mac or PC

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

I am considering a new laptop and have always had PC's, (Dell, HP) but am considering a change??

Anyone have experience of macs?

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

I'll be mostly doing presentations that hook up to a projector and pics/video stuff, and of course word and excel files.

Sharing? moi....no way I'm keeping them to myself.

[Jon H]

A mac is the ideal thing to wear for doing completely non-PC things in the park.

[Andrew G]

I have always had Macs, used to have an indigo iMac, now have an iBook. The one I have is a few years old now using a G3 processor but still works beautifully.

Despite being a huge Mac fan, and would stick with them, I voted for PC as reading what you will need it would be more likely that you will be able to hook up to other people's equipment (fnarr, fnarr) more easily.

My Dad always used Macs (in journalism and publishing) so I was able to share programs with him easier. iTunes is avaible on PCs now so you can use that anyway. I use Photoshop (full version) but you get photo editing software (Photoshop Elements is very good and cheap if you don't have it) for both PC and Mac too.

The Microsoft Office applications can be used and shared between Macs and PCs so there would be no problems which ever way you went. There are some programs which don't work on Macs, e.g. Microsoft Access, but not many these days you just need to find out if it would be any that you'd use.

Macs tend to be more robust regarding crashing etc, and have a very nice operating system which is a doddle to use and far more pleasing on the eye. They also don't get caught by viruses much as the virus writers go for PCs so they hit more people.

Macs are more expensive, but you pay peanuts.....

I would always go with a Mac for personal use, but if it is to be taken out and about and you are reliant on other equipment then a PC may make your life easier. If it is all USB or S-Video conections then it shouldn't make any odds though. I can hook my iBook through a cable (supplied with machine) to an S-Video lead and plug straight in to the tele.

Sean, don't know about card upgrades in Mac laptops (can be done easily in the desktops) as I've never had to do it. The "stuff in the box" is good enough to run everything I've ever tried so not been an issue. When I bought mine I made sure it had a good graphics card etc (you can specify when buying to upgrade from standard fit) and maximum RAM, although that is easy to do at any time just by clipping the keyboard off.

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

Mr Hemming. you need to get out more.....LOL

thanks Andrew, I feel there may be a steer on the conversation tonight mac or no mac

[MJ_1993]

agreed. It still has bugs.

[Andrew G]

I'm still using 10.3.9 on my iBook. Haven't upgraded as I have a fair bit of software that runs well and don't want upgrade costs.

[MJ_1993]

I am using a mac atm. Its pretty good and runs smoothly. I also feel that the new mac (leopard?) would be a good investment as it addresses all the problems with the former system such as desktop clutter. Whereas Vista and office 2007, is really an attempt at generating some more sales. Especially when they are using customers as a way of finding bugs.

[Paul on the Pearson]

Ones well made, classy and works well, the other one looks cheap and plasticky. Mmmm... where have I hear'd that before.
Get a mac.

[Snoop Doug]

I use Vista on my nice new sony vaio. To be honest I thought the salesman said vesta - and so I came over all nostalgic like for those dried curry in a box disaster areas. Imagine my disapopintment when I got home and found out that what he meant was a sh*te operating system designed by Microspiv. My lovely photo printer won't talk to my lovely laptop and I think I'm gonna cry!

[George]

GET A MAC

[Alex P]

mmmm....

I work in an IT department of a company that has over 3000 PCs and one "arty" department that demands to use Macs or they cannot do their jobs.....

Our outsource company charges us double to support them as:

a) They always top the league table with the most problems
b) A nightmare to find people to support them effectivily
c) Take ages to get fixed
d) Always have connectivity problems
e) Expensive parts

Now that is from a company perspective on a personal level great for playing music, looking at pictures and they do look good

[John the old'un]

Have been using Vista Home Premium since February.
Mo is dead right. It still has bugs but when they get it all sorted it will be a really good operating system.
Main problem seems to be drivers for peripherals. Even some Microsoft products didnt have driver updates for Vista.
My HP printer still has driver problems despite them trying to cure the "hiccup".

[Snoop Doug]

Georga - I would've got a mac, but just as I made the mistake about vesta versus vista, I was under the impression that macs were in fact greasy stack burger type lardy chosser things. If only I'd known eh...

[MJ_1993]

Microsoft brought it out early because they needed to generate revenue. So attempting by maximising revenue and profit, they cut out the testing part, and they are essentially asking the customer to work for them.

Well thats my take on it

Georga-lol