First off, this isn't a thread to decide which is better, neither is. It's a thread to discuss the pros and cons of both OSSes
Instead of fighting in other threads about it, where it can come off as hostile, lets discuss it here. I think it's a topic that can be safely discussed, but must be done in the correct place.
I use a Mac because it lets me have all the power of Unix and the ability to tinker with Unix type stuffs all I want while, but when I'm mad at it I can just close the terminal window and use a beautiful, easy to use, well designed OS. Even if everybody did switch to Mac virusses would still be rather rare. Mac, PC or other there has to be a weak point for a virus to attack.
Software can be more expensive but it depends on what you are doing. It's gotten to the point that most people don't need third party software for their Mac, as it comes with an excellent Mail app, scheduling app, movie editing app, photo editing and management...but depending on what you plan on doing the Mac software could actually end up being cheaper than the PC. It's a case by case thing.
I've looked at lots of benchmarks and have decited that (Except maybe with the new G5) it's sixes. You can set up a benchmark to favor either side, and even then it's usually not by that much. I don't care if it takes 3 more seconds to apply a filter to a 300 MB Photoshop file on the Mac, I deal with 3 MB files and it takes a lot of .03 seconds to add up to any real time saved, plus I feel that I easily regain that .03 seconds in less OS crashes, better handing of app crahses, and just having an OS that is easier to work with and just snappier overall.
1 of my 2 issues with the Mac was that I couldn't sync my PocketPC, but some software has just come out that allows me to do just that.
The other is that I want to be an engineer and the industry de facto cad software, mainly AutoCad, doesn't run on Mac. Ok, so I get an older, slightly slower PC to do my AutoCAD homework on. Shouldn't need to upgrade it within the next 10 years because all I'll do on it is CAD. USB KVM switch means all I need is the box, Mac input devices work with Windows and Logitech input devices, my keyboards and mice of choice, happen to work with the Mac too. Also, the awesome pure number crunching power of the G5 gives me hope that maybe Autodesk will see it worthwhile to release AutoCAD for Mac some day.
I don't game. If I gamed it might be a different story. The few games that I play and have loved for life happen to be ones that, until recently, were only on Mac. Most of them have been ported to Windows now but the Mac version remains superior.
Like benchmarks, I won't bring hardware costs into the equation. Fact of the matter is that PowerMacs are very upgradable and all the Macs tend to depreciate much much slower than their PC counterparts. My 450 Mhz Mac does great with audio and video editing and such. You try and do video editing on a 450 Mhz PC, bet you won't last long /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Instead of fighting in other threads about it, where it can come off as hostile, lets discuss it here. I think it's a topic that can be safely discussed, but must be done in the correct place.
I use a Mac because it lets me have all the power of Unix and the ability to tinker with Unix type stuffs all I want while, but when I'm mad at it I can just close the terminal window and use a beautiful, easy to use, well designed OS. Even if everybody did switch to Mac virusses would still be rather rare. Mac, PC or other there has to be a weak point for a virus to attack.
Software can be more expensive but it depends on what you are doing. It's gotten to the point that most people don't need third party software for their Mac, as it comes with an excellent Mail app, scheduling app, movie editing app, photo editing and management...but depending on what you plan on doing the Mac software could actually end up being cheaper than the PC. It's a case by case thing.
I've looked at lots of benchmarks and have decited that (Except maybe with the new G5) it's sixes. You can set up a benchmark to favor either side, and even then it's usually not by that much. I don't care if it takes 3 more seconds to apply a filter to a 300 MB Photoshop file on the Mac, I deal with 3 MB files and it takes a lot of .03 seconds to add up to any real time saved, plus I feel that I easily regain that .03 seconds in less OS crashes, better handing of app crahses, and just having an OS that is easier to work with and just snappier overall.
1 of my 2 issues with the Mac was that I couldn't sync my PocketPC, but some software has just come out that allows me to do just that.
The other is that I want to be an engineer and the industry de facto cad software, mainly AutoCad, doesn't run on Mac. Ok, so I get an older, slightly slower PC to do my AutoCAD homework on. Shouldn't need to upgrade it within the next 10 years because all I'll do on it is CAD. USB KVM switch means all I need is the box, Mac input devices work with Windows and Logitech input devices, my keyboards and mice of choice, happen to work with the Mac too. Also, the awesome pure number crunching power of the G5 gives me hope that maybe Autodesk will see it worthwhile to release AutoCAD for Mac some day.
I don't game. If I gamed it might be a different story. The few games that I play and have loved for life happen to be ones that, until recently, were only on Mac. Most of them have been ported to Windows now but the Mac version remains superior.
Like benchmarks, I won't bring hardware costs into the equation. Fact of the matter is that PowerMacs are very upgradable and all the Macs tend to depreciate much much slower than their PC counterparts. My 450 Mhz Mac does great with audio and video editing and such. You try and do video editing on a 450 Mhz PC, bet you won't last long /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
