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Apple Mac vs. PC What should I buy?

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4.00 star(s)
Whichever Mac you get, GET APPLECARE. Especially if you get a portable.

The $200 on my first iBook paid for about $1500 in repairs on it, then it paid for my 2nd iBook, and got me about $1100 off my current Macbook.

Also, Apple has a decent student discount... Show your student ID and get a few $$ knocked off the price.
 
Rideguy said:
Well you had to post when I was wondering about connectivity..... LOL

Like if I have a USB printer and a USB stick and a USB Joystick but only have one or two USB ports to plug them into.....???

What do you do.... I know they were born that way from the factory.... But what do you have to do buy a Mac printer 2 ??

Is there a whole world of wireless devices I'm going to need if I go Mac?

:face-icon-small-con
Click to expand...

USB supports up to 127 devices.... There's things called "USB Hubs" you can buy... USB is USB regardless of whether it's plugged into a Mac, a PC, an embedded system, a Palm, whathaveyou. Pick up a few of those and plug all your stuff in.

USB printers... again, plug it in and print. Setting it up on the Mac is easy; the printer setup utility walks you through it. Don't even need to mess with drivers. Joystick might be questionable, if it's made for PC games and does more than a standard HID-compliant device (Vibration feedback, maybe an LCD, etc). But... if you do a dual-boot or run windows in a virtual machine, install the joystick drivers in windows and the joystick will work in windows. The hardware its plugged into becomes transparent at that point.

I used an NI USB-GPIB adapter on my Mac a while ago... No Mac drivers for it, the Mac couldn't do anything with it... installed NI-GPIB drivers on my Windows VM and attached the adapter to my Mac, windows picked it up, and it worked flawlessly.
 
As for a modem... wow... I just go without if the only option is dialup. But if you must, they make USB modems as well.


edit:

yeah, what Mule said...
 
Rideguy said:
Well you had to post when I was wondering about connectivity..... LOL

Like if I have a USB printer and a USB stick and a USB Joystick but only have one or two USB ports to plug them into.....???

What do you do.... I know they were born that way from the factory.... But what do you have to do buy a Mac printer 2 ??

Is there a whole world of wireless devices I'm going to need if I go Mac?

:face-icon-small-con
Click to expand...

I have a 6 year old HP printer, I plugged it in and just printed.
I also use my 22 inch monitor, logitech wireless keyboard and mouse, and surround sound speakers from my old PC. It works great!
I plug in the ethernet cable at home, but it has built in WIFI for wireless too.
 
Mule said:
Whichever Mac you get, GET APPLECARE. Especially if you get a portable.

The $200 on my first iBook paid for about $1500 in repairs on it, then it paid for my 2nd iBook, and got me about $1100 off my current Macbook.

Also, Apple has a decent student discount... Show your student ID and get a few $$ knocked off the price.
Click to expand...


Sounds like a good idea... And I totally forgot about USB hub's that also answers my other question.... Same with the USB modem for work.... Or I'll just get a nice apple desktop and a cheap toshiba or acer for work..... I haven't been a student for 17 years now so I'm going to have to pay the full bill.....

Do these Apple's ever come on sale??

So I guess other than choosing which one to buy since there is no Apple Store within 3 hours or more of Castlegar..... Brings me to my last question....

Is it bennificial to buy from the apple store or apple canada website instead of a future shop or a best buy?

I assume that the Applecare is only available at the Apple store?
 
http://www.macmall.com

just order applecare at checkout or from apple at anytime up to (IIRC) one year after date of purchase.

or you can order from http://store.apple.com

have ordered two from macmall and two from the online apple store. Doesn't matter either way, might be a bit faster direct from apple if customizing.
 
Rideguy said:
Sounds like a good idea... And I totally forgot about USB hub's that also answers my other question.... Same with the USB modem for work.... Or I'll just get a nice apple desktop and a cheap toshiba or acer for work..... I haven't been a student for 17 years now so I'm going to have to pay the full bill.....

