Macbook vs PC? Need some advice/questions answered?

Question

I am a PC user however my laptop bombed out a while ago (it was old;-) and I've been considering buying a Macbook instead. (The choice is between a Dell - which I've used before and liked - or a Macbook.)
Anyone who has used PC before and now uses Mac:

1) Would you go back to PC?
2) How does Mac compare to PC?
3) How does Mac word processing program (think its called Pages???) compare to Microsoft Word?

Then for anyone who uses Mac:

4) Can I use Windows Messenger/Windows Live on Mac without actually running Windows? (ie Can it run on the Mac operating system?)
5) I often have to send other people word documents etc. Are there any problems with regard to sending a document from Mac to PC and vice verse? (Does it need to be converted or something?)

6)I heard that due to the fact that viruses/worms/trojans etc are created to cause maximum damage, they are mostly created for PC since majority of people and companies use PC therefore Mac's get very few viruses. Is this true?

7) Had any problems with Mac? If yes, what? And how did you fix the problem?

8) Anything advice for choosing the right Mac?

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR HELP!!!

Answer 1

I have a PC but have used both Macs and PCs.. And yes, Mac has Word and other word processing programs just like PC does. Best bet get Ubuntu Linux (which has Open Office (like Microsoft Office but Free) (Open Office is available for Windows, Linux, Mac)

Stay with the PC, here are reasons why...





PC=Variety of specs, options, quality, prices, vendors, support

Mac=One vendor, limited options, still more expensive. Look below for more information..

======================================...

Contrary to belief, Macs are not better quality. They use a lot of the same parts as PCs. Apple also has been changing suppliers to try to "lower the price" and thus lowering quality. Even with the lower prices, Macs still cost more, they spend a higher percent of budget trying to make it look pretty, and marketing.



Today, Macs use the same hardware as PCs. Why spend extra to get the same CPU chips, graphics cards and OS X isn't as secure as you think.. Look below.



WINDOWS ADVANTAGES:



Aprox 90% of the market is Windows. PCs include windows already pre-installed.

1) There are a number of websites that still require Internet Explorer to view.

2) Printers and other things you hook into the computer are easier to support on Windows.

4) If you like the Dock on OS X (Mac) google/yahoo rocketdock, objectdoc.



I Would also install Avira AntiVir on the Vista since there is a FREE version and works well.

I Would also install Comodo FireWall on the Vista since there is a FREE version and works well.





LINUX ADVANTAGES:



1) Install Linux, and then get tons of stuff for free. Updates done, etc.. Linux is very EASY and has tons of software that will be updated automatically.

2) If you like the effects on a Macintosh go yahoo or google COMPIZ FUSION. It can do just about any cool effect a Mac can do and more...

3) If you like the Dock on OS X (Mac) google/yahoo Cairo Dock, avant window navigator.

4) Linux is MORE SECURE. I surf the internet and can even run SOME windows programs on Linux. Also, I can VERY EASILY INSTALL programs by checking a checkbox in either two ways to install (ADD/REMOVE or SYNAPTIC PACKAGE MANAGER). I can search for something I want, check a box and click apply. The program is automatically installed. (To me that is easier than searching the internet and dragging the program in MAC).



======================================...

LINUX OS



Easily turn your system into a Dual booting computer with Linux, fast, safe and secure, easy to use (contrary to belief). You then get the best of both worlds (Windows with all of its supported products, freely go online without the worry)



My Recomendation would be either Ubuntu (Most popular and well supported linux), Kubuntu (KDE version of Ubuntu),

Freespire (has all windows codecs for watching videos, dvds out of the box),

PCLINUXOS (very nice Linux, easy to use and polished),

There are so many good versions of linux besides these.



PLEASE NOTE: In linux there are many forms of Windows Environments, the two main ones are KDE (K Desktop) and GNOME. Ubuntu uses GNOME, KUBUNTU is a KDE version of Ubuntu, PCLINUXOS, Freespire use KDE... The differences in the window environments (DESKTOPS) control how you configure, open close the windows, the appearances of the windows... linuxfoundation.org/en/OpenPrinting helps with printer support. ScreenCasts.ubuntu.com shows video and non-video help with learning to work with Ubuntu.



There are many good Linux distributions for different reasons, distrowatch.com, polishlinux.org, desktoplinux.com

are good websites for overall understanding linux.



Installing Linux in general is very simple and much more secure than OS X(Macintosh) and FREE.

Also, most Linux distributions have a LiveCD which means you can try without installing...

UBUNTU, KUBUNTU, FREESPIRE, PCLINUXOS, etc.. all have live CDS.

All you have to do is..

