOA like Hot Wings.

[zdunklee]

I agree with your points, my brother built his own desktop this summer and it flys compared to the one I bought only 6 months before he built his and his cost less than mine. It runs vista ultimate (not bought of course) amazingly and with boots up in about 20 seconds. I was amazed that it only uses about 10-15% of the processing power even when playing games. After I saw this I decided any computer I want I will build myself from now on.

(oh and he has a blu-ray burner and it was still cheaper than mine.....wtf)

[-Jiggy-]

nachash - being that you're new here let me explain something to you. If you want to make a point you are going to actually have to put some thought into your posts. This kind of crap won't cut it from here on out. Some things that would have been more acceptable:

Mac's suck!!
or
Bill Gates is the antichrist!
or
If you own a mac please do the world a favor and blow off your head.

etc.

Now that you know, please don't let this happen again.

[zdunklee]

Jiggy's the board loser, don't pay any attention to him (we just let him play so he doesn't harm himself)

[-Jiggy-]

uyhrtfgvuyhujhrtfgruyjhnurtf5g

^^^I typed this with my forehead.

[nachash]

nachash - being that you're new here let me explain something to you. If you want to make a point you are going to actually have to put some thought into your posts. This kind of crap won't cut it from here on out. Some things that would have been more acceptable:

Mac's suck!!
or
Bill Gates is the antichrist!
or
If you own a mac please do the world a favor and blow off your head.

etc.

Now that you know, please don't let this happen again.

You forgot to mention random references to Mac users wearing turtlenecks. You could have also squeezed in a reference to Steve Ballmer hurling chairs over the slightest thing going wrong. Other than that, point taken.

[imatoolhed]

macs are immortal

[cpdrummer]

PC.

I've tried several different Macs, I couldn't stand any of them. Constant issues. I don't see how anyone could possibly like them. They must be dense.

Custom built PC with Windows XP Pro, ftw.

[nachash]

PC.

I've tried several different Macs, I couldn't stand any of them. Constant issues. I don't see how anyone could possibly like them. They must be dense.

Custom built PC with Windows XP Pro, ftw.

I forgot to mention in my first reply that should you go the Windows route, be sure to get a retail copy. True, an OEM copy is like half the price, but the retail copy gives you more licensing rights. If your motherboard takes a dump with the OEM copy, for example, you're supposed to buy another one.