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I need help!
I can't decided which to get? T_T
Mac Pros:
No Vista to worry about Lighter than a Dell
Cons: WAyyyyy expensive
Dell Pros: Affordable You can get the windows xp operating system
Cons: windows more prone to viruses
EDIT:
Reasons for me needing a laptop
1. I'm a college student who recently got into Starcraft and would like to play without lag 2. I use my laptop alot which is why I burned out my HP in two years. 3. I need something stable and won't cause lots of problems 4. Lots of memory because I take lots of pictures and plan on buying a Nikon for my birthday in near but still distant future 5. My mom is planning on moving far away 6. I am tired of blowing my money on HP pcs
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I've had a dell for 3 years now and it still works great!
Get the dell.
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more importantly: Antihack: YES +130 +Lan Latency
Antihack : No +100 Bnet laggy games and no one will want to play with you.
you decide!
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SnowFantasy
I'm guessing you'd go with Mac?
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hes saying get a dell. you cant get antihack or lan latency on a mac
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On February 03 2009 20:37 renegade_zerg wrote: hes saying get a dell. you cant get antihack or lan latency on a mac yeah i guess i did type them out in the wrong order.
but really, i'd skip the mac.
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CA10824 Posts
wtf don't pay for an overpriced mac.
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On February 03 2009 19:55 LimitlessSky wrote: I need help!
I can't decided which to get? T_T
Mac Pros:
No Vista to worry about Lighter than a Dell
Cons: WAyyyyy expensive
Dell Pros: Affordable You can get the windows xp operating system
Cons: windows more prone to viruses
Vista is not a bad thing as people make it out to be, so I wouldn't list that as a con for Windows or a pro for Mac. Also windows is more prone to viruses but if you install a good AV + exercise common sense you will virtually stop all attacks.
Factor in the huge compatibility bonuses that Windows has (watching starcraft one of them) and that Mac lacks and you have a no-brainer.
So really there is no reason to go for a mac IMO
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You can also run Windows on a Mac, so you can have both if you want. If you can afford it, that is.
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I love my mac. I won't say I don't have regrets, but the new macbook pro's are a stunning piece of kit - no argument!
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It all depends on what you are going to do with it. Games only? Work-related stuff? Education? Portable?
As mentioned above, you can have both OS:es on a mac. My Mac:s runs XP and Vista as smooth as my PC does. Practically the same things in them. Built the PC myself and probably payed 300-400 dollars less, on the other hand I had to take the time to build it, find the right stuff etcetera.
If you only want a machine to play games on - get a PC. If you want a computer for more than that, consider Mac. If you have friends who are using mac, ask them what they think. If you can, borrow one and try it out. I think mac:s are worth the money.
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Valhalla18444 Posts
On February 03 2009 20:54 Scorch wrote: You can also run Windows on a Mac, so you can have both if you want. If you can afford it, that is.
i have three buddies who are all abouts macs and they all run windows on their shiny macs they bought last year because every program they use requires windows
except all three of them run like ass and bug out constantly (which they blame on microsoft) so it's basically like a terrible windows machine that cost $2300 and does everything shittier
is that common
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United States47024 Posts
Dell
Mac OS X isn't the only OS that you can run on Mac, and Windows Vista isn't the only OS you can run on a Dell. This means that the only thing you need judge by is the affordability of the hardware, by which a Dell wins out easily.
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On February 03 2009 21:22 FakeSteve[TPR] wrote:Show nested quote +On February 03 2009 20:54 Scorch wrote: You can also run Windows on a Mac, so you can have both if you want. If you can afford it, that is. i have three buddies who are all abouts macs and they all run windows on their shiny macs they bought last year because every program they use requires windows except all three of them run like ass and bug out constantly (which they blame on microsoft) so it's basically like a terrible windows machine that cost $2300 and does everything shittier is that common No idea. Actually it should also work the other way round. I read that with lots of tinkering and half-legal stuff, it is possible to get Leopard to run on a PC.
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getting XP shouldn't be considered a pro for the dell, since you can get it on the mac as well.
In terms of affordability, it really depends on what model dell you're looking at and which model mac you're looking at. the macbooks are very reasonably priced (i work in the computer department of a university bookstore, if anybody wants to debate this), though with the macbook pros you do end up paying a few hundred more for pretty much a larger screen and discrete graphics instead of integrated.
Another thing to consider is reliability. Like i said, i work in a computer store that also handles manufacturer warranty repairs, and we see very few macs back for repair compared to other companies. Especially considering apple is typically our number 2 seller by a fairly large margin over number 3. (number 1 is always fujitsu. VT engineering requires tablets and they reccommend fujitsus for some unknown reasons, and most kids just go with those. we see a *ton* of those back for repair about a year later when the batteries are completely shot).
My personal opinion is I would spend a little extra money for the mac because they really are solid machines, and they can pretty much do whatever it is you want them to do.
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Valhalla18444 Posts
On February 03 2009 21:26 Scorch wrote:Show nested quote +On February 03 2009 21:22 FakeSteve[TPR] wrote:On February 03 2009 20:54 Scorch wrote: You can also run Windows on a Mac, so you can have both if you want. If you can afford it, that is. i have three buddies who are all abouts macs and they all run windows on their shiny macs they bought last year because every program they use requires windows except all three of them run like ass and bug out constantly (which they blame on microsoft) so it's basically like a terrible windows machine that cost $2300 and does everything shittier is that common No idea. Actually it should also work the other way round. I read that with lots of tinkering and half-legal stuff, it is possible to get Leopard to run on a PC.
i have no idea what leopard is
and yeah i'm asking because i really don't know much about macs (besides their god-awful approach to advertisement) and those three guys make up 100% of the people i know who run windows on a mac but it's entirely possible they just have no idea what theyre doing
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is awesome32252 Posts
On February 03 2009 21:41 FakeSteve[TPR] wrote:Show nested quote +On February 03 2009 21:26 Scorch wrote:On February 03 2009 21:22 FakeSteve[TPR] wrote:On February 03 2009 20:54 Scorch wrote: You can also run Windows on a Mac, so you can have both if you want. If you can afford it, that is. i have three buddies who are all abouts macs and they all run windows on their shiny macs they bought last year because every program they use requires windows except all three of them run like ass and bug out constantly (which they blame on microsoft) so it's basically like a terrible windows machine that cost $2300 and does everything shittier is that common No idea. Actually it should also work the other way round. I read that with lots of tinkering and half-legal stuff, it is possible to get Leopard to run on a PC. i have no idea what leopard is and yeah i'm asking because i really don't know much about macs (besides their god-awful approach to advertisement) and those three guys make up 100% of the people i know who run windows on a mac but it's entirely possible they just have no idea what theyre doing
Leopard is Mac's Operating System.
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2 of my friends have mac, and they both have windows installed on them. They use the mac OS for browsing the internet, email, word processing etc. Windows then for anything important (games)
Seriously, I have a dell laptop that cost €500, and it runs so much better than the mac that my friend has. Also, when I had a problem with it, I called up dell, and 16 hours later, a guy came to the house and fixed it. (Replaced a faulty cd/dvd drive) I've had no problems since.
My friend had to send his mac to the repair shop when he had a problem (the plastic cover was loose or something) and didn't get it back for 2 weeks. When it did come back, they hadn't even replaced the cover, just stuck it back on with some glue or something, and a month later he had the same problem. This time he just didn't bother fixing it because he can't go without a computer for 2 weeks, so its still broken.
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Russian Federation386 Posts
This thread full of Fail. Probably 90% of people who posted in it have no idea about Macs in general - it just hurts my eyes >_< How can you even give advice when you know nothing about the subject?
I'm not saying Mac is better or PC is better - both platforms have they pros and cons. If you could give us a list of what you are going to do with your new computer, I'd give you cons/pros of each. I have 10 years of experience with Macs and I use PCs (Windows) as well. So, post what you're gonna do with your purchase.
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Hey cool, I'm also trying to make a decision between a mac and a dell or lenovo. I am currently leaning towards Mac.
To get a Dell with similar performance as your Mac (assuming you get a original macbook, not the unibody one), you are looking at a price difference of maybe $300. But the Dell looks a lot uglier and it is definitely heavier.
Just a note, I do a lot of programming and haven't played a game other than SC for nearly five years.
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If you want to play games, there's practically no way around Windows. For almost all other common tasks (office, surfing, porn, software development etc.), any OS will do with only small pros and cons between them. So unless you want a Mac for the design and ease of use (which are great indeed), you can use a PC just as well and buy booze and whores for the price difference. On the other hand, the majority of Mac users seem to be convinced of their Mac stuff and don't want to change back. As for quality, repair and warranty, I have heard good and bad stories about both, so I guess you just need to get lucky either way. I've never had a Mac and would like to try one out, but whenever I thought about it I came to the conclusion that it's just not worth the price for my purposes.
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Spenguin
Australia3316 Posts
Neither, never ever ever by a Dell, if you have to buy one stick with Windows.
EDIT: I thought it was funny at the time
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On February 03 2009 22:51 Spenguin wrote:Neither, never ever ever by a Dell, if you have to buy one stick with Windows. EDIT: I thought it was funny at the time heh... yah, stick with windows... doesnt dell have ubuntu systems now?... i wonder how much they support those.. just stick with the dell though... no need to pay for an overpriced laptop like a mac to play starcraft... esp when it doesnt have some of the needed things...
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If you do work with graphic design, music etc, get a mac. If you're concerned about $ and gaming, get a pc. simple as that
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Baltimore, USA22225 Posts
Yeah, we need to know what you're trying to do on it... I'm posting this reply on a macbook. I have a Dell PC in the bedroom. Both have their pluses, and to be honest, if you're a savvy enough user (read: non-retarded), to be honest, there really isn't THAT much of a difference between the two in terms of the use you can get out of them.
TBH I don't think most users in this thread have enough first hand experience with both to speak on it.
So yeah, it would help if you tell us what you're going to do with it.
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United States22883 Posts
On February 03 2009 21:22 FakeSteve[TPR] wrote:Show nested quote +On February 03 2009 20:54 Scorch wrote: You can also run Windows on a Mac, so you can have both if you want. If you can afford it, that is. i have three buddies who are all abouts macs and they all run windows on their shiny macs they bought last year because every program they use requires windows except all three of them run like ass and bug out constantly (which they blame on microsoft) so it's basically like a terrible windows machine that cost $2300 and does everything shittier is that common My roomate has Vista on his Macbook and I've seen it bluescreen about 4 times. My Vista install has been perfect, besides the time I decided to install a horrible piece of Sony software.
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Depends if you're looking for performance or trying to get the girl.
Personally, I'd go with the Dell PC just because it is cheaper, and has better performance (in general). Don't fear Vista, with a little bit of tinkering, you can make it less invasive and trim some of its fat.
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mac is too expensive, literrally ripping you off by at least 1k compared to a dell. there is nothing much you can do with mac except doing work, don't bother trying to play shit on mac. less support for mac, and whole virus issue is just negelible, unless you always dling unsafe shit, you almost never get virus if you visit safe sites.
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United States22883 Posts
On February 03 2009 23:18 Hawk wrote: If you do work with graphic design, music etc, get a mac. If you're concerned about $ and gaming, get a pc. simple as that My sister uses After Effects/Illustrator at her work and their new Macs get crushed by their 6-12 month older XP machines in performance.
