Mac VS PC

[schmintan]

this is a great forum for mac related issues, but you wont get anywhere near an unbiased objective comparison here. you are best to also go to a completely windows orientated forum and ask the same question. then balance out the answers from both posts.

I run both Vista and MacOSX on my MBP and they both are great in spots, bad in others.


Mac is no easier to use than windows, IMO. Learning concepts of a dock and finder, are no more difficult than learning about a start menu and explorer.

Macs have an advantage, and a disadvantage of having a smaller market share. this means there are very few viruses and malicious pieces of code written for them as its not worth it, however it also means there is much much less software for the mac, and it is more difficult and more expensive to get help when they go wrong.

likewise with windows, it has loads of viruses attacking it, because malicious code writers know they will hit a bigger user base, but there are more people to help you out, its cheaper to get sorted out, and there is way more software for windows.


Hardware wise, most mac's are nicer, better designed etc, but they are also significantly more expensive than a pc equivalently spec'ed so it ballances out. also, you have much more choice with pc hardware, if you need something different.

developer wise, windows has visual studio, one of the greatest development tools ever in many people's opinions. xcode is good, visual studio is god! there's no escaping this ( unless you need to develop in a language that you cant get working on visual studio)

as i dont know a whole lot about unix, i cant really comment, but from what i do know, i feel it is a darn site better than dos, so thats a definate pro for the mac

windows explorer is 10000000000 times better than finder. finder is slow, buggy, and prevents you from doing many things i expect from a machine. apple say their os lets you use a computer your way,but you cant view and arrange files based on ANY of their attributes, such as in windows. in windows, you could have a new file format, with an attribute of something like "distance" or something silly, and windows will recognise this, allow you to view this attribute column and sort accordingly. it does this with all of the many hundreds of attribute types the files it uses have. thats a definate pro for windows.

as for bundled internet browsers, IE7 beats safari hands down. no tabbed browsing?? thats a must nowdays.

Itunes beats Media player any day, no need to elabourate there, it just does!!



thats by no means an exhaustive list and its not in any state of organization, but its my 2 cents

 

[Danksi]

...as for bundled internet browsers, IE7 beats safari hands down. no tabbed browsing?? thats a must nowdays....

Safari provides tabbed browsing, but you need to enable it in the Safari Preference settings (instructions from Apple below):-

1. To enable tabbed browsing, from the Safari menu, choose Preferences.
2. In the resulting dialog, click the Tabs button.
3. Select the "Enable Tabbed Browsing" checkbox.
4. Select any other options you wish, then close the window.
5. To use tabs, instead of opening a new browser window to display another webpage without losing your current one, Command-click a link to open the page in a new tab. You can switch back and forth between tabs by simply clicking the tabs.
6. If you want to create a new tab to enter a URL, choose New Tab from the File menu (or press Command-T), then type a URL or select a bookmark.

 

[The General]

u must never heard about laserjet 1020 printer, plz let me know if u find a easy way to make it work under OSX.

for OP
dont get confused by apple's PR. "OSX vs. Windows" would be a more appropriate title. since mac runs windows, and pc is not exclusively equal to windows based computers.

I thought the same thing.

The solution:

1. Go get HP 1022 drivers, which actually are the 1020 drivers.

2. Unplug the printer.

3. rm -R /Library/Printers/hp/laserjet

4. Run the installer.

5. cp /Library/Printers/hp/laserjet/1020series/*.* /Library/Printers/hp/laserjet/

6. Shutdown the computer completely.

7. Plug the printer in and turn your computer on.

8. Go to System Preferences -> Printers -> Add printer, the driver should be there and work.

This method has always worked for me, even though some of the steps could be pointless. I guess I could write a script for it, but where's the fun in that?

 

[QuantumLo0p]

My mac use is really niche and may not be of any use to you. I have tried other OS's but the obscure, exotic niche tasks that I perform are best done on a mac.

Well, here goes:
browsing
instant messaging, text, audio and video
a bit of word processing
email (pop)
ripping my CD's
syncing my mp3 player
creating music CD's
digital photo editing and compression
photo management
contact management
syncing mobile devices
blogging
web design
a few other odds and ends...

