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Mac or PC?
Topic Started: Oct 16 2012, 08:26 PM (358 Views)
Fish Cheeks
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ACK!!!! My computer went kaput a couple months ago. In the meantime I've been using Mr. Fishy's old computer. Last time I got a new computer I said, "next time I get a new computer I'm getting a Mac." But now I'm on the fence again. I use the computer for work (Word, Excel), Internet, photo and video editing. The thing that appeals to me about Macs is, as Mr. Fishy says, "they just work" - meaning you don't have to download a bunch of drivers or crap to work with various things. Is it weird of me to say, though, that I'd miss the right-click features?

What would you get? :huh:
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FlashGordon
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MAC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No question. At all.
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Kassandra
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Well you know my answer.
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Fish Cheeks
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Actually, K, I don't!? Now I feel like a dummy! :psycho: :tantrum:

I've generally been anti-Apple products 'cause I'm not a fanboy and don't like to feed the beast...but...
Edited by Fish Cheeks, Oct 16 2012, 08:51 PM.
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Kassandra
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I won't spend a dime on an icrap, I refuse to join the isheep.

I had to laugh at the last conference I was at, Scott McNealy mentioned that Apple makes Microsoft look like open source.

Anyway, I have always had pcs, work, home, whatever, never a problem. I'm not going to spend more money supporting a company that I think is a marketing scam that hoards billions in cash while supporting slave labor overseas. Plus I really think Steve Jobs was a scumbag.
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macmtn
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Kassandra
Oct 16 2012, 08:58 PM
I won't spend a dime on an icrap, I refuse to join the isheep.

I had to laugh at the last conference I was at, Scott McNealy mentioned that Apple makes Microsoft look like open source.

Anyway, I have always had pcs, work, home, whatever, never a problem. I'm not going to spend more money supporting a company that I think is a marketing scam that hoards billions in cash while supporting slave labor overseas. Plus I really think Steve Jobs was a scumbag.
I wish you would stop beating around the bush and tell us how you really feel.... :teehee:
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Indy
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PC.

I have one of each for work and I just don't like my Mac nearly as much as I like my PC. I got a Macbook as a replacement for my last PC laptop and while much hardier, I just don't like it (I love my iPhone and my iPod, just not my iComputer). Everyone's like "oh Macs are so intuitive, you'll adjust so fast and you'll love it." IMO, that's crap. I've had this thing for a year and a half and I'm still much slower and less efficient on it. Maybe I'd be better if I worked on it full-time during the day instead of just when I work from home, but I feel like I've used it enough that I shouldn't have to Google how to do/find things but that's not the case.

As for the right-click feature - you can still do that on a Mac, or at least on their laptops. You just click the upper part of the touch-pad. Knowing I'd still have that is one reason I allowed myself to be convinced to get the Macbook. However, I still don't like the damned thing.
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kady05
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Mac. I will never own a PC again. Ever.

But I'm a photographer, and a Mac is pretty much a must have (IMO). I got mine.. I think about 2yrs. ago and have never had any problems. Nothing. My PC's were always getting screwed up in one way or another.

What do you mean by missing the right click? I can right click..
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jn4jenny
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If you'd asked me this 5 or 10 years ago, I would have said "Mac, hands down." But the Windows OS has come a very long way, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Windows 7 or Windows 8 to a casual user like you. They're a lot more slick, clean, and user-friendly than their predecessors Windows Vista or Windows XP.

You are not describing any needs that would absolutely necessitate a Mac, which I would describe as:

--intensive graphic design work

--intensive video editing work (although even for light-duty video editing, I still think iMovie outclasses Windows Movie Maker any day of the week. But people who are just making short Youtube sales videos for horses? They can get by with Movie Maker, no problem.)

--you are such a techno-fool that you can't handle the installation or maintenance of a basic virus scanning program, malware scanning program, and some simple disk utilities to keep your system running at optimal speed. And trust me, that would take a SERIOUS techno-fool since you can set most of these programs to run in the background without your intervention.

--you are seriously annoyed by how long it takes your PC to load up, come back from sleep, etc. (I am not being cute about this, either. I live a lifestyle where I'm constantly moving locations, opening and shutting my laptop, etc. and it is a genuine convenience to have my machine wake up as soon as I open the screen.)

--you are seriously, deeply annoyed by the installation process in Windows. Yes it is still annoying, but it's not nearly as annoying as it used to be, and ask yourself how often you really install software.

--you like your machines to look really purty and well designed. Although to be fair, there are now some PCs on the market that are beautiful to look at as well.

If you don't fit any of those descriptions, and you just use your machine for word processing/Internet browsing/email checking/some basic photo and video editing? You could do all of that on a $300-$400 PC and replace it 2-3x before you'd equalled the cost of a similar Mac computer. Now to be fair, the Mac is also likely to last longer--many Macs "go" for so long that owners are faced to replace them because their HARDWARE went obsolete and couldn't install the newest, latest, greatest software on the market. We're talking 5, 7, 10 years. But again, for $400 a pop for a PC, you could replace it multiple times before you hit the cost of a Mac.

