27 replies to this topic

[assasinkilla]

Hey,

I was thinking to buy a Apple Macintosh Computer, but then when a few friends told me not to, I got pissed off because i thought like if I baught it, there would be some minor defectes were I won't like it anymore.

So please If you have any replies, teling me about them please reply...

Thanks

[t3jem]

I don't use macs, but I would tell you not to buy it. Mainly because there is almost nothing out there for macs. Everything is built for PCs first and then a few months later (if you don't have a windows emulator) it comes out for macs. Yes they do run better and get less viruses (because people make viruses for PCs not macs, not because they can't get viruses, they can) and they are pretty neat, but the biggest downfall to them is that they don't run most programs. I heard that the new imacs or something can run PC programs, but I haven't confirmed that yet. So it really depends on what you are doing. If you want to download programs off the internet its usually not a good idea to get a mac, most people don't program for macs, but if you just plan for word processing and other stuff other than games, then a mac may be a good choice.

[Pee]

i dont like macs to much they dont have many programs or games for them its hard to find like the other guy ontop of me said

[Watermonkey]

Since most people own peecees and use programs written for windoz, you're going to get a majority of anti-mac, pro-windoz responses from asking this question. So I'd encourage you to give considerably more weight to those who recommend the mac. First the new macs use the same Intel CPUs the other peeceez use. This means that you can partition your HD and install Windoz on one partition and have your choice of OS if you happen to use software not written for the Mac. BTW, I'm not just pulling this out of my a$$, I own a MacBook Pro 17", 2.33Mhz Core2Duo, with 2Gig RAM, and a 160Gig HD. I've not encountered any reason to install Windoz personally. I've found everything I need to use for Mac and I'm just fine with it. The only reason I use my Windoz computer, a Dell, is for MS Streets and Trips. There is mapping software written for Mac, though, and I've heard it's far better then S&T. Your choice, but I'm recommending the Mac, hands down. Boozker uses a Mac too. Maybe he'll chime in here after he's finished enjoying his 666th post...

[noriv]

I'm gonna get Mac soon.

The good things about it:
Easy
Almost no virus
Works
It can run windows (in case you need virus or run a game )

Bad things:
Not every program works but you can run windows so.

[shigajet]

I used to use a Mac as well, and I'm considering switching back - especially since the new MacBooks have the intel dual-core chip.
If you also use a program called Parallels (sp?) , you can also switch back and forth between operating systems without having to restart the computer.

[PlugComputers]

Being in the computer industry, I have been around both types of systems, both Mac and Windows based. The main thing I have noticed about Mac's is the price differnece. Many people feel Mac's are superior, and I will agree, many programs do run very well on Mac's compared to the Windows OS, but you are going to pay a much steeper price.

Seems like the spec's you pay for in a Mac, compared to a PC, are much higher.

As far as gaming is concerned, I haven't really heard much of people doing alot of computer gaming on Mac's. I may just be missing something, but people like hte customibility of PC's when it comes to gaming.

I think Mac's are great for business use or basic home use, they're a stable, well running computer that will be sure to be there when you need it. Pay a little more, sacrifice some performance in some areas and you've got yourself a Mac.

[Watermonkey]

PlugComputers, on Mar 29 2007, 01:40 PM, said:

I think Mac's are great for business use or basic home use, they're a stable, well running computer that will be sure to be there when you need it. Pay a little more, sacrifice some performance in some areas and you've got yourself a Mac.

There's always going to be a trade-off. For instance, the MacBook Pro notebook I own is only an inch think. Apple seems to think the weight and thickness is important, so the trade-off is that the DVD/CD drive was slower to catch up with other offerings because they had to wait for a model that would fit. Further, the only GPU offered in this computer is the ATI Radeon X1600 with 256 MB VRAM. This isn't the best graphics chip out there for laptops, but it doesn't pretend to be a "gamers laptop" either. It weighs in at roughly 6.9 lbs, if you want the gamers laptop, you'll probably need one that weighs upwards of 14lbs if I'm not mistaken. The software that comes with this machine, btw, helps, considerably, to justify the price difference, and if you go to Dell's website and build an XPS M2010 computer, then go to the Apple Store and build a comparably equipped iMac, you'll see that you can load the iMac up quite a bit more and still save money with the Apple. Try it and see. Notice, too, that you can't order the dell with the C2D running at 2.33 Mhz, only 2.0. There are some other differences too, especially in the graphics card comparisons. On the iMac I just configured at the Apple Store, I pretty much loaded it up including a 24 inch wide screen, 2GB of memory, and the 750GB HD with the 256VRAM NVIDIA 7600 GT GPU and iWorks (word processing and "Keynote" presentation software) pre-installed for under $3200 (a student discount will save you an additional 10%). I almost forgot to mention, I also included the 3 year warranty in that price.