As you can plainly see my list is quite odd and not to be attempted on Windows.

 

[schmintan]

My mac use is really niche and may not be of any use to you. I have tried other OS's but the obscure, exotic niche tasks that I perform are best done on a mac.

Well, here goes:
browsing
instant messaging, text, audio and video
a bit of word processing
email (pop)
ripping my CD's
syncing my mp3 player
creating music CD's
digital photo editing and compression
photo management
contact management
syncing mobile devices
blogging
web design
a few other odds and ends...

As you can plainly see my list is quite odd and not to be attempted on Windows.

never used windows i see. does most of those things pretty well, or maby you just couldnt use it. apes have had a problem with it. people like you make me sick. i use both OS, and both can do all of those tasks as well as each other. idiot. aaagh, what a waste of time even replying.

 

[Sesshi]

Ah, just pat them on the head. "Amazing! You did that on a computer? I'm so impressed."

 

[The General]

Clearly he was being facetious ...

What is wrong with you guys? Making fun of a fellow Mac user.

 

[patrick0brien]

-starflyer

Let me try to end this right now...

... Macs are PC's (see BootCamp)

I suggest you leave this point for last

 

[Dustman]

Sorry to be a contrarian but as both a Mac and PC owner, I think the supposed MAC superiority over PC's is UberHype.

In fact, each system has its strong points and each its drawbacks. Since everyone is listing PC shortcomings, let me concentrate on Macs.

1. I see no compelling evidence to the claim Macs are more user friendly. Example -- the old Windows Explorer is a superior to Mac's find feature as far as locating and manipulating files and interfaces betwen native and external HDD's. Also I-tunes is one of the most user un-friendly programs for MP3's. Difficult to orgnaize and load onto the Ipod compared to simple drag and drop in Explorer with non-Ipod players. Need to load your Ipod from a different computer? You've got to trash your old library and build a new one from the new computer.

2. App removal -- sure, just drag the icon to the trash heap on a Mac but that does not clear out all the files. Add remove programs in Windows does a more comprehensive job with a single action.

3. Software options for Macs suck compared to PC's

4. Macs dont crash ... perhaps not but they sure as hell hang up with the spinning wheel and are harder to get back on line once that happens. BTW, I haven't had a single crash with XP since after the first year bugs were worked out.

5. Safari is inferior as a browser compared to IE and Firefox.

6. The out of the box Mac programs are not superior to PC's (okay, I'm not a graphic artist who can tell you the nuances about some Mac programs' superiority, but how many of us are?) The issue here is that PC's no longer include any software. Macs are more expensive so you are just getting what you paid for. Also, can anyone tell me how standard Quick Time is better than Media Player or VLC media player which can even play partial files?

I like the Mac well enough but at the end of the day it is not superior to Windows or a good PC, it's just different, better in some ways, worse in others.

Pahahahahaha

1. Have you ever even used iTunes?
2. Umm.. All the files the program uses are contained in that one icon.
3. Its not Quantity your after, its quality. Why have 400 apps to do one thing when u can just use one that works?
4. No computer is incapable of crashing. And you are a complete idiot to say that macs crash more often than windows.. unless your installing os x on an old Mac SE
5. ??? OMG! I seriously feel bad to be even paying attention to this. Firefox is as much availible for os x as it is for windows. jerk.
6. VLC is ALSOOO availible for mac os. And when you compare quicktime to the monstrosity that is WMP 11, haha or better yet, WMP 9 for OS X, I am confident in saying that Yes, Quicktime with the right codecs is FAR supirior.

 

[Danksi]

Sarcasm is alive and well...

 

[The General]

2. Umm.. All the files the program uses are contained in that one icon.

O RLY?

Ever looked in ~/Library/Application Support/ or /Library/Application Support/? ... I guess not.

 

[jsalzer]

The simple stuff

You really do need to be careful to specify if you're comparing the Mac OS to Windows, Macs to non-Apple hardware, or combos thereof before moving too far.