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On February 03 2009 23:59 Jibba wrote:Show nested quote +On February 03 2009 23:18 Hawk wrote: If you do work with graphic design, music etc, get a mac. If you're concerned about $ and gaming, get a pc. simple as that My sister uses After Effects/Illustrator at her work and their new Macs get crushed by their 6-12 month older XP machines in performance.
And what are you comparing what with?
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Well...If you have 27k get the mac with all the best upgrades....
Seriously thou you might wanna narrow down the reasons of wanting to own the mac/dell. Then choose from there.
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And if you configure a Dell and Mac so they have the same specs, you will probably see that there isn´t much of a difference in price.
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First off, one handy note to start this off: Macbooks have one of the best chargers in the world, It is a magnet cord ie, when some fag kicks the cord when your charging your battery, the cord goes flying and your macbook doesn't.
The mac has the exact same word processing packages as a PC, can run windows if you desire, insane amount of high quality multimedia packages, light, etc... That being said, OS X is weird to use if your not used to it, as its not the same as windows so you will have to relearn the general usage of your operating system.
Massive issue with mac's: You can't game on a mac really, not many games are supported, and those that are(blizzard games) any extra things to enhance your experience dont work(iccup takes some working to get on it, but you cant use AH or Lan Lat). Also, there is almost no decent virus scanner for mac's and virus' are starting to be coded for them.
Dell's are dells, I'm not sure how their laptops work, but i know that the desktops they usually have are propriatary in their parts so you can't mod them easily, not sure if this is the same as the laptops.
As a mac user, I would recommend a mac provided your not interested in gaming heavily, as thats where it really loses to a dell.
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If you are really into gaming you should always custom build your own pc anyways and not buy a dell.
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United States47024 Posts
On February 04 2009 00:20 MacWorld wrote: And if you configure a Dell and Mac so they have the same specs, you will probably see that there isn´t much of a difference in price. This depends heavily on the specs and what you consider "much of a difference." This isn't true as a sweeping generalization. If you compare the Inspiron 13 with the 13 inch Macbook, the Dell is 400 dollars cheaper with similar specifications. It would be more if Dell let you have less than 3GB RAM and 160 GB HD. Bear in mind, both systems are sub-$1000, so a $400 difference is fairly significant.
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On February 04 2009 00:33 MacWorld wrote: If you are really into gaming you should always custom build your own pc anyways and not buy a dell.
This is true, but most people don't know computers enough to build their own.
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I wouldn't recommend a Dell of all Windows PCs out there, but omg don't get a Mac.
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mac is just eye candy, If I were to buy it, I'd buy the cheapest macbook right before my university career starts and have a pc for gaming, macbook working only.
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Kentor
United States5784 Posts
Okay OP what the fuck? Cons: vista, windows, more viruses? What's with all the negativity with windows? More viruses? Yeah if you're stupid enough to fall for the "YOUR COMPUTER IS INFECTED, DOWNLOAD THIS SOFTWARE NOW!" ads.
It sounds like you are unable to use windows properly so yeah you should get a mac. But to me, macbooks are crap. Both the OS and the laptop. I've had it for a semester in college and it pissed me off so much that I sold it. Here's a list of things why the mac os sucks: http://www.xflaws.com
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FuDDx
United States4999 Posts
Ive got a dell ive had it for almost 4 years now and its still going strog.
I had to get a new sound card and i upgraded a bit here and there.
I was pleased with them.Still am.
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Kennigit
Canada19447 Posts
I've had a Dell for 3 years and it has run flawlessly ~touch wood~.
Dude, you're getting a dell
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lol my dell pc still works after 8-9 years, not that i've used it heavily since about 06 (5 years of heavy use)
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lol, my friend told me she bought a macbook because it is so pretty.... what naive bitch
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On February 04 2009 00:34 TheYango wrote:Show nested quote +On February 04 2009 00:20 MacWorld wrote: And if you configure a Dell and Mac so they have the same specs, you will probably see that there isn´t much of a difference in price. This depends heavily on the specs and what you consider "much of a difference." This isn't true as a sweeping generalization. If you compare the Inspiron 13 with the 13 inch Macbook, the Dell is 400 dollars cheaper with similar specifications. It would be more if Dell let you have less than 3GB RAM and 160 GB HD. Bear in mind, both systems are sub-$1000, so a $400 difference is fairly significant.
I just set up a similar Inspiron and I get the Dell priced at $944 and the MacBook at $999. As you say, the Dell then has: 3gb of ram compared to 2gb of the MacBook (both up to 4gb). 160gb hd compared to 120gb hd of the MacBook (up to 320gb).
The MacBook on the other hand has: 2,0ghz with 1066mhz bus 3mb cache compared to the closest Dell with 2,1ghz 800mhz 3mb cache. 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 9400M compared to 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS.
Both have bluetooth and webcam. No extra warranty on any of them.
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United States3824 Posts
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United States22883 Posts
On February 04 2009 00:10 MacWorld wrote:Show nested quote +On February 03 2009 23:59 Jibba wrote:On February 03 2009 23:18 Hawk wrote: If you do work with graphic design, music etc, get a mac. If you're concerned about $ and gaming, get a pc. simple as that My sister uses After Effects/Illustrator at her work and their new Macs get crushed by their 6-12 month older XP machines in performance. And what are you comparing what with? I don't know the computer specs off hand, but this is a professional animation studio with real workstations. The only thing I remember is that the Macs actually have more ram.
Even her home computer, which is an early dual core with only 2 gigs of ram, wins out in AE.
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United States22883 Posts
On February 04 2009 01:27 MacWorld wrote:Show nested quote +On February 04 2009 00:34 TheYango wrote:On February 04 2009 00:20 MacWorld wrote: And if you configure a Dell and Mac so they have the same specs, you will probably see that there isn´t much of a difference in price. This depends heavily on the specs and what you consider "much of a difference." This isn't true as a sweeping generalization. If you compare the Inspiron 13 with the 13 inch Macbook, the Dell is 400 dollars cheaper with similar specifications. It would be more if Dell let you have less than 3GB RAM and 160 GB HD. Bear in mind, both systems are sub-$1000, so a $400 difference is fairly significant. I just set up a similar Inspiron and I get the Dell priced at $944 and the MacBook at $999. As you say, the Dell then has: 3gb of ram compared to 2gb of the MacBook (both up to 4gb). 160gb hd compared to 120gb hd of the MacBook (up to 320gb). The MacBook on the other hand has: 2,0ghz with 1066mhz bus 3mb cache compared to the closest Dell with 2,1ghz 800mhz 3mb cache. 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 9400M compared to 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS. Both have bluetooth and webcam. No extra warranty on any of them. What are you looking at? The Inspiron 13 with similar specs comes out under $850 and has 4 gigs of DDR2 800 (the plastic Macbook you're looking at is DDR2 667), has a 250gig HD and comes with a 1 year hardware warranty + inhouse remote service.
The video cards don't mean much since they're both terrible, but just to clarify it: the Macbook 9400M is not a true 9400M, it's a 9400M G which is a hybrid discrete/motherboard card but they cut the G off for marketing purposes. The real world performance between the 9400M G and 8400M GS is not very much, but it's like comparing a giant douche to a turd sandwich.
The laptops on Newegg crush both Apple and Dell in most categories btw, especially when you get to the standard sizes.
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On February 04 2009 01:27 MacWorld wrote:Show nested quote +On February 04 2009 00:34 TheYango wrote:On February 04 2009 00:20 MacWorld wrote: And if you configure a Dell and Mac so they have the same specs, you will probably see that there isn´t much of a difference in price. This depends heavily on the specs and what you consider "much of a difference." This isn't true as a sweeping generalization. If you compare the Inspiron 13 with the 13 inch Macbook, the Dell is 400 dollars cheaper with similar specifications. It would be more if Dell let you have less than 3GB RAM and 160 GB HD. Bear in mind, both systems are sub-$1000, so a $400 difference is fairly significant. I just set up a similar Inspiron and I get the Dell priced at $944 and the MacBook at $999. As you say, the Dell then has: 3gb of ram compared to 2gb of the MacBook (both up to 4gb). 160gb hd compared to 120gb hd of the MacBook (up to 320gb). The MacBook on the other hand has: 2,0ghz with 1066mhz bus 3mb cache compared to the closest Dell with 2,1ghz 800mhz 3mb cache. 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 9400M compared to 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS. Both have bluetooth and webcam. No extra warranty on any of them.
the white macbook sucks, the white surface loses colour after you use it for sometime, especially the area where you put your hand, it turns yellow.
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I was a Mac technician for a while and still use exclusively Windows machines at home. While the Mac aesthetic is undoubtedly nicer, and while it is good at what it does, I find this "what it does" to be extremely limited. The typical response from a Mac person when you ask why you can't do something (for example, delete only certain files permanently from the trash or delete something permanently bypassing the trash) is "why would you want to do that?" or, "Here's a 48-step way you could accomplish the same thing." I find the OS really limits you by design. Also, the stupid green plus button you'd think would act like a maximize window button just does random shit to the window every time you click it. That page with annoying OS X things is more or less right.
One thing I will say is that I think Macs work better with external drives (a lot more plug and play than XP in my experience) and the Disk Utility application is really useful for backing up, imaging drives, etc..
If you do end up getting a Mac, definitely definitely definitely get AppleCare on the portable machines. As long as you have AppleCare you can sell the machine for a pretty decent price 2.5 years down the line just before its set to expire.
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On February 04 2009 02:03 Jibba wrote:Show nested quote +On February 04 2009 01:27 MacWorld wrote:On February 04 2009 00:34 TheYango wrote:On February 04 2009 00:20 MacWorld wrote: And if you configure a Dell and Mac so they have the same specs, you will probably see that there isn´t much of a difference in price. This depends heavily on the specs and what you consider "much of a difference." This isn't true as a sweeping generalization. If you compare the Inspiron 13 with the 13 inch Macbook, the Dell is 400 dollars cheaper with similar specifications. It would be more if Dell let you have less than 3GB RAM and 160 GB HD. Bear in mind, both systems are sub-$1000, so a $400 difference is fairly significant. I just set up a similar Inspiron and I get the Dell priced at $944 and the MacBook at $999. As you say, the Dell then has: 3gb of ram compared to 2gb of the MacBook (both up to 4gb). 160gb hd compared to 120gb hd of the MacBook (up to 320gb). The MacBook on the other hand has: 2,0ghz with 1066mhz bus 3mb cache compared to the closest Dell with 2,1ghz 800mhz 3mb cache. 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 9400M compared to 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS. Both have bluetooth and webcam. No extra warranty on any of them. What are you looking at? The Inspiron 13 with similar specs comes out under $850 and has 4 gigs of DDR2 800 (the plastic Macbook you're looking at is DDR2 667), has a 250gig HD and comes with a 1 year hardware warranty + inhouse remote service. The video cards don't mean much since they're both terrible, but just to clarify it: the Macbook 9400M is not a true 9400M, it's a 9400M G which is a hybrid discrete/motherboard card but they cut the G off for marketing purposes. The real world performance between the 9400M G and 8400M GS is not very much, but it's like comparing a giant douche to a turd sandwich. The laptops on Newegg crush both Apple and Dell in most categories btw, especially when you get to the standard sizes.
The white MacBook got updated last week and now has different specs. And both Apple as well as Dell have 1 year hardware warranty.
So these are the specs I compare: (with 6-cell batteries for both the prices are actually 974 to 999).
