Mac VS PC

[stphnman20]

I say get the Mac and install bootcamp.. So you have both OS X and Windows..

[Invicta]

PC

Performance
Compatibility with Third-Party Options (Software/Hardware)
Bang for your Buck
Hackability for us geeks

MAC

Hardware Design
Cool Factor
Semi-Closed/Controlled System generally means less stuff breaking on the software side
Smaller target for viruses/malware

Toss Up

UI (This used to be a more in the MAC camp but I would argue Windows 7 has caught back up)


Just my humble opinion. I use Windows 7 and have dabbled in Linux. My time spent with MACs has been short.

Just think about what you might be able to spend that ~$400 you save such as software, accessories or unrelated stuff like firearms, heh. For me, the perks of a MAC have never been justified by the premium. I have worked in IT for the last 8 years and messed around with computers for the last 16 years.

I would probably recommend my mother or grandmother get a MAC. I hear artists/design people love them. I think it is a left brain/right brain thing.

Something else to note is that Steve Jobs hates Adobe Flash so you might want to avoid giving him more money to kill it off.

[StephenhDMRS]

Invicta is right about Flash. Apple is anti flash. The new ipad didn't even have flash(it might now with an update). But for YOUR purposes, a windows PC is the way to go. As I said before, games are created on windows for windows.

In regards to HP, there just as many bad apples as mac has. Toshiba is great to though. My gf has had her laptop for 5+ years now. NO problems at all. It's a great laptop.

[jkcerda]

Invicta is right about Flash. Apple is anti flash. The new ipad didn't even have flash(it might now with an update). But for YOUR purposes, a windows PC is the way to go. As I said before, games are created on windows for windows.

In regards to HP, there just as many bad apples as mac has. Toshiba is great to though. My gf has had her laptop for 5+ years now. NO problems at all. It's a great laptop.

thanks, seems Toshiba will be my work horse.

[amd64]

If you're doing Flash work, get a laptop with an i7 CPU and Win7 64-bit and don't look back.

The only reason I could justify spending money for a MAC would be to run MAC-specific apps.

Check out the ASUS barebones laptops; they can be spec'd up to your needs. Companies like http://www.xoticpc.com/ can do this.

If you get a laptop from a large vendor like HP, Dell, etc., request a copy of the original Win7 install disk. When you get the machine, do an image copy of the original factory install, then reinstall Windows, necessary drivers, security package, and you'll be good to go. The factory OS installs from the large vendors are polluted with crapware/adware/bloatware. Just keep the image copy of the factory install in case of warranty claims.

[Zomgie]

Another +1 for a Mac.

I'm a Linux guy. Before my current Mac (Macbook Pro 15") I had a Dell laptop with SUSE on it. At home I have a Windows machine for computer games.

First off, there are a lot of reasons I like the Mac. Having terminal access to a bash shell is pretty high on my list, considering I do a lot of scripting and network activities. Even from a non-UNIX point of view, the Mac Just Works (tm). The quality of everything is top notch. I can't remember the last time my computer 'crashed'.

Also, the argument that Mac are more expensive isn't as true as you'd think. Oh, yes, they're definitely expensive. However, when you get down to it and really look at all the hardware they put in there you'd have a hard time building a comparable non-Apple machine for the same price. Check out this article: http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...t_all_add_up_?

My current laptop is work provided. If I didn't have one given to me? Well, I don't have a lot of extra cash... So I'd probably throw Ubuntu on an old Dell laptop and start saving. Because really, my Macbook is the best machine I've ever used.

[stphnman20]

thanks, seems Toshiba will be my work horse.

I have a 4+ yr old Toshiba. Survived 2 tours in iraq and still going strong. But I'm going to give Mac a whirl and see how it holds up.

[nick]

found a decent compromise

http://www.frys.com/product/6131299;jsessionid=EgAewpfmFC19gXKuhDxz2A**.node2?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

heard plenty of horror stories on the HP

The only issue is the 5400rpm hard drive. I'd get a 7200rpm drive (well, I'd actually get it with full encryption, but that's a matter of preference. You can get a 500GB 7200rpm Seagate with FDE for about $140 these days), or an SSD drive, but those are pricey and the quality/speed is uneven between brands still. You're right about HPs, they've been plagued by a lot of issues in the last decade or so.

