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The Big Mac vs PC Debate (1 Viewer)

Mac all the way

Changed from windows based PC and wouldnt even consider going back, our house of four has been through 5 laptops and 4 desktops all of which had issues that constantly needed attention, learning to use a Mac after windows took no time at all......change you wont regret it
 
Changed from windows based PC and wouldnt even consider going back, our house of four has been through 5 laptops and 4 desktops all of which had issues that constantly needed attention, learning to use a Mac after windows took no time at all......change you wont regret it

Absolutely agree! If I add up all the work-supplied, dying or dead laptops plus a couple of out-of-date, struggling, dying desktops our family has spent (or had spent on us!) a vast amount, the shed is full of u/s pc boxes. Might be an idea to factor in longevity into the price of a mac.

... it cant be said enough, after an hour of playing using a mac becomes totally intuitive after that - just turn them on and do the job. If you like talking about, adjusting, downloading and generally playing 'computers' buy a pc and play with it, if you want a tool buy a mac.
 
I use an iMac and a notebook PC. Well pleased with the Mac but, Elements 9 runs faster on PC than mac. Any more than four columns of thumbnails do not display on the Mac, the Toshiba notebook will display down to postage stamp size if necessary. Anyone else experience this.
 
To balance things a little, I am a happy PC user.

I run one PC for internet work and nothing else and I have a 4 year old Dell PC running Win7 Pro which I use for all my photo, video processing, disc burning, maintaing personal records etc, but this machine is never connected to the interent . Therefore I do not need all that firewall, anti virus, ISP software stuff etc on it.

I could never even consider swapping to a Mac principally because of my 2 external hdds for storage and backup, my wifi HP printer and my blu-ray writer which are all windows orientated. Must admit some ignorance as well regards Imove, can yopu burn blu-ray discs on a Mac?

On another note I think Apple are a big rip off company with the prices they charge. The USA IRS would love to get there hands on Apple as well to go after their billions in cash mountains stored abroad which was to avoid US corporate taxes.
 
I find Macs are (generally) quicker, intuitive, far less prone to viruses (not totally, and utterly immune but you're unlikely to get one) and need less tinkering just to keep them running. I find MAC OS a lot nicer to use than Windows, and Macs also come with pretty nice pre-installed software for multimedia stuff (though you'll still need to get something to edit photos properly).

However they're expensive, and you have to cope with a certain degree of annoying Apple control freakery (the flip side of them not needing as much tinkering is they're not as tinkerable!). If you're the sort of person who likes a straight out of the box machine you don't have to tinker with or worry about too much that's great. If you're the sort who likes upgrading and souping up machines they're not for you.

I found when I started using a Mac I found it hard to go back to using PCs because they're really intuitive to use and work with - I ended up buying one when my PC died because I'd got so used to using one at work, combined with the fact I was sick of buying PCs where I had to spend hours "under the bonnet" to keep them running at full spec or a virus or malware has snuck on the machine (time will tell if I need to do this with my Mac!). I also get educational discount because I work at a University, which took a chunk off the price tag.

I can totally see why people don't want to spend the money, and buy into Apple as a company, though...
 
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I had a somewhat knackered 4 year old cheap laptop which I was about to launch into the nearest skip.
After a chance discussion with a young Polish engineer in work, I handed it over to him.
Within two hours he had wiped the hard drive clean of the horrendous Windows Vista and installed Linux mint.
The machine now works like an absolute dream.
 
As a convert of around 4 years my view is that a Mac just works and keeps working. It really is just the minimum I would expect from, an expensive piece of machinery.

PCs generally don't work very reliably and get worse and worse with time. This does not, in my view, really meet minimum standards. I still use a PC at work and often have problems where I never have problems at home on the Mac.

Of course, the software availability for PC is a big plus..

To answer the actual title of the thread I do think a PC is superior to a Big Mac........
 
PCs generally don't work very reliably and get worse and worse with time.

