Mac desktop or PC?

[Ginevra]

I have to get a new desktop. I hate ours so bad, I could throw it. It is seriously old in computer years, although it has had updates. I know we had the OS updated to XP in 2004, so that tells you it is clearly more than five years old.

 

I am considering going Mac. All the Mac users I know rave on and on about how much they love their mac. But I'm also really worried about "the unknown", because neither dh nor I am techy and will be at a total loss over anything that doesn't make sense. Honestly, I feel like a total idiot when I'm looking at that thing at Best Buy. How is there no CPU? You mean the entire computer is housed in the monitor? Where do you put a CD-ROM, then? Is there a word processing program on Mac? What happens if your friends send you e-mails with attachments in Word?

 

Plus, is it really worth all that green? My money trees died last October. :D

 

Sell me on a Mac, or else convince me that it is so not worth it.

[Hen]

Mac.

 

we went mac a little over a year or two ago, and we've never looked back. We now have two mac desktops and a macpro.

 

when we got our first one, we purchased the applecare, and so we had free sessions for a year with a mac guy at the store. You make an appt. and give them an idea about what you want to work on and they will have someone there to help you. It was money well spent. I think it was the applecare...anyways, you can ask at the apple store.

 

my pc never worked well. I am so happy to have a computer that I turn on, and it works!

[senunk]

My pc was 7 years old and was so slow. I got rid of everything I could, and it still worked at a crawl. Turning it on and off took f o r e v e r. We finally decided to buy a new computer. I went through the same thing you are going through. We decided to get the mac. It cost $1200. and I also purchased iwork for $80. The iwork is so worth it. It lets you use Word, Excel, and Power Point. I think it was an easy switch to make. I think the mac makes more sense than my pc. I think it is much easier to use. I love, love, love it! But, if you decide to stick with a pc, anything will be better than what you have, right? That was my attitude, anyway.

Oh, and the cd room slides right into the side of the monitor.

[TraceyS/FL]

Mac.

 

And if you are anywhere remotely near an Apple Store, buy from them and sign up for the One-to-One training (which was recently changed like 2 weeks ago to only be available for purchases online or in the store).

 

There is a Homeschool discount too - in fact, right now you get a rebate for a "free" iPod Touch or Nano!!

 

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/campaigns/back_to_school?cid=WWW-NAUS-BTS20090507-00006

[Spy Car]

Mac. Once you use a Mac you will wonder why anyone tortures themselves with PCs.

 

"Word" documents open seamlessly in "Word" for Mac, and there are a number of "open-source" programs that will open Word documents.

 

Bill

[wildflower]

Macs last Forever! I have multiple running for my & DHs business' and you can't kill there things!

Please, go mac!

Customer service is awesome- had a puppy who kept catching herself on the power cord for one till she truly did kill the thing (laptop) and they gave me a new computer in exchange for a 2 year old puppy destroyed model!

My love is DH, but my heart belongs to steve (jobs for the non-maccy's)

:lol:

[Tess in the Burbs]

I switched to Mac years ago and love it. My kids got the desktop earlier this year and I moved my stuff to it(faster than my old laptop) last week. Yes, everything is in the monitor. Including the DVD drive slot. I have Windows office for my Mac although there are several open source programs that can convert word files for you. It's one of those things....try it, you will like it.

[wildflower]

macs are user friendly.

if you call they will walk you through & have a new computer in a few days.

oh- and, they give home-schoolers the education discount!:001_smile::001_smile::001_smile::001_smile::001_smile:

 

make sure to get the applecare- it pays for itself (esp. when they replace a 2 yo machine with a brand new computer!)

 

again- i love all macs!

[WishboneDawn]

*sigh*

 

PC

 

But then that's because I can't see spending more than $600 or $700 on a computer and because I love to crack the case and fix or upgrade computers.

 

But that's just me. Frugal Geeks have specific needs.:D

[iwka]

Mac.

 

If I would have money, I would switch tomorrow morning...

[Ibbygirl]

** Puts flame suit on**

 

I'm going to go against the tide here and say PC. I have a Mac and it crashes all. the. time. My Mac is the computer that I want to throw out the window. My dh is a computer guy. He works in IT all day long and even he can hardly do anything with this Mac. If you are a really artsy person and are going to be using those kinds of apps, then the Mac would be the better choice, but for just day to day use, PC is the way to go IMHO.