The XPS with a 20.1" display and MS Works pre-installed is going to run a lot more; probably over a thousand in difference!

One last thing I think every smart consumer should look at before buying anything is Consumer Reports. They're a highly ethical not-for-profit ratings organization. They rate everything from breakfast cereal to cars and they've certainly spent a great deal of time rating computers. Guess who consistently has the superior customer service and support? Apple, that's who. Apple always consistently rates the highest in customer satisfaction and loyalty, cost and frequency of repair, you name it, all categories. Don't believe me, I'm biased! Go look it up yourself!

In order to run Wondoz on a modern Mac with an Intel motherboard, all you need is a copy of Windoz and a free copy of bootcamp from Apple. This will give you dual-boot capability. There is no longer any emulation required! The stability of the Unix-based OS is one of the many things that makes this machine so highly desirable to own and use. The OS is developed in an open-source environment too which makes the whole thing "just work".

Edited by Watermonkey, 30 March 2007 - 05:40 AM.

[assasinkilla]

Well... HATE IT ! xD That's all, i dont like macs are like to secure... Understand me bro? You can't do to much things

[darran]

Here's my stance, I am NOT going to upgrade my PC to a Windows Vista. Enough reason to see why? I am going for an iMac, be it this year, next year or the following. It is costly for sure, just SGD 2548 for a middle end Mac when I can buy a good Desktop for that price. But it is worth it, Windows for me is just going downhill, Vista in particular tries to copy Mac in everyway and fails badly. Mac is the way to go, bootcamp emulates Windows for you, so I don't see why you need to even consider Mac as an OS which does not have much support. It is a relatively new technology and it may take a few more years to be a real stable technology but I am not worried about that. Mac has less viruses, runs more efficiently, has the overall better design. The only downside: the price and the support, but you pay for what you get and as for the lack of support, it is improving, more games are coming out for Mac versions but if you want a short term solution, switch to a Windows partition. AS SIMPLE AS THAT!

[hitmanblood]

Well I think that mac system today have very little advantage over Microsoft either as operating systems or on the Pentium computer architecture. Since they are working on the same thing. Two years ago it was totally different story as they had very different architecture and I would always give them plus. But when we speak about programming solutions I think that mac is still leading as they are producing some solutions which in fact are later on by other producers. And there is also thing that Apple is under Microsoft paw as Microsoft has hall bunch of share stocks in Apple. So it may produce some friction of interests. It has been already noticed in one case year ago when Apple wanted to sue Microsoft for patent grabing and then Microsoft approved inter corporate money aid and it was ok. So I think that apple is currently just a trend and it will probably not last on computer market as it will be swallowed by larger companies. And they are expensive so just by natural computer and you want have problems. good luck.

[robocz033]

what so many people do not understand or know is that all macs come with parallel desktop or a program of the like, depending on which model you get. which taking this feature into consideration, makes a mac come out on top because it can run windows programs without struggle.

Not only do you get the benefit of parallel desktop, but they don't have as many viruses made for them, they are insanely cool, they come with great programs, and they are very user friendly.

My personal choice is a mac, i will not tell you which you should buy, but i recommend a mac because of parallel desktop which basically gets rid of all of the issues everyone brings up. It is not a very recognized feature, but that does not mean it is not important!

[Tetraca]

There are too many effects, not enough simplicity in the looks of the OS. I can settle on a GUI that has 3 colors(8 colors for the background) in its default design since that is all the colors the GUI needs to function. There is no need for a GUI to require more than 32 MB of memory to operate. OpenGEM could function with only 640k, and it was a fully functional GUI. At least in Windows I can just cut off all the useless effects and color schemes and such that I don't want without brain surgery.

Edited by Tetraca, 28 April 2007 - 07:45 PM.

[heavensounds]

Well I have never had a mac computer as my personal computer, but I used it quite a few times and i am a regular Windows user. I have to say that at first glance I liked Mac, but after using it for a while to do certain things I realized that Windows are a lot easier and faster to operate. Maybe that is my personal view, but I have to say that Windows are much more usable than Mac...