If the OS is a part of the comparison, don't forget the simple things:

1. All functionality is "discoverable" - applications are not designed with functions that can only be found in contextual menus. You can potentially do everything with one button (and many of us still do.)

2. The stationary menu bar - saving oodles of time throughout the day versus the "each window has its own and can be anywhere on the screen" variety.

3. Dock versus Start Menu (make sure to address the argument that Windows is better because it gives you the name of the window and dismiss it by mentioning that only a few windows are needed to make the text go away.)

4. The recognition that closing a window doesn't mean I want to quit the application.

5. Text smoothing. What a difference on the eyes.

6. Column View

7. Smart scrolling (scrolling wherever your cursor is, not where you last clicked).

Those are the things that keep me around.

 

[MisterMe]

...

Ever looked in ~/Library/Application Support/ or /Library/Application Support/? ... I guess not.

And what awful thing happens if he does not look in those two directories? Now, that would be a great big fat nothing, now wouldn't it?

 

[The General]

And what awful thing happens if he does not look in those two directories? Now, that would be a great big fat nothing, now wouldn't it?

What a misplaced ignorant bit of sarcasm on your part.

Moving an application from /Applications to the Trash does not remove the folder and files created in /Library/Application Support ... that is what the OP is refering to. Not only that, but settings and files are stored from the application in Application Support, so to say that all the files for a program are in the folder.app is not true.

Care to argue more on this?

 

[Blubbert]

What a misplaced ignorant bit of sarcasm on your part.

Moving an application from /Applications to the Trash does not remove the folder and files created in /Library/Application Support ... that is what the OP is refering to. Not only that, but settings and files are stored from the application in Application Support, so to say that all the files for a program are in the folder.app is not true.

Care to argue more on this?

And even the uninstalation in Windows leaves all sort of junk scattered all over your disk, and a mess in the registry. Atleast whatever is left on after trashing an OSX app is a completely inert piece of data, usually sizing a few kb's. Personally, the latter seems much better...

 

[The General]

And even the uninstalation in Windows leaves all sort of junk scattered all over your disk, and a mess in the registry. Atleast whatever is left on after trashing an OSX app is a completely inert piece of data, usually sizing a few kb's. Personally, the latter seems much better...

True. I am not defending Windows, don't get me wrong.

 

[schmintan]

And even the uninstalation in Windows leaves all sort of junk scattered all over your disk, and a mess in the registry. Atleast whatever is left on after trashing an OSX app is a completely inert piece of data, usually sizing a few kb's. Personally, the latter seems much better...

oh, so we are gone from " apple uninstallation is easy, just delete the one icon, it removes everything" to " well its just a few kb left over, its no biggie".

and the titanic just bumped into a little bit of ice, and vesuvius just got "a little warm"!

 

[ajbrehm]

Well...

My mac use is really niche and may not be of any use to you. I have tried other OS's but the obscure, exotic niche tasks that I perform are best done on a mac.

"Obscure, exotic niche"? Word processing?

Well, here goes:
browsing

Windows. IE6 is the standard, IE7 will be the new standard. Windows users have access to all Web sites, Mac OS users sometimes find Web sites that don't work with Safari or Firefox.

I myself use OmniWeb, because it's the most convenient browser I know. But Windows beats Mac OS in this area.

instant messaging, text, audio and video

Odd category. Let me break it up:

1. Instant messaging

Windows for choice of messengers, Mac OS for iChat.

2. Text

??? I find Mac OS works with text and the clipboard better than Windows.

3. Audio

Mac OS.

4. Video

Mac OS.

a bit of word processing

Windows.

I understand this category as office tasks, and Windows has better, more current, and a greater choice of office software. Mac OS can compete only because of Microsoft Office being available for it. But Windows has a more current version of MS Office, a Sun-supoported Star Office, and Gobe and many other office suits.

email (pop)

Mac OS.