Do these Apple's ever come on sale??

So I guess other than choosing which one to buy since there is no Apple Store within 3 hours or more of Castlegar..... Brings me to my last question....

Is it bennificial to buy from the apple store or apple canada website instead of a future shop or a best buy?

I assume that the Applecare is only available at the Apple store?
Click to expand...

You pay for an apple, and you pay what they want/ They have no real competition, so no sale prices. The price is the same at the store than on apple.ca
Apple gives you one on one live support, Applecare can be bought online I think, the website should tell ya.
 
Supplicate said:
http://www.macmall.com

just order applecare at checkout or from apple at anytime up to (IIRC) one year after date of purchase.

or you can order from http://store.apple.com

have ordered two from macmall and two from the online apple store. Doesn't matter either way, might be a bit faster direct from apple if customizing.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the link's .... Looks like the Mac Mall has some rebates...... I usually stay away from rebates.... Just because I figure you never get them.... But at some of those rebates it would be worth trying to get them... Looks like some good deals!!

:beer;
 
Ok...I have to chime in a little bit here. I have read quite a bit here about how a Mac is better than a pc. Not true, a mac IS a pc. Mac and Windows now run on the same Intel platform. Someone compared a mac to a customized sled, this is not the case. A mac is more like a sled direct from the dealer and you really dont want to change anything because it might not work properly after that and it will probably void the warranty. A Windows PC is made to customize and change and update. Windows supports so many different types of hardware and software it is crazy. Unfortunately this vast amount of customization options can some times cause a BSOD. I personally have not had a BSOD in a couple of years. Also have not had a virus on my personal machine in over 4 years. I am a heavy user on my machines daily. Windows does not deserve the reputation it is getting. For the money you spend on a mac you can buy a Windows machine that will blow the mac away in performance, if you don't like vista you can still get XP in some cases, which is a very stable platform. Since the release of vista service pack 1 a couple of months ago, vista is a very different critter than what it was. It is now more stable, reliable and dependable. I run into people daily that want to buy a mac now....cuz it is cool and somehow has become a status symbol. Mac are over priced, stable, user friendly, contains virtually the exact same hardware as a windows machine and have a good design. Windows have more value for your money, can be as stable as a mac, user friendly, can have a good design (depends on which company you bought from), and are vulnerable to viruses and spyware but you have a huge amount of software and hardware you can choose from. Windows owns about 90% of the market share...this makes it a target for virus writers. If Mac owned 90% of the market, they would be the ones with all the viruses. I personally like to push Linux machines but I use them all. Would I recommend a mac...Yep, if it is for the right reasons. Would I recommend a Windows machine...Yep, if it fits their needs and they are aware of the security requirements to keep it safe. Would I recommend a Linux (ubuntu for most) machine...yep, but I would have it dual boot with one of the other operating systems. Actually, dual boot with all of these is a good idea. Would I recommend a MacBook Air, nope!!! Gotta go, it is getting late and this is a huge subject.
 
I am not a computer nerd but my latest Mac is 4 years old and has not crashed once, I get on somebody else's windows machine and in 2 minutes I think, why in the world would anybody put up with this crap?
 
We bought our first MAC this summer. Its solid and works well but don't expect something revolutionary. The integration of applications is very well done but at the end of the day it is just another computer. My laptop runs XP pretty well. I do have to reboot it every once in a while due to sloooooownesss. I don't think the MAC has been rebooted for months. I was drawn to the MAC Pro. Beautiful hardware, very expandible, and the price is actually very competitive for what you get. We got a 27" Dell monitor with it that is super sweet. I love the wireless keyboard and mouse too.
 
i bought my first mac about 1 month ago... I'm pretty happy with it... its been good so far... takes a bit of getting used to as it works a lot different than PC...
 
