Which is better? A Apple or a Dell laptop?

Question

My dad is giving me a laptop for graduation and I want to know which laptop is better. I've heard from friends that Macs have less viruses...Tell which is better and why

Answer 1

Neither. Buy a Toshiba or Compaq. Spoken from experience and in-law repairs computers.

Answer 2

in the PC world, HP is actually the top dog right now. Michael Dell (the founder of Dell) came out of retirement and back to the company because they are really worried.

Macs have no viruses and spyware to worry about. The commercials on tv are basically a very simplified (but truthful) explanation of what it's really like.

Also, a Mac is a viable option because big name productivity software exists on Mac:

Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint)
Adobe Photoshop
Quicken
Quick Books
Turbo Tax

Although it's true that Macs have fewer games, the ones that do make it to Mac tend to be the good ones and big names like World of Warcraft. If you want games on a mac, you can install MS windows on it anyway.

And the open source (free software) world greatly helps Apple by filling in some gaps:

BitTorrent (Azureus)
Mozilla Firefox
All the instant messengers
Handbrake

Basically, if you want to use your computer for things besides fixing it, tweaking it, and learning how they work, give Apple a try.

Answer 3

Mac offers a more stable environment and I find it a lot easier to use. Windows has been trying to catch up to Mac in that regard but it's not very successful IMO.

Less viruses is absolutely true. I don't even use virus protection. The reason being that it is harder to write for the Mac. The downside of this is that some software doesn't exist for the Mac. Also some website designers still don't understand Mac and you don't have access to everything on their sites, but that's getting rarer all the time.

Macs are used more in Europe where their quality is appreciated and by the arts/design community. Windows machines are used by everybody else.

Your choice really depends on what you want to do with your computer... For example, if you want to use a software that doesn't exist for the Mac than you are obviously not going to get one.

Hope that helps.

Answer 4

I think it really depends on what you're going to use it for, and who else you know has one.

That way if you have problems, you can ask friends or relatives for help.

Mac's have been known for less problems, but also have less amount of users then Windows.

It's personal choice I think.

Personally I think there are more programs out there for windows, so I stick with that, because that's what I'm interested in.

Answer 5

Macs NEVER get viruses. Macs r to this day increasingly getting better. The only problem is they have less software since its new but they are getting more. I WOULD GO WITH A MAC!!!THEY R MORE FUN!

Answer 6

I would go with a DELL. You can get a good reliable DELL for a good price while Mac's are expensive and the ibooks are tiny. My opinion I would go with a DELL

Answer 7

Dell is better than Apple because Apples have too many problems.

Answer 8

i work for a delivery/courier service and we pickup way more dell laptops to be repaired!! most people i've talked to do not have very many nice things to say about dell laptops.

Answer 9

apple even know the dell laptops are nice.

Answer 10

Hello sYnDiA,

OK here's my list of things I like about the Macintosh over Windows. I'm sorry that it is so long, but that's how it goes.

* No computer viruses.
You hear from the Windows people that it's because there are fewer Macs out there, but I think it's because of the Mac OS and it's Unix kernel. That doesn't explain why Vista got viruses before it was officially released. The Macintosh comes out of the box as a closed system. If you want it to be networked and remotely operated, you can make that happen, but you have to change it's settings first. Windows machines come out of the box as a wide open vulnerable system. That's so the IT guy can set up the hardware, attach it to the company's network, and install the software remotely from the comfort of his own desk. ActiveX and InternetExplorer leaves the Windows OS wide open to hacks and viruses. The Macintosh OS simply isn't set up that way.

If you want to install any kind of software onto your Mac, you first need to type in your administrative password. There is no auto-install for a virus to attach itself to your Mac without your Okay. That is the simple answer why there hasn't been any viruses for the Macintosh in the past 6 years. Another is that first year programmers learn how to create simple Windows script viruses their first year of class. Mac programmers simply love their computers and have no desire to create such an abomination. We love our Mac programmers and happily pay what ever they ask for their good, hard work.