Maybe I am an unusual person in my habits (I tend not to go on quite so many weird web places as a lot of other people), but I do not recognize this from my own experience. Where I live, hardware tends to break down after some years because we are so close to the sea that there is salt spray in the air sometimes, but slow down of system does not seem to happen for me. (and I have said before, several years ago when I last had to work on a Mac, it did not come through as intuitive for me).

Niels
 
Windows 7 seems to be a really good OS.
We have 1 PC running Windows 7 for 3 years now without any deterioration or any problems. I don't think I've had to touch this machine since new.
PCs in work running Windows 7 are also pretty stable.
 
I had a somewhat knackered 4 year old cheap laptop which I was about to launch into the nearest skip.
After a chance discussion with a young Polish engineer in work, I handed it over to him.
Within two hours he had wiped the hard drive clean of the horrendous Windows Vista and installed Linux mint.
The machine now works like an absolute dream.

Funny isn't it, that the free, and least popular option works an absolute treat! Linux has certainly got me out of a fix when faced with setting up myself and the children with PCs. Saved me a fortune. However, I am a bit "technical" and don't mind solving problems or fixing things that don't work initially. Google seems to have the answer to everything! and once they are running, they require no attention.

I wouldn't recommend Linux to everyone though. Think you need a bit of computer confidence and a spirit of adventure to make it work.
 
Having just read through this thread I can only conclude that the small number of Mac users (with possible the exception of some professionals) are people that did not know how to keep their PC's clean and working well and maybe need something idiot proof which is fair enough. But for anyone with a bit a PC now how I just fail to see the problem with PC's. My desktop I am working on now is a 7 year old xp machine and still working as good as the day I bought it. I am still image editing on it with CS5 no problem and use it for at least 5 or 6 hours every day (yep far too much I know but there we are!).
Previous to retiring I looked after a network of over 100 PC's in five locations and problems with windows etc were few and far between.
I concede that Mac user should feel superior as they are paying well over the odds for their machines IMHO and need to justify the purchase - natural reaction but one gets a little sick and tired of people trying to justify their purchase by having a go at PC user's.
Rant over - now you can have a go at me :-O but I will not be listening lol.
p.s. I also concede that it is 'trendy' to run a Mac but I am well past caring about such things (although I do have an Ipod touch which is an absolute pain the the backside to keep up to date due the the slow connectivity with the Apple site and also the hideous amount of time it takes to install up dated software - I do not even attempt to keep it up to date these days)
 
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Roy
Not wishing to move away from the original question but this quote :
'Having just read through this thread I can only conclude that the small number of Mac users (with possible the exception of some professionals) are people that did not know how to keep their PC's clean and working well and maybe need something idiot proof which is fair enough' is in my opinion dismissive and patronising.

I worked in the IT industry for many years and am well aware of how to keep a PC clean and working, as I am sure are many other Apple users. I certainly do not feel superior or trendy in any way because I am a Mac user, I simply prefer them. Neither do I have a need to justify my purchases it is all down to personal likes and dislikes.

Cheers and everyone to their own opinion.

Phil
 
I do have an Ipod touch which is an absolute pain the the backside to keep up to date due the the slow connectivity with the Apple site and also the hideous amount of time it takes to install up dated software - I do not even attempt to keep it up to date these days)

I, too have an iPod Touch and simply cannot relate to your experience. On more or less a daily basis the App store indicates one or more updates are available. I click on 'update all' and without fail within a minute or so, all are updated. The only time updates take more than that are when, periodically, Apple updates the entire iOS, which generally means an update of several hundred megabytes, which naturally takes a bit longer. But that's all.
 
I think the Andrew (the OP) made up his mind way back in this thread (if it wasn't made up already) which way he was going to go.

Perhaps it's time for another thread asking for ex-Mac users to explain why they went back to windows. Somehow I don't think it would get to 3 pages...
 
Having just read through this thread I can only conclude that the small number of Mac users (with possible the exception of some professionals) are people that did not know how to keep their PC's clean and working well and maybe need something idiot proof which is fair enough.