 

Okay, let the flaming begin! :D hehe

[WishboneDawn]

Ya, this can be a bummer. If you love to constantly tweak and fix your computer then a Mac will leave you totally bored. It just keeps running properly and not getting any viruses or anything, how frustrating is that?! :lol:

 

This is seriously my little brother's excuse for not getting a Mac, but he doesn't use Windows either. He uses Linix or something geeky like that.

 

 

I was thinking that it's simply harder to crack a case when a Mac doesn't have a case. :) And yes, Macs are fairly safe from viruses but it's nothing inherent in the Mac OS that keeps it safe. Hackers just like to get the most bang for their programming buck hit the largest number of people, and that means Windows. Obscurity is what keeps Mac and Linux users safe. :D

[Greta]

Mac. Absolutely, Mac.

 

They are super easy to use. Please don't be intimidated about learning. You will pick it up very quickly because they are designed to be much more user-friendly than the alternative.

 

Secondly, they may cost more initially, but I am convinced they are more cost effective in the long run. We had two PC's that got eaten alive by viruses, so even though they were cheaper, that was money down the drain. Not to mention the frustration of having to reboot constantly because the darn things were always freezing up for no apparent reason. Also, Mac's customer service is fantastic. On the rare occasion that you do have a problem, it's nice to know someone is actually going to fix it.

 

After I had my iMac for a couple years, I borrowed a friend's laptop Windows machine for awhile. I couldn't wait to get rid of it, and I couldn't imagine why anyone would put up with such crap. Yeah, they're cheaper, but you get what you pay for.

 

ETA: You can get Microsoft Office for Mac, so no worries about needing to read .doc files or whatever. DH and I talked very briefly about getting Parallels, but we both agreed after the heartache and hassle of loosing two PC's to viruses, we didn't want to risk making our Macs vulnerable.

Edited June 8, 2009 by GretaLynne

[Ellie]

PC :-)

 

We've been happy PC users lo, these many years. We have no desire to change.

[Nakia]

MAC!!

[Ginevra]

See? That proves what I have heard from every Mac owner I've asked. Sorry, Ibbygirl. You live in the Twilight Zone or something. :D

 

There is an Apple store near-ish by and I will bravely go in there and reveal my stunning ignorance in relative safety.

[Ellie]

** Puts flame suit on**

 

I'm going to go against the tide here and say PC. I have a Mac and it crashes all. the. time. My Mac is the computer that I want to throw out the window. My dh is a computer guy. He works in IT all day long and even he can hardly do anything with this Mac. If you are a really artsy person and are going to be using those kinds of apps, then the Mac would be the better choice, but for just day to day use, PC is the way to go IMHO.

 

Okay, let the flaming begin! :D hehe

A friend has to use a Mac because of her work, and she hates every minute of it. I have other friends who are professsonal graphic designers who refuse to use Macs except when the very few customers give them Mac files.

 

::assumes the Xena Warrior Princess position next to Ibbygirl::

[Spy Car]

I was thinking that it's simply harder to crack a case when a Mac doesn't have a case. :)

 

My Mac has a case.

[Ibbygirl]

See? That proves what I have heard from every Mac owner I've asked. Sorry, Ibbygirl. You live in the Twilight Zone or something. :D

 

 

 

Absolutely no apology is necessary, I stated my opinion and that's all it is. Take it for whatever it's worth. Which in this case is apparently nothing! hehehe ;) :D

[Ibbygirl]

A friend has to use a Mac because of her work, and she hates every minute of it. I have other friends who are professsonal graphic designers who refuse to use Macs except when the very few customers give them Mac files.