My Components for the Dell: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8100 (2.1GHz/800Mhz FSB/3MB cache) Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1 Pacific Blue Microsoft Works 1Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty and Mail In Service Glossy, widescreen 13.3" LCD (1280x800) w/ 2.0M pixel Camera 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 (2 Dimms) Size: 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM) 8X Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive) Dell Wireless 1505 Wireless-N Mini-card Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR) 56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
And for the MacBook: Intel Core 2 Duo 2,0ghz 1066MHz frontside bus 3MB shared L2 cache 2GB (two 1GB) of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM 120GB Serial ATA 5400 rpm NVIDIA GeForce 9400M with 256MB of shared DDR2 SDRAM Built in camera Built in Bluetooth Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11n)
And I didn´t take the time to check if the Inspiron has hdmi output or if it´s just VGA. Which matters alot to me since you can connect your MacBook to any DVI/HDMI/VGA-port.
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I'd get a mac. most people on here will tell you to get a dell. I think dells are unreliable, and the mac customer support is excellent. macs just seem to work - there's never any problems. they have long lasting batteries, print straight away, interface effortlessly with everything around them.
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United States22883 Posts
Ah, I see the problem. There's two ways to access the Inspiron 13. The first one gets you your quote, the second gives you a $130 instant rebate and the 4 gigs + 250gb hd.
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On February 03 2009 23:59 Jibba wrote:Show nested quote +On February 03 2009 23:18 Hawk wrote: If you do work with graphic design, music etc, get a mac. If you're concerned about $ and gaming, get a pc. simple as that My sister uses After Effects/Illustrator at her work and their new Macs get crushed by their 6-12 month older XP machines in performance.
There's some comparable stuff, but this is like telling a gamer to buy a mac. Almost no one uses it for that. Macs are the industry standard for that kinda stuff
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United States47024 Posts
On February 04 2009 03:00 Jibba wrote: Ah, I see the problem. There's two ways to access the Inspiron 13. The first one gets you your quote, the second gives you a $130 instant rebate and the 4 gigs + 250gb hd. Yeah, this is as close to what I got. I realized I misclicked when I ran the numbers. -_-
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Kentor
United States5784 Posts
Seriously wtf OP? Your post make windows sound so negative why even ask which to get? If you get a dell it seem you won't be happy with it. jesus
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T.O.P.
Hong Kong4685 Posts
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mac vs compaq. is better. LMAO.
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Yeah uh windows is more prone to viruses if you're stupid enough not to have antivirus. Mac's are awful.
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On February 04 2009 00:34 BloodyC0bbler wrote:Show nested quote +On February 04 2009 00:33 MacWorld wrote: If you are really into gaming you should always custom build your own pc anyways and not buy a dell. This is true, but most people don't know computers enough to build their own.
Building a computer is pretty easy... you need some knowledge, but it basically amounts to:
Knowing what parts are compatible (motherboard socket type, form factor, making sure you have at least one PCI Express x16 for the graphics card, your case is big enough for your graphics card) Getting a power supply that fits your needs. Knowing that buying bleeding edge is dumb, because you pay a premium for everything (bit of a personal opinion, also building it so you can salvage parts later is nice). Some very basic assembly skills (also, being very mindful of keeping your static sensitive electronics on cardboard or static free bags, not turning everything on with a screw between your motherboard and case that isn't secured, etc).
Although I admit, part of what drives the cost down tends to be what you can salvage from past computers (monitors especially). Real issue is software costs an awful lot when it isn't bundled, but if you're a student you can probably get Windows/Office for cheaper through your university... or just wait for good OEM deals (or salvage, but it's unlikely you can if you haven't built your previous computers).
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=14609907
Here's a bare bones build that I recently made for my dad. I salvaged a dvd drive from my computer, and he had a monitor. Not much room for expandability, but eh. Add a middle of the road graphics card (note: generally you will probably need a bigger case than this, it just so happens that this one can fit pretty much any card) and a dvd drive, total comes up to around $550 bucks after shipping. Of course, there's still software to take into account... also this is a bit of a specialized build since the motherboard was built for the original Core 2 Duos, and it was updated for the newer ones (but you can't really be sure what bios you end up with). :>
Anyways, point being, if you are willing to spend a bit more money than that you could get a really nice computer. I was browsing through what Dell offered the other day and I was kind of surprised at how poor their budget options were.
Here's a good place to get started... gives a bit of a walkthrough of what to be looking for. And when in doubt, there's almost always someone who will answer your question.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=346008
But if you want to get Dell/Mac, get a Dell, and try to find online deals.
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I'm stunned how someone can suggest that macs are reasonably priced.
here's a lenovo i'm considering buying right now: Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4Ghz 1066MHz 3MBL2) Vista Business 64 15.4" WSXGA+ Mobility Radeon 3650 2GB 1066 DDR3 RAM (1 stick, gonna get another 2gb separately for a few extra bucks) Fingerprint reader 5300 Intel WiFi 9cell battery --------- 1350 CAD, free shipping
What do the macbooks have that's close to this? 2149 macbook gets you marginally worse ram same processor quite better video card.
and a 800 dollar markup? seriously? for that video card alone? Am I missing anything?
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Get one of these babies: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152073
Brand MSI Model GX630-028US Color Black w/ Red trim Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium //qq moare CPU Type AMD Athlon X2 QL-62(2.0GHz) Screen 15.4" WXGA Memory Size 4GB DDR2 Hard Disk 250GB Optical Drive DVD Super Multi Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT Video Memory 512MB Communication Modem, Gigabit LAN and WLAN Dimensions 14.73" x 9.69" x 1.05-1.40" Weight 5.6 lbs. CPU Type AMD Athlon X2 CPU Speed QL-62(2.00GHz) CPU L2 Cache 1MB Screen Size 15.4" Resolution 1280 x 800 GPU/VPU NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT Video Memory Dedicated 512MB HDD 250GB Memory 4GB Memory Spec 2GB x 2 LAN 10/100/1000Mbps WLAN 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN Bluetooth Yes Webcam 2.0MP Battery 6-cell lithium ion
best of all, the thing's only 800 bucks. I do heavy music editing/composing and programming and I feel much more productive doing those on a PC than a mac. My sister has a mac book pro and I just can't see why people hype up macs so much. Similar specs, vastly different prices. The interface in Mac doesn't bother me at all - anyone and their grandma can install tweakui or stardock or what have you to get the same or even better interface. People who say "it just works" have never tried Ubuntu, that shit is loaded with every driver in the universe. One of the reasons that Macs have such high peripheral compatibility is that there's so few peripherals that are made for macs.
I can't really speak for video editors, but after playing around with both, I don't see why people argue that editing video is so vastly superior on a Mac when Adobe Premiere is available on windows, and when it's so much more cost efficient to get higher specs on said windows computer. As for editing music, I use Sonar Producer edition and it's simply amazing. Not only that, but all recording equipment/specialized soundcards are Windows compatible while the mac ones are usually more expensive and few and far between.
tl;dr, Get a windows setup, there's no reason not to. Also the laptop I pointed out is fucking beast for being only 800 bucks.
in the end, building a PC is the best way to go if you don't need a laptop. You can build a disgustingly good setup for a great price these days. I actually would recommend building a PC and using a Netbook (Samsung NC-10 or Asus eee) for your portable work.
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If you are using the laptop for work, I highly recommend a mac.
However, if it is just for fun/video games, get a dell. (I have both a mac laptop and a dell PC, mac for work, dell for starcraft/itunes/etc.)
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both suck learn to build a PC.
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joohyunee
Korea (South)1087 Posts
depends on what it's for. I'm dying to sell my HP laptop right now b/c I want a mac, mainly for the garageband/recording applications, along with other musical customization possibilities/video editing that can be done nicely with macs.
dell is nice for engineering/computer related works and such, where high CPU power is more important for faster usage than things looking nice and such (as is the case of macs)..
btw Macs get RIDICULOUSLY nice benefits in terms of warranty - my friend's mac broke down once, she sent it to the repair shop, and they sent her a NEW macbook. getting a 2.2GHz instead of the 2.0 she sent them was an added bonus.
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On February 04 2009 07:35 joohyunee wrote: depends on what it's for. I'm dying to sell my HP laptop right now b/c I want a mac, mainly for the garageband/recording applications, along with other musical customization possibilities/video editing that can be done nicely with macs.
dell is nice for engineering/computer related works and such, where high CPU power is more important for faster usage than things looking nice and such (as is the case of macs)..
btw Macs get RIDICULOUSLY nice benefits in terms of warranty - my friend's mac broke down once, she sent it to the repair shop, and they sent her a NEW macbook. getting a 2.2GHz instead of the 2.0 she sent them was an added bonus.
They obviously don't sell much of that shit, so they have many laying around the warehouse all the time.
+ Show Spoiler +
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I love my Macbook Pro <3
^_^
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Mac laptops owns windows laptops sooo hard. Best money I ever spent buying a macbook! ^^
Most of the ppl complaining about mac have never even tried one ;> Those who have on the other hand, generally recommend it. That's my experience atleast.
I was worried about changing from windows when I bought the mac initially aswell, so I installed parallels to be able to run xp when I desperately needed a windows app. But in the end I never had to use it since the mac-apps are awesome once you find the right ones and OS X is just so much better than windows on so many levels, so I ended up uninstalling xp and parallels.
Then ofc, if you wanna game then windows is your choice atm, not much to do about that. :< (I don't game on my laptop so I'm loving it) ^^
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no amd turion bs, they suck....
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where is the neither option
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United States17042 Posts
comon guys this is teamliquid. You can't use chaoslauncher on a mac. Therefore, you should choose the dell, if only because your starcraft experience will be much much better on a dell than on a mac.
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Thanks everyone for the feedback.
I enjoyed reading all the comments.
I updated the blog about why I need a new laptop.
right now Dell looks good in tems of being able to run SC very well
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On February 04 2009 00:30 BloodyC0bbler wrote: First off, one handy note to start this off: Macbooks have one of the best chargers in the world, It is a magnet cord ie, when some fag kicks the cord when your charging your battery, the cord goes flying and your macbook doesn't. I'm quoting this, because it's probably saved my computer several times over. Of all the advertised features of a mac, this one is probably worth the most. Also, you can run windows XP on a mac, and by extension, iccup antihack and chaoslauncher. I had XP on this compouter for years until I got a new hard drive, and I haven't bothered to reinstall it since.
But seriously, the power cord thing has saved my computers life many times, and it can relieve a lot of stress if your power cord is stretched across a room. IMO, it's probably the best reason to get a mac.
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Ugh..laptops. They are so expensive and inferior to desktop and yet we still need them. Anyway, IF you get a mac, check this one out:
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/features-17inch.html
Its pretty sweet. 17 inch screen and 8 hour battery...HOLY COW! I recommend the pro so you can play SC2 when it comes out.
But thats only if you get a mac. PCs are still better for games. Although Dell batteries are crap so...good luck deciding.
ALSO: Read this article. Tries to show that Mac has better value for your money in the higher end latops: http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2006/12/6195.ars
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@savio's article i'm confused how they're speccing the apple and the dell
without googling any coupons i customized an m17 significantly cheaper than an mbp 17", with superior specs. with coupons the difference would be even larger..
