why I would NEVER buy a mac.

[Alphå]

I am a computer nerd. Before I could ride a bike I was programming in HTML. I can remember when 1gb was an unfathomable amount of data for a personal computer. I remember using non GUI operating systems.

Since I've been at college (most schools require laptops now) I've noticed that a lot of people are into macs.

Undoubtedly this is a product of Apple computer's ingenious marketing , as well as a rather socially unnoticed phenomenon called popularity.

Think Different is (or was) the slogan for apple computers for a while. This is exactly the reason why you shouldn't get a mac.

If you walk into any apple retail store you'll notice the unorthodox modern architecture and the guys in jeans and black t-shirts. To most people this might look like a nice setup. Its a little futuristic, and a bit fashionable. Think again. This is a marketing ploy. These people that work there do not decide to wear jeans and a t-shirt and the designers of the architecture did not decide to design it with a modern aspect.

In fact, when you walk into an Apple store you are looking at a MARKETING PLOY. They want to draw you in. If you look at the appearance of the Apple store as anything other then a marketing attempt, your mind is feeble enough to be sucked into their scheme. I recommend you continue reading.

Only one company manufactures Mac computers- Apple. This is bad- VERY bad. When only one company produces a certain product, innovation is cut short. When deciding to make an investment in a computer, something that costs thousands of dollars, you want to make sure you are getting the most bang for your buck.

Because Apple has no competitors for mac type computers, the prices are extraordinarily high. The top of the line Macbook-pro costs about $3,000 right now. You can buy a PC computer with the same theoretical specs as that high end mac, for about $1700 (and it comes with a free MX-518 mouse and backpack- ASUS G2S-A4 ).

Just because a mac's processor and memory ratings are similar, if not identical to other PC speeds and capacities does not mean they are equal. When choosing a processor, for example, its important you look at things like the bus speed, cache size, support for hyperthreading, 64 bit architecture, manufacturing technology (65nm or 45?), MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, EM64T, and the voltage (which will tell you how hot your computer will get).

Just because a Mac's Core 2 duo runs at 2.66ghz does not mean all of its specs are the same as a retail or OEM Intel E6750 (2.66ghz) processor. In other words, the Core 2 Duo processor they put in their Macbooks are not the same as the one you can buy in the store.

Same thing goes with the memory. Just because it says its DDR667, what are the RAM timings? Apple won't tell you, because its not up to par with its PC alternative- because there is no competition. so again you are paying more for less power.

Compatibility is almost not even an issue anymore. I bet in 10-20 years all computers will use the same programming languages. But for now, your going to see that there is a limited amount of mac programs and applications compared to the PC world.

The bottom line is- Macs are simple, and they are made for simple people. They only give you the basic specifications of their products, and if you investigate more thoroughly you'll see that you can get the same power or more for less money.

Essentially you are paying for looks.

When it comes down to it, most people say they like it for the operating system.

There is an alternative to both windows and mac that is growing every year, and in my opinion it is a supereor, more powerful OS. Its called linux, and its absolutely 100% free, just like 99% of the software made for it.

[CaliCoast]

Was this thread inspired by my hard drive crash?

I know a lot of Mac users who swear by Mac and PC users who swear by PC's. I am not a tech guru so I don't know all the ins and outs. I guess that great Mac marketing is designed for guys like me lol(sarcasm). But from what I understand, don't Macs have better reliability than the average PC. Hence, my hard drive problem, it seems that this is a common occurance.

[Jah_Zarathustra]

If macs are simple and made for simple people, how come they are the standard for graphic design and video post-production. Macs can do anything a Pc can do now because Macs can now run windows flawlessly. You cannot say that about a PC for a Mac. Macs are also way more secure. If you are interested at all in the new OS there is a great article in todays WSJ in the marketing section.

Anyways, a very thoughtful and interesting post.

Edit: also I think your statement about innovation being cut short is incorrect. Macs are way more innovative that PCs. The price factor I agree with you though. With no competition, there is no need to strive for the lowest price, because you already have it. Though, macs are designed much better than PCs.

[Alphå]

Originally Posted by Jah_Zarathustra

If macs are simple and made for simple people, how come they are the standard for graphic design and video post-production. Macs can do anything a Pc can do now because Macs can now run windows flawlessly. You cannot say that about a PC for a Mac. Macs are also way more secure. If you are interested at all in the new OS there is a great article in todays WSJ in the marketing section.

Edit: also I think your statement about innovation being cut short is incorrect. Macs are way more innovative that PCs. The price factor I agree with you though. With no competition, there is no need to strive for the lowest price, because you already have it. Though, macs are designed much better than PCs.

Why are they the standard for graphics design? Put it this way- what can a mac do that a PC can't? Like I said, they are marketed towards a certain type of person (artsy, fashionable pop culture people)... They are marketed towards artists! PC's are marketed to gamers and professionals... The medium is the massage.