 

::assumes the Xena Warrior Princess position next to Ibbygirl::

 

 

:lol::lol::lol: Thanks Ellie, just as a funny aside, my hubby actually brought the Mac back out again tonight because all 4 of us were jockying and vying for who's turn it was to use the computer. He took it out, connected to the network he has going in the house, surfed a little bit, it crashed, he cursed and put it back in the closet! :tongue_smilie: hehe Maybe that's the problem, we've collectively put so many curses on that Mac, it must be demon possessed by now! ;) :D hehe

 

One thing I hate about it too, is that the disc drive in it lost it's pep and it won't accept discs anymore and if by some fluke you can actually get it to accept one, it gets stuck in there because there's not enough juice to get it back out again and you cannot even buy an external disc drive to run outside of it, why? Because it's a MAC! :tongue_smilie: hehehehehe

 

**runs away and dives behind the nearest piece of furniture**:D

[asta]

Thanks Ellie, just as a funny aside, my hubby actually brought the Mac back out again tonight because all 4 of us were jockying and vying for who's turn it was to use the computer. He took it out, connected to the network he has going in the house, surfed a little bit, it crashed, he cursed and put it back in the closet! :tongue_smilie: hehe Maybe that's the problem, we've collectively put so many curses on that Mac, it must be demon possessed by now! ;) :D hehe

 

One thing I hate about it too, is that the disc drive in it lost it's pep and it won't accept discs anymore and if by some fluke you can actually get it to accept one, it gets stuck in there because there's not enough juice to get it back out again and you cannot even buy an external disc drive to run outside of it, why? Because it's a MAC! :tongue_smilie: hehehehehe

 

**runs away and dives behind the nearest piece of furniture**:D

 

What kind of Mac is this?

 

I started with an SE30 in 1988. Since then, I have had a Laptop 1400c, a Performa, a 9600, two G3 Laptops, 2 G4 Laptops, and a G5 Dual Quad Core Desktop.

 

I could put an external drive on all of them.

 

Macs, like PCs require software updates (they're just not as cumbersome). The Mac browser, Safari, will have some crashing issues when it is time to upgrade. Unless a new OS has come out (like switching from OS 9 to OS 10), the upgrades are always free. Microsoft decided it didn't want to make a new version of Internet Explorer for Mac, so it has problems (I think the last version was 2005). But there are other browsers besides Safari - Opera and Firefox to name a couple.

 

I would caution anyone against buying a new Mac until the latter part of June, though. The Mac Rumor Mill is saying that Mac is introducing their new OS, "Snow Leopard" on Tuesday. It will come on all new computers. While the current OS works just fine, I'm a sucker for the cool stuff they put in new Operating Systems.

 

If you are interested in getting a great deal on a refurbished Mac, the place to go is Small Dog. They are a small company in Vermont that has THE best customer service. I've been dealing with them for ten years. They even sell "Apple Care" (the warranty service mentioned).

 

We have a PC netbook that all of us hate, but DH needed for work stuff. We also have Windows on our Desktop Mac, and everyone hates that as well. We only have it because DS's language program is Windows only.

 

I have gotten ONE "blue screen of death" (or, rather, the Mac equivalent) since 1988. And Mac replaced the computer for me (it turned out they had a bad run of about a hundred computers).

 

HTH

 

 

a

Edited June 8, 2009 by asta

[Ibbygirl]

What kind of Mac is this?

 

 

 

It is an IMAC. I don't remember the year we bought it, but it came with OS 9. My husband upgraded it to the OS10 later on when it became available. I've had Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari all crash on me. I'll be surfing and suddenly boom. If I was needing graphic applications I would prefer a Mac, but since I mostly just use the computer for run of the mill things, I prefer the PC. It's just so much easier to trouble shoot than that Mac. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a gung-ho PC fan either. I think the PC has a lot of problems of it's own, but to me they are generally easier to solve than the problems we've had with the Mac. My husband can easily add upgrades to our PC and can add drives, memory etc, whatever he wants to a certain point, but with our Mac the physical upgrades we can make are very limited in comparison and I'm not a big fan of having to buy a new computer all the time in order to keep up with upgrades.

[TraceyS/FL]

You are talking about a Mac that i sover 5 years old - i came back to Apple 5.5 years ago and my Machine came with 10.3.

 

HOnestly, it's not fair to judge a Mac based on one that old. Sounds like it could use a good tune-up format at the hands of a Mac geek (because they are run fine still!), but the one time i had issues with Safari crashing all. them. time. it turned out i had a bad RAM chip. Shall i tell you about the fun of trying to figure out which of the 2 it was... or if it was the slot itself? LOL!!! (do the math on the combos, i'd gotten a predictable event to happen, installing OSX when it was 3/4 of the way in).