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Russian Federation386 Posts
This thread is getting more and more retarded with such single-line replys like "Macs suck", "Plz dont get a Mac", "You can't game on a Mac", "Macs are for eye candy", "You can't do anything with Mac", "I have 5 TB RAM and over 9000 GHz CPU and Macs have nothing for more $$"........... sigh
To OP: please disregard such comments because they are posted by people who never seen/used/owned a Mac or they did but a looong time ago and don't know what they are talking about.
I see that you are planning to use the laptop for studying, editing/storing photos, playing SC and other general computer stuff (internet, IM, etc).
The main reason people use Macs is not the hardware - its the software. The Mac OS X "Leopard" operating system is considered by many to be "on the next level" compared to Windows. It has an intuitive and easy to use GUI, works fast, isn't bloated, supports all kinds of stuff, can be used in many fields, has UNIX base so its incredibly stable and secure (yes, NO viruses for Macs at ALL), doesn't require as much maintenance as Windows. Apple says it "Just works" and I agree with this statement. I've been using Macs for over 10 years and I have yet to run into a serious problem with them. When you connect a divice it doesn't require drives in most cases, setup is extremely easy and intuitive if necessary at all. In short, using a computer is much less frustrating.
Some of its features are really nice:
- Exposé. Press a button and all of your open windows are scaled and located on the screen so that all are visible at once without overlap. Select the one you want and it is brought to the foreground while the rest slide back to their original place. Press another button and all your open windows slide behind the screen edges and your is desktop visible at once. Do whatever you needed to do on a desktop and press that button again to have all those open windows back to their original place. A VERY useful feature for small screens (MacBook).
- Spaces. Make up to 16 screen spaces available and move between then with a press of a button. For example have web browser/mail/chat in one space, some Word documents in the other, music player in the 3rd, Microsoft Windows open in virtualization software (see 1) Study) in the 4th space, etc. Helps you organize your work (and play), especially helpful for small screens.
- QuickLook. Preview files without opening them just by pressing Space bar. Files can be anything from text documents to movies and multi-page PDFs.
- Time Machine. The automatic backup software, absolutely THE best I've ever seen. All you need is an external hard drive (you can get a Terabyte for less than 150$ these days). It is absolutely amazing! No setup required, just plug in the HD, press "On" and never worry about data loss ever again. For a demo of how great this is, watch the Leopard Guided Tour (Time Machine is at 9.35 minute mark)
- Spotlight. The fastest system-wide searching tool I've seen in any OS. Starts giving you the result as you are still typing a word to search for. Results are instantly grouped by kind with more recent items on top of the list (closer to the input point). Can be used to instantly find things from applications and files to areas in FDF maps, metadata in your photos music, etc. Windows XP search is pathetic in comparison, while the one in Vista is better than XPs, but still can't match Spotlight.
Thats just a few highlights of Mac OS X features that make people love Macs ^^
Now, to your requests:
1) Study.
Macs have a bunch of software to choose from for this.
- Apple's own iWork suite which contains easy to use/learn and intuitive applications for word processing, page layout, presentations, spreadsheets. Its compatible with Word, PowerPoint, Excel formats as well as PDF and other industry standards.
- The next package is Microsoft's Office 2008 which is basically a Mac version of Office 2007 for Windows. Its more expensive than iWork, but provides familiar environment if you're so used to Office and has ultimate compatibility with other Office documents.
- Free alternatives are NeoOffice, OpenOffice and others. These are viable alternatives, especially if you don't want to pay for your office suite (or dont want to download them from torrents), but they lack some features and are not as refined as payed software. I know a few people who use exclusively Open Office because they refuse to pay Microsoft any money for BS software they make ^^. The feature set is enough in most cases.
Besides office suite you may need some additional specialized software depending on your major, but if it doesn't have a Mac version or alternative you can use Parallels Desktop or VMWare Fusion to run Windows (or Linux, or other OS) alongside Mac OS X without need for rebooting each time you want to use a different OS and with other convenient features.
2) Editing/managing photos.
Again, a bunch of great software is available. If you are not a professional in this area:
- As a part of Apple's iLife suite that comes with every Mac for free, the iPhoto application does a great job of storing, organizing and editing your photos. The ease of use, very intuitive interface, integration with the rest of iLife's applications and some nice features make it my personal favorite application in its category.
- The next is Google Picasa. I have no first-hand experience with it, but from various reports online its a very good competitor to iPhoto. And its free too.
- Pixelmator. Inexpensive photo-editing software with great interface with similar layout as behemoth Photoshop and many similar features. Has the ability to use your graphics card and OS X's built it Core Image technology to edit photos fast and efficient.
- Adobe Photoshop Elements is more of an editing software, but has organizing funcionality too. Not free, but more advanced editing features.
If you're Pro or a serious hobbyist:
- Apple Aperture. Basically a much more advanced version of iPhoto with a more complicated, but more efficient for heavy use interface. Excellent for RAW processing and storing, powerful organization and editing tools, including batch processing. Has a very nice "image versions" feature that allows you to make as many versions of the original "Master" photo as you like, while taking very little space (only changes are saved, so each version os like a few KBs in size). This is the application I use myself.
- Adobe Lightroom. A competitor to Aperture and seems very well-made and refined too. Interface is similar to the Creative Suite apps and has tight integration with it. More expensive than Aperture.
- Adobe Photoshop. An industry-standard photo editor. Not much to tell, same as the Windows version basically.
3) Playing SC
That's already been said by other posters, but I'll say it again. Yes, there is Starcraft for Mac, yes its runs just like Windows version, yes you can play on ICCUP, BUT you can't have AntiHack, Lat changer, etc. But thats if you're running a Mac version. Windows version which you can run in either BootCamp (by dual-booting) or virtualization (see Parallels Desktop or VMWare Fusion above) lets you have all that.
4) General computer useage.
This includes web browsing, e-mail, chat, file transfers, music, moves, tv-shows, etc etc.
- For the web browser you have a ton of options. The default browser is Apple Safari and is very good. Its not bloated, runs fast, has a pleasant interface, tight integration with the OS (for links, bookmarks, search, etc). My favorite.
The competitor is of course Firefox. Most of people use either Safari or this, but there are less widespread browsers as well.
- E-mails are covered either by the default Mail or 3rd party software such as Microsoft Entourage (part of Office suite), Thunderbird, etc.
- IM chat is not deprived of vividness too. The king is (IMO) a multi-protocol-in-one application called Adium. Supports protocols such as MSN, ICQ, AIM, Yahoo, GoogleTalk, Facebook Chat, MySpace IM, Jabber, QQ, etc. No need to keep multiple IM apps if you use multiple protocols. Open Adium and it lets you stay connected and being able to chat in all of them. No bloat, nice and tight. The most customizable software I've ever seen. Oh and its free of course. The drawback is that it doesn't yet support video/audio chat, but developers promise its inclusion in the next major version.
The next app is Apple's iChat which supports AIM, MobileMe, ICQ and other protocols, but also has the A/V chat feature. The best A/V chat app if your interlocutor also has a Mac.
Skype. A/V chat app, compatible with Windows version. The best cross-platform a/v chat software.
MSN Messenger. Part of the Microsoft Office suite or can be downloaded separately for free. Never used it so can't tell much about it. Obviously for MSN protocol only.
- File transfers: Download managers, torrent clients, FTP, P2P, etc.
Speed Download is one of the best download managers. Others include iGetter, etc
Torrent clients: Transmission, Vuze, paid Xtorrent, uTorrent (still a beta though), etc
FTP: Speed Download (see download managers), Cyberduck, etc
P2P: Limewire, etc.
- For music management and listening I strongly recommend Apple iTunes. The best jukebox software for Mac. There are alternatives though if you don't like it. An awesome add-on for iTunes is Coversutra - improves your experience with iTunes even more.
- Videos are covered partly by iTunes for viewing and storing them, but other software includes:
VLC - a player that supports virtually all video formats. Can also be used for live SC watching.
Perian QuickTime component significantly broadens the number of supported formats in QuickTime (iTunes and Front Row as well). A must-have.
Handbrake - Mainly a DVD conversion tool. Insert a movie on DVD, choose the preset (for iPod, for PSP, just for computer screen, etc) and click start, wait, enjoy the result ready for storing/archiving/viewing/, etc. Can also be used to convert movies other than DVDs, like an AVI you've downloaded, or FLV, XVID, whatever.
In short, despite a popular belief, there is absolutely no problem with software on Macs.
Hardware
As for the hardware part of the question, I can tell you this. Macs aren't overpriced. If you match a comparable PC in specs the price difference is virtually none or probably slightly more for Macs. When I say "comparable" I mean comparable in ALL or MOST aspects of the specification. This includes not only CPU, RAM, graphics and screen, but also case thickness, battery life, quality, etc. The only real drawback Macs have now is that there's no way to watch Blue-Ray (other than in Windows with an external blue-ray drive plugged in), but additional features in Mac laptops like MultiTouch trackpad, MagSafe power cord (that will save your laptop from flying down from the table or bed more times than you can imagine), better design, (in most cases) thinner and more solid construction, lighter weight, Wi-Fi N, Bluetooth 2.1, keyboard backlight (on higher end models), better case materials usually make up for it in terms of price.
You just can't compare a loud 1.3" thick 2.5 kg cheap plastic ugly PC laptop with nothing in it except for basic computer components and with a battery that lasts 2 hours max to a 0.9" thick 2 kg beautiful MacBook in the strong aluminium case, LED display, MagSafe, Multitouch glass trackpad, newest Bluetooth and wi-fi chips and over 4 hours of real battery life that is still just as fast in performance. Its just not the same league. Again, its all about selecting comparable hardware.
Aslo, considering the value of the software that comes free on all Macs and no need to buy Anti-virus (annually) its safe to say that the actual cost is lower than PC.
If you think you don't need any of this stuff - fine, no problems, go and buy a PC. Macs aren't for everyone (same with PCs). Both have their uses.
Sorry for the huge post, I'm done. Hope this helped someone.
