[tohm]

I have always had this question. What is the difference between a Mac and a regular computer? Why do people always say: "..a Mac over a Computer"?

Aren't they both computers?

[linskyjack]

The major differences:

1. Operating systems----Apple, in my mind is better. Also, since there are so few Mac users out there (relative to PC users), viruses and malware are much less of a problem.
2. Availbility of software---More choices on the PC platform
3. Apple controls the hardware and generally, builds a rock solid computer. PC's can vary in the quality of the parts that go into them and the builds.
4. Apples generally underperform PC at a given price point. Thats one of the reasons that Apple is going to the Intel chip--the one that dominates the PC market.
5. PC's offer many hardware options and a fairly easy way to upgrades.

I guess when you get down to it, the choice becomes a matter of what you feel comfortable with. Apple people tend to be zealots when it comes to their "Macs"!

[zoombini]

The more common statement is 'Mac and PC'.

A Personal Computer generally is any mass-produced windows-based computer. A Mac is an Apple-built OS X based computer.

They are both computers.

[icemncmth]

I guess if you want to get real technical...both are now based on Unix....

Windows...xp...came from windows NT...and that was OS2 bought from IBM...and it is a Unix kernal...

OS X is a Unix Kernal...

but what are the feel good differences...

I use both in my day to day work...

When you get a Mac..or OS X ...you are getting an OS that is built to work as one unit...You pay more for a Mac for several reasons but lets just look at the software...

If you buy a Windows XP machine (home version).....( we will stick with M$ products) and you add Office and other software to do what a Mac can do out of the box you will have a more expensive machine or PC than a Mac..

Mac's are great because you get pretty much what you need built right in the box...

M$'s are great if you want to have access to certain programs..there are a whole lot more programs for M$ stuff than Mac..

That being said ...since Mac has gone Unix that will change soon. Most software developers I know will right a progam either on a Unix/linux or *nix box and then "port" it over to a M$ box. Taking a new program and making it run on a Mac is a whole lot easier...

Lets look at hardware.....

If you like the newest computer toys on the market...stick with a M$ clone...
If you like to play the newest games stick with a M$ clone....

If you are like most people who use a computer for the average day to day stuff...surfing the web..doing email...IM's....listenting to music...making DVD's of your kids....Mac is the way to go...

But the biggest downfall to Mac is simple.....most people don't use them at work therefore they are don't want to learn something new or different even if it is better for most people...

Heck look a Linux......it is free...runs and looks great.....but most won't use it because they don't want to learn something new...

Just my 2 cents

[lithixx]

As a mac user I can be viewed as biased i guess. But before i owned a mac i was a strict PC user, and learned to use a computer with windows.
I started with windows 3.x and remained a windows user through 98, and then switched to my first mac.
This is what i have learned.

1) Once i went to the mac i never went back, or even thought about it. In the few occasions i was forced to use a windows machine again, i was only wishing i could be working on my mac.

2) Far, Far less crashes than i had ever experienced with windows. In the past 5 years i recall once where i was forced to reformat and start from scratch( due to my own fault i might add)

3) When pitted against a comparable windows machine, the mac will generally outperform. I also believe the mac's interface is far more comfortable and beautiful than windows.

4) There are more software titles available for windows. But, it I havn't been at a loss to find mac software that will perform the same tasks as windows software. Games are an exception, Mac does have many games but still nowhere near the number of games windows supports. and generally games are produced for windows first, and follow for mac within a 1 or 2 month time-span. And if you are a stickler for say office software, don't worry, Microsoft office software is available for mac.

5) If you are a computer user already, chances are that you are a windows user, If you can navigate a windows environment and generally solve your little glitches on windows, then a conversion to mac should be painless, somewhat familiar feeling, and easier to diagnose or fix little problems, however infrequently they arrive.

6) Macs are usually more expensive, but are normally more solidly built, their hardware is made specifically for use in a mac, and the apple software is built around the computers abilities and strengths. this allows apple software to run very well on their computers.

7) The biggest advantage i see in a windows PC, is the general ease of updatability, because you can use almost any part or manufacturer you wish, this proves to be more difficult in macs, but it is possible.

The best advice i can give is this, no one can tell you what to do, make up your own mind, look for an apple authorized retail location in your area, go and take one for a test drive, ask questions, and see what they really can (or can't) do!

[DoorGah]

Me thinks part of the reason there is a separation (Macs-PC's) is because neither one wants to be the other. Early on, the PCers looked at Macs and Mac users as er, uh...lame.Their computers had built-in video and sound, small Hard Drives and couldn't be readily (didn't need) upgraded. Many Mac users too had no idea how much RAM or what OS they were running though they could run the easier to use Mac and in some instances the "airheads" had more throughput than the PC user. It wasn't fair!

Mac users were fortunate not to have frequent (or any) System Crashes, or incompatibilities with various components etc. Apple being in charge of the OS and HardWare made some fairly bullet proof machines.

Have never seen figures to support this but I bet the average income of a Mac user is higher which may lead to some separation also. There was quite an attitude from Mac users too for quite a while. U=PC, Me=Mac.

As Apple is more Windows friendly, uses more standard parts, a UNIX based OS and soon Intel processors, who knows? Just maybe...no, No way! I got a Mac-)

[slarti]

I have a mix at home, though i am down to one PC acually on. As I find more and more software for the Mac I am slowly migrating away from Windows. I think I will alsways have it as I work with windows on the jo and need it to emulate from home.

I don't care if other people use them or not. I see no reason to get into a religious war over the platform you use.