 

But like Asta said, if you have a USB port and 10.2 (or 3) or higher, you should be able to put an external drive on it just fine. I think some of the older OS's (like 9, i never ran 8 or 9) might need drivers for external drives. But really, the Mac invented plug & play!

 

Back to the OP - if for some reason you feel the NEED to buy a Windows box, then i'd suggest waiting till Windows 7 ships this fall. Everyone i know that has bought a Vista machine recently has had issues with it (really, i'm not exaggerating or making this up because i'm a Mac girl, they truly have all had issues). From what i have heard it's pretty stable in Beta form and a decent operating system.

 

We should know TODAY if Snow Leopard is shipping soon. If they announce a ship date during the keynote they should then let you know when computers purchased will get a free upgrade.

[WishboneDawn]

My Mac has a case.

 

I'm not saying anymore. I 've dug a deep enough hole for myself. :)

[Herding Cats in NC]

You are talking about a Mac that i sover 5 years old - i came back to Apple 5.5 years ago and my Machine came with 10.3.

 

Sounds like it could use a good tune-up format at the hands of a Mac geek

 

Well I have Mac laptop, and its hard drive failed after a year and a half. Yes, that can happen to any computer, but I've never had a drive fail that quickly - and without any warning. And - even worse, in my opinion - when we went to take it to the Mac store, they would only replace the hard drive with exactly what was in there. My dh went to Best Buy instead (as the Mac store won't sell you any parts) and got a hard drive that was twice as large for about the same amount of money. Also, we've found our Mac doesn't always "play nice" with non-Apple components. When I first had my Mac it would drop the wireless connection constantly; my dh's pc laptop had no problem. We switched to Apple airport and it has been much, much better. But even then, it'll still randomly drop the connection.

 

I don't hate my Mac, but I do think they've lost some of the stability & quality that used to make them so great.

:auto:

[asta]

I thought of a couple of things:

 

1) Apple had some QC issues during the time Steve Jobs wasn't in control (early/mid nineties). I'd say they've fixed all of them, barring the normal "one-off" problems that happen to any manufacturer.

 

2) Whether or not you can "tweak" or "add" things (hardware) to a Mac depends on what kind you buy. The "tower" kind is infinitely tweakable. The "Air Mac" is completely un-tweakable. You can add more RAM to a Mini-Mac, but that is it. The old iMacs were not tweakable, but the new ones are to some extent.

 

You can put any monitor on a mac, but some printers and other peripherals won't work because their software drivers are incompatible. I've never found a digital camera that didn't just download upon plug-in.

 

HTH

 

 

a

[asta]

You are talking about a Mac that i sover 5 years old - i came back to Apple 5.5 years ago and my Machine came with 10.3.

 

Actually, OS X shipped in 2002. The first computers that shipped with it had both 10 and 9. Before that, all computers shipped only with 9. So this poor beleaguered Mac is at least 8 years old. No wonder it is a pain.

 

 

a

[Herding Cats in NC]

I bought my Mac lapbook (not the Air Mac, just the standard laptop) in 2007. There's really no reason at all that they couldn't put a current (i.e., larger) hard drive in - after, we did on our own successfully. I believe that they didn't want to because it then forces you to upgrade your computer earlier (the hard drive I now have in my computer was not an option when I purchased my laptop). The worst part was that the store didn't have the smaller hard drive in stock, so they would have had to order it, but they still insisted that they could only install (replace) my hard drive with the same exact one that was in my computer. My old drive was 160 GB, my new one is 300-something :D.

 

My point is really just that any computer can have problems - buying a Mac doesn't mean the clouds are going to part and the angels are going to sing. :D I haven't had problems with my cameras or even printers, just the wireless router for some reason. But Airport seems to work like a charm.

[Heather in AL]

I'm a new Mac user.....8 weeks to be exact. I love it. My dh has had his for 2 years and loves it (both our Macs are laptops). When my other laptop began to have 'issues', I hemmed and hawed over which way to go. The price of the Mac really got me. I mean, I mostly surf the 'net and use Word, so why would I want to pay so much more $$? Well, the decision was made for me....I tried to log on to our desktop (the reliable PC) to check a website for something, and it crashed three times before I gave up. To me, it was a sign. I went Mac. I figure that the extra $$ I paid for was for things I **didn't** get with a PC. Like Windows error messages and crashing. :001_smile: I can also say that in two years, my dh's laptop hasn't crashed once, so that was appealing to me.