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On February 04 2009 16:22 eX-Corgh wrote:This thread is getting more and more retarded with such single-line replys like "Macs suck", "Plz dont get a Mac", "You can't game on a Mac", "Macs are for eye candy", "You can't do anything with Mac", "I have 5 TB RAM and over 9000 GHz CPU and Macs have nothing for more $$"........... sigh To OP: please disregard such comments because they are posted by people who never seen/used/owned a Mac or they did but a looong time ago and don't know what they are talking about. I see that you are planning to use the laptop for studying, editing/storing photos, playing SC and other general computer stuff (internet, IM, etc). The main reason people use Macs is not the hardware - its the software. The Mac OS X "Leopard" operating system is considered by many to be "on the next level" compared to Windows. It has an intuitive and easy to use GUI, works fast, isn't bloated, supports all kinds of stuff, can be used in many fields, has UNIX base so its incredibly stable and secure (yes, NO viruses for Macs at ALL), doesn't require as much maintenance as Windows. Apple says it "Just works" and I agree with this statement. I've been using Macs for over 10 years and I have yet to run into a serious problem with them. When you connect a divice it doesn't require drives in most cases, setup is extremely easy and intuitive if necessary at all. In short, using a computer is much less frustrating. Some of its features are really nice: - Exposé. Press a button and all of your open windows are scaled and located on the screen so that all are visible at once without overlap. Select the one you want and it is brought to the foreground while the rest slide back to their original place. Press another button and all your open windows slide behind the screen edges and your is desktop visible at once. Do whatever you needed to do on a desktop and press that button again to have all those open windows back to their original place. A VERY useful feature for small screens (MacBook). - Spaces. Make up to 16 screen spaces available and move between then with a press of a button. For example have web browser/mail/chat in one space, some Word documents in the other, music player in the 3rd, Microsoft Windows open in virtualization software ( see 1) Study) in the 4th space, etc. Helps you organize your work (and play), especially helpful for small screens. - QuickLook. Preview files without opening them just by pressing Space bar. Files can be anything from text documents to movies and multi-page PDFs. - Time Machine. The automatic backup software, absolutely THE best I've ever seen. All you need is an external hard drive (you can get a Terabyte for less than 150$ these days). It is absolutely amazing! No setup required, just plug in the HD, press "On" and never worry about data loss ever again. For a demo of how great this is, watch the Leopard Guided Tour (Time Machine is at 9.35 minute mark) - Spotlight. The fastest system-wide searching tool I've seen in any OS. Starts giving you the result as you are still typing a word to search for. Results are instantly grouped by kind with more recent items on top of the list (closer to the input point). Can be used to instantly find things from applications and files to areas in FDF maps, metadata in your photos music, etc. Windows XP search is pathetic in comparison, while the one in Vista is better than XPs, but still can't match Spotlight. Thats just a few highlights of Mac OS X features that make people love Macs ^^ Now, to your requests: 1) Study.Macs have a bunch of software to choose from for this. - Apple's own iWork suite which contains easy to use/learn and intuitive applications for word processing, page layout, presentations, spreadsheets. Its compatible with Word, PowerPoint, Excel formats as well as PDF and other industry standards. - The next package is Microsoft's Office 2008 which is basically a Mac version of Office 2007 for Windows. Its more expensive than iWork, but provides familiar environment if you're so used to Office and has ultimate compatibility with other Office documents. - Free alternatives are NeoOffice, OpenOffice and others. These are viable alternatives, especially if you don't want to pay for your office suite (or dont want to download them from torrents), but they lack some features and are not as refined as payed software. I know a few people who use exclusively Open Office because they refuse to pay Microsoft any money for BS software they make ^^. The feature set is enough in most cases. Besides office suite you may need some additional specialized software depending on your major, but if it doesn't have a Mac version or alternative you can use Parallels Desktop or VMWare Fusion to run Windows (or Linux, or other OS) alongside Mac OS X without need for rebooting each time you want to use a different OS and with other convenient features. 2) Editing/managing photos.Again, a bunch of great software is available. If you are not a professional in this area: - As a part of Apple's iLife suite that comes with every Mac for free, the iPhoto application does a great job of storing, organizing and editing your photos. The ease of use, very intuitive interface, integration with the rest of iLife's applications and some nice features make it my personal favorite application in its category. - The next is Google Picasa. I have no first-hand experience with it, but from various reports online its a very good competitor to iPhoto. And its free too. - Pixelmator. Inexpensive photo-editing software with great interface with similar layout as behemoth Photoshop and many similar features. Has the ability to use your graphics card and OS X's built it Core Image technology to edit photos fast and efficient. - Adobe Photoshop Elements is more of an editing software, but has organizing funcionality too. Not free, but more advanced editing features. If you're Pro or a serious hobbyist: - Apple Aperture. Basically a much more advanced version of iPhoto with a more complicated, but more efficient for heavy use interface. Excellent for RAW processing and storing, powerful organization and editing tools, including batch processing. Has a very nice "image versions" feature that allows you to make as many versions of the original "Master" photo as you like, while taking very little space (only changes are saved, so each version os like a few KBs in size). This is the application I use myself. - Adobe Lightroom. A competitor to Aperture and seems very well-made and refined too. Interface is similar to the Creative Suite apps and has tight integration with it. More expensive than Aperture. - Adobe Photoshop. An industry-standard photo editor. Not much to tell, same as the Windows version basically. 3) Playing SCThat's already been said by other posters, but I'll say it again. Yes, there is Starcraft for Mac, yes its runs just like Windows version, yes you can play on ICCUP, BUT you can't have AntiHack, Lat changer, etc. But thats if you're running a Mac version. Windows version which you can run in either BootCamp (by dual-booting) or virtualization (see Parallels Desktop or VMWare Fusion above) lets you have all that. 4) General computer useage.This includes web browsing, e-mail, chat, file transfers, music, moves, tv-shows, etc etc. - For the web browser you have a ton of options. The default browser is Apple Safari and is very good. Its not bloated, runs fast, has a pleasant interface, tight integration with the OS (for links, bookmarks, search, etc). My favorite. The competitor is of course Firefox. Most of people use either Safari or this, but there are less widespread browsers as well. - E-mails are covered either by the default Mail or 3rd party software such as Microsoft Entourage (part of Office suite), Thunderbird, etc. - IM chat is not deprived of vividness too. The king is (IMO) a multi-protocol-in-one application called Adium. Supports protocols such as MSN, ICQ, AIM, Yahoo, GoogleTalk, Facebook Chat, MySpace IM, Jabber, QQ, etc. No need to keep multiple IM apps if you use multiple protocols. Open Adium and it lets you stay connected and being able to chat in all of them. No bloat, nice and tight. The most customizable software I've ever seen. Oh and its free of course. The drawback is that it doesn't yet support video/audio chat, but developers promise its inclusion in the next major version. The next app is Apple's iChat which supports AIM, MobileMe, ICQ and other protocols, but also has the A/V chat feature. The best A/V chat app if your interlocutor also has a Mac. Skype. A/V chat app, compatible with Windows version. The best cross-platform a/v chat software. MSN Messenger. Part of the Microsoft Office suite or can be downloaded separately for free. Never used it so can't tell much about it. Obviously for MSN protocol only. - File transfers: Download managers, torrent clients, FTP, P2P, etc. Speed Download is one of the best download managers. Others include iGetter, etc Torrent clients: Transmission, Vuze, paid Xtorrent, uTorrent (still a beta though), etc FTP: Speed Download (see download managers), Cyberduck, etc P2P: Limewire, etc. - For music management and listening I strongly recommend Apple iTunes. The best jukebox software for Mac. There are alternatives though if you don't like it. An awesome add-on for iTunes is Coversutra - improves your experience with iTunes even more. - Videos are covered partly by iTunes for viewing and storing them, but other software includes: VLC - a player that supports virtually all video formats. Can also be used for live SC watching. Perian QuickTime component significantly broadens the number of supported formats in QuickTime (iTunes and Front Row as well). A must-have. Handbrake - Mainly a DVD conversion tool. Insert a movie on DVD, choose the preset (for iPod, for PSP, just for computer screen, etc) and click start, wait, enjoy the result ready for storing/archiving/viewing/, etc. Can also be used to convert movies other than DVDs, like an AVI you've downloaded, or FLV, XVID, whatever. In short, despite a popular belief, there is absolutely no problem with software on Macs. HardwareAs for the hardware part of the question, I can tell you this. Macs aren't overpriced. If you match a comparable PC in specs the price difference is virtually none or probably slightly more for Macs. When I say "comparable" I mean comparable in ALL or MOST aspects of the specification. This includes not only CPU, RAM, graphics and screen, but also case thickness, battery life, quality, etc. The only real drawback Macs have now is that there's no way to watch Blue-Ray (other than in Windows with an external blue-ray drive plugged in), but additional features in Mac laptops like MultiTouch trackpad, MagSafe power cord (that will save your laptop from flying down from the table or bed more times than you can imagine), better design, (in most cases) thinner and more solid construction, lighter weight, Wi-Fi N, Bluetooth 2.1, keyboard backlight (on higher end models), better case materials usually make up for it in terms of price. You just can't compare a loud 1.3" thick 2.5 kg cheap plastic ugly PC laptop with nothing in it except for basic computer components and with a battery that lasts 2 hours max to a 0.9" thick 2 kg beautiful MacBook in the strong aluminium case, LED display, MagSafe, Multitouch glass trackpad, newest Bluetooth and wi-fi chips and over 4 hours of real battery life that is still just as fast in performance. Its just not the same league. Again, its all about selecting comparable hardware. Aslo, considering the value of the software that comes free on all Macs and no need to buy Anti-virus (annually) its safe to say that the actual cost is lower than PC. If you think you don't need any of this stuff - fine, no problems, go and buy a PC. Macs aren't for everyone (same with PCs). Both have their uses. Sorry for the huge post, I'm done. Hope this helped someone.
Wow..so in-depth.
MACs sound indestructible...
so Macs already have free fall sensors of some sort?
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Russian Federation386 Posts
On February 04 2009 19:23 LimitlessSky wrote: Wow..so in-depth.
MACs sound indestructible...
so Macs already have free fall sensors of some sort?
No, MagSafe is a technology for the power cord/port. It uses magnets instead of traditional connectors so if its pulled it releases instantly (like when somebody is tripping over the power cord that was stretching on the floor)
Saved my MacBook a couple of times.
Edit: MacBooks do have a Sudden Motion Sensor that instantly parks the heads of the hard drive if the computer is moved very rapidly (like when it falls) to help prevent damaging the hard drive and its data. This isn't a 100% guarantee of data safety on your internal HD, but its better than nothing nonetheless. If you do damage the HD, Time Machine which I described in my previous post will restore everything.
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Sydney2287 Posts
The new macbook pro trackpad alone would be enough for me to pick it over a dell laptop. Usability is 100x better than the useless things you get with other laptops. They are expensive though
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Now that you've listed what you want to do with your laptop: you can achieve all of that easily with even a Eee PC plus an external hard disk. Since you probably want a larger screen, just buy any 500-600€ laptop that sounds nice and has a long warranty, and then buy a new one in two or three years with the money you saved. You really don't need anything special for your purposes.
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United States47024 Posts
On February 04 2009 07:35 joohyunee wrote: btw Macs get RIDICULOUSLY nice benefits in terms of warranty - my friend's mac broke down once, she sent it to the repair shop, and they sent her a NEW macbook. getting a 2.2GHz instead of the 2.0 she sent them was an added bonus. Funny, I've had the exact same experience with Dell.
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United States22883 Posts
Corgh, you just listed a ton of stuff that's either a minuscule difference or is available on both. Expose is fancy and better than Alt+Tab but it doesn't add much functionality over a Start bar; I have both on Vista. Keynote is much cooler than Powerpoint, but the rest of those points are silly.It's nice that you put a lot of effort into it, but many of your points are just wrong.
There is no benchmark between Spotlight and Window's Search, and having used both, I'm pretty sure you're just making things up. The both have indexing time and they both work fine when it's done.
Virii don't exist, but worms and trojans do exist for OSX, and that's really where computers are most vulnerable- through the applications they run. The UNIX kernel isn't invincible. Most AV software is free these days, anyways. And Safari, really? Safari + Flash is actually the main vulnerability for any Mac user. FF is safer and has the most features of any browser. If you want speed, nothing touches Chrome.
And iTunes?! Every time we have this discussion the rest of the Mac people spend most of their time making sure everyone knows there are viable alternatives to iTunes, because no one wants to use it.
Everyone knows Macs win form factor. The light aluminum is nice, the Multi-touch pad is nice and MagSafe is very nice. But aside from the small advantage in DDR3, they do not come close to this type of performance. Nowhere in the same realm. You could honestly get a laptop with comparable hardware to the $2k MBP for around less than $1k.
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Dell. You can mod the hell out of it for CHEAP unlike with a mac.