* Games.
I enjoy the games that I play on my Mac, but It's true that there simply aren't as many games out there for the Mac as Windows. Hopefully, with the Mac now using an Intel processor, we will start to see more games being developed for the Mac. But, honestly, don't most people get their gaming fix by playing with video game consoles (such as NES, PS, Wii, or XBox), rather than playing games on their computers?

* Software.
There's a lot more software for the Macintosh now, than before Mac OS X arrived. Much of the Mac's new software is simply Unix ports. There is also a large open source and public domain/shareware development community that has been supporting the Mac OS.

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/

You can run Unix X-windows on your Macintosh now too. Apple has been designated as the largest distributor of Unix in the world. If you have one of the new Intel-based Macs you can now run Windows programs natively using a program called Boot Camp and/or Parallel. There is also a Java Virtual Machine for the Mac too.

There's still a ton of programs made specifically for the Mac. Most of these are programmed in machine language, so they're lightening fast. Apple watches over their developers closely, to make sure everything runs like it's supposed to; that it runs the Macintosh way. There's also a lot of Windows ports too. I use Microsoft Office on my Mac at work all the time. Although the Macintosh versions of Windows software are way behind in features than their Windows brethren, the Macintosh programs seem to run better, faster and are not as susceptible to problems as the Windows ports. Go figure!

Where the Macintosh really shines is in the creative software area. I'm a printer, so I know that the Macintosh pioneered desktop publishing. I think that most structured drawing, paint/graphics, and music programs got their start here too. Video and film editing and production is now very big on the Mac. Many people complain about how expensive some of these programs are, but frankly, professional programs are always more expensive than the cheaper consumer-level programs that are out there. Stuff like iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, etc. come free with your Macintosh, while other programs are quite affordable.

http://www.versiontracker.com/macosx

* Less problems
The Macintosh simply works. There really isn't very many problems using a Mac compared to a Windows PC. Check out the computer questions here on Yahoo! Answers. There are a lot of Windows, "Why can't I get this to work?" questions here. Even though there are a lot of Mac users here, there doesn't seem to be very many Mac questions. The Mac simply works. Naturally, there are a few problems with any kind of computer hardware, but these are few and far between on a Mac.

* Hardware Power -vrs- Expense

Right, the Macintosh is a little more proprietary and you really need to buy hardware that tells you that it's Macintosh compatible. You can't just buy some cheap hardware, piece it together, and make a Mac, like you can with some PCs. But, then, you don't have Plug-and-Pray either. Again, the Mac simply works.

We also hear from Windows users that Windows PCs are cheaper than Macs. True, you can buy hardware with the barest of graphics cards, hard drives, and other components, or you can buy the best and end up spending the same amount as a Mac. It's your choice, but that's why you see Macs holding up and being used a lot longer than these Window PCs.

Oh, and since we're talking about hardware, yes, you can get yourself a USB multiple-buttoned mouse, plug it into your Mac, and use it just fine, thank you. Don't worry about it.

* Mac OS X
It's a very simple, basic, easy-to-use OS. It's highly graphic, so your kids or your grandmother could learn to use it, and it's also got a terminal, so the geekiest guy can enjoy using it to it's fullest extent. Windows users will recognize many of the same features that they use on their OS, but there are a few things that are strictly Macintosh.

http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/
http://switchtoamac.com/guides/

I have loved it because it's always responsive. You throw in a CD and the icon for it pops up on the desktop along with a dialog box asking if you want a specific program to use with it. There's no need to search for drives. If it's a music CD, iTunes launches to play it. If you plug in your digital camera iPhoto launches to import the pictures. If you're looking for a file buried deep inside your Mac's file structure, you can use Spotlight and it might find the file before you're done typing the first three letters of the name.

As far as laptops go, the MacBooks or MacBook Pro both have built-in iSight cameras for IM/video conferencing and a bundle of great software for doing whatever you would like to do with your laptop.

Again, I'm sorry that this is so long, but I get tired of the misinformation that the Windows guys are spreading about the Macintosh, and I wanted to be sure to respond to all of their rants with the facts. Go into your local Macintosh dealer and play with the Macintosh yourself, and see what you think. Best of luck with your final decision. Take care.

--Rick