Mac and PC comparisons.

[aethelbert]

I don't think they were talking about enterprise solutions, where you may necessarily HAVE to make a clear choice in order to increase productivity.

I was just responding to your saying that specs and numbers are meaningless. If we saw a different context in that, sorry. Carry on.

 

[blunderboy]

I was just responding to your saying that specs and numbers are meaningless. If we saw a different context in that, sorry. Carry on.

For personal use when there isn't a particular requirement, they often are.

 

[KítscheñÇinqµe]

It's not always a straight comparison though. OS X compared to Windows 7 is a good comparison but Apple vertically integrates their offerings by making the hardware too. Windows is at the mercy of system builders.

I have build Windows 7 computers and they are generally acceptable and pleasurable to use. Only a blue screen or two every several months. I love my MBP because it was designed to run OS X and Apple didn't have to add a bunch of junkware and useless customware just to shave $20 off the price.

My preference is for OS X. But Windows 7 is very good too. It's just that the Dells, Lenovos, HPs, and Acers of the world kill the Windows experience. The first thing I suggest to friends and colleagues when they get a Windows computer is to wipe the HDD clean and do a fresh install of Windows. One shouldn't have to do that. It can take an hour to three or more if the restore/driver discs don't have the correct or proper drivers (Dell!!!!).

I've always thought Apple could triple their sales of MacBooks if they sold it with Windows preinstalled and optimized to their hardware. They don't need to of course but they'd severely hurt the crappy PC makers if they chose to.

i hope win7 is better than vista, though some details I've read tell me that win7 is still crippled. i prefer xp over anything else, but for the longterm, my next choice for everyday home use would be a modern linux. Since you've done clean win7 installs over oem 7, i wonder how? A pure vista install might cure the sluggishness of oem vistas. (this is off topic, though)

 

[KítscheñÇinqµe]

Right. Microsoft has to include drivers for every single configuration out there, because the whole 'point' of Windows is to be ubiquitous, which Microsoft has been pretty successful at.

Yeah. I had a Windows 7 PC for about a month earlier this year, and I have to say that for Windows, Win7 wasn't that bad. It was still Windows, and I still found it annoying, but it is an improvement over previous versions of Windows. XP is still more stable, in my opinion, but once Win7 becomes more mature, it might be better in that regard.

And yes, the OEMs do love stuffing a bunch of crap on to their PCs. My Acer came with a load of useless software installed, and I ended up having to delete all of it. Ad-supported MS Works? MS Office trial? Dozens of other applications that I would never use? The same applies to the Compaq I had several years back. Apparently PC OEMs haven't learned a thing. As compared to my MacBook Pro, which didn't come with any ad-supported, bloated software, just the OS X default apps and iLife.

aha. maybe the better comparisons are oem1 vs oem2. acer seems to be the worst of hardware, and possibly the worst support. sony seems a terrible value, yet they've been retailed since the late 1990's (mid 90's?).

if you want to consider crapware costs in 'mac vs pc' $ comparison, perhaps include the cost of retail window disc as if the oem never supplied an os. and then, the cost of assembling a pc *might* compare well to oem.

or if you don't buy the retail disc, include the time to decrapify, ccleaner, etc? cleaning should be easier with desktops, because laptops have a few mysterious hardware-related things installed.

 

[314631]

Windows 7 is better than Vista in every way. It's also the only Windows upgrade I have EVER known that has run better on older hardware than its predecessor.

Microsoft did a very good job with Windows 7 and deserve all the praise and positive reviews they have received.

People are underestimating Microsoft too on Phone Series 7. I have been buying up shares in MSFT as I genuinely believe it is going to be a strong performer and surprise market expectations.