A) to download .iso file off the internet from the Linux website

B) burn the .iso file to a CD or DVD (Make sure your burning software can burn an ISO)

C) restart the computer with the CD in the drive

D) As computer is restarting, press on F12 Key a bunch of times to get a boot menu

E) Select the option to boot from CD or DVD.



ANOTHER QUICK NOTE: People have been able to run OS X on a PC since the PC and Mac use the same hardware. THIS IS NOT LEGAL and I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND IT FOR SECURITY AND LEGAL REASONS.

But, I have included a link to show you, purpose is to show that there is nothing special about the MAC.



**************************************...



A)Price...

A similar equipped PC is much cheaper to purchase than Mac. Lets use Dell (but you can compare with another PC Brand if you like)



*****************(LAPTOP)

Dell Inspiron Laptop $849 dropped to $799

15" Screen

CPU: (upgrade to) 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100

Memory: 3GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM

Hard Drive: 320GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm

Optical Drive: Blu-ray Disc Combo (DVD+/-RW + BD-ROM) - WRITES DVDS,CDS, READS Blue-Ray Disks



Macbook $1349 just dropped to $1224

13" Screen (SMALLER)

CPU: 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (SAME)

Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 (SAME)

Memory: (upgrade to) 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (LESS RAM)

Hard Drive (upgrade to) 250GBSerial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm (SMALLER HARD DRIVE)

Optical Drive: (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) - (Writes CDs, DVDs, cannot read Blue-Ray) (WORSE AND 1/2 SPEED)



****************(DESKTOP)



PLEASE NOTE: Some responses might be that below is not a FAIR comparison but it is SINCE this is comparing Apple Mac's BEST DEAL vs Dells BEST DEAL. If you decide that you must have an all-in one. The Dell all-in-one has more ram, WIRELESS keyboard and mouse and equivalent to $400 for free making the Imac still more expensive when you upgrade the Imac to try to match. Personally I don't think the ALL-IN-ONES are a good choice, and consider them overpriced, lack expandability and repairs both more expensive and require the entire computer. To me it is NOT a good deal.



PS: Apple was smart, they know that they must make Macintosh look different than PC so all Macs except the Mac Pro will not have a Tower Option. This is not good for the consumer since it lacks expandability but it makes the Mac "look different", if Mac had a tower for low-end, more people would realize the similarities between the two and apple would loose people. In other words, in my opinion, it is "Style over Substance"



Dell: (Right Now) Specs Below costs $809

CPU: 2.4 GHZ Dell Inspiron QUAD (4 Processor) CORE

SCREEN: 20inch Screen

MEMORY: 3GB Ram

HARD DRIVE: 500 GB hard Drive

OPTICAL DRIVE: 16x DVD/CD Read/Writer

GRAPHICS: (upgrade to ) ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO 128MB



The Best Deal Mac is not the Mac Mini since it has no monitor, keyboard, mouse, very skimpy on options and setup... IMac is better price than the Mac Mini.



IMac ($1400)

CPU: 2.4 GHZ DUAL (2 Processor) CORE (SLOWER CPU)

SCREEN: 20inch Screen

MEMORY: (upgrade to) 2GB Ram (LESS RAM)

HARD DRIVE: (upgrade to ) 500 GB hard Drive

OPTICAL DRIVE: 8x DVD Reader/Writer (1/2 speed)

GRAPHICS: ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO 128MB



************************END OF DESKTOP



======================================...



B) SECURITY:



Mac OS X was hacked in 2006 under 30 minutes, and hacked within 2 minutes in a contest in 2008. Linux and Vista were not able to be hacked until another day when restrictions were lowered.

All macs are standardized with Cameras, if your system gets hacked, the hacker would more likely be able to turn on your camera.

Please Note: All OS's have vulnerabilities.



======================================...

B2) VIRUSES



The argument that OS X has less viruses is true, but that is against XP, BUT Mac OS X has viruses, a friend of mine has a VIRUSED MAC. As more users use Macs, more viruses will come out for it. Especially when users think "they are safe". Linux is also very low in viruses and is free with plenty of free software.



Google/Yahoo Mac Viruses



======================================...



C) Windows License is discounted with PCs..



You do not pay the full price, for instance Dell -> you pay $50 or less for Vista Home Premium If you buy a Mac and want Vista, you pay full price.



======================================...



D) EXPANDABILITY & REPAIR...



With AppleCare you have to put down $300 and there is no guarantee the computer will be fixed, may cost more.. Repairs are more expensive than PCs since the IMac, Mac Mini are compact units, and Apple charges a premium for their services. Some repairs can be done by another repair service but the compact design of the computer causes problems.

With an IMac, if the problem is with the monitor, the whole computer would have to be brought in.

IMac and Mac mini lack expansion.



======================================...