Best whishes

[demonatashadow]

They're pretty good. I think it would be a pretty good computer to buy. I think Mac is better than windows. I think it's great and if you wan't to buy it, I don't think you would regret it.

[RedAlert]

Uh...They're good for editing stuff? Macs are very annoying, and saying that you can just run Windows on them is just dumb. Why pay for 2 operating systems? Here's a breif comparison...

Macs:
Pros:
Good editing software
Good for people who don't know how to use a computer

Cons:
Expensive
Not much other software

Windows:
Cheap
Lots of software

Cons:
People who can't use a comp tend to get lots of viruses and malware

I don't know if I should put this under the cons section, but my experience with mac software has been very frustrating. When I wanted to play starcraft at my cousin's house, I used disk utility to make an image on one of his comps. All it did was complete the process and say that the file was corrupt. This only happened with brood war, as I was able to made .dmgs out of other discs. Great software!

More recently, my cousin wanted to play WCIII on his macbook. He could put the CD in and it would install just fine, but when I would try to actually open the application, it would change my resolution like normal, flash a couple times, then exit saying something like "an error in this program has occured, but has not affected any other MacOSX programs", then eject the disc. Good luck fixing any of your problems, because people will refuse to blame their precious OSX for any problems and just say "well it never happened to me".

[robocz033]

What people don't get is mac has the longest history with computers, which kind of means they have the most experience. although windows is easy to use and very common, macs just have everything. if you know how to use a mac, its easy. on the other hand, most people dont know how to use them because they are so different from windows. although windows has set a standard, mac has exceeded it by including many features and so many helpful programs.

as for parallel desktop, or bootcamp in some macs, i dont believe you need to buy the os, it can just run it. so there is no downside to it. but because windows became so popular, apple did not stand a chance. they cost more and they dont have the same compatibility as windows machines do. and dont get me wrong, i like windows, but all the stupid viruses are just plain annoying, that is why i switch to macs, but still use a dell for windows stuff. however, i do use all windows programs with my dell. as i said before i haven't had to install xp for it, so i dont believe that you should have to. to answer those questions i would suggest going to www.apple.com and locating an apple store near you and talking to the mac geniuses.

the apple store near me has helped me with multiple things, and their customer service is unbeatable. so, to me, mac is the best way to go, but not the only way. it all depends on what you need to do.

graphics wise, mac dominates, but windows can run faster, but it uses more resources. macs are more expensive, but come with great features, while windows are cheap (you can get em for like $200-300 baseline...) and almost everything is written for them, however you will still find support for programs in most new programs/versions (mainly within a year of the last update) at least all the programs i use have mac compatibility.

[BobbyDee]

What do you want to do with your new computer? Get work done or constantly try and keep your computer working? Get a Mac. I made the move to Mac over 6 years ago and have never looked back. The arguments over price don't hold true when you look at what you get. Security, performance, applications (such as iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie, iCal, iTunes, iSync, Mail), ease of use, unix robustness, etc. There is plenty of software available for the Mac. Thousand of commercial software, open source, and shareware. Check out http://www.versiontracker.com/macosx/ to get a good idea of how much software is available.

[-[Nero]-]

other than compatibility issues, MACS ARE GREAT..never used one before..but from what i hear, the performance is great ^^ it runs fine, not many problems etc etc

and compatibility is no longer a big issue on the newer macs, they use intel processors, and you can install windows on it too. if you want to run a windows program while using the mac OS, just use a emulator like virtual pc, it works fine ^^

when considering whether to buy a pc or mac...well, its a hard choice =) both have their pros and cons...but sooner or later its just going to be..say, like choosing between Dell and HP ><" because compatibility is no longer a big issue, they've already started using the same processors...they're getting more similar. so its alright to just leave it up to what you prefer, if you like mac, or wanna try it. i say go for it! ^^

[galexcd]

Ok as a mac user all my life, I might be a little biased. But you should still hear me out. I've used both the mac and windows operating system. They are both flawed in my opinion. And I'll tell you why...


Windows: Total crap. Probably my least favorite operating system. If your going to get a dell, sony, gateway, or another computer with windows pre-installed, get rid of it! My best advice to get the most out of your machine is download linux. First of all, windows doesn't seem to understand the meaning of getting the most out of a monitor. Even if a monitor can get a higher resolution, they limit you to how much you can actually get... And why the hell is the default something usually like 800x600. Maybe 10 years ago that was an OK res, on my mac my resolution is 1920x1200. You people who keep it at 800x600 are forcing web designers and websites to be compatible with your crappy resolution. When I tell other people who use PC's to up their res to at least as big as windows LETS you put it, they are like "oh my god thats so small", and they set it back.. These people will never be editors, and in my opinion they phail at life. Go to hell 800x600 users!