I vote that you buy a PC, and that you do it thoughtfully and carefully and not overspend. Truly, the average user who is doing the stuff you describe shouldn't be spending a penny over $500, and most should be spending less than that.

For the record, I have been a Mac user for over 10 years and don't plan to own anything else. But I *do* engage in pretty hardcore video editing, graphic design work, etc. I bought the machine that made sense for my lifestyle. When my horse trainer asked what she should buy--and her needs are very similar to yours--I helped her select a $385 PC laptop that's so powerful that she'll never touch even 50% of its power or storage capacity. She loooooooves it and finds Windows 7 much more intuitive than her old Windows XP machine.

That said, I've also helped people buy their first Mac. That includes my mother, who will never touch even 10% of the power on her Macbook Air, but she's gaga for it because it "just works." And she's got the money, so why not? But again, she's not kidding herself. She knew she could have gotten the job done with a $400 PC. For her, it was worth $600+ more to have something that "just works" every time.

I also want to briefly respond to this:

Quote:
 
I'm not going to spend more money supporting a company that I think is a marketing scam that hoards billions in cash while supporting slave labor overseas. Plus I really think Steve Jobs was a scumbag.


Kudos to you for exercising your rights as a consumer to vote with your money. But IMO pretty much *all* the computer companies are "hoarding billions in cash while supporting slave labor," including Apple and Microsoft and the whole lot of them. It's hard to decide what's worse: the labor problems that Apple is accused of in China, or the labor problems that Microsoft is accused of in the USA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Microsoft#Labor_practices
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Apple_Inc.#Labor_practices

It sucks that the computer world is so rife with poor labor practices, and eco-unfriendly practices. I suppose if I were really serious about ethical computing choices, I'd buy a used machine that was running Ubuntu Linux. Or if it were a work machine, I'd encourage my employer to put us on a Neverware Juicebox server, which basically makes it possible to run cutting-edge PC software on 10, 15, even 20 year old machines. A compelling quote from this article about Neverware regarding a private elementary school: "Take this case study offered by HP about how they helped St. Peter’s Anglican Primary School. In it they replaced 160 traditional PCs with 80 blade PCs and 90 thin clients. That costs approximately $100,000 and generates 2 tons of e-waste. Hefter [creator of Neverware] solves the same problem with two “juiceboxes” powering the original 160 PCs. Cost = $20,000. E-waste = 0."
http://observer.com/2011/01/neverware-means-never-buying-a-new-computer-again/
Edited by jn4jenny, Oct 17 2012, 05:06 PM.
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buryinghill2
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Love my Macbook. Money well spent!
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CDE Driver
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No input other than to say jn4jenny is my hero!
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Fish Cheeks
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jn4jenny
Oct 17 2012, 10:34 AM

I vote that you buy a PC, and that you do it thoughtfully and carefully and not overspend. Truly, the average user who is doing the stuff you describe shouldn't be spending a penny over $500, and most should be spending less than that.

What kinds of machines are these? I had no idea you could get one for under $1k...
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gunnar
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I have no clue. Mother had a Mac. She was always confuzzled. Printers issues seemed to be her problem. Of course Mother a newbie to computers and never sat at a work desk using them all day! I bought an IPad. Love it but I miss close, save etc! Never know if I am streaming or not. My bro loves the Mac! After owning my iPad I try to use screen touch at Kanoe's. you get used to finger computering! You can get a laptop for far less thn a Mac book!

But with your boy being named Mac you know the answer!
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FalseImpression
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I started with Macs years ago and switched to PCs. My husband has a Macbook... wanted it for ease of use and no virus! But he keeps asking me how to do this or that. "I.don't.know! You.wanted.a.Mac, learn.to.use.it!"
I have a Toshiba Satellite and I really like it. It cost a lot less than the Mac! But I agree that playing with pictures is a lot easier on the Mac.
My daughter and SIL have iphones. I don't! I have a Samsung, not as flashy and sleek, but a lot cheaper!
Anything Mac is expensive!
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rhubarbpie
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We are a macbook family. Love my macbook a million times more than my work laptop or pc. It is also over 5 years old and going strong. My husband's is almost 7 years old at this point and has been through multiple military deployments.

I went through laptop after laptop before spending a little more money on my mac. I wanted a computer that was going to last longer than a year and a half before crapping out (and since I can't call corporate IT to come fix my home computer, it was either pay someone to try to diagnose and fix it, or buy a new one). Yes, you can replace them, but it can be a PITA to move/save files, especially when you can't get past the "blue screen of death" or the damn thing won't boot up. Excel and word both work fine on it, photo storage and editing is cake, and like someone else said, "it just works."
Edited by rhubarbpie, Oct 18 2012, 10:40 AM.
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