iMac or PC?

[WoodPeckr]

Looked at that iMac with the 24" monitor and thought, I WANT THAT ........ only can't see shelling out 2 grand for it.
However the iMac with the 20" monitor, going for $1500, is actually about $75 cheaper than a comparably equipped "loaded" Dell core2 duo I was looking at! In fact the Mac has a few goodies that the Dell doesn't, a built-in 2 Meg Pixel webcam, wifi capable, firewire ports and a little faster Intel core2 duo specs.
I knew Mac prices were dropping but this is the first time Mac was lower than an equally equipped PC.
Never really thought about getting a Mac before.
Is it worth switching and learning a new OS?
Also what happens if that flat panel monitor dies?
I'm guessing replacing it is more expensive than getting a new monitor for a PC since it's built-in right on top of the computer and everything else.

 

[anon1]

If nothing else, buy it for it's industrial design.

 

[canucklehead]

Get Apple Care when u buy the all in one and you get 3 years of coverage.... if you have to have it repaired 3 times Apple usually replaces the computer.
No spyware no Viruses.......... You could always install Windows XP or Vista on it if you really need to.

 

[simonwagstaff]

Oh bollocks. Where do you get those numbers? 99% of the applications are available for the Mac, only a few won't work and then you run boot camp. big thing with Macs is the stability of the OS and relative resistance to viruses. the Os is much more intuitive than windows. 173% of the people that I know that have mac love them, including me.

 

[danibbler]

90% of the people i know who bought a mac have regretted it, because of a lack of applications and because OSX is so different from windows

I find that number very hard to believe. Why? Because there simply cannot be that many Mac users that you know of! hahaha

Seriously, the only people that I know of who would be disappointed in Mac OS X would be gamers and now with the new Intel-based machines and WinXP compatibility even that objection is going to go by the wayside.

 

[IggyP]

The OS is not hard to master. And if you know anything about UNIX you will love the OSX. As for applications, true that some are not avaliable but there are other options. Personally I use a Mac powerbook and a PC as I do still find the need to have a pc around at times. If you load up the ram you can run virtual PC on the MAC and it will run most windows applications.

 

[Damondean]

I am one of them...

90% of the people i know who bought a mac have regretted it, because of a lack of applications and because OSX is so different from windows

Yes, I am one of them. I bought a 15" G4 laptop about a year ago. It is a beautiful design and the screen is great....BUT nearly everything on OSX is differenmt. It took me about 6 months to get into using it and I am still not up to speed.

It is unfriendly to remote drives where I prefer to store pix rather than on the hard drives.

I guess if you download a lot of music it is the thing to get.

Mac is a bit of a cult.... you can subscribe to all sorts of web stuff. none of it is very compatioble with PCs which make up most of the world.

I am stuck with it for now.

 

[Meister]

Oh bollocks. Where do you get those numbers? 99% of the applications are available for the Mac, only a few won't work and then you run boot camp. big thing with Macs is the stability of the OS and relative resistance to viruses. the Os is much more intuitive than windows. 173% of the people that I know that have mac love them, including me.

I guess you don't know much about what else is out there for applications. The whole world of CAD/CAM, 3D Product Design is almost exclusively PC.
Most specialty-purpose or industry-specific software is on the PC.

With the Mac you are also missing out on a slew of cheap or free software available on the net, just go to download.com to compare.

 

[radius]

I'm a Mac Switcher.

I think if you don't know much about computers then you should go with Windows because it is more common so it is easier to find people who can help you out and most guides/help books etc. are oriented towards Windows.

If you are a very advanced user (which I'm guessing you aren't or you wouldn't be asking this question), then you would pick whatever operating system supports the applications you need or is most fun to play with for you.

For people in between, Macs are great. The hardware is speed and price competitive with PCs but have much more style. It took me a couple of hours to get used to OSX but after that found it a smoother, more enjoyable experience than using Windows (I've been a software developer for about ten years and have run mostly Windows PCs and Unix workstations previously).

The issue with software for the Mac isn't that you can't find software to do what you want (except that there isn't an Intel version of Microsoft Office yet so you have to run it under Rosetta or run an Intel version of Open Office). The issue is that usually there is only one program in any field that is the best or standard, while on Windows there may be many more choices.

But to me, that's like saying a BMW sports coupe can't go offroad. I'd gladly lose a little flexibility for better feel under normal conditions.

 

[Freewheelin Franklin]

http://www.connectedhomemag.com/HomeOffice/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=50437

http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=196800670&pgno=1&queryText=

http://www.oreillynet.com/databases/blog/2002/12/mac_or_windows.html

http://itapestryreviews.blogspot.com/2005/05/our-apple-mac-experience.html

 

[mmouse]

100% of the people I know who use a Mac are kind of dumb.

 

[shakenbake]

Looked at that iMac with the 24" monitor and thought, I WANT THAT ........ only can't see shelling out 2 grand for it.
However the iMac with the 20" monitor, going for $1500, is actually about $75 cheaper than a comparably equipped "loaded" Dell core2 duo I was looking at! In fact the Mac has a few goodies that the Dell doesn't, a built-in 2 Meg Pixel webcam, wifi capable, firewire ports and a little faster Intel core2 duo specs.
I knew Mac prices were dropping but this is the first time Mac was lower than an equally equipped PC.
Never really thought about getting a Mac before.
Is it worth switching and learning a new OS?
Also what happens if that flat panel monitor dies?
I'm guessing replacing it is more expensive than getting a new monitor for a PC since it's built-in right on top of the computer and everything else.

