stinkerbell2
Posts:0
 | | 08/18/2007 8:46 PM |
 Alert | I had an iMac about 7 years ago and while I loved it for a 1st computer I was a bit frustrated with the compatability to PC's...I have had a PC since '03 and it's OK (I am a self proclaimed computor illiterate
Anyhoo We are thinking of getting our daughter (Jr in HIgh school) a laptop and hubby is leaning towards a Mac... So I thought I would throw this out to the Computer Gods here and see what you all think...
Mac vs PC
Discuss...(in the voice of Coffee Talk/Mike Meyers ala SNL)
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FamilyGuy
Posts:30
| | 08/18/2007 9:59 PM |
Alert | Mac away. It's a great platform these days. It comes loaded with software that any youngster will enjoy to use (iTunes, iChat, iCal, Mail.app, iPhoto, Safari etc.). You may need to buy a word processing program like Word if she needs PC compatibility or something that advanced. Otherwise there's Apple Pages (part of iWork) to do some word processing/page layout with. Or just use Google Docs online for free. And if for some reason there's a Windows app that she MUST have, you can also run Windows on it.
Apple will be coming out with a new version of their operating system later this year. So if you're into the latest and greatest you can wait for that to release so it'll come with your system. But honestly, the current OS is pretty solid. | | | |
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garden glow
Posts:698
| | 08/18/2007 10:21 PM |
Alert | | My"little girl" is in her last yr of college...bought herself a MAC laptop and swears by it...worth the investment! | |
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garion
Posts:66
| | 08/18/2007 11:59 PM |
Alert |
I switched to Macs about 2 years ago, after 10+ years on Linux in various forms.. Used Windows only when I needed to.. The Mac is Unixy enough for me, but usable by the wife (has her own Mac).. With the newer Macs, being able to run Windows directly through BootCamp, or by using emulation software such as VMware or Parallels, there's no worries about compatibly.. It may require a touch more work to get the windows apps going, but overly bad.
Switching from Windows to Mac may be a bit confusing at first.. They have different concepts.. Only a single menu bar for all apps, single button mouse (you can use a 2 button mouse), sometimes things aren't in the place you would expect... When switching applications by mouse, the first click is not sent through to the app you are clicking on. It only brings that application to the front.. This is unlike Windows.. It can take some getting used to.
But once you drink enough of the Mac KoolAid, it all starts making sort of sense..
As Mac's have started getting more and more popular, more and more software is coming out for them.. For example, EA is starting to come out with some of their games for Mac..
All I hope is that Mac's don't become popular with virus writers.. I haven't needed a virus scanner in a decade!
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entropy
Posts:27
| | 08/19/2007 5:37 AM |
Alert | Posted By FamilyGuy on 08/18/2007 9:59 PM
You may need to buy a word processing program like Word if she needs PC compatibility or something that advanced. Otherwise there's Apple Pages (part of iWork) to do some word processing/page layout with.
I haven't used it yet, but I've heard really good things about OpenOffice, which is a free office suite. May wanna check it out, www.openoffice.org.
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MI_Mickey
Posts:699
| | 08/19/2007 7:35 AM |
Alert | | I have a Mac and love it. Recently loaded windows on it as my brother uses it for one of his school programs that won't run on Mac, so now we can switch over from Mac to windows if needed. | |
Senior Member
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Joined: Apr 2007 | |
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azreplant
Posts:222
| | 08/19/2007 8:17 AM |
Alert | You might find this helpful in your decision making process.
http://www.switchtoamac.com/
Visit the Apple Store in the Chandler Mall for some hands-on excitement. | |
<=== Galaxies In Collision | |
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Jason
Posts:3378
| | 08/19/2007 11:58 AM |
Alert | Some other things to consider:
- Do you have any games you would want to continue playing? You'll need to have a retail copy of Windows XP or Vista to install on your Mac if you do.
- OpenOffice has a bit of a learning curve and isn't exactly intuitive if you've used Office for a long time. Also can have compatibility quirks with Office.