You said that macs can now run windows... You have to understand that my post wasn't comparing the Mac OS with the Windows OS. I would say that the Mac OS is supereor if your going to compare it like that.

The reason why macs can now run windows is because Apple stopped using the stupid Motorolla CPU's and went with the more powerful Intel. But, as I've said, the Core 2 Duo you have in your macbook is still inferior to the C2D that you would buy in a store. And I'm pretty sure mac uses its own CPU socket, which complicates things (LGA-775 is supereor).

Mac hardware is vastly infereor to PC hardware. Go to www.newegg.com or www.tigerdirect.com or www.frys.com. These are the net's largest computer parts stores. Go to any one of those sites and compare the amount of upgrades for mac (which 80% will be sold by Apple), compared to the amount of upgrades you can get for a PC.

When I said macs are less innovative, I meant exactly what I said.

When you have a market where ASUS is competing with ACER and HP is competing with Dell, these companies are going to try to outdo each other. The competition is what drives innovation. In macs, there is simply no competition because they are all made by Apple Computers.

One last thing I want to make clear is games. PC gaming nowadays is the most resource intense thing you can do with a personal computer. Playing music takes up 24,000KB of my RAM. Playing BattleField 2 (which is now over 2 years old) takes up somewhere around 1,500,000KB. When loading resources my CPU (over clocked from 2.6 to 3.8ghz) rockets to 100% usage. If Macs had anywhere near the computing capability of PCs, then you would see games like Battlefield 2 or Call of Duty for mac. but you don't.

Reliability isn't even a hardware issue anymore since all computers work using similar technology. OSX is inherently more stable then Vista, which just came out.

I dual-boot Vista with a distro of Debian Linux and Linux blows both Vista and OSX out of the water with hydrogen bombs.

Thats not to say Vista is bad. I took 10 minutes when I first got a vista computer, disabled the firewalls and security features, and shut off numerous other services and I haven't looked back since.

[Bliz-NATI]

Originally Posted by Alphå

Why are they the standard for graphics design? Put it this way- what can a mac do that a PC can't? Like I said, they are marketed towards a certain type of person (artsy, fashionable pop culture people)... They are marketed towards artists! PC's are marketed to gamers and professionals... The medium is the massage.

You said that macs can now run windows... You have to understand that my post wasn't comparing the Mac OS with the Windows OS. I would say that the Mac OS is supereor if your going to compare it like that.

The reason why macs can now run windows is because Apple stopped using the stupid Motorolla CPU's and went with the more powerful Intel. But, as I've said, the Core 2 Duo you have in your macbook is still inferior to the C2D that you would buy in a store. And I'm pretty sure mac uses its own CPU socket, which complicates things (LGA-775 is supereor).

Mac hardware is vastly infereor to PC hardware. Go to www.newegg.com or www.tigerdirect.com or www.frys.com. These are the net's largest computer parts stores. Go to any one of those sites and compare the amount of upgrades for mac (which 80% will be sold by Apple), compared to the amount of upgrades you can get for a PC.

When I said macs are less innovative, I meant exactly what I said.

When you have a market where ASUS is competing with ACER and HP is competing with Dell, these companies are going to try to outdo each other. The competition is what drives innovation. In macs, there is simply no competition because they are all made by Apple Computers.

One last thing I want to make clear is games. PC gaming nowadays is the most resource intense thing you can do with a personal computer. Playing music takes up 24,000KB of my RAM. Playing BattleField 2 (which is now over 2 years old) takes up somewhere around 1,500,000KB. When loading resources my CPU (over clocked from 2.6 to 3.8ghz) rockets to 100% usage. If Macs had anywhere near the computing capability of PCs, then you would see games like Battlefield 2 or Call of Duty for mac. but you don't.

Reliability isn't even a hardware issue anymore since all computers work using similar technology. OSX is inherently more stable then Vista, which just came out.

I dual-boot Vista with a distro of Debian Linux and Linux blows both Vista and OSX out of the water with hydrogen bombs.

Thats not to say Vista is bad. I took 10 minutes when I first got a vista computer, disabled the firewalls and security features, and shut off numerous other services and I haven't looked back since.

Brilliant. I fucking hate mac's. I dont think macs are better for graphics, i think there operating system is stable, like most of that type of operating system, and its more universal than just a distro of unix or linux. meaning photoshop, 3ds max, etc. will run on the mac, and in some cases better due to windows crashing, not saving work, etc..

[Bliz-NATI]

Originally Posted by Alphå

Why are they the standard for graphics design? Put it this way- what can a mac do that a PC can't? Like I said, they are marketed towards a certain type of person (artsy, fashionable pop culture people)... They are marketed towards artists! PC's are marketed to gamers and professionals... The medium is the massage.