Macs: Macs have the great GUI, and the great res, but like windows, there are a lot of hidden files and system stuff they keep away from you. They let you change more than windows, but still I'd prefer an os where everything the OS needs to run is visible to me. It is still my second fav operating system. So i come to my conclusion:

If you have the money, buy a mac, and install linux on it. Thats all you'll ever need.

[demonatashadow]

Well if you care about the way your desktop operates and how it looks and stuff like that then I would probably get the mac computer. In the past I have used the following OS's, Mac, linux, windows, and hopfully in the future, Altimit. Out of them the easiest to use was teh windows version, there weren't to many problems with it. It was easy to manage. next would be linux because I thought it was pretty cool, but it did seem to get more viruses a lot easier. So thats why I like windows better. But mac did funtion pretty cool. I liked mac pretty much. But right now I'm using wondows. Linux just screwed up my computer and I don't plan on ever using it again. Well theres my suggestions for you (updated).

[fffanatics]

I used to be an anti-mac person until i became a hard core programmer. From a programmer's view, macs are the way to go unless you want Linux. They are very similar except Macs have a good backing and support that Linux does not. Also, most applications are for both windows and macs. Finally, if there are applications that dont work for the Mac OS, you can dual boot macs with Windows now with a utility called Boot Camp that Apple released. Macs are making a good stance but are not for the novice user. If you are good with computers and understand Linux at all, then a mac will work great for you.

[curiouslady]

I am yet to use a Mac Computer. However, I had read few reviews on this product and was impressed about the value they provide. I would give it a Thumbs UP..

[PhoenixGFX]

My Opinion... IT'S A WASTE OF MONEY!

Going Apple seems to be a trend nowadays. But why shell out hard earned Money when you can custom build your own system that's just as good for half the price?
And talk about applications, there is no real need to buy software when you can run Windows and use some of the thousands of free ones out there.

And talk about repairs, parts are more expensive. I had an issue here at work where we needed to replace some RAM modules. They are about 5 times more expensive and regular RAM won't work in them because of the ECC feature and recommended heatsink.

[Iniyila]

A Mac PC consists of two different parts, one is its software and another is the hardware which each one may have its advantages and its disadvantages.

About hardware : the hardware will cost you more than what you can get if you buy each of case components separately from markets and then assembling them yourself, the monitor comes with Apple brand but just doesn't worth the price you pay currently a 27 inches LED monitor from apple costs you above 900$ but you can get a samsung one with same inches just for 400$ so you pay more than double but do you get more than double too? no, you don't, i can say when i saw a Samsung and Apple 27 inch LED together i found that samsung is even better in displaying colors so you have just paying for the "NAME" and you don't get anything for that 500$ more you pay. this is not the only problem, the keyboard apple makes are in same price with those Logitech makes (both wired and wireless) but just give Logitech a try and you will find while apple is trying to make all of its equipments in white color, Logitech tries to make them durable and astonishing fast response, just ask professional game players , those who have a Mac PC have replaced their keyboards with logitech ones for better performance.

Inside the case you get equipments which aren't built by Apple so you can just ask the price of each equipment (like cpu, ram , ...) and after summing all of them you will find saving money if you get them separate and assemble them yourself so don't think a simple assembling that Apple has done worth to pay a lot more money. and just search google and you will find some amazing result an iMAC with these specification : 2.93GHz Intel Core i7 - 27 inches display - 4GB of ram comes with ATI 4670 and you will think why they are providing their high performance PC with little graphic cards ? i will say to you later in software review but just let see how much you have to pay for this : 2200$ , so good luck and buy it! with buying it you will save about a suitcase space in your house because it doesn't have any case but you have payed just a little too much for it.

About software : now lets talk a little about their operating system MAC OSx , i said they implement low performance graphic card in their PC, i think they do it because they do not think anyone with a MAC OSx will be able to play any game so why they should put powerful graphic card in it ? you may search a game + mac in google and you find a lot of results but before getting surprised first see the OS, they all have installed XP or win7 on their macs, do not forget you have payed for software too so when you again pay for another OS , you have payed double for hardware and double for software ! now i always said MAC OSx is simple and easy to use but when you get familiar with PC you will find it not able to do many things and you go buy a windows, so i suggest you to do that thing in the beginning.