 

Learning to use my Mac has been much easier than I thought it would be. I find it much more intuitive than using the PC, to be honest. Dh is still surprised that I haven't asked him anything. He's the computer geek, and I'm 'just a basic user', so we both thought I would pepper him with questions. I just haven't found the need.

 

As for externals....we have no issues at all with our wireless router, using three printers (one does take a bit longer to print, though) with the wireless system, an external hard drive for those important back ups, or even our camera. One thing I LOVE about the Mac is when I dump my photos on it, it automatically organizes them in folders by date. I LOVE that!! That way, I save time when I go in to organize them, as I organize by date, too.

 

For word processing, we bought Microsoft Office for Mac...it ran $150 at our Best Buy, and we can install it on three Macs. There are free programs you can download (Open Office, I believe??), but I'm used to Word, so we got that.

 

I can honestly say that "I went Mac and I won't go back"!! :lol:

[HeatherLynn]

I just got my Mac in February, and I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I will NEVER go back to PC again. We still have 4 PC's and only one Mac, but we will phase those over as we can. I cannot stand to use a PC. I just pulled over 100 Trojan viruses off of my SECURITY PROTECTED PC. They made my PC useless.

 

Macs also are more secure because everything is compartmentalized and not interlinked like a PC.

[sgilli3]

We are a Mac household here!

 

I'm not really "into" computers but I adore my iMac!

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

Would someone please comment on the costs of conversion to Mac? Aside from the obvious cost of the unit itself.

 

We've always had PC so all our software is PC.

 

Some-like MS office and photoshop I think have Mac versions but how much did you all spend to switch OS?

[Ibbygirl]

You are talking about a Mac that i sover 5 years old - i came back to Apple 5.5 years ago and my Machine came with 10.3.

 

Which is what I was saying before. I don't think I should have to be getting a new computer all the time to keep up with the upgrades. My husband has PC's that are much older than our Mac and they are still running fine with the upgrades he's made to them.

[Ginevra]

I just pulled over 100 Trojan viruses off of my SECURITY PROTECTED PC. They made my PC useless.

 

 

This is one of the main reasons why I considered Mac to begin with. In January, my laptop was beseiged with Trojans which went RIGHT THROUGH my anti-virus. It completely destroyed my computer. When I had my guru guy clean it all up and get it operating again, I also had him supposedly tune up my desktop, which crawls horribly and is constantly glitchy. He basically just erased everything. Once the kids put a few games back on there, now it crawls again and is constantly glitchy. I hate using that computer so much, I personally would never, ever turn it on except that it's the only computer that is linked to a printer. And the kids constantly ask for my laptop because they hate the desktop, too, and it's too decrepit to play the Sims games on.

 

Yeah. I'm convinced. It's going to be Mac. Now I just need to decide if I have to go with that gigantor screen or if I can go with the "mere" -what is it? 19" screen?

[sgilli3]

Yeah. I'm convinced. It's going to be Mac. Now I just need to decide if I have to go with that gigantor screen or if I can go with the "mere" -what is it? 19" screen?

 

I have the 24 inch screen. I honestly though DH had bought me a flat screen TV when he started hooking it up, and I couldnt work out why I would need one in my work space...lol

 

Its big, bold and down right fantastic. :D

[TheTwinsMom1]

Another PC user here. We mainly stick with PC because we are gamers and Mac just does not have that many games made for it yet. :(

[Spy Car]

Actually, OS X shipped in 2002. The first computers that shipped with it had both 10 and 9. Before that, all computers shipped only with 9. So this poor beleaguered Mac is at least 8 years old. No wonder it is a pain.

 

 

a

 

I bet it would still work fine if it were checked to make sure it has adequate RAM. Those iMacs from that era usually shipped with enough RAM for OS 9 but were underequiped for the more memory-intensive OS X.

 

I'd also want to check versions as there was a brief release (was it 10.0.1? I can't remember for sure) that did have some issues with crashes. But there was a fix in short order.