You said that macs can now run windows... You have to understand that my post wasn't comparing the Mac OS with the Windows OS. I would say that the Mac OS is supereor if your going to compare it like that.

The reason why macs can now run windows is because Apple stopped using the stupid Motorolla CPU's and went with the more powerful Intel. But, as I've said, the Core 2 Duo you have in your macbook is still inferior to the C2D that you would buy in a store. And I'm pretty sure mac uses its own CPU socket, which complicates things (LGA-775 is supereor).

Mac hardware is vastly infereor to PC hardware. Go to www.newegg.com or www.tigerdirect.com or www.frys.com. These are the net's largest computer parts stores. Go to any one of those sites and compare the amount of upgrades for mac (which 80% will be sold by Apple), compared to the amount of upgrades you can get for a PC.

When I said macs are less innovative, I meant exactly what I said.

When you have a market where ASUS is competing with ACER and HP is competing with Dell, these companies are going to try to outdo each other. The competition is what drives innovation. In macs, there is simply no competition because they are all made by Apple Computers.

One last thing I want to make clear is games. PC gaming nowadays is the most resource intense thing you can do with a personal computer. Playing music takes up 24,000KB of my RAM. Playing BattleField 2 (which is now over 2 years old) takes up somewhere around 1,500,000KB. When loading resources my CPU (over clocked from 2.6 to 3.8ghz) rockets to 100% usage. If Macs had anywhere near the computing capability of PCs, then you would see games like Battlefield 2 or Call of Duty for mac. but you don't.

Reliability isn't even a hardware issue anymore since all computers work using similar technology. OSX is inherently more stable then Vista, which just came out.

I dual-boot Vista with a distro of Debian Linux and Linux blows both Vista and OSX out of the water with hydrogen bombs.

Thats not to say Vista is bad. I took 10 minutes when I first got a vista computer, disabled the firewalls and security features, and shut off numerous other services and I haven't looked back since.

=D a fellow linux user. Hello!

Dont use it much anymore, haven't had time to do anything with my computer.

[madmike420]

At my college they have alot of mac labs, and idk but them macs seem to freeze and crash on me ALOT.

[primetime21335]

You realize like every specialty store has a theme designed to get you to be more interested in their product. It's not like some incredible deceptive scheme by apple, it's intelligent marketing... every one does it.

Plus Mac's service is rated like 10X better than anything else, and I for one can attest to how AWFUL Dell's service is. THEY DON'T EVEN HONOR THEIR FUCKING WARRANTIES!!!!! And yes, THIS IS TRUE. I wouldnt' say it if I didn't have personal experience with it. They gave us a fucked up CPU and wouldn't honor our warranty until my dad threatened to tell our local news station about it.

They kept us on the phone for literally days if you add up the hours. LITERALLY. They tried making us run the same scans over and over, and I'd be like: I JUST RAN THAT SCAN, I KNOW IT'S NOT THE PROBLEM I WANT TO TALK TO THE MANAGER. and then the manager stilll wouldn't give it to us!

I'll never buy a dell again.

True story.

[RedSorcerer]

I couldn't agree more.
Macs can burn in hell for all I care.

[What'sThatSmell]

Windows gave me so much trouble with '98 (One of the worst operating systems ever).
But, XP and I get along fairly well.

[pbmike15]

Originally Posted by primetime21335

You realize like every specialty store has a theme designed to get you to be more interested in their product. It's not like some incredible deceptive scheme by apple, it's intelligent marketing... every one does it.

Plus Mac's service is rated like 10X better than anything else, and I for one can attest to how AWFUL Dell's service is. THEY DON'T EVEN HONOR THEIR FUCKING WARRANTIES!!!!! And yes, THIS IS TRUE. I wouldnt' say it if I didn't have personal experience with it. They gave us a fucked up CPU and wouldn't honor our warranty until my dad threatened to tell our local news station about it.

They kept us on the phone for literally days if you add up the hours. LITERALLY. They tried making us run the same scans over and over, and I'd be like: I JUST RAN THAT SCAN, I KNOW IT'S NOT THE PROBLEM I WANT TO TALK TO THE MANAGER. and then the manager stilll wouldn't give it to us!

I'll never buy a dell again.

True story.

I'm going to go out on a limb here but I'm pretty sure Dell does not represent PC's.

[thesoftparade]

i didn't read any of it, but all i have to say is i agree, mac suck.

[Shalom Salaam]

http://finance.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:AAPL

That's all i'm saying...

[primetime21335]

Originally Posted by pbmike15

I'm going to go out on a limb here but I'm pretty sure Dell does not represent PC's.

Where did I say they did?

[XPiperX]

I pee on Macs and build my own shit. www.newegg.com ftw. Fuck Dell, fuck Compaq- Fuck every stock computer out there that over charges you by 200+ for some piece of shit put together in a factory that shits out on you after the first couple years of use. Build your own, save some money. Lot of money, usually.