Just post MAC or PC ? WHY if you have time.

[dcnctx]

Okay, time for a new computer. (I searched the forums and nothing jumped out from past postings.)

Who uses Mac?

Who uses PC?

...and why? (do you like or dislike your computer?) If you have time to say.

If any of you know of forum posts that discuss this topic, I would also appreciate reading them, as well.

Thanks

[epoh]

I use a PC. The primary reason: cost. I can build a decent pc for $1000, pick whatever individual pieces of hardware I want, put it all together and have it work. It costs twice as much to get an equivalent Mac. As beautiful as they are, I can't justify the cost.

[d2creative]

Mac user here. Always have been since before you could get photoshop and other art software for PC. I'm a graphic designer and mac is the industry standard unless you are doing web design.
If you are not building your own pc, the cost to go into a store and buy one is the same per the same performance.

[bondarnes]

I think that MACs are cool and while it's not as bad as it used to be, there is still quite a bit of software written only for PC. And yes I know about the windows emulator on MAC, but just one more thing to slow everything down.

[dcnctx]

Thanks, Amy,Dennis, and Don.

Building one. I hadn't thought about that option. I appreciate the feedback.

[JamesB]

I have been building my own PC's for a while now.

the initial cost was higher than I wanted, but upgrades down the road are WAY cheaper than what you get get from either platform.

XP has been good to me.

if you have very specific needs for a mac than I guess thats you only option, if not, a windows platform will save you tons of money

James

[OversighT]

I own 3 Macs and 2 PC's. I've made the switch to Mac twice in the past 10 years... once when I went to college (Drexel U. was a Mac campus at that time) and again this March. I ended up going back to PCs immediately after college because of work. I switched back to Mac again for the following reasons:

1. I'm tired of dealing with security issues in Windows.
2. I don't particularly like Vista. I think MS is chasing Apple and they're losing.
3. Mac OS X is a stellar operating system.
4. My productivity has increased since switching to a Mac.
5. I've built my own PCs in the past and now my time is worth more than that experience. I want computers that will work right out of the box. Fumbling with drivers is not enjoyable.
6. Graphics professionals swear by Apple... there has to be a reason for this.
7. Parallels lets me run whatever Windows programs I need to run.

I did my research before deciding to buy a Mac Pro and a comparably equipped Dell was about $1,500 more than the Mac Pro.

Ultimately a survey isn't going to sway you one way or another. My wife prefers Windows... she just doesn't fee as comfortable using OS X. If you find that most of us use Macs and then you buy one and feel the same as my wife then you'll be worse off than you are now with your aging system. Please be sure to choose a system that fits your life and your workflow, not what the crowd is using.


T.

[RightAngle]

Mac all the way... I used PC forever and it works fine, it does its job. PCs are great for work and basic stuff but my mac is so much easier to work on.

All hardware and programs aside the OS is so incredibly better with mac. For me the Mac OS allows me to work much faster and much more efficiently. It takes a little while to get used to it but once you do its lighting fast. Now when I go back to PCs I'm so frustrated that I don't have hot corners or my dock. I work with lots of things open at once and for me its so much easier to hit a corner and instantly see what I have available. I cant stand the tabs at the bottom.

I also like the way Macs interface with external devices. it works. that simple. I can instantly see what I have on my desktop, no opening my computer to get to a list of drives that may or may not be connected.

Its hard to explain most of the reasons I love my mac, its a million little things that just work seamlessly together and provide a much better experience. EX. Power connectors that pull out if pulled on and show if they are charging or charged on the cord, A battery with a level indicator on it (no turning on to check), A mac comes up a million times faster than my PCs, The finder works much much better for how I go through my computer, Automator, Widgets and Dashboard, Hot corners, hitting ctrl and zooming on any screen, No viruses to worry about (as of yet), Networking is much easier, setting up p2p networks is so simple, iChat, and an endless amount of other little things.

On a grander scheme I have had my Mac crash 4 MAYBE 5 times. My PC dies at least once a week and my pops works for IBM so its pretty in shape as far as anti virus programs and other stuff. I had a laptop PC for a year or so before I purchased my mac and I used it on occasion but once I got my MacBook Pro it never leaves my side. Its hard to explain how much it can change how you approach your computer as a part of your life.

With all this said I will admit that my convenience comes at a premium, I pay more then most but I can honestly say its worth every penny of it many times over IMO. I can count on this computer to work every time and it works when I need it not 5 minutes after I turn it on.

hope this helps, I know it was a lot....

[dcnctx]

Thanks James, Troy, and Andy.

I've been using computers since about '83.
I've used PC's much more than Mac's but I believe I can be competent with either.

Cost is an important issue and I want the longest viable use possible and I am leaning toward a laptop as portablity is a relevant issue for me. The survey is doing exactly as I had hoped and giving me relevant information to make an informed choice and whether or not change is in order with this opportunity to replace my current system of 6 years.

I indeed appreciate the information each of you are taking time to provide.

Thanks to all.

[RightAngle]

I just bought my girlfriend a MacBook with 2gig of ram and the 2.16 C2D and for the amount its screaming fast and it was only like 1500. I use LR on it all the time when I don't have my MacBook Pro with me and I have nooo problems with it. That is a cheaper then what most people think of when they think of picking up a mac. Just an option.

[chenology]

i'm a gamer on the pc.. but it's what i have at home and do photo/video editing with it as well. at school, we use apple G5s to do all the editing and such. most are the same programs in different platforms save for final cut/ avid, and premier.
plus. i like how easy and cheap it is to upgrade/reconfigure a pc~

although as a portable solution, if i could, i'd run with a macbook pro
as of now still deciding on core2/touch screen laptops

[KingViper]

Originally Posted by d2creative

Mac user here. Always have been since before you could get photoshop and other art software for PC. I'm a graphic designer and mac is the industry standard unless you are doing web design.
If you are not building your own pc, the cost to go into a store and buy one is the same per the same performance.

I'm gonna have to disagree with this. Just to verify my claim, I went to apple, and dell and configured 2 laptops with identical specs. The apple was $2000 and the Dell was $1500. The dell came with a longer warranty as well, and this isn't even including a special. At least probably once a month dell will have a special on computers, and you can get them even cheaper.

Just something I wanted to point out.

PS. I'm a PC user.

[Gleep]

I have never had the opportunity to work with a Mac so I can't say that I prefer PC's over them. I've worked with PC's since I was in high school and DOS was still made by IBM. They are what I learned on and I have, over the years, built a library of software that I know and that does everything I need. I would switch to a Mac only if I need to do something that is utterly impossible on a PC otherwise I wouldn't be able to justify the cost, both financial and time.

[dcnctx]

Thanks Jerry, Ryan, and Ed.

Convincing viewpoints and noted. I intend to re-review everything and look for those little bits of information that add up through all the posts. I may possibly PM some of you for more information. Hopefully no one will mind a PM. I am appreciating the passion and good information in these posts.

[dcnctx]

I presume Mac and PC perform similar or equivilent in Hotspot locations and wireless data transmission (As in transmiting photos from camera to computer). Does anyone have a viewpoint on this? (I see Andy posted some data for Mac)