Mac or PC?

Lgroundum on 27/12/2013 - 19:52

Guys, i am in dilemma for 1 month+ already. to cut it short, i am a student who has been using PC for his entire life. never uses a Mac before.. lately, my good 3 yr old dell laptop is going nuts. i assume it is dying soon.

i am very interested in Mac simply because it is BEAUTIFUL. but of cause, i realize being beutiful WILL NOT help me get my things done. also, price factor is bugging me..is it worth paying for an extra 500-600$ for an apple product? fyi, i will be using this laptop for writing thesis, web surfing etc..nothing hardcore like video editing, gaming (i play console not PC game).

for ex PC user who had converted to a Mac user, how do u find the learning curve for mac? it is difficult to adapt?

Computing

Comments

  • victorwilson on 27/12/2013 - 20:11
    +1

    You have a wide range of options in the PC world for various prices and various degrees of "beauty". If you don't like one, there's always another one to suit you. Take a look at ultrabooks like the Acer Aspire S7 or Microsoft Surface Pro 2, for example.

    Otherwise, in the Apple camp, you do it Apple's way, whether you like it or not.

  • retiredfeline on 27/12/2013 - 20:13
    +4

    i am very interested in Mac simply because it is BEAUTIFUL. but of cause, i realize being beutiful WILL NOT help me get my things done.

    I think you answered your own question.

  • verio on 27/12/2013 - 20:20
    +1

    As a mac user, I doubt that you should switch to Mac just because 'it is BEAUTIFUL' :)

    One thing to notice though: in your case a comparable PC laptop will be only $100-$200 cheaper, not $500-$600.

  • strangeloops66 on 27/12/2013 - 21:27

    Buy a Mac and you can have Windows too. Boot Camp (and a number of third party programs) allow you to boot into OSX or Windows.

  • techpoida on 27/12/2013 - 21:48

    I bought a Mac when I went back to Uni. Best thing I ever did. I did get Office for Mac but from memory I was better off using VMWare and Office system. The formatting from Pages isn't compatible with whatever the lecturers were doing and complained. Also converting from Pages to Office wasn't perfect. Neither was Office for Mac to Windows Office.
    I would draft my assignments in Mac and do the formatting and turnitin stuff from the Windows Word.

    If you have some computer skills they're easy to adapt to.

    I'm not a fanboi for Apple (can't bring myself to buy an iPhone to add to the collection but I do have an iPad, which the kids mostly use) but I doubt I'd buy a PC again.
    Recommend getting Apple Care when you buy it but if you have problems I'd research it before getting their assistance so you can be a bit more sure of what they're trying to get you to do.

  • ozhunter on 28/12/2013 - 03:51

    i am very interested in Mac simply because it is BEAUTIFUL

    I agree, its looks great especially when closed.

    but of cause, i realize being beutiful WILL NOT help me get my things done. also, price factor is bugging me..is it worth paying for an extra 500-600$ for an apple product? fyi, i will be using this laptop for writing thesis, web surfing etc..nothing hardcore like video editing, gaming (i play console not PC game)

    I had the exact same thinking as you, and have similar uses. I did end up buying a macbook pro but after using it exclusively for a month(as I couldn't get Windows on it), I'm thinking I should of just got a cheaper laptop as I don't need any OSX features.

    for ex PC user who had converted to a Mac user, how do u find the learning curve for mac? it is difficult to adapt?

    It's different. Nice to use and has nice ui, but I still prefer Windows 8. One big annoyance is that Chrome at the moment kinda sucks on it(lag, stuttering).

  • StuffnStuff on 28/12/2013 - 11:14
    +1

    If you have learning difficulties get a MAC, otherwise stick with a PC that you can customise, upgrade and have access to a full range of off the shelf software and peripherals eg USB devices . If you go down the MAC line, sure it will look good, but you are tied into their cult. If you already own software and peripherals for your PC, you have to upgrade it all to MAC versions or buy an emulator to run on MAC that allows you to run PC based software. You will probably find some of your USB devices will also not work.

