Have you ever thought about Apple (Mac)?

[MrNase]

After using Windows from 95 to XP SP2 I switched to an Intel iMac shortly after the first version was shipped.
I had concerns at first because everyone told me that I'll be left alone without any good software because the majority is Windows-only but so far I haven't missed any software (well, I do miss Photoshop CS2 but CS3 will be nice!).

What Sergio68 said is absolutely true.
I must admit, I was one of those who tried to get the best out of XP with numerous tools but when you use a Mac you don't need to. It simply works and you don't have to care about anything.

I am really looking forward to the next version of Mac OS.

[GreekieGurli]

I've thought about it twice. I applied for the Apple Credit card the first time, got approved and when I got the card I ended up buying an HP computer instead with the card.

About a year later I thought about it again, applied for a second Apple credit card, got approved, got the card and decided against using it to buy a computer. A few months later, I bought another HP laptop.

I just don't like that Macs are far more expensice for what you get. The last laptop I bought in December came with 2GB of ram and a 120GB HD all for just about $1200, can't get that with a mac.

[Sergio68]

I've thought about it twice. I applied for the Apple Credit card the first time, got approved and when I got the card I ended up buying an HP computer instead with the card.

About a year later I thought about it again, applied for a second Apple credit card, got approved, got the card and decided against using it to buy a computer. A few months later, I bought another HP laptop.

I just don't like that Macs are far more expensice for what you get. The last laptop I bought in December came with 2GB of ram and a 120GB HD all for just about $1200, can't get that with a mac.

Ok, they just look nice, they are expensive, bla, bla, but...

... have you ever tried to work only a Mac for more than a month ?

[GreekieGurli]

Ok, they just look nice, they are expensive, bla, bla, but...

... have you ever tried to work only a Mac for more than a month ?

No I have never used one. If I could get in a Mac what I could in a PC, I would have bought one a year and a half ago. Again my point is that I can get a lot more PC than I could a Mac.

[Cromulent]

A Macbook Pro is actually cheaper than a Dell Laptop with the same sort of specs (by about $400). People saying that Macs are always more expensive than PCs is just wrong nowadays.

http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/02/14/pricecomparison2/index.php

[Wayne Luke]

Dells are kind of expensive as well. Unless you want the brand name or the support for your business (their consumer support is actually getting kind of bad) then no reason buying it. I can get what Dell offers for half the price at a local computer store, custom built with better expandability. I also don't void my warranty if I open the case to add to the machine and don't have to worry about proprietary parts that I can only get from Dell at inflated prices.

Dells are good computers and if I was running a network in an office, they are what I would get but again the consumer/home user is going to go to Best Buy, Circuit City or the local computer store and get what they see as the best value for their dollar. If you want to be able to run the thousands of titles those stores stock then it will be a Windows-based PC usually at hundreds of dollars cheaper than you can find at either Dell's or Apple's website.

In the end though it comes down to personal choice. You choose to use Macintosh. You feel safe, secure, warm-fuzzies from buying Apple products. I use Windows because of choice. For me it is easier to use and integrate within my house and provides a standard platform for the entire network of computers my family uses supporting games written all the way back in the early 90s to the latest blockbuster hits as well as any productivity software we can think of. Maybe if I was a graphic editor or a Musician, I would think otherwise but I am not. I am just a computer user who enjoys listening to MP3s, watching DVDs (in any room of the house), playing games and doing my work in an environment that is comfortable to me.

[MJM]

In the end though it comes down to personal choice. You choose to use Macintosh. You feel safe, secure, warm-fuzzies from buying Apple products.

That's the same effect I get when imbibing Scrumpy ( fermented cider based drink)
I stepped into the computer world late in life (2000) when I moved into an Apple household. I'm hooked, line and sinker for reasons already stated but biased because I've never had a PC experience beyond 5 mins.
Price has never been a problem because my Mac tech provides me with a discounted slightly used Mac with all the bells and whistles that I'd ever need.

[Sergio68]

No I have never used one. If I could get in a Mac what I could in a PC, I would have bought one a year and a half ago. Again my point is that I can get a lot more PC than I could a Mac.

So, you haven't tried, ever, but you are sure that is bad. Lucky that we are not talking about sex

[TigerGuide]

have you ever thought about Apple/Mac?

Yes, Mac's can be pricey but that depends on what you purchase on top of the 'basic package'. My G4 laptop has gone practically everywhere with me , even to Mexico! For photo editing and graphics work, I haven't found anything that compares to CS2!

TigerGuide

[Jake Bunce]

You might as well argue coke and pepsi. The arguments presented in these threads are all subject to personal preference. Both sides systematically dismiss even the most definitive of platform arguments in the name of personal preference.