E) PROBLEMS



Macintosh's are far from bug free despite their fan base claiming so. Sample of problems: Overheating Macbooks, OS X- not responding to keyboard, some units with 16bit screens, etc.. True, all computers have their issues but Apple Fans tend to hide their problems which makes it tough to trust any statistics about Apple.(Not all Apple users are "Apple Fans", more of its users are naturally "Apple Fans" since it is such a small percentage of the market, and since they tend to consider Microsoft and PCs evil, tend to be more radical and get people to switch at any cost.) Apple is lowering prices which means you can expect lower quality than in the past. Apple had switched the manufacturers producing parts. OS X also has problems SLOWING DOWN.



NO MORE THAN 10 Links were allowed... Here are the ones that I could not add..

www.ubuntu.com/

www.kubuntu.org/

www.freespire.org/

www.pclinuxos.com/

distrowatch.com/

polishlinux.org/

www.desktoplinux.com/

xwinman.org/gnome.php

Answer 2

Hi,

man you are really looking for some serious answers, well I use a PC and mac Tiger 10.4.11, and my brother uses the Leopard 10.5. to answer your 1st question,



1: If I had the choice I would never ever go back to PC, this is why. Mac does not hanging, super fast internet speeds and over all system performance.

to answer you 2nd question,



2: PC controls everything, all the applications and every thing that is installed on your PC. Mac OS X is a simple OS that felicitates various applications it simply does not control them, no registry entries and no long installation process to install an application on any Mac all you need to do is copy that application file *.Dmg into the application folder it is that simple and lightning fast compared to PC to uninstall all you need to do is open the app folder and move the file to the trash the app is uninstalled.



your 3rd question



3:Word processing is almost unbelievable with Mac, you can type in several languages, you can save any document in *.doc format which is compatible with any Microsoft Word app. from 97 to 2007. any version of Microsoft word will be able to open the file. you can also open Adobe Acrobat files without installing Adobe reader. Edit any picture with the same application. if that's not enough Microsoft has released the Microsoft Office 2008 only for Mac it is simply mind blowing for people who do a lot of presentations web building, and several other office related processing.



4Th Question.



4:you can run any windows application on Mac, yes I am serious, you need a app called Cross Over, this crazy software enables you to install any application on Mac. the application should be computable with Win 2000 XP and Vista too good to be true, you don't have an MSN Messenger version for mac as yet, but you can download and install Yahoo Messenger for Mac. Windows Live is now compatible with Mac OS X.



Your question about virus and worms.



5: Mac is a very stable and simple OS it is not easy to create a virus for Mac the inbuilt security on a Mac is awesome the OS will not allow anonymous installations, to install any software or to even copy a file into the system folder requires a password, so Mac is Virus and Worm free.



6: I have had absolutely no problems with Mac even the older 10.4.1 versions, it is just trouble free.

The only reason I am forced to use a PC is because of Software's like Adobe Audition and FL Studio, these are recording and music production software's and there are no substitutes for these with Mac, although I have the Crossover software that lets me install these apps on Mac but the audio recording quality is compromised, that's the only reason I still have a PC.

I hope I have answered all your question, hope you get the right Comp good luck.

Answer 3

I got a macbook pro about a year ago and i love it. i had been using windows for years before it and kept running into problems with PC's. so to answer your questions...

1. no, i wouldn't go back to windows especially with vista on the majority of laptops you buy now days.(i've found that majority of the computers out there that are running vista just aren't meant to be, there not fast enough).

2. I have found that macs are really easy to get used to, they have a lot of little features that make them easier to use. I've only had my mac freeze up on me once in the past year, and that was because i had about 12 different programs running.

3. as for word/excel/powerpoint... windows office for mac's the newest one is version 2008, works the exact same way as it does for pc's. no format differences or anything, i have been able to email documents to windows computers without a problem.

4. as for windows messenger, mac has ichat. i was using AIM when i had a PC and when i went to ichat my screen-name worked on i chat just fine, it atomatically connected with AIM.

-And as for all other applications/programs that only work for windows, when you buy a mac, it comes with boot camp that allows you to run windows too, you choose which one you want to use when you turn on the computer, so you get the best of both worlds.

-I have a couple friends that also have macs, and none of us have ever had any problems with viruses/worms/trojans etc.

-over all i love my mac it was the smartest computer move i ever made!

- i highly suggest going to the apple website and looking at the videos about the many different features that the macs have. And you picked a good time to want to look at getting a mac, apple just came out with a new version of macbooks, and i must say i would not buy the macbook air! even thought it looks cool, it has a lot of downsides like not having a CD drive... the other thing i would suggest is go to a Apple store, the people there really know their stuff, they can answer any questions you have.

- hope this helps...

Answer 4

I don't want to write a full blown essay, so I'll just tell you that you can get Microsoft Word for the Mac.



http://www.microsoft.com/mac/default.mspx