# Windows Or Mac?



## AdrianClarke (Oct 25, 2004)

hey, im wondering which is better...windows or mac? i might get a new computer later on and im wondering if i should get a desktop with windows or get a MAC computer? and im wondering if i could buy OSX and delete my XP and install it on my computer as my OS? because apple charges way to much for a mac and the speed isnt really that fast anyways

I know MAC is wayyy better for security and safety which is a HUGE factor but it seems hard to navigate and XP seems so much easier but XP has many security holes/problems.

So which one is better to get? Windows or Mac?


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## AdrianClarke (Oct 25, 2004)

Anyone got any responces!?


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

There was a similar thread question poste in the Mac forum a while back:

http://forums.techguy.org/t315896.html

... and I think I'll move yours there as well, since those forum dwellers are likely to have experience with both machines.


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## brendandonhu (Jul 8, 2002)

AdrianClarke said:


> and im wondering if i could buy OSX and delete my XP and install it on my computer as my OS?


Nope. The only way to do this would be through an emulator, which is very unstable, and against Apple's Terms of Service.


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## AvvY (Oct 8, 2004)

Don't use mac. I hate them. I hate them for many reasons, mostly because everytime I have used them, they have been unstable- more so than Windows. It seems to crash everytime I try and run programs, and its just a pain finding software.

Get a PC - its cheaper - and Windows, which is easy and well supported.

Late,


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## HenryVI (May 27, 2005)

I say Windows. Mac's are hard to navigate unless you know what you are doing, and that annoying mouse!!! Only 1 button! And I agree with AvvY, they are hard to find software unless you go to a store that sells Apple's, which is kind of hard to find. I do like Macs though, for their look and their keyboard lol. And I also like the GUI, but Macs are used more for editing stuff. And my biggest reason I don't like em, is when you are in a program, and you hit the x button on all of the windows, (well more particularly Macromedia Flash) you have to go the the bar up top and hit exit *whatever*, to completly exit the program.


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## VegasACF (May 27, 2005)

I find it most illuminating that the Windows users represented here have, largely, _not_ said why Windows is superior to the MacOS, but rather have pointed out what they see as flaws in the MacOS. I am proficient with both platforms, but choose to use the MacOS because it is elegant, powerful, and fits the manner in which I am best able to get work done. The comments of the Windows users below may have reflected a problem that existed once upon a time in the MacOS (OS 7.5 was, in my opinion, _very_ buggy), but simply do not reflect the current state of the OS. It seems as though their reactions are of the knee-jerk variety, rather than based on any amount of actual experience with a Macintosh. I could be wrong, but it sure seems that way.



AvvY said:


> Don't use mac. I hate them. I hate them for many reasons, mostly because everytime I have used them, they have been unstable- more so than Windows. It seems to crash everytime I try and run programs, and its just a pain finding software.
> 
> Get a PC - its cheaper - and Windows, which is easy and well supported.
> 
> Late,


Really. Unstable? Odd. The PowerBook G4 on which I'm typing this has not been restarted in over a month. And my desktop machine hasn't been restarted in longer than that. Sometimes software will crash, but that happens on both platforms, and it doesn't happen with any frequency. And finding software is a snap, just run down to Fry's, CompUSA, the Apple Store, or about thirty other places that are within fifteen miles of my location. Or, better yet, if I don't feel like getting out and about I can just get it from an online source and have it on my doorstep the next morning, often for a lower price than if I had acquired it from a brick-and-mortar store.

As for being cheaper, the Mac mini is $500 and is a fairly capable machine (it's not a machine for a power user, mind you). Many head-to-head comparisons have been done with $500 Windows machines and the Mac does pretty well against them.



HenryVI said:


> I say Windows. Mac's are hard to navigate unless you know what you are doing...


Yeah, it's really hard double clicking on the icon, navigating through folders, finding the document or application you wish to run... Wait. No it's not. That's just like Windows. Hmm. I don't know what I was thinking. 



HenryVI said:


> ...and that annoying mouse!!! Only 1 button!


So use some _other_ mouse. Anything USB is supported by the MacOS. This is the most common "gripe" I hear from Windows users, and I just don't get it. Use whatever mouse/trackball/trackpad you wish. I've got a multi-button trackball that I use most of the time. It's very comfortable, has a lot of buttons, is wireless and has a small footprint on my (often cluttered) workstation.