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Cayman Islands24199 Posts
if you need to read all that to understand why you have to choose a mac based on software, then i guess people were really not choosing for the software, were they?
+ Show Spoiler +
On February 04 2009 16:22 eX-Corgh wrote:
Macs aren't overpriced.
LOL ok
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On February 04 2009 16:22 eX-Corgh wrote:
Macs aren't overpriced. Yeah they are. And in addition to being overpriced they suck.
LOL I took a look at the apple site. woww In order to get a computer that is equivalent to mine costs about 4000$. I assembled mine for about 600$ + reused a few old parts.
Going from 2gb ram to 4gb ram costs 500$. Please tell me that isn't overprice, I would love to hear you say that. Edit: The ram isn't even 1066mhz, 800 only lol and in 4 slots
Also many of the problems that you get from using vista are actually caused by all the bloatware that ships with it. I'm using a clean install on my custom gaming computer and I haven't had any problems yet.
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just for wondering, it does seem that most mac users have owned both machines, and most dell users have not owned a mac.. so:
Poll: background usage poll (Vote): recommend dell, owned only a dell (Vote): recommend dell, owned both (Vote): recommend mac, owned only a mac (Vote): recommed mac, owned both
(for 'used' in the above, read 'owned')
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United States22883 Posts
I don't necessarily recommend Dell out of all PC manufacturers, but I've used both. Built my old PCs, and one of my jobs over the summer was building and messing with XP/OSX and Ubuntu machines. The only Mac I didn't get to take apart were the new all-in-ones because you need specialists for them, but I had a fair amount of Macbook problems to fix.
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United States47024 Posts
On February 04 2009 16:22 eX-Corgh wrote: The main reason people use Macs is not the hardware - its the software.
Except since its possible these days to run either OS on either hardware, buying hardware for the default software it runs is kind of silly.
...but additional features in Mac laptops like MultiTouch trackpad, MagSafe power cord (that will save your laptop from flying down from the table or bed more times than you can imagine), better design, (in most cases) thinner and more solid construction, lighter weight, Wi-Fi N, Bluetooth 2.1, keyboard backlight (on higher end models), better case materials usually make up for it in terms of price. How does being forced to spend money on things you might not care about count as a plus?
A lot of these would be fine as options, but being forced to bump up the price for features you don't want is not a good thing (e.g. I don't care about size/design/weight, my existing Wi-Fi already gets good service everywhere on my school campus, I don't use Bluetooth peripherals, and I can already type just fine in the dark, so a keyboard backlight isn't useful).
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Are you heavily into graphic design? If so get a Mac for their creative suite. If not get a PC.
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On February 05 2009 03:26 Fontong wrote:Yeah they are. And in addition to being overpriced they suck. LOL I took a look at the apple site. woww In order to get a computer that is equivalent to mine costs about 4000$. I assembled mine for about 600$ + reused a few old parts. Going from 2gb ram to 4gb ram costs 500$. Please tell me that isn't overprice, I would love to hear you say that. Edit: The ram isn't even 1066mhz, 800 only lol and in 4 slots Also many of the problems that you get from using vista are actually caused by all the bloatware that ships with it. I'm using a clean install on my custom gaming computer and I haven't had any problems yet.
If you're smart you don't buy the extra ram from applestore when you buy your mac (because that's fucking overpriced), instead you buy from some random computerstore which sells rams that fit for the same price as the rams for a pc. That's what I did with my macbook ^^
The touchpad is what made me fall in love with mac to start with ;> But now I just hate going back to windows in general since OS X is incomparably better.
Buy a mac! ^^.
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windows 7 dawg.
It's virtually problem-free honestly it's a dream to use
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Russian Federation386 Posts
On February 04 2009 23:37 Jibba wrote:And iTunes?! Every time we have this discussion the rest of the Mac people spend most of their time making sure everyone knows there are viable alternatives to iTunes, because no one wants to use it. Everyone knows Macs win form factor. The light aluminum is nice, the Multi-touch pad is nice and MagSafe is very nice. But aside from the small advantage in DDR3, they do not come close to this type of performance. Nowhere in the same realm. You could honestly get a laptop with comparable hardware to the $2k MBP for around less than $1k.
iTunes is awesome once you get how it works and don't try to oppose it. I don't know a SINGLE person who has a Mac and doesn't use iTunes. Even some Windows guys I know use it because its very good music management software.
Have you read my post? I said you have to consider a form factor and case design when comparing computers. Everything that Asus has is specs. Macs are all about usability. You want specs - you get PC, you want usability - you get Mac. What's so hard to understand about it? As I said, neither platform is superior to another as they are targeted toward different markets.
On February 05 2009 03:26 Fontong wrote:LOL I took a look at the apple site. woww In order to get a computer that is equivalent to mine costs about 4000$. I assembled mine for about 600$ + reused a few old parts. Going from 2gb ram to 4gb ram costs 500$. Please tell me that isn't overprice, I would love to hear you say that. Edit: The ram isn't even 1066mhz, 800 only lol and in 4 slots
I'm sick of LOLs, this is a civil discussion.
Everyone knows that upgrade prices at Apple Store are insane. You don't have to get upgrades from Apple. Macs use the same RAM and HDs as the rest of the industry so you can get it in every computer store.
I don't know what model are you talking about in your Edit. The machine being discussed here is a MacBook which has DDR3 1066 MHz (the aluminium models) and DDR2 800 MHz (in plastic model). Both have 2 RAM slots.
On February 05 2009 05:40 TheYango wrote:Show nested quote +On February 04 2009 16:22 eX-Corgh wrote: The main reason people use Macs is not the hardware - its the software.
Except since its possible these days to run either OS on either hardware, buying hardware for the default software it runs is kind of silly. Show nested quote +...but additional features in Mac laptops like MultiTouch trackpad, MagSafe power cord (that will save your laptop from flying down from the table or bed more times than you can imagine), better design, (in most cases) thinner and more solid construction, lighter weight, Wi-Fi N, Bluetooth 2.1, keyboard backlight (on higher end models), better case materials usually make up for it in terms of price. How does being forced to spend money on things you might not care about count as a plus? A lot of these would be fine as options, but being forced to bump up the price for features you don't want is not a good thing (e.g. I don't care about size/design/weight, my existing Wi-Fi already gets good service everywhere on my school campus, I don't use Bluetooth peripherals, and I can already type just fine in the dark, so a keyboard backlight isn't useful).
Again, you aren't forced into buying it. Mac isn't for you.
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United States22883 Posts
iTunes is as much a piece of bloatware as Adobe Acrobat. Just because people use it doesn't mean it's a good piece of software. Both OSX and Windows have much better alternatives. And seriously, for your own sake, quit using Safari.
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Cayman Islands24199 Posts
asus actually built macs for apple. true story.
have you seen the dell adamo http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3495
it has design plenty, and is way cooler than a mac. putting such a premium on design simply is not the right move for volume segments. macs are luxury items, stop treating them like something unique
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On February 05 2009 13:53 oneofthem wrote:asus actually built macs for apple. true story. have you seen the dell adamo http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3495it has design plenty, and is way cooler than a mac. putting such a premium on design simply is not the right move for volume segments. macs are luxury items, stop treating them like something unique
that thing is going to be crazy expensive, just like the voodoo
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On February 05 2009 13:53 oneofthem wrote:asus actually built macs for apple. true story. have you seen the dell adamo http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3495it has design plenty, and is way cooler than a mac. putting such a premium on design simply is not the right move for volume segments. macs are luxury items, stop treating them like something unique
it´s unique the rest just to try to copy
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I dont think you wanna be the Mac dude.
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+ Show Spoiler +On February 04 2009 16:22 eX-Corgh wrote:This thread is getting more and more retarded with such single-line replys like "Macs suck", "Plz dont get a Mac", "You can't game on a Mac", "Macs are for eye candy", "You can't do anything with Mac", "I have 5 TB RAM and over 9000 GHz CPU and Macs have nothing for more $$"........... sigh To OP: please disregard such comments because they are posted by people who never seen/used/owned a Mac or they did but a looong time ago and don't know what they are talking about. I see that you are planning to use the laptop for studying, editing/storing photos, playing SC and other general computer stuff (internet, IM, etc). The main reason people use Macs is not the hardware - its the software. The Mac OS X "Leopard" operating system is considered by many to be "on the next level" compared to Windows. It has an intuitive and easy to use GUI, works fast, isn't bloated, supports all kinds of stuff, can be used in many fields, has UNIX base so its incredibly stable and secure (yes, NO viruses for Macs at ALL), doesn't require as much maintenance as Windows. Apple says it "Just works" and I agree with this statement. I've been using Macs for over 10 years and I have yet to run into a serious problem with them. When you connect a divice it doesn't require drives in most cases, setup is extremely easy and intuitive if necessary at all. In short, using a computer is much less frustrating. Some of its features are really nice: - Exposé. Press a button and all of your open windows are scaled and located on the screen so that all are visible at once without overlap. Select the one you want and it is brought to the foreground while the rest slide back to their original place. Press another button and all your open windows slide behind the screen edges and your is desktop visible at once. Do whatever you needed to do on a desktop and press that button again to have all those open windows back to their original place. A VERY useful feature for small screens (MacBook). - Spaces. Make up to 16 screen spaces available and move between then with a press of a button. For example have web browser/mail/chat in one space, some Word documents in the other, music player in the 3rd, Microsoft Windows open in virtualization software ( see 1) Study) in the 4th space, etc. Helps you organize your work (and play), especially helpful for small screens. - QuickLook. Preview files without opening them just by pressing Space bar. Files can be anything from text documents to movies and multi-page PDFs. - Time Machine. The automatic backup software, absolutely THE best I've ever seen. All you need is an external hard drive (you can get a Terabyte for less than 150$ these days). It is absolutely amazing! No setup required, just plug in the HD, press "On" and never worry about data loss ever again. For a demo of how great this is, watch the Leopard Guided Tour (Time Machine is at 9.35 minute mark) - Spotlight. The fastest system-wide searching tool I've seen in any OS. Starts giving you the result as you are still typing a word to search for. Results are instantly grouped by kind with more recent items on top of the list (closer to the input point). Can be used to instantly find things from applications and files to areas in FDF maps, metadata in your photos music, etc. Windows XP search is pathetic in comparison, while the one in Vista is better than XPs, but still can't match Spotlight. Thats just a few highlights of Mac OS X features that make people love Macs ^^ Now, to your requests: 1) Study.Macs have a bunch of software to choose from for this. - Apple's own iWork suite which contains easy to use/learn and intuitive applications for word processing, page layout, presentations, spreadsheets. Its compatible with Word, PowerPoint, Excel formats as well as PDF and other industry standards. - The next package is Microsoft's Office 2008 which is basically a Mac version of Office 2007 for Windows. Its more expensive than iWork, but provides familiar environment if you're so used to Office and has ultimate compatibility with other Office documents. - Free alternatives are NeoOffice, OpenOffice and others. These are viable alternatives, especially if you don't want to pay for your office suite (or dont want to download them from torrents), but they lack some features and are not as refined as payed software. I know a few people who use exclusively Open Office because they refuse to pay Microsoft any money for BS software they make ^^. The feature set is enough in most cases. Besides office suite you may need some additional specialized software depending on your major, but if it doesn't have a Mac version or alternative you can use Parallels Desktop or VMWare Fusion to run Windows (or Linux, or other OS) alongside Mac OS X without need for rebooting each time you want to use a different OS and with other convenient features. 