Apple v PC

[MightyGem]

We all know why Apple users buy macs instead of PCs. So why do PC users buy PCs instead of macs? There must be a reason or two, surely?

[Conan the Librarian]

Ooh... Let's have a think.

User base
Commonality
Upgrade potetial
More varied Software
Cheaper software
Not tied in to one manufacturer
Peripherals cost
Expansion cost
Existing knowledge (and acceptance) of quirks
Spares cost and availability

or

We love crashes
We love wires
We love the intellectual conundrums thrown up every day
We just lurve a blue screen
We eat Apples for lunch
We are all related to Gatesy
We have more space to play with and clutter up
We can get together in a support group ( where would comp/Int be without the PC?


The list ( both of them really) can go on and on. Were this Jetblast, it probably would :}

Conan

[Basil]

Heard the bad boys are turning their attention to Apples now :*

[Conan the Librarian]

I know... there are allegedly a few proles in the PC community that are laughing like a drain...

You may be shocked to the core, but it is a good job you have changed to Intel chips Apple fans. You might need that extra poke to ameliorate the effects of Norton and its' like, which are coming to a channel near you soon.

Conan

[Binoculars]

The first half dozen of Conan's points pretty well sum up the case for the prosecution I think, and you can add higher initial cost.

The case for the defence can be found all over this forum if you search for it. It's a subjective thing, and no amount of huffing and puffing from either side will change the opinion of the diehards on the other.

I'll just suggest that Mac users can be perceived as condescending, and this probably raises the hackles of PC owners and reduces the chances of them ever even trying a Mac.

I'm a newcomer to Mac; I still have a PC and a Mac on the same network, and I know which one I'd rather use. But the old Beta vs VHS syndrome is still the crucial one. If you want universality stay with your PC.

[Basil]

<<shocked to the core>>
Very droll :D

[Blacksheep]

You must compare Apples with Apples. The CIO of a medium to large company, faced with choosing between expensive Apples and cheaper PCs has no choice at all. He buys or leases PCs and uses the millions he saved to buy more server capacity. Its the network and the servers running it that are at the core of the business. The PCs sitting on everyones desk are mere input/output devices, comparatively speaking, but its the corporate users who keep the IT world humming. The real money, as Bill Gates knows only too well, is in the software. Macs may be the Rolls-Royces of the computing world, but the majority have to make do with the company car or a family runabout.

[ORAC]

Macs may be the Rolls-Royces of the computing world. Hmmm, BMWs maybe. But the Volvo trucks are the Sun/Solaris servers and the white vans are the Linux servers.

Come to think of it. Apples are just white vans with a paint job.... :}

[WeatherJinx]

You lot'll have to do a lot better than this thread to get us to bite :p

[Mac the Knife]

PCs? You mean PCs running Microsoft's exploitative, DRM laden virus fly-trap?

Ahhhh....Linux!

[Flyrr100]

You'll have to pry mt dual-core Intel iMac from my cold dead hands. Along with my Ruger P100.

[Blacksheep]

Intel iMacs are that bad huh?

But please use sleeping pills instead of the Ruger - spare a thought for those who have to clear up the mess.

[Conan the Librarian]

A light read on the vulnerabilities of Mac and PC beneath. I like Apples, but prefer PCs. Even more so now....

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/index.php?p=165&tag=nl.e589

Conan

[Mac the Knife]

The Secunia figures are a confused mess that can be used to "prove" almost anything.

Microsoft used them to "prove" that Windows/IIS was far more secure than Linux/Apache recently.

This was dissected in Slashdot (as I remember) and shown to be absolute bushwa.

OS X is based on BSD Unix using the Mach kernel - thus intrinsically it's going to be more secure than Windows, though Apple have made some concessions to usability. Being less common that Windows or Linux, OS X has been subject to less analysis and less attacks. Only Darwin, the open-source OS from which OS X is derived has been accessible to bug-hunters and has had much in the way of external scrutiny.

But I'd take George Ou's little conclusions with a bushel of salt if I were you - remember that on Unix style systems you can only affect one user unless you can excalate your privileges to root. So don't dump your Apples in a panic, 'cos that's just what Microsoft would like to scare you into.

Now that OS X on x86 is out and getting more popular, there will be more exploits and more patches. That's the way the software world works folks!

[Conan the Librarian]

Ha! I posted that one just to provide a source for a little "discussion" or bloodletting even - I have little knowledge of the Apple OS and hold no views on the Secunia thing either... But what I DO know, is that it winds Apple users into apoplexy. My apologies to you Mac for the fishing trip, but I couldn't resist it :}

Conan

[Mac the Knife]

My fault for biting :p

"It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it."

