[DKR]

There has been some pretty good discussion of late regarding computer OS's. With the huge diversity of RTF I thought I would ask the question of a laptop based Apple/Mac OS VS a Windows OS.

I will be getting a new notebook shortly and have thought seriously about the Apple but don’t know enough about the OS to make a good decision.

The application will be business and a small amount of CAD programs.

 

[subroc]

I have only owned Windows machines since my first machine that was equipped with Windows 3.1. Since the introduction of Vista I have actually considered a Mac.

I did not vote.

 

[Bubba]

Can you even still get fuel for the Mac"s?

Sparkplugs and muffler bearings must be tough to come by as well.

The actual truth is that compared to some of the "Old" operating systems, especially VMS and Unix they are all bloated, unreliable and exposed.

Paper tape and punch cards regards

Bubba

 

[lablover]

[quote
Paper tape and punch cards regards

Bubba[/quote]

I can relate to those! :lol:

 

[Bubba]

[quote
Paper tape and punch cards regards

Bubba

I can relate to those! :lol:[/quote]

OK then dig deeper, volatile memory that you "cleared" by pulling out the cards and giving them a good shake. Alrighty then hows about, "hard disks" that held a whopping 64 KB!!!!! Magnetic drums about the size of a 5 gallon bucket, nearly always had a "Kick Here" sign on them somewhere. OK then tough guy, how about booting up by loading memory registers via panel mounted switches using Octal codes.

DEC PDP-4S (the S is for semi-conductor, the previous version was vacuum tubes) regards

Bubba

 

[jimandkristine]

I prefer windows just because I know it better but the appl os is much more stable and faster then windows ever thought it could be.

 

[Buzz]

I've used both systems extensively since the late '70s. I started out using punch cards and card readers, and programed in assembly language a bit. I was one of those that thought that Windows was stupid, you can do anything you'd ever need using Dos... :?

I thought they both sucked, but that Mac OS was better, but that was the very early days of Windows. Then I leaned heavily toward Windows when the old Mac OS got bloated with all the extensions and conflicts with them. It was horrible. But since the Mac got OS X, I have been loving it. To me it's much more enjoyable to work with, but I suppose it's a personal thing. And I guess I thought Unix underpinnings was cool, but then I actually had to learn Unix back in the 80's. Most people that think that's cool about the Mac have no idea what they even are talking about.

When it's time for another computer, I'll probably buy an Intel Mac and run both operating systems on it. I'm typing on a Mac G5 right now, but my laptop is a Dell. I am not familiar Apple laptop offerings.

Good luck figuring it out.

 

[DH]

Mac hands down. There are very few compatability issues with windows created documents these days. Out of the box graphics and sound are fantastic. I have many fewer problems with my personal Mac than with my company provided Windows machine and the Windows is a couple years newer. Very few people bother to write annoying viruses for the Mac and I view that as an advantage.

DH

 

[Keith Stroyan]

Mac

I use Mac, Linux, and MS Windows for my work. I prefer Mac for almost everything.

http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/

 

[Devlin]

I've used both since the late 1970s, and over the years Mac has proven to be more stable, less susceptible to viruses, faster and, now, much more cross-platform compatible including the entire MSOffice suite and the ability to seamlessly run the Windows OS on the same Mac as you're running the Mac OS.

Mac desktops and laptops (especially the higher-end laptops) may be a bit more expensive than PCs, but for my money they're worth the price. I own 3 Mac desktops and 2 laptops and have no reason to even consider a PC any longer.

 

[TxFig]

It all depends on what you want to DO with your computer. Which usually means you have to look at the software you want to run and let that make the decision for you as to what computer (OS) to get.

For the average "home" user, it almost certainly does not matter. Pick the religion of your choice and be happy.


On the other hand, if you have specific software (for example, Quickbooks, TurboTax, ENTRY EXPRESS), then you probably need to use the OS which runs that application.



Note: I picked on EE because I tried to setup a new event for my club using FireFox (2.0.0.6). It died. As soon as I switched to IE, it worked. Last I checked, IE wasn't available for Mac OS or Linux.

PS: Using Firefox with the "IE Tab" extension worked, but note that you have to actually have IE on the computer for that add-on to work.


PSS: note that the idea that "Mac OS X is less suseptible to virii" is a farce. Since it is based on the Linux OS, it has just as many updates on a monthly basis as any other OS (Linux or Windows). But since actually doing updates is not something common to the Mac OS culture, Mac OS X machines are almost never updated. Which makes them MORE vunerable to attacks...

 

[YardleyLabs]

The Mac was introduced on January 24, 1984 with 128K of memory and no hard drive. The IBM PC was introduced on August 12, 1981. I received my first Mac on January 25, 1984 -- after having been a beta tester for the Lisa which preceded it -- and introduced it at a PC seminar that afternoon. Two weeks later I flew one down to San Juan to use in a technical seminar I presented for the operating committee of Prudential Bache securities which was evaluating a program to issue personal computers to their brokerage staff for the first time. I loved the Mac and we developed a number of serious applications that used it. I abandoned it in 1994 when Windows was first becoming viable and the Mac had fallen technologically behind, in part because Apple had made it increasingly difficult for developers to build applications that would run on it. That myopia continued for too long, driving the Mac into niche graphics and publishing markets. The O/S is now a much more flexible version of UNIX but is still limited by its microscopic market share and Apple's primary focus on entertainment.