  • kryptoz on 28/12/2013 - 23:10

    If you are looking at notebooks, consider that Apple only makes one size of notebook = small. If you consider other brands, such as HP or Toshiba, you can get sizes up to 17in, which was once considered a small screen (on desktops). Unless you need something ultra portable, the screen size you be a big consideration.
    As for aesthetics, Sony, Samsung, Microsoft make arguably more beautiful notebooks than Apple. The OS is irrelevant, beyond what applications you need to use — you can run Microsoft Windows on an Apple (natively, or through Bootcamp, or through Parallels VM), conversely you can run Apple OSX on pretty much any computer that will run Windows (natively, or dual booting, or through VM software), — albeit I can't see any reason someone would prefer OSX to Windows, but to each his own.
    There is an argument to buy non-branded hardware, as you are locked into Apple's own parts for upgrades and you have limited upgrade options. This is going to be the case for any notebook or all-in-one (eg. iMac) computer, as there is very little that can be changed aside from RAM, and possibly HDD, so a limited argument.
    Peripheral devices are always a problem — the overwhelming majority are made for Windows and have only up-to-date Windows drivers, if you use anything else (OSX\Linux\old Windows versions); You will be kicking yourself every time you buy a new printer, router, scanner, mouse\keyboard (my shiny new Logitech and Razer mice are detected as keyboards by OSX 10.9), 3D devices, card readers, USB hubs, (… not to mention other USB essentials like cup warmers, hand massagers, xmas trees, etc). Bottom line, OSX is not very adept at recognising non-Apple devices, and drivers are usually not available.
    If you use Office for Windows, you will have some relearning ahead to pick up Office for Mac, with the current versions, Microsoft has managed to lay them out in myriad different ways, even though functionally they are almost identical.

  • verio on 29/12/2013 - 08:44
    -2

    As for aesthetics, Sony, Samsung, Microsoft make arguably more beautiful notebooks than Apple

    I always thought that is can be argued whether OS X is better than Windows or whether you MacBooks are good enough in terms of upgradability. These are the issues that everyone has to decide for himself if he likes them or not.

    However, in terms of Macbook (laptop) design I believe Apple is ahead of its competitors. And in this case by 'design' I don't just mean that is 'BEAUTIFUL', I mean how it is manufactured, how it looks like both inside and outside, how it feels as a device.

    Compare this:
    http://www.3dnews.ru/_imgdata/img/2012/04/23/628161/aas5-ins…
    To that:
    http://www.macbookgratis.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Macb…
    To see what I mean.

    I guess that is the reason why there are many Windows users who still buy MacBooks.

  • demiurge on 30/12/2013 - 17:23
    -1

    PC all the way. But you really only need to put an SSD in your old Dell and do a clean install to meet all your requirements.

  • blighst on 30/12/2013 - 23:53
    -2

    Basically if you're into beauty build a PC.
    If you're into functionality build a PC.
    If you're into a good price build a PC.

    If you'd like an expensive paperweight buy a Mac.

  • batrarobin on 31/12/2013 - 03:28

    Go PC and enjoy the flexibility.

  • nimnomnimy on 06/01/2014 - 11:14

    If you have the money and a little bit of tech savvy I would always say mac because you can run windows on a mac but you can't run mac on windows (easily)

    Osx is a beautiful thing

    • demiurge on 07/01/2014 - 01:11

      Yes you can. Virtualbox, vmware etc lets you run any OS on any OS.

      • nimnomnimy on 07/01/2014 - 10:11

        We both know there is a vast difference between dual boot and virtual machine operation.

        I don't know anyone who would prefer a virtual machine to a dual boot that didn't require that function explicitly

        • demiurge on 08/01/2014 - 02:34
          +1

          Lots of people prefer virtualization over dual boot, you can work with multiple OSs simultaneously and switch between them easily, it's so much better than rebooting. And you get an extra layer of security.

  • meumax on 07/01/2014 - 14:07

    I made the switch in 2010 and have been happy ever since. I've never had a laptop that's lasted this many years and still looks like new instead of falling apart at the hinges etc.

    At the time of purchase, I reasoned that if I didn't like Max OSX, they support installing Windows on them anyway. So it's like the best of both worlds. As it turned out, I never felt the need to install Windows once I started using OSX (slight learning curve). My favourite feature at the time was the multi touch gestures on the track pad.