HenryVI said:


> And I agree with AvvY, they are hard to find software unless you go to a store that sells Apple's, which is kind of hard to find.


Again, _I_ have no trouble whatsoever. And what's great about Mac-compatible software is that you don't have to wade through hip-deep piles of crappy software to find that one good title. "Macs don't have games," they say. Poppycock. Sure we might have to wait a little longer to get the good games, but for the most part we get all the good games. And we get them with all the bug fixes already put in. We don't get all the really horrible games. What a pity.

Are there less software titles available for the Mac? Absolutely. Are all the big applications available for the Mac? For the most part. Are they compatible with Windows versions of these applications (if one is available)? Almost always.



HenryVI said:


> I do like Macs though, for their look and their keyboard lol.


Why laugh? Those are two important things. You buy your car based on looks, probably, as well as functionality and feel (unless, of course, you're driving a Pontiac Aztek, Honda Excrement [I mean _Element_] or any of those butt-ugly Scion cars). Why should your computer be any different?



HenryVI said:


> And I also like the GUI, but Macs are used more for editing stuff.


I don't see what the first part of that sentence has to do with the second, but okay. You can very easily edit digital video on a Mac, and music production (what I do) is a breeze. Somehow these are bad things? Again, I don't get it. But, whatever. I've got a Sony HandyCam MiniDV video camera that I connect to my Mac via FireWire, upload all my home movies (the kid's birthday, etc.), edit it with iMovie (that came pre-loaded on my Mac) if I'm just throwing something together quickly, or if it's something work-related and I need more firepower I'll use Final Cut, create my movie, open up iDVD, pick the style of menus and whatnot that I want, press the "Burn" button, insert a DVD-R and, voila! Don't even get me started about music creation on the Mac. That's how I earn my living, and it is simply a joy to do. I've been using Macs to make music since 1984.



HenryVI said:


> And my biggest reason I don't like em, is when you are in a program, and you hit the x button on all of the windows, (well more particularly Macromedia Flash) you have to go the the bar up top and hit exit *whatever*, to completly exit the program.


Or you can just press Command-Q and quit the application. I _never_ use the menu bar for quitting applications. Personally I like being able to close a window in an application but keep the application up and running. What you see as a weakness I see as a plus. Strange. Regardless, this is just something that you get used to doing one way and I get used to doing another. It's all about habit. And habits can be retrained. When I'm on a Windows machine I don't click the X. I press Alt-F4. C'est la vie.

AdrianClarke: What it comes down to is this: which platform is best for _you_? If Windows allows you to get your work done more easily than go with Windows. If the Mac allows you to get your work done more easily than go with a Mac. It's as simple as that.


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## junialum (Jun 9, 2005)

It depends on your field of work. If you do heavy graphics editing or video editing you may want to go for a Mac. But if you want a computer that could be more versatile you should go for PC. The software market for Mac is really bad. This is the main reason why Mac is in no way going to be able to overtake the PC market.


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## brendandonhu (Jul 8, 2002)

How can you say it doesn't support enough software if you don't even know what he wants to use the computer for?
As far as we know, he does web browsing, email, and word processing. OS X will be just fine unless you're into heavy gaming or something like that.


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## HenryVI (May 27, 2005)

VegasACF said:


> And finding software is a snap, just run down to Fry's, CompUSA, the Apple Store, or about thirty other places that are within fifteen miles of my location...


Yes I have those in my area, but it takes about 30 minutes to get there, when I have Best Buy just 5 minutes down the road.



VegasACF said:


> Or you can just press Command-Q and quit the application. I never use the menu bar for quitting applications.


Well I did not know this. But when I worked with a Mac this summer, I attended a 2 week class on using Macromedia Flash, and I had no prior experience with a Mac.



VegasACF said:


> So use some other mouse.


And the mouse that the computers had was the 1 button Mac mouse, and I hated it.

I do like Mac, despite what I said; I just prefer Windows over Mac. This is because of all of the programs/games that are available for a PC. Also because I have never owned another type of computer.