 

[Boondux]

I have used both systems. I currently own a Windows PC but before this machine, I owned an ibook (which I loved). Why did I get a PC? I thought my husband would use it for work. Had I know that he would hardly ever use it, I would have gone for a Mac of some kind again. I mostly run Photshop, Quark, and Office. Both operating systems run these programs just fine. PC's have cheaper programs and hardware. Mac are susceptible to less viruses. That's pretty much it. I just like how simple the Mac is to use. I grew up using them in school. I just got rid of my color Mac Classic that I had in college that had an 8 MB hard drive.

Decisions, decisions....

Carrie

 

[Buzz]

But since actually doing updates is not something common to the Mac OS culture, Mac OS X machines are almost never updated. Which makes them MORE vunerable to attacks...

I would like to know where you got this idea? The Mac OS X has an application that automatically runs every so often and checks for OS updates via the internets. It lists available updates and you check off the ones you want installed... Easy as pie.

 

[Devlin]

It all depends on what you want to DO with your computer. Which usually means you have to look at the software you want to run and let that make the decision for you as to what computer (OS) to get.

For the average "home" user, it almost certainly does not matter. Pick the religion of your choice and be happy.


On the other hand, if you have specific software (for example, Quickbooks, TurboTax, ENTRY EXPRESS), then you probably need to use the OS which runs that application.

Note: I picked on EE because I tried to setup a new event for my club using FireFox (2.0.0.6). It died. As soon as I switched to IE, it worked. Last I checked, IE wasn't available for Mac OS or Linux.

PS: Using Firefox with the "IE Tab" extension worked, but note that you have to actually have IE on the computer for that add-on to work.

PSS: note that the idea that "Mac OS X is less suseptible to virii" is a farce. Since it is based on the Linux OS, it has just as many updates on a monthly basis as any other OS (Linux or Windows). But since actually doing updates is not something common to the Mac OS culture, Mac OS X machines are almost never updated. Which makes them MORE vunerable to attacks...

I certainly don't want to get into a pi$$ing match here, but just to clear up a couple of misconceptions...

1. Although IE is no longer providing updates for Macs, it is still in use as a browser by a large segment of the Mac user community...as is Netscape, Firefox, Opera, Safari and any number of others.

2. Macs run virtually all the same software available for PCs, or at least have cross-platform compatible software available...Quicken and Quickbooks, Turbotax and the entire MSOffice suite, for example, are available as native applications for the Mac as well as for the PC. Also, as I indicated, Macs can also run the Windows OS...not just the software, but the actual operating system...for those people who either need to use both operating systems for business reasons or are transitioning from PC to Mac.

3. The Mac OS is updated regularly, and it's virtually fully automated...the user doesn't have to do anything except for a re-start when the update download is complete. The same holds true for security updates and many software updates...which brings us to...

4. There are several reasons Macs are less susceptible to viruses. Among them, (1) there are fewer Macs in use, thus the hackers and virus freaks go for the larger number of PCs out there, (2) most Mac users don't use MSOutlook, which is a common gateway for viruses, (3) security updates are done virtually automatically on a regular basis and need not be initiated by the user (see #3 above).

Bottom line is that some people prefer Fords and some prefer Chevys...they both will get you down the road, so it's really a matter of personal preference.

 

[cchristopher]

Macs

Macs are good until you have problems .They are a mother to work on.I was a tech on both Macs and pc and I could fix a Dell pc or server in about 10 to 30 min.It took days sometimes to repair any apple product due to parts issues and they take hours to take appart.Trust me they break down just as much as pc.I dont care who you talk to I have worked on the G5 just as much as the power edge servers.The apple customers are usually unhappy when I was leaving due to wrong parts shipped or long downtimes.
I would go with pc from a tech side of things.

 

[Steve Dannaway]

Couldn't help chiming in on this one. I was a Windows guy until I got to college and had to learn the Mac - at the time only Apple gave educational discounts. Things were good up until around system 7.5 and then Apple went in the can. I proceeded to run all Macs out of our production facility and then tried OSX on a lark. 10.0 and 10.1 were garbage in my opinion, but 10.2 was the best desktop OS I'd ever seen until 10.4 came out.

Currently, I have two XP machines, 2 Macs on 10.4.10, and a Linux box. The most stable of the bunch is the linux box - haven't restarted it in over a year. But after that, it's the MacPro (2xZeon 64). Get yourself a copy of Parallels Desktop ($59 - $79, depending on the week) and a copy of XP (if you try hard enough, you can still buy copies of it), and you've got everything you need without having to dual-boot. My MacPro runs XP in Parallels 3x as fast my dedicated XP box or my laptop.

I've worked on 2 machines with Vista (not mentioning either owner here because it might incur someone's wrath), but in my opinion, Vista is about where Mac was with 10.1. Give it a Service Pack or two and it will be as good as XP or my personal favorite - NT4.

 

[zlatni lovac]

It all comes down to personal preference, how much money you’re willing to spend and how cool you want to be…….
Today, there is nothing MAC will do that PC can’t do. Few years ago………MAC had its advantages
The only cool thing about MACs is you don’t have to worry much about Virus protection (Biggest risk of getting viurs on MAC is software you're using)
They will do the work if you know how to use them

 

[ducksoup]

Is this a "Lean" Mac?????

 

[SloppyMouth]

Hey Don,

Had a Dell PC laptop for almost 6 years at my last job. Had one meltdown so needed a complete replacement. Only problem I had. Loved it.

Now I'm on a Mac OSX. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it (but it is much better than the OS9 that the other half of the office is still on!). Probably because I spent so long on a PC. But remember this: 95% of the world operates on Windows/PC. And while Mac-based software has gotten better, there are still lots of little things that make it suck...IMHO, of course... :lol:

Tell everyone back in Tulsa hello at the next training day!

/wishing I could go back to a PC