Ignoring the "idiot proof" barb, I know how to keep PCs ticking over, I just feel I've wasted enough of my life doing so. But mainly I just prefer the feel of using a Mac after getting used to them at work.

When I was asking people their opinions of whether I should buy a Mac I had universally two responses:

Mac users: Buy a Mac because I think they're great.
PC users: Don't buy a Mac, because Mac users are w*nkers.

;)
 
They are just computers. You pays yer money (more in the case of a Mac) and takes yer pick.

I started using a Mac at work about 20 years ago, simply because most design studios used them for graphics work at the time so we had to be able to handle Mac files. Since then most of this work has moved over to PCs but I still use my Mac Mini for our print design work.

I sometimes use my other half's laptop running Vista and for the past two weeks I have been using a PC running Windows 7 at work while the usual operator was on holiday. They both feel a little strange and clumsy at first but I am sure that I could get used to them after a week or so of continuous use.

Recently my work Mac Mini started misbehaving and wouldn't boot up every so often. Eventually I bit the bullet, backed up all my files, wiped the hard drive and did a clean re-install of everything. It took a couple of days to get everything back in order and working as before but hopefully it should be all right now. This is the only problem I have had with all our Macs over the past 20 years and my iMac at home has been trouble free and a delight to use since I bought it two years ago.

I get a bit tired with the continual PC/Mac debates as they usually end up with bad feelings and insults being slung about. My attitude is to buy whichever appeals to you. Get a Mac if you fancy the looks and can afford one or a PC if you enjoy using them. I am sure there is very little to choose between them these days.

Ron
 
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Having just read through this thread I can only conclude that the small number of Mac users (with possible the exception of some professionals) are people that did not know how to keep their PC's clean and working well and maybe need something idiot proof which is fair enough.

What he said. I still think that Macs biggest selling point is their 'snob value' which seems to be alive and well after all these years, which is surprising. If you want to pay 3 or 4 times as much for a machine that does exactly the same job as a pc , knock yourself out. Dont get me wrong, Macs' are sexy and yes, they work ever so well - but so do similar spec'd PC, but as Roy C says, you need to be a little bit savvy. Perhaps there's a clue in the fact that Mac still only holds about 20% of the market share?
 
What he said. I still think that Macs biggest selling point is their 'snob value' which seems to be alive and well after all these years, which is surprising. If you want to pay 3 or 4 times as much for a machine that does exactly the same job as a pc , knock yourself out. Dont get me wrong, Macs' are sexy and yes, they work ever so well - but so do similar spec'd PC, but as Roy C says, you need to be a little bit savvy. Perhaps there's a clue in the fact that Mac still only holds about 20% of the market share?

This is probably all true but I guess we have two sorts of people arguing here so there will never be a 'right answer'. Those with lots of tech knowledge who then disparage others for not being so involved and those who just want the b***** thing to work.

For me it's just a tool and I want it to work as thoughtlessly as the hammer I use to put up pictures. The PCs I've used at work were fine - although rather slow and clunky but we had a full time technician to keep them running. I really have no interest in how it works any more than I really want to know about how to turn iron ore into a hammer. Why should I be 'savvy' Roy? The IT industry is constantly banging on about how easy it is to do stuff with the latest gadget / machine / operating system, they constantly want to put extra functionality into every new device (I agree Apple is no exception to that) but all I want is something to do the job so that I can focus on the job, not the tool. I am surrounded by non-savvy family and friends who are constantly cursing about why their machines won't do the job and having to replace them.

The issue of price is not quite as clear cut either: I've had mid-range PC laptops for work (so I've not had to pay!!); just out of guarantee and power supplies failed twice ("Not worth it - might as well upgrade the machine, sir") Hard drive failure on another. Motherboard failure on another. 2 sessions of having to reinstall operating systems after wiping the hard drive. Screen failure. And I don't go on dodgy sites, wouldn't dare with a work machine!

My argument almost breaks down as I've just had an email warning me that my hard drive might fail, please take it to your dealer or arrange to have it picked up - but that's before the event not after it!!
 
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