[Californio]

I am bilingual, started out before the PC existed, with Mini's and some Mainframe code. Altair 8088, Basic OS (written by Gates and friends), CPM, MS-Dos, Windows, Xenix, NT, Unix, OSX. I had an Intel development machine (386) $10K, 8 megs of memory was $3K. My first 10meg disk drive was $10K and weighed 150lbs. Times do change.

I got over my dog is better than your dog years ago.

Family has 4 OSX laptops and they work just fine. I use MS-Office but try to not use any thing else. I have an old P4 running XP for programing radios and just because, Apple offers me a better integrated solution.

[paul0660]

You have heard of FUD...........well, THIS

It's the User Experience.

is what we call Steve's Flavor-aid. And yes our household has both.

[Dankle]

That said, they do make very, very slick machines. I wouldn't give it away if someone gave me one, but I can't justify spending the money on one when I could buy an Alienware instead.

I would sell it and keep my PC. Then I would buy a new gun with the proceeds of the MAC.

I have played with MAC laptops for a couple years now (have to use one for work) and found that I prefer Windows based systems. I can't even remember the last time I had a virus/malware problem on my PC's and I surf some questionable sites.

[JohanD]

PC

More games, more applications. Always been that way.

Nowdays macs use the same hardware also, just a different OS.

[jkcerda]

The only issue is the 5400rpm hard drive. I'd get a 7200rpm drive (well, I'd actually get it with full encryption, but that's a matter of preference. You can get a 500GB 7200rpm Seagate with FDE for about $140 these days), or an SSD drive, but those are pricey and the quality/speed is uneven between brands still. You're right about HPs, they've been plagued by a lot of issues in the last decade or so.

found better HD, Video card and more mem for the extra 150

http://www.frys.com/product/6132099

[erblo]

If you get a laptop from a large vendor like HP, Dell, etc., request a copy of the original Win7 install disk. When you get the machine, do an image copy of the original factory install, then reinstall Windows, necessary drivers, security package, and you'll be good to go. The factory OS installs from the large vendors are polluted with crapware/adware/bloatware. Just keep the image copy of the factory install in case of warranty claims.

Another thing you don't have to deal with on Macs.

[nick]

found better HD, Video card and more mem for the extra 150

http://www.frys.com/product/6132099

Everything looks good but the display resolution. You'll appreciate 1920x1080, trust me, especially with that big video card. At some point you'll want to get a 9-cell battery, too. That CPU is a power hog, for a mobile CPU, but that's something you can get later.

Also, you might want to find something with LED display (although due to the shortage of LED panels it might be expensive, the best time to buy those was half a year ago) and with a Gigabit NIC, but those aren't necessarily deal-breakers. Do look into Dell XPSs on Dell Outlet. When you go there, keep in mind that Ebay sellers add pretty much all the laptops available at the time to their cart and then decide what to buy. Once they're done, the remaining laptops are released from their cart. So you might see 120 laptops available, then refresh it and see 2 available laptops, then refresh it again and see 40, and so on. You might have to do a lot of refreshing before you find the laptop you want for the price you want. It may be worth it in the end though. I bought a laptop I mentioned in one of my previous posts for about $1000 with shipping (but before tax, and Dell does charge the tax in CA), and then added 3 more years of warranty and accident protection/insurance for about $400 or so. The only thing lacking was the hard drive (250GB 5400rpm), but that wasn't important to me since I use my own hard drives.

Since you dab in programming, you can write a script that does the refreshing for you and looks for specific parameters for your laptop, and emails you if it finds anything, and then adds it to your cart. I used WhatsUp Gold (the monitoring system I use) to run the script every minute, and would then check the cart once I get the email. Found the laptop I wanted for the price I wanted (below what I was willing to pay, actually) after about 5 hours or so of running that script.