Are Mac's really better than PC's?

Question

I read all the statistics and all that. Who has actually used a Mac and likes them better than PC's?

Answer 1

This is a hot-button topic, and people are extremely opinionated about it; it's hard to find someone who's unbiased. I'll try my best to be neutral. I own both PCs and a Mac. I have a Thinkpad PC, a Gateway PC, and a Mac Mini w/ Intel Core Duo processor. The PCs run XP Pro, and the Mac runs OS X (Tiger).

The main advantage of PC is the broad selection of software that's available for them. Some very important software is only available for PC. The main one, in my opinion, is Internet Explorer. There used to be a version for Mac, but Microsoft has stopped producing new versions. Firefox for Mac and Safari are two good Mac web browsers, but you will run into problems occasionally. Some of the features of my online bank only work with Internet Explorer, though they claim they will be fully Mac-compatible by the Spring. Other web pages look bad in Safari or Firefox, but this is generally getting better. But almost every page looks right in Internet Explorer, because the people that write them know that's the browser most people use.

Another program I wish they had on Mac was MS Outlook. They have MS Entourage, which is similar, but not the same. Outlook is becoming the standard in offices, and I am used to it, so I wish they would have it for Mac (Word, Excel, and Powerpoint are all available for Mac.) As far as games go, PCs win hands-down. There are good games available for Mac, but WAY more for PC.

In addition, PCs are generally cheaper than Macs, and if one part of a PC desktop breaks you can just buy a new part and replace it yourself. Most Macs, like the mini, are not even easy to open, much less repair. Those are some pretty big advantages to PCs.

On the other hand, the Mac Operating System (OS X) is clearly better than any version of Windows. The Mac OS wins in terms of stability, ease of use, and attractiveness. Stability is the big one for me. I have to turn my PCs off and reboot them at least once a day. Usually this is because of the Automatic Software Updates (a necessary evil unless you want to risk viruses and malware), but sometimes I have to reboot because the computer is running slowly for no determinable reason and all the software is unresponsive.

When I do boot the PCs, even once the desktop comes up, it takes forever to load programs, and when you do, the programs take a long time to respond. It's like having to warm up a crappy car on a cold morning.

I am talking about relatively new PCs! This is extremely frustrating. Any time I am about to use my PC, I realize that it's not going to be as simple as sitting down and using it. Chances are, I'll have to wait for it to download updates, install the updates, and then restart. I literally try to get to my class 10 minutes early just to get my laptop to start.

This Spring, Mac is releasing the newest version of OS X, and it is going to have a feature called Boot Camp. With Boot Camp, you can purchase and install Windows on a partition of your Mac hard drive, and when you absolutely must use Windows, you just select it at start up. This is the benefit of Apple's switch to Intel chips. But you do have to pay for your own copy of Windows XP.

If I were going to buy a new computer, and I had a decent budget, I'd probably wait a month or two when the new Mac OS X comes out (it's called Leopard, I think) and get a Mac, order a copy of Windows XP on Ebay or something, and install that with boot camp. That could get fairly expensive though, so if I only had 600-700 to spend I'd suck it up and buy another PC. I would not get in a situation where I couldn't run Windows one way or another. I just think it's a necessary evil. But I use my Mac for everything I possibly can.

There is a mistake in one of the other answers. Macs work with two-button scroll mice just fine. You just plug in a regular mouse, and the second button works just like it does on a a PC (i.e. "Context-sensitive menus", copy, paste, etc.), as does the scroll wheel.

Macs come with 1-button mice, for whatever reason, but 2-buttons work fine.

Answer 2

Short answer: Its not. At this point, they're fairly even, so its a matter of preference (or need). PCs still have the majority for compatible software, but there are windows emulators that you can run on a mac. Macs are generally better for audio and photo/video editing, while PCs are probably a bit better for general usage. As of now, macs are safer against viruses ONLY because there are fewer out there for the mac. Its known that the security on a mac is actually less than a windows machine (at the last hacker convention, OSX was hacked in about 15 minutes)

Answer 3

Yes, i have been an avid Mac user for over 10 years now and haven't had any complaints. Its far superior to PC's. Time and time again i hear my wife complain about how her computer is acting up cause of viruses, or just plain breaking down and having to have IT guys come and fix it.
Macs rarely have problems and when they do there is only a handful of specialists, ie. the Apple store you can go to for help, so you don't have to try and figure out what the best place to go to is.
Anyway, the only thing that PC'c have that Macs don't have is a right click button on their mouse, big deal. And if PC's are better then why are they trying to be macs, i.e. Windows VISTA?

Answer 4

I LOVE MY MAC, powerbook g4 (pre-intel). It never crashes, it's been on for a year and a half, no problems whatsoever, it's pretty, it's tough, and it's better than a PC. The only difference is you don't get all the free stuff with features. Very bare bones without buying the office programs. Very dependable and my laptop is light and perfect for a student or traveler. Never had a virus, compatable with window's programs even though it's not the intel version. PC's are stupid and will only cause you misery, between crashing and viruses. Invest in a Mac, you won't be sorry!

Answer 5

Macs are the devil. The only circumstance in which you should even consider a Mac is if you are going to be doing nothing but video editing.

Answer 6

plain and simple..its up to the user.

but here are stats you should consider too. PCs make up over 97% of the market, Macs are less than 3%.

For 2006:
Apple 2.4%

That about half of the market share they had back in 1999.

http://www.systemshootouts.org/mac_sales.html

Answer 7

Hell no they try and get business by making PC's look bad. If thats not a sign of a crap computer I dont know what is.

Answer 8

No... Mac has nothing on Windows

Answer 9

No!!!! They really suck! I have them at my old High School and they were cool looking and all but they sucked! The mouse has no scroll thingy either!

Answer 10

They are only better for video editing.

They have less compatibility with software packages.