:ok:

[Conan the Librarian]

Good on you Mac :} and if you are a plastic surgeon, I have a problem. The Dog is getting to look more like my ex every day. Should I consult a plastic surgeon or just stay with Mental Health?


Best Regards from somewhere extremely cold,

Conan

[VitaminGee]

A spot of advice please, in simple terms as I'm a bit of an IT numpty:confused:.
My daughter is due to start a degree course in Graphic Design(GD) in Sep. She currently has a reasonably capable Toshiba laptop (Win XP) but has mentioned that she had heard that a Mac notebook would be better for GD. I have already been advised that that Corel produce good GD software and that plenty of RAM is necessary. My query is: What difference does the hardware make in this instance, what is recommended and are there any other software recommendations? Grateful for any help :ok:

VG

[gaxan]

I produce exhibition graphics to earn a crust, these tend to be large format digital prints and most stands require some design input from myself. I use the industry standard packages of: Quark6 ( dtp package) Illustrator and Photoshop. All of these are available in either PC or Mac flavour and I use them on both platforms. Modern Macs (OS 10.3.XX) will network quite happily with PC's - so its a difficult question, I dont think that there is much to choose between any platform as far as performance goes, if aesthetics are inportant then Macs win hands down. Corel tends to be the poor relation to Illustrator but I know designers who swear by it - yer pays yer money and takes yer choice!!

[WeatherJinx]

VG
It's almost certain that the college will be using the 'Holy Trinity' (Quark, Illustrator and Photoshop) and using them on Macs. I suggest you make the appropriate enquiries at your daughter's intended college, using their response to inform your investment, rather than second-guessing. As all these programs run on both Macs and PCs, you could also ask them if there is a preferred OS platform.

With designer temperament being what it is (and I've managed enough of them!) there could well be tears before bedtime if you get it wrong :uhoh: Yes, Corel is a good product (very good and great value IMO) but not likely to be found on many future employers' skills wishlists. Good luck!

Jx

[VitaminGee]

gaxan and Jinx many thanks.

VG

[Eddie_Crane]

VG
It's almost certain that the college will be using the 'Holy Trinity' (Quark, Illustrator and Photoshop) and using them on Macs

Gotta quote this.
My sister works as p/t GD in London. The whole outfit she works for has Apple Macs as platform and the above-mentioned software running on them.
She personally works with a PPC Powerbook.

[pendrifter]

I've always used Macs working from home - mainly for typesetting and GD plus the usual accounts and household and personal things. My daughter at local sixth form uses PCs at college. She has no problems switching from one to the other, but seems to prefer the Mac. Mr Gates' stuff runs ok on the Mac (much to my annoyance! I am a die-hard Mac fan.)
Interestingly, the college installed a new iMac some months ago, which the IT bod seemed to be completely at sea with, and left it to my daughter to set-up!:confused:
It seems that most people who denigrate Macs have never tried one - in my experience those that do, never go back to PCs.
I get quite a bit of ribbing in the local, I'm the only one on a Mac; but it seems I can get in the local when ever I like, as I'm not the one having to worry and fight off virus attacks:} (That of course may change)
I remember an item on some site, where someone compared the price of a package plus all the extras they required from "a well known PC supplier" which totalled some £50 more than the same Apple bundle!!
It seems to me the old adage " you get what you pay for" applies.:ok:

[WeatherJinx]

I remember an item on some site, where someone compared the price of a package plus all the extras they required from "a well known PC supplier" which totalled some £50 more than the same Apple bundle!! There's an excellent but lengthy article here (http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/36120.html) (from a Linux site, no less!), which puts the fallacious 'PCs are cheaper than Macs' argument (often touted in here) to bed. Truth is, it's really down to what you want to use it for that ultimately determines cost of ownership, but most can't see past the ticket price. The fact is that the Mac comes ready to use for a consumer-level user, for example, while most PCs just come with an OS and some demos. ;)

[Mac the Knife]

....while most PCs just come with an OS and some demos.

Except that now you can download (or get off a magazine CD) pretty much everything you might need from an office suite to a webserver for free.

'Course it mightn't be quite so pretty or slick as shop and you might have to hunt some of it down, but free it is......

The equation is looking a bit fluid these days.

[WeatherJinx]

but free it is..
In what way does that diminish my point Mac? You can fill Macs up with free crap too. Except that you dont need to.

Macs arrive with a level of connectivity and world-class software unheard of in the PC world. You cannot even approach to do on a PC what a first time Mac user can do out of the box.

Now get back to yer Linux! :p