- Do you have any peripherals that you want to connect to your Mac? Make sure the Mac supports them first or find suitable replacement. | |
Joined: Jul 2005 | |
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thiskiss
Posts:334
| | 08/19/2007 12:14 PM |
Alert | I don't have a Mac but have used one before. Seems to be incediably differnt from Windows. I am almost ready to switch to Mac. I hear that they NEVER get virsuses and I seem to have all of them on mine. Probably because of Myspace and limewire, oh well.
Anways, I would go with Mac. It'll take some time to get used to, but will be worth it in the end. IMO | | | |
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karen
Posts:0
| | 08/19/2007 4:26 PM |
Alert | the mac learning curve isn't that hard. I started out on mac (on the good ole classic no less) and in the late 80's went to PC (tandy and dos and then on to a packard bell with windows and holy crap I thought I was the coolest person EVER at that point cuz I had windows!!!), and just this year went back to mac. It took maybe a week to get comfortable with mac.
Now, my laptop is an HP and I find myself trying to do mac things on the pc. I get mad when the apple key doesn't work on the laptop!!! LOL
I have iwork with pages, and you can save in doc format so non mac users can open files. I do the majority of my work on my mac and email things to my boss on pc all the time and we've never had a problem opening each others files.
Definately go to the apple store and play around first. They are expensive things, but so worth it in my opinion. I keep hoping the laptop that is less than a year old would die so I could justify getting a macbook LOL | | | |
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Jason
Posts:3378
| | 08/19/2007 7:55 PM |
Alert | | They do not currently get viruses, but that may not always be so in the future. | |
Joined: Jul 2005 | |
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jjaz1965
Posts:11
| | 08/19/2007 9:11 PM |
Alert | I love macs. Currently I am using a duo core iMac and our powerbook and ibooks are still going strong. Beautiful machines. I have Macs at home and a Dell PC at work. I have MS Office on both and never have issues transferring files back and forth. I can access my computer at work remotely at home, although on OSX the screen is about half the size rather than full size.
The only issue I have that is at times frustrating is support of Safari (web browser) on certain websites but if you use Firefox it shouldn't be too bad. My understanding is that MS is no longer updating its OSX version of Internet Explorer. | | | |
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MickWeezey
Posts:9
| | 08/26/2007 5:53 PM |
Alert | If its for your daughter, then would definitely go with a Mac. Buy it online and use the education discount. If you do it soon, you should be able to get a free ipod and printer with it (rebates). That's what I did. MS office works on my mac and ive heard good things about iwork.
She will love it, no doubt. | | | |
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Sapo
Posts:186
| | 08/26/2007 7:50 PM |
Alert | This will help a lot with some of your questions:
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=macs_cant
Trust me, I live with a MAC user. This page helped me to "understand" a lot.
Sapo | | | |
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azreplant
Posts:222
| | 08/26/2007 9:12 PM |
Alert |
Here is a more professional article than the one the TOAD referenced:
http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/21/technology/apple_computers.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2007082209
Poor Sapo, just doesn't get it. | |
<=== Galaxies In Collision | |
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Copa Newbee
Posts:15
| | 08/30/2007 7:13 PM |
Alert | | Mac all-the-way! I started using a Mac or Apple as they were called at the time, in the 5th grade. My school had received a grant to buy computers for all the classrooms and boy am I glad the principal picked Apple (no pun intended). The Apple IIe to be exact. Twenty four year later, and I'm still using one. That speaks volumes about a product. I was blown away with the Mac the moment I layed eyes on it, and I can honestly say my feelings for it have only gotten stonger over the years. Okay, I love the Mac, there I said it. The greatest thing about Mac is it's simplicity. From the OS, applications to its simple, clean aesthetics. Macs are just as vunerable to viruses as PCs. It's just that the hackers go after PCs because of their current market share. However, as Mac becomes more and more popular the hackers could start going after them.Once you go Mac you never go back. | | | |
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