    MS Office was sorted out cos you can get Office 2011 for Mac. Years later when I absolutely needed to run some old PC software, I got VMWare which allowed me to run the program as if it were a native OSX app or boot into a Windows session.

  • misu p on 07/01/2014 - 15:30
    +1

    I loved somebody else's description. Consider a park.
    1) with a Mac you can only walk on the pathways, the pathways are smooth and the ride is perfect.
    2) with Windows you can go on the grass, sometimes is bumpy sometimes you fall. Sometimes you laugh, sometimes you cry.
    3) with Linux you are like in the Matrix :) it is a park only if you want it to be a park.

    Joking aside if you want it to just work buy a Mac. If you are a tinkerer and very technical get a PC (and u usually cannot buy any PC) with Linux. If you use programs that are only on Windows get Windows (this is the reason that I could not move my clients to Linux some time ago).

    If you have to go on a forum to ask what to buy (and I mean this in the most non offensive way possible, I really do) buy a Mac. While I am very against the entire Apple eco system, I cannot think of 1 person that bought a Mac and it is not happy with it.

  • ankor on 08/01/2014 - 07:50

    When I got into uni, I was given a mac air as a present. I didn't even want it at the time since I am anti-apple, and here are my following impressions.

    1) those chiclet/island keys - I'm used to them now, but it was a really hard transition for me coming from a normal desktop microsoft keyboard. The travel distance was different, the spacing of the keys was different, and it was a frustrating month

    2) finder is not as good as the internet file explorer - if you are used to just easily cutting/pasting/copying files from one folder to another, or even just creating multiple folders etc, you MAY find the windows way to still be more intuitive than mac

    3) MS Word for Mac is good, but if you are used to doing stuff the windows way, then that will feel just a bit faster until you relearn the mac control interface idiosyncrasies.

    4) the mac spaces (multiple windows thing) is actually pretty cool - and it actually does help you be more productive to an extent

    5) Preview + mac touchpad gestures = win. Preview is your pdf viewer, and I think that this is the main reason why mac has been so good for me because I had a helluva lot of reading to do each week.

    6) There was quite a wow factor from people around me in 2011, but I think that's probably diminished now. The interesting thing was that a lot of it came from people with the macbook pro, which at the time looked and felt like a brick compared to the air.

    7) Battery life shits on everything. I rarely ever reached for the charger, and usually I was at uni for 5+ hours at a time. However, battery life when consuming visual media is pretty crap compared to an ipad. e.g. youtube, tvshows, movies

    8) One of the design flaws of the air is that the screen will get pressed up against the keyboard, and you MAY get an impression (when the screen is black) that is observable of either - part of your keyboard, or part of the trackpad edges.

    9) Due to the use of an SSD hard drive, the air boots up in about 10-15sec.

    Do I like it now - yes.
    Would I buy it over an ultrabook? - Yes,I am anti-windows 8 and ultrabooks still look ugly compared to an Air.

    edit: the extra $500-600 will be for the form factor, the lightness of the unit, the SSD, and of course the apple experience. You should not be comparing the mac air to regular laptops, but to ultrabooks. If there is still a $500-$600 difference, then an ultrabook would suffice.

    But if you are comparing the air to a standard laptop in the 500-800 range, then it seems to be a bit of an unfair comparison since you are comparing two very different units in terms of features.

  • [Deactivated] on 10/01/2014 - 20:34

    I hate these Mac Vs PC, iphone vs android, galaxy s4 vs htc one, etc threads.

    Go out, use both. Work out which one is better for you and get that.

    Only you can decide which suits you better. The rest of us are only sharing our opinions of what works for us.

    • Janko on 11/01/2014 - 11:50

      He will be deciding which suits him better, from the many comments here and maybe other places. Going out to use a Mac might also help him, but often first impressions can be very misleading.

      I use Windows for graphics work, virtualised Linux for software development and was considering replacing both with a Mac. Going out to use a Mac I would have instantly dismissed it because of unfamiliarity. Only from reading the opinions of others in a similar position to me could I get a more realistic idea as whether it would be a good move for me or not.

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