Eliminator351 said:
Not true, a mac IS a pc. Mac and Windows now run on the same Intel platform.
Click to expand...
True, but I don't buy a mac for the hardware anymore (I liked the PPC chips) I buy it for the Unix architecture (stability) and not having to compile kernels myself. You can't argue against something that just plain works no matter what. In the years I've been using Mac, I've only ever experienced a single kernel panic. How many times a month, or even a year, does the blue screen of death happen to a windows machine?

Eliminator351 said:
I personally like to push Linux machines but I use them all.
Click to expand...
Linux is an awesome operating system if the user is willing to take the time to learn all the little tricks and start compiling it themselves instead of just using an off the shelf release.
 
Supplicate said:
even a year, does the blue screen of death happen to a windows machine?
.
Click to expand...

I've had 0 BSOD's on my machine in the past 2 years or so... Now running Vista and haven't had any there either... I've seen a handful due to a bug on some POS lenovo laptops... And I do believe I've seen 2 on the 50+ Windows servers I'm in charge of...

We have one MAC here in the office, and I've had just as many issues with it as I've had with most of our PC's... which is not very many... I've had I think 2 issues with it in the last year. One was with wireless... The other witch Citrix...

Most problems on PC's are caused by the user... MAC OS is just not as succeptable to the spyware and crap ppl manage to get on their pc's... Most of the time someone complains to me about their pc being slow, I find there are 20 toolbars installed in IE, 50 gazzillion things running in the systray, and several pieces of spyware they managed to load.... We lock things down here at work on local workstations to protect us from the users...

As far as UNIX/Linux goes, I spent 3 years in software development on HP-UX to see enough panics to last me a lifetime...
 
If you buy it from apple online, do a search for company discounts, like university, IBM etc... I know the discount codes are easy to get and you get 15% OFF.
 
I have had a mac since 1998 at home the first one was old when I got it. It lasted till my house was hit by lightning in 2000. I then bought a new mac at that time, it still is running. The only problem was my young daughter stuck two cds in it at one time and had to have the drive replaced. I have never had a problem otherwise, never stopped and I usually just let it sleep when not in use. My pc at work and my laptop at home are constantly getting virus'.
 
Eliminator351 said:
Ok...I have to chime in a little bit here. I have read quite a bit here about how a Mac is better than a pc. Not true, a mac IS a pc. Mac and Windows now run on the same Intel platform. Someone compared a mac to a customized sled, this is not the case. A mac is more like a sled direct from the dealer and you really dont want to change anything because it might not work properly after that and it will probably void the warranty. A Windows PC is made to customize and change and update. Windows supports so many different types of hardware and software it is crazy. Unfortunately this vast amount of customization options can some times cause a BSOD. I personally have not had a BSOD in a couple of years. Also have not had a virus on my personal machine in over 4 years. I am a heavy user on my machines daily. Windows does not deserve the reputation it is getting. For the money you spend on a mac you can buy a Windows machine that will blow the mac away in performance, if you don't like vista you can still get XP in some cases, which is a very stable platform. Since the release of vista service pack 1 a couple of months ago, vista is a very different critter than what it was. It is now more stable, reliable and dependable. I run into people daily that want to buy a mac now....cuz it is cool and somehow has become a status symbol. Mac are over priced, stable, user friendly, contains virtually the exact same hardware as a windows machine and have a good design. Windows have more value for your money, can be as stable as a mac, user friendly, can have a good design (depends on which company you bought from), and are vulnerable to viruses and spyware but you have a huge amount of software and hardware you can choose from. Windows owns about 90% of the market share...this makes it a target for virus writers. If Mac owned 90% of the market, they would be the ones with all the viruses. I personally like to push Linux machines but I use them all. Would I recommend a mac...Yep, if it is for the right reasons. Would I recommend a Windows machine...Yep, if it fits their needs and they are aware of the security requirements to keep it safe. Would I recommend a Linux (ubuntu for most) machine...yep, but I would have it dual boot with one of the other operating systems. Actually, dual boot with all of these is a good idea. Would I recommend a MacBook Air, nope!!! Gotta go, it is getting late and this is a huge subject.
Click to expand...