Funny thing, way back in 1999, I bought an iMac DV SE for $2700, because it was better equipped than the PC equivalent that would have cost me at least $200 TO $300 more than the Mac. It has been a long-standing fallacy that Macs are more expensive, for the same amount of features. Now that my iMac is almost 8 years old, it can still outperform many of the lower end machines that are available today IMHO.

 

[shakenbake]

100% of the people I know who use a Mac are kind of dumb.

110% of the people who use PC and suffer through windows problems are masochists.

 

[if6wuz9]

Man, why do these kind of threads always turn into a fanboy pissing match (and that image has now officially caused me to lose my appetite)

 

[shakenbake]

Man, why do these kind of threads always turn into a fanboy pissing match (and that image has now officially caused me to lose my appetite)

Good question. They shouldn't. A lot of personal opinions, and some not form experience with the relevant items being discussed. I wish that many of the people here would have experience with both platforms before posting heresay 'facts'and personal opinions not based on experience.

Anyway, personal rant mode turned off!

 

[shakenbake]

I'm a Mac Switcher.

I think if you don't know much about computers then you should go with Windows because it is more common so it is easier to find people who can help you out and most guides/help books etc. are oriented towards Windows.

If you are a very advanced user (which I'm guessing you aren't or you wouldn't be asking this question), then you would pick whatever operating system supports the applications you need or is most fun to play with for you.

For people in between, Macs are great. The hardware is speed and price competitive with PCs but have much more style. It took me a couple of hours to get used to OSX but after that found it a smoother, more enjoyable experience than using Windows (I've been a software developer for about ten years and have run mostly Windows PCs and Unix workstations previously).

The issue with software for the Mac isn't that you can't find software to do what you want (except that there isn't an Intel version of Microsoft Office yet so you have to run it under Rosetta or run an Intel version of Open Office). The issue is that usually there is only one program in any field that is the best or standard, while on Windows there may be many more choices.

But to me, that's like saying a BMW sports coupe can't go offroad. I'd gladly lose a little flexibility for better feel under normal conditions.

I couldn't have said it better myself!

Thanks, radius!

 

[shakenbake]

I guess you don't know much about what else is out there for applications. The whole world of CAD/CAM, 3D Product Design is almost exclusively PC.
Most specialty-purpose or industry-specific software is on the PC.

With the Mac you are also missing out on a slew of cheap or free software available on the net, just go to download.com to compare.

Ask a professional graphics designer, or a scientist working in a US government research lab. They gravitate toward Mac.

 

[bitplate]

What about IT professionals...

Nearly all of my IT colleagues/Developers respect the MacOS and certainly do not regard it as a lacking system. Its a powerful stable platform that meets the needs of many but not all. Most of the complaints I hear from users stem from the fact that they simply don't like change and the OS, whether it works better or not has little to do with it.
In the scientific community, OSX is a serious contender, which can be hotly debated depending on what sort of research you are doing. Simply put, most of the software ever written runs on a mac or doesn't require much effort for a programmer to port and compile on the OSX platform (most of us aren't programmers). I'm a long time Mac user, but I'm also a huge fan of Ubuntu, and Fedora Core4, yet I still I learned to develop software on NT and XP so I've got a unique perspective. I prefer the Mac Platform for it stability and elegance, and the power of the UNIX core and I have to admit a great deal of the preference comes from my comfort and familiarity with UNIX and the command line. So there you have it, I have a bias also
simply because of comfort with the OS, despite the fact that I use XP every day at work.

 

[WoodPeckr]

Great tips so far guys, keep 'em coming

Funny thing, way back in 1999, I bought an iMac DV SE for $2700, because it was better equipped than the PC equivalent that would have cost me at least $200 TO $300 more than the Mac. It has been a long-standing fallacy that Macs are more expensive, for the same amount of features. Now that my iMac is almost 8 years old, it can still outperform many of the lower end machines that are available today IMHO.

LOL, know what you mean.
Got my 'screamin' Pent II 400 Mhx PC, in 1997 and paid $3000 for it. Added a printer & scanner and the total went to $3500! Back then it was state of the art, just came out and was considered dated 6 months later.
Went with a PC because all the guys at work had them and felt Mac was bound to go the way the Betamax VCR machines did when the VHS came out and took over. Well that was their general consensus back them.

This looks like another one of them never ending debates with good points being made on both sides. Let the research continue. Very informative.

 

[canucklehead]

http://macvspc.info/pages/03.html

Windows vs OSX is the really argument. The reason OSX is stable is because u have a company making the hardware for a specific OS.
Fact number one is there are more free Unix programs i can compile or have been compiled for the Mac alone without native OSX apps then programs that have ever been made for Windows.
So you bought a PC 3 years ago and u want to install Vista... can you with out a hardware update or hacks? Hmmmm i have Leopard Beta aka Vista 2.0 running on a 1999 iMac and it runs fine with only extra RAM..... hmmmmmm
Not getting into this arguement but i have a client in Calgary that is the largest Architecture firm in Alberta running all OSX......
http://www.architosh.com/