Note that no one in this thread has asked which platform is better, so there is no point to this discussion other than to convince yourselves and others. To argue a point of personal preference for that purpose to the degree seen in these threads is rather selfimportant.

[MJM]

... Note that no one in this thread has asked which platform is better ...

Which platform is better?

[Sergio68]

Which platform is better?

It probably depends on what you want/have to do.

IMHO:

Work, generally speaking, Mac should be better.
Server related job, may be a Linux OS is better.
Play around with your PC, than windows is the choice.

[cirisme]

If Macs are so good then why is it 94% of the people that own computers own PCs?
You take the school districts that use Macs out of the picture and that 6% would drop.
I'm being liberal with 6%. I have seen numbers as low as 2 1/2%
No matter how you spin it Macs are still only used by a minority and a small minority at that. Although they are very vocal and never has there ever been any group that is more loyal.

How can market-share determine anything else other than popularity? It can't, in and of itself, tell you what is "good", "better", "best".

Of course, your post assumes there is an overall better and worse, which I think is a false presumption. What is best for you may not be best for me. So I really don't see your point as being all that relevant.

[cirisme]

Ok, since everyone else is, I will throw my 2¢ in. As I was telling a friend I can get a legal copy of Vista Business Edition for free (MSDNAA) but I have have passed. I also have a couple free licenses of XP through MSDNAA that I can install and use. (though I did download it for the novelty of trying out VMWare Fusion)

But I pass on it. I am very familiar with XP, and have been following the development of Vista (I use and support both extensively at work) and none of it really appeals to me. I remarked to a friend I'd rather spend $130 on Leopard than use a free copy of Vista as my primary operating system. Does that mean that my decision is right for everyone? Of course not. But it's right, and best, for me. No need for me to feel left out, I know what Windows offers and it's not right for me. Doesn't mean it's not right for someone else.

Why is it right for me? Applications like Quicksilver, Growl, Mail, Adium, iCal, iPhoto, OmniOutliner are just a few things that come immediately to mind. The independent shareware market for OS X is extremely rich in OS X. Certainly there are niches that are pretty lackluster (gaming comes to mind) but I am not in those niches so I do not mind, and the few times I do need a Windows niche app (one at work I occasionally use is an example) I find it sufficient to open VMWare. (though this is rare) Perhaps someone else is not in that boat. So be it, to what extent OS X fulfills their needs doesn't change the extent OS X fills mine.

I'm sure no one would think less of Windows when I say it doesn't fit my needs, why should anyone think less of OS X when you say it doesn't fit your needs? It's silly really.

Further, OS X and Apple's Macs are definitely a niche market. So is the market for building your own computers. And buying lower spec computers. And medium. And high end. And whatever.

Now if we define "good" as getting the most market share over all of these different niches, then obviously Microsoft's approach is doing a pretty fantastic job.

But this is a really useless way to define "good". If I were buying a high end computer, the fact that Windows' licensing makes it easy for companies to sell bottom-end computers has absolutely no effect on me. It doesn't make the OS better or worse for me. Really, the only time to consider the niche when deciding your platform is when you need to figure out what options are available to you. If you build your own computer than OS X is precluded from your selection. You can call it a bad business decision if you want, but that doesn't make OS X bad for me if I buy in the high end market.

And again, especially with AWS' comment, it seems really silly to tie how good a product is with how popular it is. It is popular there is a correlation, but there are so many factors it's a worthless endeavor to isolate it to being Windows=Awesome, OS X=Teh Suck. But even if we take the market share approach, this goes back to what I was saying before, if I find Windows unsuitable for my needs, it wouldn't affect the suitability of Windows for your needs, would it? And vice versa. And the same holds true if 1 person finds Windows unsuitable, or thousands. Your like or dislike for OS X, even if that is multiplied out to the full 94%, really has no bearing on whether or not my os suits my needs. Obviously that 6%, 2% or somewhere in-between is a sufficient market that we get tons of fabulous OS X-only software that is of incredibly high quality, and that is really the only extent that market share has anything to do with the selection of the os: does it have the apps you need and the level of quality you need them? For me, OS X does. Maybe for you, no. It's okay, really, use the os that makes you smile and enjoy using a computer everyday, and for me that is definitely not Windows. If Vista or XP make you smile and enjoy computing, more power to you, that is how I feel about OS X.

It's a personal preference. There is no singular "best" or "worst" os. Some os'es are have certain niches that they fill really well, but even then there can be specific instances where one OS is better suited than another.

So I guess I don't see what all the fuss is about. If you like it, good, if not, well then we should all be glad we get to personally choose this stuff, right?

[cirisme]

I can't believe I wrote so much just to point out the patently obvious.

Why does everything have to be such a drama? Not pointing fingers or anything cause I have been guilty of it as well, but why don't we live and let live?