Let the flamewars begin: Should I buy a Mac?
So I'm in the market for a new laptop. I keep hearing great things about Apple computers, but I'm iffy on dropping $3K on a product I've never really used before. I did just by an iPhone (and love it), but I could use some guidence on the subject of Apple vs other Windows based PCs
I know hardcore Mac users love them, but WHY? What's all the hoopla about?
Flame away, people!
I know hardcore Mac users love them, but WHY? What's all the hoopla about?
Flame away, people!
Comments
I have a blackberry.
My wife has an Iphone.
I didnt understand why everyone said the Iphone was so much better until I experienced it.
I've never used a Mac, but relating to the above, Im sure it is superior in almost every respect.
I purchased mine specifically for use with digital photography, and a little video making. It excels in this area! If the DVD drive supported bluray, I'd be 100 percent satisfied, even taking into account the premium you pay for an apple product!
As a sidenote, for Wetts, apple products automatically correct apple phrases into the correct capitalization; Iphone correctly becomes iPhone!
YAY! he is back!!!!
I missed you Grammar Police.:)
Universal translator gimmick is much better imo.
Why do you use so many commas?
Translation: I'm insecure in my manhood and need to hijack threads to attract wanton attention!
I have a frankenmac, I run Mac OS X on cheap pc-clone intel hardware.
I put it together for running Aperture (digital photography workflow software).
Aperture is awesome; more than just iPhoto on steroids!
Proper punctuation is what separates us from the lower life forms!
Coincidence??!!
I thought it was opposable thumbs? ^-^
This was once true, however now the line is clear: proper punctuation and the use of macs!
Personally, I think the biggest reason that people like Macs > Windows is the user-friendliness of the OS and its respective softwares/programs. Also the fact that it is usable out of the box, and IMO, the OS itself is a superior OS in terms of rarely encountering any sort of errors. The computer itself is highly customizable, and you can really make it feel like "your own" (as in I have had other people try to use my Mac and my configuration is totally different from the way they configured it). That's the major "pro" of having a Mac that I can list. (there are also other ones that's mainly software related [like iPhoto, various media software] which I won't get into here(
Some cons that I can name is that MSOffice is just not as good on the Mac OS compared to the Windows OS, and iWork doesn't work as well IMO for word processing/excel purposes. Also depending on what you do, there are some software that doesn't support Mac OS (although the number of common software that do not support OS is quickly dropping).
Feel free to ask if you have more questions.
Many sites (like winner) don't have MAC clients. The auxillery programs are also fewer on the mac side (HEM, Poker Tracker etc)
So the main thing you need to consider is what you need the computer to do.
Westside is right too that you can buy lower and upgrade the bits and pieces. The Apple forum is the best place for info and advice on how/what to upgrade so make sure you visit that if you have any doubts about how to do something or the parts that you need. (yes, same is true for clone boxes. if you take the time to learn you can upgrade most Win-boxes just as easily.)
Remember too that if you run Windows on the mac you will still be subject to all of the viruses that a standard windows box will be infected with so you would need firewall/virus software.
As for poker, I very rarely play online anymore and could care less about any extra sites. Is there Tournament Director software for the Mac?
EDIT: No there isn't, at least from The Tournament Director.
I'm still unsure why spending a boatload of extra money on Mac is better. I guess I need to play with one to be sure.
For your usage there isn't really if you know how to maintain a PC. It's easier to use, but not incredibly so, requires less maintenance due to an OS that is harder to crack than win-crap. If you can use windows with no headaches then there is no need to switch. for you it is just a matter of taste.
Could you explain more? What makes a Mac better? Also is the Applecare support worth the money?
I have my PC in the basement for poker and my wife was set on getting a Mac mini which we have on the main floor. We don't use it for fancy picture/movies/gaming stuff and we have Windows installed on it which we use for the most part.
If you have a reason for getting a Mac, get one. If not, you probably don't need to spend more money.
I have both and I couldn't tell you the difference as a basic user.
From a technical perspective, I'm not sure what makes them better (it uses an Intel chipset), but the overall user experence is better... more responsive and it doesn't crash. I've had it since Sept '09, and the only time I've had to reboot was when I upgraded to snow leapord 10.6.
I never buy extended warranties.
It may use the intel chipsets, but think about this for a moment. How many motherboard manufacturers are there for PC based computers? How many graphic card manufacturers are there? Network cards? Sound cards? Optical drives? Hard drives? Etc! In theory these things are supposed to work together using software from yet another company, Microsoft! And we wonder why they crash all the time!
I'm not saying apple makes everything in a mac, but the entire machine is engineered at once, to work together, and it does so very well! The entire back of an iMac is one big heatsink! An elegantly engineered machine!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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hof:)
I have an advanced degree in Computer Science but I think I spend *LESS* per computers than pretty much everyone I know.
I hate the idea of spending $3K on something that will just go out of date.
I'd rather spend $400 building a frankenmac or a PC clone.
If you tell us more about what you want to do with the computer then we can give you better answers.