2) Editing/managing photos.Again, a bunch of great software is available. If you are not a professional in this area: - As a part of Apple's iLife suite that comes with every Mac for free, the iPhoto application does a great job of storing, organizing and editing your photos. The ease of use, very intuitive interface, integration with the rest of iLife's applications and some nice features make it my personal favorite application in its category. - The next is Google Picasa. I have no first-hand experience with it, but from various reports online its a very good competitor to iPhoto. And its free too. - Pixelmator. Inexpensive photo-editing software with great interface with similar layout as behemoth Photoshop and many similar features. Has the ability to use your graphics card and OS X's built it Core Image technology to edit photos fast and efficient. - Adobe Photoshop Elements is more of an editing software, but has organizing funcionality too. Not free, but more advanced editing features. If you're Pro or a serious hobbyist: - Apple Aperture. Basically a much more advanced version of iPhoto with a more complicated, but more efficient for heavy use interface. Excellent for RAW processing and storing, powerful organization and editing tools, including batch processing. Has a very nice "image versions" feature that allows you to make as many versions of the original "Master" photo as you like, while taking very little space (only changes are saved, so each version os like a few KBs in size). This is the application I use myself. - Adobe Lightroom. A competitor to Aperture and seems very well-made and refined too. Interface is similar to the Creative Suite apps and has tight integration with it. More expensive than Aperture. - Adobe Photoshop. An industry-standard photo editor. Not much to tell, same as the Windows version basically. 3) Playing SCThat's already been said by other posters, but I'll say it again. Yes, there is Starcraft for Mac, yes its runs just like Windows version, yes you can play on ICCUP, BUT you can't have AntiHack, Lat changer, etc. But thats if you're running a Mac version. Windows version which you can run in either BootCamp (by dual-booting) or virtualization (see Parallels Desktop or VMWare Fusion above) lets you have all that. 4) General computer useage.This includes web browsing, e-mail, chat, file transfers, music, moves, tv-shows, etc etc. - For the web browser you have a ton of options. The default browser is Apple Safari and is very good. Its not bloated, runs fast, has a pleasant interface, tight integration with the OS (for links, bookmarks, search, etc). My favorite. The competitor is of course Firefox. Most of people use either Safari or this, but there are less widespread browsers as well. - E-mails are covered either by the default Mail or 3rd party software such as Microsoft Entourage (part of Office suite), Thunderbird, etc. - IM chat is not deprived of vividness too. The king is (IMO) a multi-protocol-in-one application called Adium. Supports protocols such as MSN, ICQ, AIM, Yahoo, GoogleTalk, Facebook Chat, MySpace IM, Jabber, QQ, etc. No need to keep multiple IM apps if you use multiple protocols. Open Adium and it lets you stay connected and being able to chat in all of them. No bloat, nice and tight. The most customizable software I've ever seen. Oh and its free of course. The drawback is that it doesn't yet support video/audio chat, but developers promise its inclusion in the next major version. The next app is Apple's iChat which supports AIM, MobileMe, ICQ and other protocols, but also has the A/V chat feature. The best A/V chat app if your interlocutor also has a Mac. Skype. A/V chat app, compatible with Windows version. The best cross-platform a/v chat software. MSN Messenger. Part of the Microsoft Office suite or can be downloaded separately for free. Never used it so can't tell much about it. Obviously for MSN protocol only. - File transfers: Download managers, torrent clients, FTP, P2P, etc. Speed Download is one of the best download managers. Others include iGetter, etc Torrent clients: Transmission, Vuze, paid Xtorrent, uTorrent (still a beta though), etc FTP: Speed Download (see download managers), Cyberduck, etc P2P: Limewire, etc. - For music management and listening I strongly recommend Apple iTunes. The best jukebox software for Mac. There are alternatives though if you don't like it. An awesome add-on for iTunes is Coversutra - improves your experience with iTunes even more. - Videos are covered partly by iTunes for viewing and storing them, but other software includes: VLC - a player that supports virtually all video formats. Can also be used for live SC watching. Perian QuickTime component significantly broadens the number of supported formats in QuickTime (iTunes and Front Row as well). A must-have. Handbrake - Mainly a DVD conversion tool. Insert a movie on DVD, choose the preset (for iPod, for PSP, just for computer screen, etc) and click start, wait, enjoy the result ready for storing/archiving/viewing/, etc. Can also be used to convert movies other than DVDs, like an AVI you've downloaded, or FLV, XVID, whatever. In short, despite a popular belief, there is absolutely no problem with software on Macs. HardwareAs for the hardware part of the question, I can tell you this. Macs aren't overpriced. If you match a comparable PC in specs the price difference is virtually none or probably slightly more for Macs. When I say "comparable" I mean comparable in ALL or MOST aspects of the specification. This includes not only CPU, RAM, graphics and screen, but also case thickness, battery life, quality, etc. The only real drawback Macs have now is that there's no way to watch Blue-Ray (other than in Windows with an external blue-ray drive plugged in), but additional features in Mac laptops like MultiTouch trackpad, MagSafe power cord (that will save your laptop from flying down from the table or bed more times than you can imagine), better design, (in most cases) thinner and more solid construction, lighter weight, Wi-Fi N, Bluetooth 2.1, keyboard backlight (on higher end models), better case materials usually make up for it in terms of price. You just can't compare a loud 1.3" thick 2.5 kg cheap plastic ugly PC laptop with nothing in it except for basic computer components and with a battery that lasts 2 hours max to a 0.9" thick 2 kg beautiful MacBook in the strong aluminium case, LED display, MagSafe, Multitouch glass trackpad, newest Bluetooth and wi-fi chips and over 4 hours of real battery life that is still just as fast in performance. Its just not the same league. Again, its all about selecting comparable hardware. Aslo, considering the value of the software that comes free on all Macs and no need to buy Anti-virus (annually) its safe to say that the actual cost is lower than PC. If you think you don't need any of this stuff - fine, no problems, go and buy a PC. Macs aren't for everyone (same with PCs). Both have their uses. Sorry for the huge post, I'm done. Hope this helped someone.
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=macs_cant
you know how hilarious you sound light 2kg beautiful top of the line mac and the heavy, grotesque, cheap 2.5 kg PC in a year it would be beautiful 1.8 kg mac and ugly, heavy 2.0 kg PC i dont know where you take these quotations from, probably brainwashing yourself on mac website itunes is complete garbage, i would never install that shit again and i had to deal with it plenty safari? are you on crack? software blablabla, you know how many apps could be listen even with Vista? why did you even get into this bs? "oh you can see through while you using leopard" Who gona get impressed with this shit to spend extra money on it? macs are not overpriced? okay, i havent heard this one yet. You must be feeling shaky with your shitty computer to start disproving obvious things. In my honest opinion youre one biased mother. And this is exactly what happened in this thread: you acted like you dont care but then after reading few pages you couldnt hold it anymore and started copy pasting all this barely relevant garbage
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^^And seriously please edit out Corgh's massive post. It takes up about 2 miles of space on the page.
On February 05 2009 11:26 eX-Corgh wrote:Show nested quote +On February 05 2009 03:26 Fontong wrote:On February 04 2009 16:22 eX-Corgh wrote: Macs aren't overpriced. LOL I took a look at the apple site. woww In order to get a computer that is equivalent to mine costs about 4000$. I assembled mine for about 600$ + reused a few old parts. Going from 2gb ram to 4gb ram costs 500$. Please tell me that isn't overprice, I would love to hear you say that. Edit: The ram isn't even 1066mhz, 800 only lol and in 4 slots I'm sick of LOLs, this is a civil discussion. Everyone knows that upgrade prices at Apple Store are insane. You don't have to get upgrades from Apple. Macs use the same RAM and HDs as the rest of the industry so you can get it in every computer store. I don't know what model are you talking about in your Edit. The machine being discussed here is a MacBook which has DDR3 1066 MHz (the aluminium models) and DDR2 800 MHz (in plastic model). Both have 2 RAM slots. Macs are overpriced before the upgrades.
Yes I know they use the same parts as any other computer. I have had a mac before and it fucking sucked, was slow, and crashed more often than any PC I have ever had. I don't care if that was 7 years ago, once you stick your hand and the fire and get burned you don't going around trying that again do you?
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people who buy macs because they like them are great. people who buy macs then try to justify buying a mac are jumbodumbo. ex-corgh you understand the majority of your post is justifying macs by saying "look at how many apps it can run"?
the only macbook that is currently "worth it" is the cheapest one. for most first time dell buyers i dont know, maybe the others are comparable but here's the cool thing about dells, after you buy one laptop / PC they deliver you this awesome catalog to your house monthly and it has ridiculously sick ecoupon codes or whatever. some the the PC deals in that catalog are better than building it yourself (24" monitor Q6600 4gb ram 750gb hdd for like $899), same goes for the laptops.
one more thing, unless you fill apple's target market with the macbook do yourself a favor and dont get one, i'm talking about doing professional work aside from movie making, sound producing, or whatever. you'll just end up paying a huge premium for something that will be obsolete in the same time but look nicer.
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Russian Federation386 Posts
On February 05 2009 19:12 mahnini wrote: people who buy macs because they like them are great. people who buy macs then try to justify buying a mac are jumbodumbo. ex-corgh you understand the majority of your post is justifying macs by saying "look at how many apps it can run"?
the only macbook that is currently "worth it" is the cheapest one. for most first time dell buyers i dont know, maybe the others are comparable but here's the cool thing about dells, after you buy one laptop / PC they deliver you this awesome catalog to your house monthly and it has ridiculously sick ecoupon codes or whatever. some the the PC deals in that catalog are better than building it yourself (24" monitor Q6600 4gb ram 750gb hdd for like $899), same goes for the laptops.
one more thing, unless you fill apple's target market with the macbook do yourself a favor and dont get one, i'm talking about doing professional work aside from movie making, sound producing, or whatever. you'll just end up paying a huge premium for something that will be obsolete in the same time but look nicer.
Sorry if my post turned out to be "look at how many apps it can run", it wasn't my intention. I was merely suggesting what apps the OP could use for his needs if he bought a Mac.
To people who still insist iTunes sucks: I'm sure you tried to use it not the way it was intended to (most common problem). Statement that Safari sucks can only be justified if you were using its Windows version - THAT sucks for sure I agree.
Anyway, this discussion seems to be pointless because it seems the OP has got all the information he/she needed and haven't posted in a while.
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United States47024 Posts
On February 05 2009 23:42 eX-Corgh wrote: To people who still insist iTunes sucks: I'm sure you tried to use it not the way it was intended to (most common problem). What? How can you not use it the way its intended?
On February 05 2009 23:42 eX-Corgh wrote: Statement that Safari sucks can only be justified if you were using its Windows version - THAT sucks for sure I agree. Its not that Safari sucks more than the fact that Firefox is going to be the baseline for judging a browser experience regardless of platform, and it outdoes Safari.
Regardless, I don't see the point of defending either software, seeing as neither is core to what makes a Mac a Mac (both exist on Windows and have better free alternatives on both platforms).
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Cayman Islands24199 Posts
apple employee spotted. use itunes the way it is intended? fuck you. i decide the proper method of using software, not your company. you absolutely fail if you have to reverse that relationship.