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## jaguarbunny (Jul 13, 2005)

Mac is far easyer to navigate i would say mac but Pc has more software!


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## AntiM$ (Apr 25, 2005)

The game excuse. Pathetic. We're talking about _computing_, not gaming. If you wanna play games, just use a PC or get a console (way better). Lack of games does not make a computer bad.

"LOL ITZ HARD TO USE!!!" You're used to Windoze, which is FAR more confusing, believe it or not (Plus a "Mac from the beginning" user that I know has nightmares with Windoze's GUI). Learn Mac OS first, foo.

"LOL OMG ONE BUTTON MICKEY MOUSE" It's _simpler_, so get used to it. Or get a 2-button mouse. Hell, I'm on Windoze most of the time and I _rarely_ use the right button.

Damn Windoze users...


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## VegasACF (May 27, 2005)

HenryVI said:


> Yes I have those in my area, but it takes about 30 minutes to get there, when I have Best Buy just 5 minutes down the road.


We've got Jack-In-The-Box, Burger King, MacDonalds and Wendy's all within 5 minutes of here, too, but I'd rather drive 30 minutes to one of the many 5-star restaurants on the Strip to get _real_ food. 



HenryVI said:


> Well I did not know this. But when I worked with a Mac this summer, I attended a 2 week class on using Macromedia Flash, and I had no prior experience with a Mac.


So you're basing your complete dismissal of the MacOS based on two weeks' worth of experience? Dude... :down:



HenryVI said:


> And the mouse that the computers had was the 1 button Mac mouse, and I hated it.


You could have easily brought in your multi-button USB mouse and plugged it into one of the USB ports on the keyboard and not had this problem. But I'm beginning to repeat myself.



HenryVI said:


> I do like Mac, despite what I said; I just prefer Windows over Mac. This is because of all of the programs/games that are available for a PC. Also because I have never owned another type of computer.


Again, yes, there are _tons_ more software titles available for Windows. And you know what? Most of them are utter garbage. Very rarely does a piece of garbage software make it to the Mac platform. I'd rather have a (relatively) small pile of diamonds to randomly pick from than a four-story compost heap with one or two diamonds hidden somewhere inside. But I guess it's just a matter of perspective.

I have both platforms running here in my house (two Windows machines, four MacOS machines [one OS 9, two dual-bootable, one OS X-only]), and I can tell you from a great deal of experience on both platforms (and from being the head of tech support for a cross-platform music software company) that the Mac side of things is infinitely more user-friendly, infinitely easier to troubleshoot, and infinitely more elegant. Again... Perspective.


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## MSM Hobbes (Apr 23, 2004)

VegasACF... just a couple things to say regarding your posts...

:up: :up:

Not only dead right on the mark, 100%, but you've captured very good replies, with honesty and wit, and even more importantly w/o pissing upon another platform. 

Could not have said it any better! Again, :up:



Now, Adrian, you will hopefully see by now that there are indeed pros AND cons to all of the various hardware and software and OS choices that are in front of ya. It all depends on what YOU want the machine to do for you. Apple can do vast majority of the same stuff as a MS-based machine, PLUS do it in its own unique manner, and w/ potentially more stable and secure life. Yes, MS-based goods are more plentiful and there are more of 'em. However, ya need to look at the total cost and the total package - what are you getting, and at the end of the day what will your total investment in dollars, in satisfaction, AND in future happiness with your choice. Best luck!  BTW, you've not come back into this fun enjoyable thread to offer any comments as to what you desire the machine to actually do, how much you want to spend, etc etc. Surely you didn't start this thread to fan some fun flames between the Apple and Windows folks???


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## AvvY (Oct 8, 2004)

http://jeremy.zawodny.com/media/bi-tch.mpg
(remove the "-" to avoid the board sensor)
A great parody of the Mac Switch ads - don't crack it if the board sensors the name, I didn't create the file. It isn't rude.

Late,


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## VegasACF (May 27, 2005)

AvvY said:


> http://jeremy.zawodny.com/media/bi-tch.mpg
> (remove the "-" to avoid the board sensor)
> A great parody of the Mac Switch ads - don't crack it if the board sensors the name, I didn't create the file. It isn't rude.
> 
> Late,


Personally, I'd sooner take the word of someone who regularly uses _both_ platforms than someone who just blindly "up and switched" to (whichever) platform. But that's just me.