Now the real scoop. the reason you can buy a pc for $400 is because you get what you pay for. Cheap components that are designed to be replaced every two years. Macs are more expensive cause they make their money up front using good components that are designed to last. Apple care covers you up to three years but i'll bet the average consumer won;t use it. I love my mac and will never go back. I had to buy my wife a pc laptop for work loaded with vista and it is the biggest pile of sh!t OS i've ever seen. I would Agree, Don't buy a macbook air air, buy a macbook pro. I run windows on ,y mac because of the acountinting software I can tell you right now that all the $3000.00+ PC's I have had do not even come close to the speed the mac will run leopard and windows Xp at the same time. This guy is above me has stock in microsoft or something
 
Eliminator351 said:
Ok...I have to chime in a little bit here. I have read quite a bit here about how a Mac is better than a pc. Not true, a mac IS a pc. Mac and Windows now run on the same Intel platform. Someone compared a mac to a customized sled, this is not the case. A mac is more like a sled direct from the dealer and you really dont want to change anything because it might not work properly after that and it will probably void the warranty. A Windows PC is made to customize and change and update. Windows supports so many different types of hardware and software it is crazy. Unfortunately this vast amount of customization options can some times cause a BSOD. I personally have not had a BSOD in a couple of years. Also have not had a virus on my personal machine in over 4 years. I am a heavy user on my machines daily. Windows does not deserve the reputation it is getting. For the money you spend on a mac you can buy a Windows machine that will blow the mac away in performance, if you don't like vista you can still get XP in some cases, which is a very stable platform. Since the release of vista service pack 1 a couple of months ago, vista is a very different critter than what it was. It is now more stable, reliable and dependable. I run into people daily that want to buy a mac now....cuz it is cool and somehow has become a status symbol. Mac are over priced, stable, user friendly, contains virtually the exact same hardware as a windows machine and have a good design. Windows have more value for your money, can be as stable as a mac, user friendly, can have a good design (depends on which company you bought from), and are vulnerable to viruses and spyware but you have a huge amount of software and hardware you can choose from. Windows owns about 90% of the market share...this makes it a target for virus writers. If Mac owned 90% of the market, they would be the ones with all the viruses. I personally like to push Linux machines but I use them all. Would I recommend a mac...Yep, if it is for the right reasons. Would I recommend a Windows machine...Yep, if it fits their needs and they are aware of the security requirements to keep it safe. Would I recommend a Linux (ubuntu for most) machine...yep, but I would have it dual boot with one of the other operating systems. Actually, dual boot with all of these is a good idea. Would I recommend a MacBook Air, nope!!! Gotta go, it is getting late and this is a huge subject.
Click to expand...

Well said, I was waiting for someone to point this out. The reason why mac has become competitive in the computer market in the first place is because they decided to run windows as an option and use intel chips, which basically makes them a PC, except you also get their homegrown OS, which I am curious what people use more once they buy a mac? If windows keeps dominating the market place, sooner or later mac will throw in the towel on their own OS and be just like HP, Toshiba, Sont etc. just another brand name.

Right now mac is the "cool" brand thanks to clever marketing and the ipod, but in the end for what most people use it for, its a higher end PC
 
x-guy said:
Well said, I was waiting for someone to point this out. The reason why mac has become competitive in the computer market in the first place is because they decided to run windows as an option and use intel chips, which basically makes them a PC, except you also get their homegrown OS, which I am curious what people use more once they buy a mac? If windows keeps dominating the market place, sooner or later mac will throw in the towel on their own OS and be just like HP, Toshiba, Sont etc. just another brand name.

Right now mac is the "cool" brand thanks to clever marketing and the ipod, but in the end for what most people use it for, its a higher end PC
Click to expand...

Whatever, People use windows on their macs because of the monopoly of the windows based software you have to run. I use windows for exactly what i have to and thats it and never for the net. Don't want want cooties, which you don't get with the mac
 
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