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Russian Federation386 Posts
On February 06 2009 03:05 oneofthem wrote: apple employee spotted. use itunes the way it is intended? fuck you. i decide the proper method of using software, not your company. you absolutely fail if you have to reverse that relationship.
I'm sure you didn't need to use such language >_>
No, I'm not an Apple employee, never have been.
Its sad that you don't understand how you can use particular software not the way it was intended... There are plenty of ways. Some try to manage music in the iTunes folder themselves and wondoring why iTunes "messes it up all the time", etc
What's your problem with iTunes anyway? I don't hear anything constructive besides "It sucks lolz"
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United States47024 Posts
On February 06 2009 16:01 eX-Corgh wrote: What's your problem with iTunes anyway? I don't hear anything constructive besides "It sucks lolz" As someone mentioned, its bloatware, just like Acrobat Reader. It uses up a lot more system resources that should ever reasonably be needed to run something so simple as a music player, especially since it doesn't do much more than other players.
On top of this, Apple proprietary software is generally harder to write/use addons for tha open source alternatives.
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Cayman Islands24199 Posts
well if you are talking about knowing how the thing works, of course the user is responsible for that. but "the way it was intended" is not that. i dont know about you, but that phrase is a standard teleological gesture. it says that the software has goals and roles defined by a higher order than the user. like in church they tell you to use your body the way it was intended, or microsoft saying to ie users, "use the internet the way it is intended."
actually this is just silly
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Apple is outscoring Dell in every aspect in the education segment and specially in higher education.
These are Gartners (student monitor: computing and the internet) numbers from fall 2008: of all student that intend to buy a latop next 12 months - 50% of them intend to buy a mac 21% a dell 14% a hp 4% toshiba 3% gateway 2% compaq
The numbers from 2005 were: 17% a mac 46% a dell
100% (give or take) of those who already own a mac intends to buy a knew mac next time. 64% of current dell-users plan to try a mac next time. Do you see a pattern? Do you understand what is happening?
Hello?! - where is the vision Dell? Where is the innovation? Where is the progress? Where is the creativity?
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On February 06 2009 17:29 MacWorld wrote:
100% (give or take) of those who already own a mac intends to buy a knew mac next time. 64% of current dell-users plan to try a mac next time. Do you see a pattern? Do you understand what is happening?
Yeah, students now value looks over performance and willing to pay a huge premium for it. Aka judging a book by its cover and so on.
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United States22883 Posts
On February 06 2009 17:29 MacWorld wrote: Apple is outscoring Dell in every aspect in the education segment and specially in higher education.
These are Gartners (student monitor: computing and the internet) numbers from fall 2008: of all student that intend to buy a latop next 12 months - 50% of them intend to buy a mac 21% a dell 14% a hp 4% toshiba 3% gateway 2% compaq
The numbers from 2005 were: 17% a mac 46% a dell
100% (give or take) of those who already own a mac intends to buy a knew mac next time. 64% of current dell-users plan to try a mac next time. Do you see a pattern? Do you understand what is happening?
Hello?! - where is the vision Dell? Where is the innovation? Where is the progress? Where is the creativity? Post the actual study, Gartner is usually fucking retarded.
Gartner Prediction: Y2K Issues To Continue Throughout Year
By Kristen Kenedy 5:06 PM EST Tue. Dec. 28, 1999 From the December 28, 1999 issue of CRN Although most large companies and organizations have hammered out the most pressing Y2K issues, analysts at GartnerGroup Inc. said related problems will continue to dog the industry throughout next year. In a conference call on Tuesday, GartnerGroup analysts said they are forecasting only a fraction of the expected errors to occur over the New Year's holiday weekend.
"We believe there will be minor infrastructure issues that will probably last a period of hours," said Matt Hotle, GartnerGroup vice president and research director. "But perhaps more substantial problems [will occur] in most businesses on Jan. 3 and 4 when they bring their systems back up. We think there will be problems but they will be solvable within three days after they are found."
As much as 55 percent of the expected Y2K related problems will be experienced across a 12- to 14-month period following the new year, Hotle said. Anticipated problems include software failures, hardware failures, supply chain problems and data corruption.
"Most companies realize this and have plans in place to follow it," he added.
The firm estimates that software renovation so far has cost organizations $300 billion to $600 billion worldwide.
Like most analysts, GartnerGroup believes the majority of large U.S. companies and organizations are prepared for the switch over to the year 2000. Fully staffed command centers responsible for administering and managing the flow of information are commonplace.
Possible immediate threats from viruses and hackers are being considered and plans implemented.
GartnerGroup analysts said organizations are controlling the flow of information in and out to stop hackers and viruses, and plans are in place to handle a higher number of possible viruses in the new year. But these issues still present a level of uncertainty.
"If we have 20 or 100 or more active viruses over a short period of time, that would be a considerable problem," said GartnerGroup Research Director Lou Marcoccio.
Criminal activity also is a consideration. "It's likely we will have at least one company that will have considerable losses due to this type of problem, even though the overall number will be pretty low," Marcoccio said. He stressed that most companies are taking actions to ensure these problems do not occur.
Analysts said the U.S. federal government is ready for Y2K. However, they noted trouble spots could occur with small state and local agencies. About one-third of local town governments are planning to finish their Y2K preparations on Dec. 31 and some will continue to work into 2000, analysts said.
Utilities, such as power, gas and oil companies, "have done exceptionally well," said Marcoccio, as have banks and financial institutions.
More than half of small businesses have completed efforts and done some level of testing, while the other 50 percent are not working on a fix because they believe they are not dependent on distributed systems, he said.
Among the international trouble spots to watch are Russia, other parts of the former Soviet Union, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, smaller island nations and central and western Africa, according to analysts. But Marcoccio added that many of these countries routinely deal with telephone and transportation interruptions. "The risk of impact is significantly less in these countries, even though their compliance is behind," he said.
GartnerGroup has been following the potential Y2K problems since 1995. Researchers at the firm indicated they were eager to move on to new issues, and the Stamford-based company said it will not continue briefings in 2000.
Indeed, now that the Y2K crisis seems to be mostly over, Marcoccio said companies are looking toward e-business. "Most companies throughout the world are shifting all their resources and dollars into these areas as fast as they can as they wind down Y2K," he said.
Garnter is also the group that's predicting the mouse to be gone in 5 years.
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United States47024 Posts
On February 06 2009 17:29 MacWorld wrote: 100% (give or take) of those who already own a mac intends to buy a knew mac next time. 64% of current dell-users plan to try a mac next time. Do you see a pattern? Do you understand what is happening? As Jibba said, statistics are meaningless without any data on the actual study.
Besides, education statistics are heavily weighted toward the system thats more user-friendly and looks more appealing, which is going to be a Macintosh. For the uninitiated, Mac OS X is much easier to learn than Windows. No one has ever disputed that. However, buying/building a PC generally gets you more bang for your buck, and you generally have more freedom to tweak the system to your own liking than with Mac OS X.
On February 06 2009 17:29 MacWorld wrote: Hello?! - where is the vision Dell? Where is the innovation? Where is the progress? Where is the creativity? Innovation in computer technology doesn't come at the last step, where the seller is just providing bells and whistles and other bits and pieces that don't matter. Innovation comes in all the steps between, with the separate hardware components that both companies just scrape together into their machines,. Its not in Dell or Apple's hands to innovate (at least not hardware-side).
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I'd put windows as a pro not a con! Anyway, unless you need the special stuff a mac can do I don't see why you'd get it since it's quite a bit more expensive for similar specs.
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On February 06 2009 17:29 MacWorld wrote: Apple is outscoring Dell in every aspect in the education segment and specially in higher education.
These are Gartners (student monitor: computing and the internet) numbers from fall 2008: of all student that intend to buy a latop next 12 months - 50% of them intend to buy a mac 21% a dell 14% a hp 4% toshiba 3% gateway 2% compaq
The numbers from 2005 were: 17% a mac 46% a dell
100% (give or take) of those who already own a mac intends to buy a knew mac next time. 64% of current dell-users plan to try a mac next time. Do you see a pattern? Do you understand what is happening?
Hello?! - where is the vision Dell? Where is the innovation? Where is the progress? Where is the creativity?
Those trends are only mirroring the stupidity of the average user. Everybody loves the expensive shit.
Apple's creativity ends at the aluminum outside that makes it awkward. I have a macbook pro 15 inch. It is not good. The multi finger touchpad is completely horrible. It works sometimes, and other times it just fails. The computer itself is also lacking, the USB ports are on the far left, and it makes a mouse awkward. The new aluminum case makes the original Apple projector thing incompatible because it requires a smaller one.
Overall, the computer gets 1:30 of battery life when I set it on lowest power usage settings, and everything. 1:30.
I'd say the only positives are the charging cord, and speakers.
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Cayman Islands24199 Posts
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Those stats mean shit. How about this stat... + Show Spoiler + 99% of computer illiterate people buy premade comps be it MAC or PC.
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The guy uses the name MACWORLD ffs. He's not gonna stop defending no matter what.
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This thread is LoL like any other Windows vs Mac discussion
Buy what you like most if you could pay for
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On February 10 2009 16:27 CharlieMurphy wrote:Those stats mean shit. How about this stat... + Show Spoiler + 99% of computer illiterate people buy premade comps be it MAC or PC.
did you know that 64% of statistics are made up on the spot?
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On February 10 2009 21:48 .Ix wrote: The guy uses the name MACWORLD ffs. He's not gonna stop defending no matter what.
The threadstarter asked WHY he would chose Mac instead of PC. Me and others gave our opinions on it. I don´t have to defend why I choose to Mac over PC. Eventhough I have a PC (which I built myself) I simply chose macos over windows (much because I´ve more or less quit gaming and now mainly use my computer for work, music and social media).
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United States47024 Posts
On February 11 2009 01:17 MacWorld wrote:Show nested quote +On February 10 2009 21:48 .Ix wrote: The guy uses the name MACWORLD ffs. He's not gonna stop defending no matter what. The threadstarter asked WHY he would chose Mac instead of PC. Me and others gave our opinions on it. I don´t have to defend why I choose to Mac over PC. Eventhough I have a PC (which I built myself) I simply chose macos over windows (much because I´ve more or less quit gaming and now mainly use my computer for work, music and social media). Wrong. He's asking which provider he should buy his hardware from. Because both OSs run on either hardware, which OS you prefer is largely irrelevant.
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On February 11 2009 02:31 TheYango wrote:Show nested quote +On February 11 2009 01:17 MacWorld wrote:On February 10 2009 21:48 .Ix wrote: The guy uses the name MACWORLD ffs. He's not gonna stop defending no matter what. The threadstarter asked WHY he would chose Mac instead of PC. Me and others gave our opinions on it. I don´t have to defend why I choose to Mac over PC. Eventhough I have a PC (which I built myself) I simply chose macos over windows (much because I´ve more or less quit gaming and now mainly use my computer for work, music and social media). Wrong. He's asking which provider he should buy his hardware from. Because both OSs run on either hardware, which OS you prefer is largely irrelevant.
As there is now, OSx is not supported on any other hardware other than Apple:s. Apple will never freely support OSx on any other hardware other than their own. The reasons are simple, they want full control over how the software (OSx) works with the hardware, a combination which they know work optimal together. If you run OSx on your own chosen hardware you will not have any support or guarantee and when it comes down to portable computers most, if not everyone, want that.
For alot of people this is very importnant: http://www.macworld.com/article/133293/2008/05/consumer.html
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