PC vs. MAC

View Poll Results: Which computer system are you useing?

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Thread: PC vs. MAC

  1. #1
    Registered User peshek77's Avatar
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    Question PC vs. MAC

    Could someone please outline the basic differenced between a MAC and a PC?

    From my understanding the only difference is the OS. Strictly speaking, hardware for one will work on the other as long as it is supported correct? Are there any FUNDAMENTAL hardware differences?

    Thanks.
    If con is the opposite of pro, what's the oppisite of progress?

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  2. #2
    Laptops/Notebooks/PDA Mod 3fingersalute's Avatar
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    Day and Night, that's a quick sum up of the differences

    No, to be honest, they are like a Ford and Chevy; they're both cars, but while they have parts that achieve the same purpose like a processor, motherboard, RAM, etc. (engine, alternator, radiatior, water pump, etc.) they are NOT interchanable between the two. You can however buy accessories that will work on either like digital cameras, MP3 players, printers, speakers, etc. (window tint, fuzzy dice, seat covers, etc.)

    I was trying to sum it up in simple terms, does that make sense and answer what you were asking?

  3. #3
    Registered User street1's Avatar
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    "(window tint, fuzzy dice, seat covers, etc.)

    Very good 3fingersalute.LOL
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  4. #4
    MegaMod DonJ's Avatar
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  5. #5
    Registered User street1's Avatar
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    That should do me for a week DonJ.

    Thanks.
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  6. #6
    Registered User peshek77's Avatar
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    Thanks 3fingersalute. What you are saying makes a lot of sense. DonJ has hit the nail square on the head... Thats exactly where I was coming from, because essetially what Apple are saying is - MAC is better(more stable, can do more thing, etc.) than ANY PC - period. It just bugs me, because Windows is not the only OS you can have on a PC. In fact you have a lt of choices, but for the uninformed customer and the virtual Windows domination over OSes since every PC you buy from a mainstream company comes with one whether you want it (pay for it) or not, most people will come to believe that PC are generally BAD. Most will not know that in fact Windows is BAD, not the PC. No offence to Windows lovers.

    I woun't lie I still use Windows, but I am not going to Vista - I'll need a totally new PC to run it . I still have 3 that can run Linux perfectly fine. The problem is that I am just starting with linux, but I hope I can get pretty familiar with it before Microsoft abandones supprt for XP hehe.

    What do you guys think about all this?
    If con is the opposite of pro, what's the oppisite of progress?

    -----------

    I mean, if I went round saying I was an emperor just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away! - Monty Python

  7. #7
    Driver Terrier NooNoo's Avatar
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    Windows, like Macs have proven to be incredibly stable - you just need to build the machine carefully... make sure that what you put in it is of good quality and fully compatible and the drivers have been written properly.

    It's not that windows is bad, it's just people don't take the time to research the hardware/software properly. That's why macs are more expensive and that's why you don't get alot of hardware choice.

    Vista is a totally new operating system for totally new pcs. We still get posts from people expecting to put XP on 10 year old machines and whining that their ISA and parallel port legacy hardware is not supported out of the box and the company that made them has no intention of making XP drivers (or has gone bust).

    Linux has it's faults too... understandable documentation being one of them.... and if it's so secure out of the box, why do linux people have little games of root?
    Never, ever approach a computer saying or even thinking "I will just do this quickly."

  8. #8
    Registered User peshek77's Avatar
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    NooNoo, you have a point there. I realise hardware compatability and drivers play a big role in the stability of a computer. I should have thought better when I posted that Windows is bad. For anyone reading this, please disregard that part in my previous post.

    As far as the "uderstandable documentation" - that is a bit tricky. When you have hundreds of thousands of people writing packages for linux, it is quite hard to get them all on the same page. The major distributions however, have a more structured websites and it is a bit eaisier to find what you need.

    Linux definately has its faults, but the ability to reconfigure every part (when having the sufficient ability) of it in order to make it suit your needs, and the fact that "reverse engeneering" will not get you in jail, in my opinion, is a big advantage.

    The fact that you can "make it your own" also gives you the ability to make use of your old computers. Tons of computers will be thrown away and pollute the environment simply because they will be unable to run Vista or Mac OS 13 or what not. There was an article about this somewhere, but at this moment I can't exactly recall where.
    If con is the opposite of pro, what's the oppisite of progress?

    -----------

    I mean, if I went round saying I was an emperor just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away! - Monty Python

  9. #9
    Registered User shamus's Avatar
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    Good posts everyone.