Apple Mail beats Outlook and Windows Mail. And Entourage looks nicer than Outlook. However, if you make this category about groupware, Windows wins (Exchange, Groupwise etc.).

ripping my CD's

Mac OS.

Mac OS can create disk images without the need of extra software. And iTunes is the best ripper. Windows can compete because iTunes is available for Windows too.

syncing my mp3 player

Windows.

It suppors more mp3 players and Apple does the rest with iTunes.

creating music CD's

Mac OS.

Windows is on the same level because of iTunes.

digital photo editing and compression

Mac OS when Photoshop becomes available for Intel.

photo management

Windows.

Explorer includes so many features that make photo management easy and there is a great choice of special applications too. iPhoto is nice and I love it, but Windows wins.

contact management

Mac OS.

Syncing works better and via .Mac I can sync all my Macs and the Web mail application. Nice.

syncing mobile devices

This is extremely odd. I found that Mac OS syncs better (but slower) with my iPAQ than Vista. But Palm devices seem to sync better with Windows.

blogging

Windows has Citydesk (expensive), Mac OS has iWeb (free). Most blog apps appear to be Web apps?

web design

Windows, as I find that Web design includes Web applications these days and ASP.NET beats anything you can develop with Xcode.

As you can plainly see my list is quite odd and not to be attempted on Windows.

I wouldn't attempt some of your tasks on a Mac.

Cuss and discuss.

 

[Blubbert]

oh, so we are gone from " apple uninstallation is easy, just delete the one icon, it removes everything" to " well its just a few kb left over, its no biggie".

and the titanic just bumped into a little bit of ice, and vesuvius just got "a little warm"!

I actually find that convenient. I sometimes install applications that i only need to use once, and when im done with them, i delete them. However if i ever need to use them again, all the settings that the first application had are preserved. And seriously, this is not the late 1980's where a kb of data meant someting. on a 120 gb drive, a 3 kb file is neglgible. ANd thankfully the data that remains is completely inert. It affects nothing, and does absolutely nothing, so you can delete it freely if the liberation of a few kb is a prospect that enthralls you so. This being a polar oposite of a certain operating system where leftover chunks of data can continue to influence your system for ages to come (or atleast till your first format...)

 

[Shadow]

ASP.NET beats anything you can develop with Xcode..

Does that include the Apple Store, the iTunes Music Store, the BBC News CMS, etc?

 

[killmoms]

Does that include the Apple Store, the iTunes Music Store, the BBC News CMS, etc?

Clearly MySQL, PHP, and Ruby on Rails (amongst many other more open and compatible web app development platforms) are not up to snuff. No one uses them. Ever.

 

[thewhitehart]

I am helping a friend write an argumentative paper on how macs are better than PCs. It has to be 5-10 pages long and I want to hit five to seven main points.

What would your points be?

Chicks dig macs. That's all you need to know dude.

 

[ajbrehm]

Does that include the Apple Store, the iTunes Music Store, the BBC News CMS, etc?

I don't know. I have never developed for any of those sites.

I can only give my opinion as a user of the applications and application categories listed.

And I do believe that when Apple developed the iTunes Music Store using their own platform was a priority, which makes ITMS a very bad example, I suppose. Similarly, I believe the other two sites are older then ASP.NET.

So perhaps it doesn't include your examples. My claim that Mac OS is better for email also doesn't take into account that people used other mail clients on other platforms before and still. It's nevertheless my opinion and I don't see how it would be invalidated by the existence of earlier systems (which I all consider inferior).

Similarly Windows is a good system for computer games, even though before Windows 95 the Nintendo Entertainment System was used for such applications. It doesn't invalidate the point.

 

[ajbrehm]

I am helping a friend write an argumentative paper on how macs are better than PCs. It has to be 5-10 pages long and I want to hit five to seven main points.

Are you in management, by any chance?

 

[Shadow]

Clearly MySQL, PHP, and Ruby on Rails (amongst many other more open and compatible web app development platforms) are not up to snuff. No one uses them. Ever.

Well they (BBC) obviously chose WebObjects for some reason. I don't know what that reason is, but I'm sure they had a good reason.