Try going to wegenermedia or some place similar and checking out an old blue and white or something for $150. It'll take OSX Jaguar, I have 3 G3s and a G3 laptop.

[Bdweller]

I started on PCs before they even came with Windows. I had to work from DOS 3.3. One thing I've noticed over the years is that with PC being produced by everybody, (and their brothers) they have gotten cheaper. Where Macs (I have a little Classic that I love playing with) are built only by Apple which I believe keeps their prices higher. No one take any offence please. I'm being observational, not judgmental. This is another reason I think you see a difference in incomes between the two camps. I know I still can't afford a new Mac when I can get a new PC for under $500.

[slarti]

Yes I used to think that Macs tend to be more expensive, but older macs come in at the same price as middle level PCs. It also depends on the PC. Some crappy intel PCs are $500 and have 2.5+ CPUs but run like crap. I paid $2500 for my new Dualie G5 and I had been looking at PCs since I use both. A comprable PC costs just the same, so no worries.

I've had good luck with PCs and Macs as well as bad. But sometimes the cheaper PCs are crap. Like the "affordable" Mac mini that comes sans monitor and you have to immediately upgrade. I'm sure it's a good little machine, but I was looking to buy something for my wife, thought of it. Then found an 800Mhz G4 iMac for less, comes with a built in flat panel.

I think you just have to shop around and decide what is worth it. I had my first Mac, an old G3 PPC beige that ran for years and I wiped the HDD once, that's how stable it was. When it came time to upgrade, I spent the extra cash to get a new Mac and didn't upgrade the PC.

Difference between a Caddy and a Kia.

[rebeccap]

Wait...Mac OSX *IS* UNIX. I wouldn't just consider that basing it on UNIX like XP. I used to fix Macs and Windows boxes. Okay, wait, I used to fix windows boxes and use the Macs. Windows always lost dll files, corrupted itself, got infected, etc. If I had to swap a monitor, I'd have to go search down a driver for the windows machine. On the Mac, I just plugged it in.

We're zealots because we have a right to be.

[grace1st]

Don't be deceived by the PC users who responded to this. Mac is best!


But seriously, there is one word that gives Mac a thumbs up over PC - integration. Since Apple strictly controls the hardware and software that is built into a new Mac, they really do make the stuff work together better. You just can't say that with a PC. Example: the blue screen of death!!! Even though that got taken away, the fact is you're still likely to experience numerous interruptions when using a PC. I had my first Mac (a 6116) for five years and had less than five error windows/interruptions. Can you say that for your PC?

As much as I have some gray hairs, I can say that they are not caused by my Mac experience. I have to deal with a PC at work. Those are getting better but they still don't prevent crashes and errors.

By the way, with OS X, if you can tell me which software programs you cannot use on a Mac (besides the games), I'd appreciate it. Mac leads the way in audio and video applications and has for years. Mac seamlessly runs MS Office applications. Mac's browser and email are better programs (IMHO). You can buy a mini for <$500. How much more do you need for a personal computer?

Scott
(waiting for my next iBook G4)

[rebeccap]

More games are coming out for osx, too. If you look at the gaming catalogs, you'll find a lot of developers are realizing that more Mac support is needed.

What I'd like to know is if anyone is successful running windows on the new Intel based Macs so I can throw out crummy virtual pc and run it faster. Unfortunately my classes demand I use certain windows software yet I refuse to waste my money on a non-Apple box.

[D0C_Hol1d@y]

The truth, notice my tag, I own both, Apple is way more expensive. I have a pretty good Powermac G4, I got into gaming about 2 years ago and have been strugling to keep up on that Powermac, I'm talking upgrades out the wazoo. It still was a weak gammer. I wanted a new multimedia blockbuster computer from Apple. I go to all kinds of Apple stores online real life and the machine I wanted was $4000 just for the tower. I said screw it. I can build the ultimate X86 hot rod for half of that.

Well I was wrong, I only spent a quarter of that and I have a power house of a PC. I kept my mac, I am a graphic designer and all of my software is licensed on the mac platform. I play games burn DVDs CDs and photoshop on the PC it's like 20 times faster than the G4 Powermac.

What's the difference if you ask me. If you don't care about money and you are too dumb to build your own then get an Apple. They are fast. They also are limited to crappy graphics cards as well. The biggest Video card you can get in a Apple is a Nvidia 6600, that cards worth dink in the PC world. Don't even say because mac uses it it's better. That's the one on the $4000 desktop too.They charge you double for hard drives and memory just so it has the apple logo on it. That's the truth you're getting ripped off (edit mis-spell) you people.

[Bdweller]

"Don't be deceived by the PC users who responded to this. Mac is best!"

I'm not trying to deceive anyone. And a Mac is only better if you can afford it. If you can't, no matter how good it is, it doesn't do you any good.

Believe me with some of the problems I've had over the years with PCs I wish I could have a Mac, (and I just may in the future if that darned Publishers Clearing House would come through) I have GREAT respect for the machines, and their OS, but just because I CAN'T afford a mac doesn't mean I shouldn't be computing at all. In my case when I started out it was a simple case of finances, coming up with $1100 for a PC, or $2000 for a Mac. One has to compute within ones means.

[slarti]

I bought a G5 dualie with 2GB RAM and 250GB HDD for like $2200. The reason I bought it was I love Macs and the PC that I could build from parts would cost equal that. That was from Apple's store. They are a little more expensive, but computers are like cars. You get what you pay for.

Even my G3s are chugging along and parts are not anymore expensive than PC parts where I get them.