MSM: Thank you, again. I use both platforms (ad nauseam, frankly), and no, the previous paragraph was not a shameless plug for myself... Don't just take my word for it. There are a _lot_ more like me where _I_ came from.

The Mac is just so much more pleasurable (and I don't [necessarily] mean that the way it sounds) to use. If I end the day on one of my Macs I end the day with a smile. If I end the day on one of my Windows machines... God help my wife and one-year-old (as of July 4th!) son. I'm going to be a _bear_.


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## AvvY (Oct 8, 2004)

The reason for why I don't like Mac's are simply based upon my experiense - and that is as I have posted, unreliable. Thats not to say that Windows is any better, but I find it much more usable, and provided I don't do anything to cause it problems, most things work without problems. My experiense of Mac's are that they will crash on their own doing.

Late,


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## MSM Hobbes (Apr 23, 2004)

I hear ya - I've a Win98SE on home-made box, plus forced to use WinXP at work [for now, as it'll be a WinME laptop in new position at new firm in couple weeks... ]. But, yes, agree that unless a person has spent an appropriate amount of time actually putting both/all platforms through their paces, its like someone just tossing a baseball and not liking the glove, instead of actually playing an entire game or two, before they really get a feel for the details and an understanding of the good/bad of it all.


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## MSM Hobbes (Apr 23, 2004)

AvvY, could ya elaborate as to when this experience was, what model(s) where used, what application(s) where being ran, and/or what OS? Just curious - its helpful to know then if ya was really pushing the machine as a power user, or if there was maybe some quirk w/ that particular machine. Not at all trying to attack your experience, just desire the facts.


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## AvvY (Oct 8, 2004)

MSM, not a problem - I'm all to happy to share.

It was using the school Mac's - eMac's I think they were, similar to the iMac but more bulky. Anyhow, it was running OSX (not sure what build). I had this expereinse mainly with video editing using both iMovie and Premier 6. It happened several times (the comps had been formatted between usage, and on different machines). I also had it happen running other programs like MS office. What happend, was that the system just locked up. Froze, couldn't do anything. Oh, it also happend another time when I was playing a CD and using PhotoShop, froze, and I couldn't even eject my cd, no restart the machine, and it tooks ages before I managed to get the CD out.

Similar things have also happened to my friends at school. Granted they are school comps, but they are formatted each year, and I hadn't been pushing the machine at those times.

Late,


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## brendandonhu (Jul 8, 2002)

That happened on our eMacs and Powermacs all the time. They'd freeze randomly. Haven't had an iMac or any G5 crash on me yet.


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## AvvY (Oct 8, 2004)

Yeah - wel, that is my experience= unreliable machines.

Late,


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## Mikrondel (Jun 21, 2005)

I hate Microsoft - as a company. But objectively, I think Windows is a very good operating system.

Now I must say that I'm very good at working out complicated things, and I also care little for looks. I had a bit of a play around with a Mac OS X Laptop and I had a bit of difficulty but managed to get somewhere. Seeing as I'm used to Windows (and a bit of Linux), I wasn't expecting it to be second nature.

The main reason I'm not hating OS X is because it has a UNIX shell. ("Terminal" if I remember correctly.) If it were like the other Mac OSes that gave the user a pretty GUI and kept him locked out of the real system, then I would put it aside as an OS for computer-fearers like those who wonder where the "Any Key" is.

In Summary- Windows is great, and rarely gives me problems. Mac OS is perfect for some, but if you like playing with the workings of your computer, the Windows or Linux might be better. And all those other obvious things like you need business software that's only made for Windows or you want a cheap computer that only Linux can do anything useful on.

One other thing- I think one reason why Macs have so little software is because people who use Macs are much less likely to become interested in how the computer works, and thus there are far less programmers who grew up on Macs.


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## MSM Hobbes (Apr 23, 2004)

AvvY - just wish that you wouldn't let a bad experience using university-based computers to gage your feelings about a computer system. So many issues could be at the route for the negative happenings there, things that are most likely not really relevant to what may be representative in a 'real-world' Apple...


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