What are the advantages of a Mac over a PC?

[SKYMTL]

I've got Macs and PCs at home along with an iPod, Zune HD, Kindle and an iPad now as well. I'd say that Macs are indeed easier to use but infinitely harder to customize to your liking. I'm not talking about hardware either; I'm just taking about the user experience itself. Apple wants you to have an experience and you can't really deviate from their mantra.

In my opinion, Windows XP and Vista were complete dogs when it came to user friendliness. Win 7 turned things around but it still isn't up to OSX standards in terms of plug and play functionality.

Pricing isn't pretty but build quality is generally top notch. With the number of laptops I have had, I know my ways around keyboard flex and the general creaks and groans that usually accompany a notebook experience. None of that happens with any of the Mac products I have tried.

Customer service? There is no touching Apple. There really isn't.

[lowfat]

I'll agree w/ SneakySnake about the multi touch trackpad. It has nothing to do w/ OSX/Windows. It has to do w/ the hardware. The multitouch track pad on the Macbook's is leaps ahead of other manufacturers. Even if you were to install OSX on another manufacturers notebook that has a multitouch track pad it doesn't work nearly as well.

SneakySnake's SSD in his MBP is likely a Samsung drive similar to the Corsair one his brother uses.

[Opeqa16x]

I don't know what's so hard to believe about me not crashing in 9 years.

I don't go on sites I'm not supposed to, and I do download the latest updates off microsoft websites. On top of that I'm always switching out hardware and I don't really overclock (well, not for the time being at least) or do anything to cause system instability

[sswilson]

Originally Posted by Opeqa16x

I don't know what's so hard to believe about me not crashing in 9 years.

I don't go on sites I'm not supposed to, and I do download the latest updates off microsoft websites. On top of that I'm always switching out hardware and I don't really overclock (well, not for the time being at least) or do anything to cause system instability

This by itself stands a good chance of garnering you at least a few crashes due to Microsoft's open concept when it comes to drivers. IIRC, crashes due to third party software (like drivers) makes up well over 50% of MS OS crashes.

There's a reason why Microsoft went with a much stronger "certified driver" process with Vista and Win7.

Personally, I prefer the open software/hardware model of M$ PC's over the closed model that Apple has used exclusively since they canned the appleII line, but can easily see why a generation that just want's stuff to work out of the box would gravitate towards Apple gear regardless of any existing price/performance gap.

[AkG]

If he has a newer c2d mac its most likely not a sammy. From what I heard they stopped using them and switched over to toshiba awhile back. All depends on the age of his apple kit.

[Yamcha]

Being a Windows and Mac user, I think there are both disadvantages and advantages of using a Mac. Based on my experience OSX is very user friendly, very easy to use, things like setting up printers or sharing is extremely simple, you don't have to mess with IP's or anything along those lines.. Its also not very demanding in terms of hardware, native applications launch instantly, search is literally instant..

I've been using Windows for years, and I haven't encountered any issues with it either, but after having used Mac OS I don't think I'll go back, at least when it comes to the OS, I still use a PC with Mac OS installed, I had a iMac previously, and I did like it a lot, but obviously you pay a premium for that Apple Design, and well the entry level Macs aren't powerful enough for gaming, even the very high end can't manage gaming at native resolutions..

Also I've gotta say as far as features go, OSX is clearly the one with many more features, things like Expose, Spaces, Time Machine (Self Back Up Every Hour), Stacks, Coverflow.. etc..

The downside of course of Mac's are support and gaming, basically games made for Mac OS perform horribly, like for example Half Life 2 will perform %50 faster on Windows, and it goes the same for other games aswell, as far as I'm concerned gaming on a Mac is DEAD. Thats why the vast majority of Mac users use bootcamp to run games.. The other issue is obviously support, there isn't much support for Mac OS, at least not as much as the Windows platform, you can find alternative applications but yeah thats a compromise.. Also games on the Mac don't come right away, they come years after the Windows release..

Anyway If I were you guys I'd give OSX a try, install it on your PC if you have compatible hardware, that way you can decide if you like it or not..

[N.V.M.]

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[enaberif]

Originally Posted by SKYMTL

Customer service? There is no touching Apple. There really isn't.

I beg to differ.

Customer brought their phone into us and asked us to send it off for them as their address wasn't a valid address for Apple.

In doing so we decided to send off the customers phone and in about 2 weeks the phone came back in a box with a note on the phone stating that the "water" indicators had been tripped and that no warranty work would be done.

Never did they call or anything.. just sent it back. Now whose to say that the phone may have in inadvertently got some minor dampness? Nobody knows.

But really Apple is just a corporation who has been able to turn our society into a bunch of white plastic loving sheep.

[BigDogg]

Originally Posted by Opeqa16x

Anyways, fanboys aside, I really don't care much for Mac's aluminum finish or "awesome touchpad". I will admit it does look quite nice but looks are subjective, and it's not like I'm going to buy a macbook just because it looks pretty. I want to buy a machine that suits me for my needs, not just something that caters to a large group of people.

As much as it pains me to say this the asthectics are the number 1 reason people will buy a Mac.

[m1dget]

Originally Posted by BigDogg

As much as it pains me to say this the asthectics are the number 1 reason people will buy a Mac.

Nope so sure about that... go in an Apple store once in your life, look interested in buying a machine, let them show you around the hardware and software and you will understand why most people buy one.