 

Bill

Edited June 8, 2009 by Spy Car

[wildflower]

*sigh*

 

PC

 

But then that's because I can't see spending more than $600 or $700 on a computer and because I love to crack the case and fix or upgrade computers.

 

But that's just me. Frugal Geeks have specific needs.:D

 

yes, but think of how long a mac runs for. i know no-one who has a pc that has lasted more than 1.5 years. add it up- the mac is the better bargain for the long haul.

[Ibbygirl]

OS X came out in 1999. So your Mac is at least 10 years old. Do you know of any PC's that will run after 10 years either? I am totally fine with you (or anyone ) preferring a PC. I just don't want people to think that your experience with a 10 yo machine is typical of a current Mac. There are things that can be upgraded on a Mac and there are things it needs in the way of upkeep. It won't be able to handle current versions of most programs but if it was kept up well it would be able to run it's original programs. Anyway.... It doesn't matter. Just, please don't judge Macs on your decade old computer ok?;)

 

 

I'm not trying to persuade anyone of anything, I'm just stating my preference and my reasons why based upon my personal experiences. My Mac may be old, but many of those years it has spent in the closet unused because of the problems we've had with it. The disc drive quit working before it was even 3 years old and it was crashing a long time before that. I am glad to hear the glowing reports of the newer models and I hope that they have worked out the bugs in them, but for me, it's just easier to use a PC since I am not needing the many artistic graphic type programs that a Mac offers. And yes, we do have PC's even older than that Mac that are still running just fine. They are a part of the network that my husband has set up at home. :)

[Ibbygirl]

i know no-one who has a pc that has lasted more than 1.5 years. add

 

 

You've just met one. :D

[Spy Car]

I'm not trying to persuade anyone of anything, I'm just stating my preference and my reasons why based upon my personal experiences. My Mac may be old, but many of those years it has spent in the closet unused because of the problems we've had with it. The disc drive quit working before it was even 3 years old and it was crashing a long time before that. I am glad to hear the glowing reports of the newer models and I hope that they have worked out the bugs in them, but for me, it's just easier to use a PC since I am not needing the many artistic graphic type programs that a Mac offers. And yes, we do have PC's even older than that Mac that are still running just fine. They are a part of the network that my husband has set up at home. :)

 

Next time you fire up the Mac check how much RAM you have and what version you of OS X you are running. I'd be willing to bet the crashing issues could be solved easily (if you care).

 

Bill

[Ibbygirl]

Next time you fire up the Mac check how much RAM you have and what version you of OS X you are running. I'd be willing to bet the crashing issues could be solved easily (if you care).

 

Bill

 

 

Thanks. I'll tell my hubby. I know he's spent copious amounts of time trying to solve the issues with it before retiring it to the closet. I believe he did purchase memory for it years ago, but I'll check to be sure. :)

[Herding Cats in NC]

yes, but think of how long a mac runs for. i know no-one who has a pc that has lasted more than 1.5 years. add it up- the mac is the better bargain for the long haul.

 

Our desktop is a pc. It's almost 6 years old. We've done memory upgrades, but have had no major problems (unlike my Mac with the failed hard drive after only 1.5 years). We're planning on replacing it soon, but only because dh (1) really wants to build a new computer on his own, and (2) wants more speed, memory, etc. for video/photo editing. You can only upgrade to a point :D. There's not a thing wrong with the machine. I do think that the quality of pcs varies greatly by brand.

[WishboneDawn]

yes, but think of how long a mac runs for. i know no-one who has a pc that has lasted more than 1.5 years. add it up- the mac is the better bargain for the long haul.

 

My Dell PIII has been in use for 9 years now. My own desktop is 2 1/2 years old. I just inherited a PC from my sister that was over 6 years old and so many of the people I know seem to have old clunker PCs that have been running for years.

 

I've never heard of a PC not lasting as long as a Mac. I do know there's more turnover because people like to have the newest thing but that's more to do with consumers then PC build quality.

[Spy Car]

My Dell PIII has been in use for 9 years now. My own desktop is 2 1/2 years old. I just inherited a PC from my sister that was over 6 years old and so many of the people I know seem to have old clunker PCs that have been running for years.

 

I've never heard of a PC not lasting as long as a Mac. I do know there's more turnover because people like to have the newest thing but that's more to do with consumers then PC build quality.