    At heart I'm a pc guy, but with the advant of OSX as well as the Mini Macs running Intel chips (here come the viruses you so smugly avoided all these years... ) and the ability to dual boot from XP or OSX... the line starts to blur. I'm comfortable with both working with them every day....although I prefer a Windows OS. I just never liked the secrecy involved in troubleshooting a Mac or having to completly take apart an iBook just to replace the HDD. Most, if not all pc, laptops it's just one screw...remove the HDD. Simple.
    Apple shoots itself in the foot with upgrades and backward incompatibility as well as making it difficult to fix things that should be as simple as they claim their OS is.
    Linux is still a bane of my existance.
    Partly my fault being weaned on Dos...I can't help but return to those commands instead of the Unix that I should be typing. Open Source is great, don't get me wrong, but I get overwhelmed with the onslaught of info I get when researching it. The structured websites do give you the initial info but from then on,as far as tweaking is concerned, it's convoluted at best. Almost TMI

  10. #10
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    Mac & Windows

    It appears to me, based on my experience and reserch, that the things the Mac does, it does well. If you have something a bit off the beaten path, it can probably be done with Windows, albeit with some dificulty. It will probably be impossible on the Mac. As far as Vista is concerned, it is probably time to retire my SOYO Dragon Ultra 880 board and go with something with a dual core AMD processor and a graphics card a bit newer than my Saphire Radeon 9600 pro.
    I will also retire my main Western Digital WD800JB which was a fast drive in its day. I'l probably go with one of the new Western Digital SATA fast drives with a bit more capacity. i would suggest that anyone going to Vista and not wanting to replace the computer entirely do the same thing

  11. #11
    Registered User Ferrit's Avatar
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    Usualy those who say windows is very unstable are the ones that have to have every single piece of free crapware avaliable on the internet.
    Running an XP pc with decent antiviral protection and spyware cleaning will give you a very long time error free on good hardware.
    But usually its an emachine with too small a power supply and not enuff memory and every screensaver,registry cleaner, and hokey options changer ever made. Thats a large part of what crashes windows pc's
    3rd party free software.
    As for Mac's I suspect they ahve their uses but frankly the owners leave a seriously bad taste in my mouth.
    It isnt security issue free as seen by the rash of Mac patches of late.
    Its just no one ever really paid them any attention.
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  12. #12
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    Windows is a fine OS if you know what you're doing with it. However, 99.99% have no idea what they're doing, and that'll lead to problems.

    My grandparents' PC is a fine example of a well-looked after Windows machine, it was built over 2 years ago, and it is still stable, still running well, I still frequently update it (a pain on their dialup), and couldn't be any better for them. However, many other machines running Windows will go from fine to in need of a format in three months, because the users will clog them with junk.

    I do like the look of Macs, OSX seems cool, and the machines are well designed as well, I'm planning on buying one eventually. However, the earlier machines had far less in common with their PC counterparts, the newer models use Intel CPUs and all. Still, I do want one

    Linux has its place, it can do the desktop thing, but it's much better at being a server OS. Desktop Linux still feels like an afterthought. Then again, I use Linux as my desktop, mainly because I don't like Windows, but I can't afford a Mac.
    I'd be the village idiot, but that spot is already taken.

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  13. #13
    Registered User peshek77's Avatar
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    It seems like the concensus is that Windows is a good OS if you know how to maintain it. Primarely, don't fill it up with junk (i.e. a program you might use once or twice and then let it sit on your pc doing nothing) - usually free. Isn't that true for any OS though? It doesn't make sense to put debigging packages on your linux installation if you have no idea what to do with them, does it?

    I guess it all comes back to being able to take care of your machine. You can't expect to run something like SpeedUp MyPC / Registry Booster and expect it to make your PC like new.

    On a final note, I am glad so many people gave this thread a consideration. After all competition is always good - it drives prices down . I have a feeling that years from now Windows, Linux, and MAC will be talking pretty much the same language. More and more companies like provide linux distros with support and the popularity of linux will grow even to the home computer. The real question is which group will win the "battle. Is it going to be the corporate giants or the open source community? Well, about that ... I have no idea.
    If con is the opposite of pro, what's the oppisite of progress?

    -----------

    I mean, if I went round saying I was an emperor just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away! - Monty Python

  14. #14
    Driver Terrier NooNoo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by peshek77
    It seems like the concensus is that Windows is a good OS if you know how to maintain it.
    I would say any OS is good if you know how to maintain it.

    The problem is, people are unwilling or feel incapable of learning what needs to be done. These same people however, often spend hours maintaining their cars.
    Never, ever approach a computer saying or even thinking "I will just do this quickly."

  15. #15
    Registered User BOB IROC's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by NooNoo
    I would say any OS is good if you know how to maintain it.

    The problem is, people are unwilling or feel incapable of learning what needs to be done. These same people however, often spend hours maintaining their cars.
    I agree with NooNoo. I think people are under the impression that computers should run virtually indefinately without any maintenance. The car analogy works very well here. You can just compare computer maintenance to cars. Without fluid changes and regular checkups you will get considerably less mileage out of a car and computers needed to be treated as such. You wouldn't believe (actually some of you may) how many computers I have worked on that their insides are caked with dust or how many computers have let their basic Antivirus protection expire years ago and then call the computer a piece of junk when it crashes or runs like a dog.

    Unfortunately some things many end users cannot do, but this is true of cars as well. How many people do you know that do their own oil changes and tune ups?

    Now seeing as there are many more Windows Users out there vs Mac OS users you will see more problems come from that user base just by that. I could almost guarantee if the tables were turned and Mac OS was dominant over Windows you would see the same types of problems. I think people have seen a bit of this now with Macs being a bit in the spotlight. OS Security flaws showing up and such.
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