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Why did you chose a Mac over a PC?

The OS Respects You

I'm in agreement with everyone who is telling you that it's all about the operating system. I use a Mac and a Windows XP machine side-by-side every day. When I'm on the Windows machine, I feel like my focus is on using the machine to perform my tasks. When I'm on the Mac, my focus is on performing my tasks.

Here are a couple of key pieces:

a) The Mac respects your muscle memory. The menu bar is always at the top of the screen, allowing you to get to the File and Edit menus without having to hunt for them. Items that you keep in your dock are always in the same place (to get that in an XP task bar, you need to open your programs in the same order every morning - and if you don't, there is no way to reorder them).

b) I am constantly annoyed that the XP machine feels like it needs to get my attention and get a tummy rub every time it does something that I expect it to just do, versus the Mac, which only bothers me if there is a problem.

-"Hey - I successfully printed that document for you - please click my balloon acknowledging that I'm a good boy, or I'll keep it on your screen and in the way. Click my balloon. Click my balloon."

-"Hey - I added more virtual memory space for you - please click my balloon acknowledging that I'm a good boy, or I'll keep it on your screen and in the way. Click my balloon. Click my balloon. Pant, pant, woof!"

c) While this is changing and I believe under the control of the software companies, the entire document window within a program window concept has always bothered me and is a constant source of support headaches. "You're not seeing the bottom of the document because you're scrolling the outer scroll bar - you need to scroll the inner scroll bar."

d) Duplicate. Why does Windows and why do most Windows programs not have a "duplicate" command. It's such a time-saver over copy and paste. Whether duplicating a file in Finder or duplicating an object in a document, it's a must-have command.

e) Font smoothing. Reading text on a Windows machine would drive me batty. (Is this better in Windows 7?)

f) Horizontal and diagonal scrolling. And now scrolling with momentum. I feel handicapped mousing on the Windows machine.

OK - so now I'm getting into the little things. Back to the big picture - after the adjustment period, you'll find that the Mac performs as an organic extension of you - rather than a machine with which you interface to perform a task. That allows you to be more creative and productive in the long run.
 
rkaufmann87 said:
This is one of the major misconceptions about Macs and isn't really correct when you consider the total cost of ownership. Which include money spent for malware protection and resale. BTW this isn't scientific by any means and can be easily argued.

Let's say you spend $1000 for a really nice desktop PC and $1700 for an iMac. With the PC you need to factor in getting Antivirus and anti malware software every year to stay up to date, this will probably cost about $50 year or $150 over 3 years. With the Mac you don't need to spend a dime because there currently zero virus's for OS X.

What is a 3 year old PC worth, I think most agree it's going to be pennies on the dollar. But let's be an optimistic and say it's worth $450. I paid $1700 for my iMac 3 years ago, the other day I checked on both Ebay and Craig's List and the configuration I have is getting between $900 and $1200 dollars so let's shoot on the low side and say mine gets $1000, that means I really only paid $700 for it. When I do the math that comes out to:

Mac $1700 + $0 (antivirus costs) = $1700 - $1000 (resale) = $700 / 36 months = $19.44 month.

PC $1000 + $150 (antivirus costs) = $1150 - $450 (resale) = $700 / 36 months = $19.44 month.

So is a PC really less expensive than a Mac? And what price can you put on OS X, less down time, less noise, and for most a better user experience etc..?

Regards,

Roger
Click to expand...

For 1000$ you don't get a nice PC AND a 27' 2560x1440 IPS Display.
 
I switched over 4 yrs ago and have never looked back. I'm not an IT guy, I don't do design, I'm a simple grad student in nursing. The reason I switched was I was fed up with windows and all the problems it had. From the constant need to update antivirus and antispam and anti this and anti that. Then there was windows, with the constant registry problems to the corrupted random .dll files, and defragmenting the hard drive, etc. When I had to reinstall windows for the second time in a year I got my first mac. I've never looked back.
 
I chose a Mac over a PC back in 2006 when Vista was becoming the big thing. I was spending a bunch of time relearning the windows OS that when it was time to upgrade my wifes computer, I figured since she had to relearn the OS that she might as well try out Mac. I bought the white iMac and my wife was hooked. Then I upgraded the iMac as soon as the quad core came out.

I still use PCs but the home computers for the family are all Mac.
 
First computer was a G3. I have never owned a PC. All of my software is for my Mac. I have been happy with every Apple product I have owned. Couple problems, no more than any other electronic device I've owned and nothing so bad to make me switch.

I originally bought a G3 because I really liked the small community. I didn't really like how big Microsoft had become. Apple engineering was a big reason for me. They designed their machines to run their OS and it showed. It didn't just feel like a compter but a machine created by artists. There is something about the design of a Mac that is elegant and simple without the loss of complexity and sophistication that is required of a computer.......

......And since we are in the iMac forum, there isn't an all-in-one computer that can match the look of the iMac. Aesthetics may not be a selling point for many but for me it elevates Apple above the competition because they treat form and function equally. I still have not seen a PC that manages to nail the simplicity of a Mac/iMac. In fact the PC appears to be more about how many lights and buttons rather than the simplification of those lights and buttons. Yeah it's a computer but what about the artistry behind it?

There have only been a couple times that a piece of tech has blown my mind. The first time I pulled my G5 out of its box I crapped my pants. I doubt I'll ever switch to PC's. It just doesn't have the same appeal. I'm not an Apple loyalist but as of this moment I couldn't imagine owning anything but a Mac.

And to anyone that complains about price..... People buy what they want, not what they need. What I spend my money on is relevant to only me. Same for anyone else.
 
4 simple reasons

1. Product Quality
2. Apple Support
3. Well made applications
4. .... oh and you can run Windows on it too.

So the question really should be: Why would you choose a PC over a Mac?
 
My 2c worth:

A long time Windows and Linux user, I bought a Mac for the following reasons:

- Stable environment, less issues with incompatible drivers and the like - I just switch it on and use it.
- Development environment (XCode) - because development is what I spend most of my computer time doing.
- With Windows, every time a new O.S. came out I had to upgrade the hardware, not the case (yet anyway), with my macs.

Because Apple control the hardware and software, the systems are more stable. If Apple had licensed the O.S. like Windows, Apple would have the same issues as Microsoft does today.

Overall it seems that while Macs cost more, I get more out them because the 'whole package' is better suited to what I do and want. Not to say that's the case for everyone.
 
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