 

What seems to be the issue for many PC users I know (and I don't know many ;)) is that they are deathly afraid of "upgrading" the operating system. And find it easier to just purchase a new machine rather than taking the risk of a "disaster" when installing (and uninstalling) software. This puts most casual users into a cold-sweat.

 

Where Mac-uses do upgrades all the time and don't give it much thought.

 

And quality control is pretty high from Apple, where PCs are all over the place in terms of component quality. The people I know who use high-end PCs for 3-D animation work spend more on their PCs to get them up to Mac-quality components, than if they had purchased Macs. But do so because PCs still have an edge in 3D animation software.

 

But the "cut-throat" pricing of consumer PCs, which has an upside, also has a downside of manufactures choosing the cheapest possible parts. A hobbyist could build a PC him or herself, and choose good components. But the pricing advantage begins to disintegrate. And were Apple ensures the components play nicely together, with a PC you must hope for the best.

 

Bill

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

I have had this particular one since last February, and while I have had to reformat the Windows OS on it due to a worm, I have not had a single issue with OS X. If it were not for work, I would not even have Windows running on the thing.

[MIch elle]

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9134102

[WishboneDawn]

What seems to be the issue for many PC users I know (and I don't know many ;)) is that they are deathly afraid of "upgrading" the operating system. And find it easier to just purchase a new machine rather than taking the risk of a "disaster" when installing (and uninstalling) software. This puts most casual users into a cold-sweat.

 

Where Mac-uses do upgrades all the time and don't give it much thought. [\quote]

 

That's a new one for me as well. In my experience it's viruses that drive people to buy new (they think their PC is slow because of age) or the failure of one part (a stick of RAM goes and they think their system is dead - not that I'm complaining if I pick up their computer when it they set it out on garbage day!).

 

Of course, neither of those support my PC case.

 

And quality control is pretty high from Apple, where PCs are all over the place in terms of component quality. The people I know who use high-end PCs for 3-D animation work spend more on their PCs to get them up to Mac-quality components, than if they had purchased Macs. But do so because PCs still have an edge in 3D animation software.

 

But the "cut-throat" pricing of consumer PCs, which has an upside, also has a downside of manufactures choosing the cheapest possible parts. A hobbyist could build a PC him or herself, and choose good components. But the pricing advantage begins to disintegrate. And were Apple ensures the components play nicely together, with a PC you must hope for the best.

 

Bill

 

You can can cheap PCs that are crappy but my Compaq, which was priced at $550 has top quality parts. The only disappointment when I cracked the case (aside from the design of the case itself) was discovering the power supply was just enough to power what the computer came with but not enough for certain upgrades like a graphics card.

 

But I do think you've overstated your case a bit. PCs are a lot more plug and play then they used to be. The last three accessory purchases I've made (printer, router, external DVD drive) have involved nothing more complicated then plugging stuff into the right hole. PCs are learning from Macs. :D

 

I should admit something. Downstairs in the workroom, hidden behind a pentium I fixed up for DOS gaming is the cutest little Apple 2E that I picked up at a local Sally Ann. And I do use it on occasion. :D

[Spy Car]

I should admit something. Downstairs in the workroom, hidden behind a pentium I fixed up for DOS gaming is the cutest little Apple 2E that I picked up at a local Sally Ann. And I do use it on occasion. :D

 

Then I'll have to admit that until it went to the re-cycling center I had an X286 garage-built PC that ran DOS (on 1 Meg of RAM) and it still booted.

 

I did keep the Mac Plus from 1986, and two vintage Quadra 950s. :D

 

And somewhere in storage is an Apple IIc.

 

Bill

[amtmcm]

I bet it would still work fine if it were checked to make sure it has adequate RAM. Those iMacs from that era usually shipped with enough RAM for OS 9 but were underequiped for the more memory-intensive OS X.

 

I'd also want to check versions as there was a brief release (was it 10.0.1? I can't remember for sure) that did have some issues with crashes. But there was a fix in short order.

 

Bill

 

:iagree:

 

My DD9 has our old iMac in her bedroom to use for kid games (Oregon Trail, Math Blaster, etc...). We never upgraded past OS9 and it still runs great! I hope I don't jinx it.

 

We love our Macs!