Mac vs. PC

Hey all, thought I would try posting this here to see what your thoughts are on laptop computers.

My 19 year old son needs a computer for college, and of course, he wants it pretty quickly. I have really been studying computers the past few days. He just needs a computer for school work, and iTunes, and web browsing for the most part. I would appreciate any comments on either. Here is what I have learned so far.   

PC's: The Vista operating system takes up a lot of RAM, and can be problematic, so I have heard. However, PC's are much cheaper. More prone to virus attack as well.

Mac's: Easy to use, and mostly immune to viruses. Much more expensive. However, I did find a used G4 PowerBook for ~$400. My son is leaning toward that.

Any thoughts out there on the advantages of one vs. the other. Is it wise to buy a used computer? Any experiences (good or bad) with Vista? I have heard MS has a new operating system in the works, but, not sure when it will be released for full production.

Thanks!

Dave

Have one PC running Vista and have found it to be pretty stable, in fact the OS as a whole is much better then XP IMO.

Virus Protection Software is readily available for PC's and in many cases free from your service provider however more times then not it really will dog the machine down.

Is that true about MACs being mostly immune to viruses??

I'm a VP of IT and have spent my whole career wading through PCs and Macs in work and home life. In my opinion, the PC has no place in a private residence or at school. I like Microsoft's client/server architecture over the Macs but that's about where it ends. Macs cost a bit more but the hardware lasts forever and holds its value like nothing else out there. We have approximately 30 Macs at work which we purchased in 2005 and we don't even have to think about replacing them for a couple more years. Plenty of performance to spare, pumping out magazine pages every day with the latest versions of heavy-duty software like InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and the like. We just acquired a company with Mac G4 cubes from 2000, still running relatively recent software at a respectable performance level. PCs from that time period are typically at the recycling plant.

Also, keep in mind that with a Mac you're paying for outstanding software too. iPhoto, iMovie, Garage Band, iDVD, et al are all top-notch software packages that would cost thousands of dollars alone in the PC world and come bundled for free with your new Mac.

The latest Macs run on Intel chipsets which will run windows flawlessly with Bootcamp (which of course comes bundled with the Mac), which will allow you to run Windows and Mac OSX on the same computer with no problem. Best of both worlds. The extra money paid for the Mac is well worth it and you'll see it on the resale side as well. Check out prices for 5-10 year old Macs on eBay and you'll see what I mean. BKH is right on what he said as well.

I have had 10 computers since, but like my first poa.....i miss my I-MAC, it was fast and never once got a virus.....me niether BTW with the poa

When my daughter went to school in 2006, her college had a deal on a lap top that came with all the software she needed, a 4 year warrantee and on campus tech support. I could have bought a laptop cheaper at Staples, but thought this was a good deal as it left me out of the loop and and everything she's needed for it is right at school.

I'm now looking to buy a lap top for my son and hope his school has the same sort of deal.

As far as Vista goes, I got stuck having to buy a new computer in one day last December, (2nd time my mother board failed at about 3 years). I've found Vista is not hard to get adjusted to and my new computer has 5 times the RAM, but is not any faster. The big problem I've found is a lot of my software had to be upgraded, which cost me a lot more time and money than I anticipated.   

Dave, my wife and I "converted" from PC to Mac last fall. Not one regret. Maybe a bit more expensive up front, but not in the long run when you consider the machine's longevity and the liklihood of reduced expenses and headaches assoc. w/ system maint/downtime and recoveries due to pc security issues.

I ran Linux or Solaris with Open office on PCs for years. I did not even own a microsoft product until 2004. However, I don't think I'd recommend that route for a college kid. Too much Microsoft out there. It's just easier to use the tools that are found throughout your environment. BKH

Lots of good dialogue on computers! This is really helping me. Of course my son called me an hour ago and wants to know what "we" are doing with his computer, and can he get it tonight, etc, etc, etc. Of course, I am travelling and on the road and won't be home until late tomorrow.

After I told him the input you guys have provided, and based on his research, he is really ready to go Mac.

Regarding the Mac's, I did not realize that the older ones ran the Motorola chips. I will look for one that runs Intel.

Which operating system is better? I have come across Leopard, as well as OSX 10. Are they the same or different? Is one older/slower (like me), or newer/faster?

He is going to Eastern Illinois in the Fall. I think I will call their campus store to see what kind of deals and support they have.

Madcap wrote: You bought a Ski Nautique, right? Use the same reasoning.

^^^^ great response

If your'e unsure, cover it both ways....
Buy a Mac, Install Windows on it (software to do this included with the Mac) and run both operating systems and compare-- windows 7 is out now and you can try it for a year for free.

It won't take long.... dont worry, getting rid of the windows monster off your Mac is a simple task...

M3Fan wrote: Only Apple has (had) the guts to trash an entire platform and start from scratch with OS X! That move pissed a lot of people off who had to buy all new software but it was well worth it.

Well, not exactly. Sun Microsystems trashed Sun OS in favor of Solaris in the Mid 90s. It caused a huge uproar, but it was necessary to go to the next level in performance and reliability. Sun also spent billion ensuring backward compatibility of every version of Solaris thereafter. Hardware did not have to be compatible, but software did.

I would argue that Microsoft trashes the OS everytime it comes out with a new flavor. Pretty much everyone I know is looking at big upgrade or migration costs of their application packages if they make a decision to move to the latest release of the Microsoft OS.

BKH

Now that's funny Joel. You and I both know I can barely operate a computer. But, I have been in the business for years and lived through the OS change at Sun. BKH

Cary IL huh? Does your kid go to Cary-Grove? Search Chicago craigslist for only the word "Macbook". Should be plenty of solid sub-1000.00 offerings there. OSX Leopard + iLife 09 + iWork comes in one package for around 175 bucks so I wouldn't be terribly worried about the software. I'd just get the most horsepower Macbook or Macbook Pro that you can find.

#1 sounded OK but if it's Intel it should be called a Macbook.

The guy is misinformed and/or lying to you on several fronts.

The first generation Apple with Intel Chips were released in January 2006 and that was in the Mac Pro.

Apple has no exclusive agreement with Intel for use of the Pentium chip. Most of the world used the pentium chip. Apple did decide that it would move forward exclusively with the Intel chip as opposed to the IBM/Motorola chip it has used for years.

I would stay far away from this used computer.

BKH

Dave, Talked to my son last night, he has a Mac Book Pro 2.4g with iWork. Absolutely loves it. Only thing he said to think about was to get the microsoft office package instead of Iwork as it's a little easier to open files than import and convert them, not a big deal but thought it should be mentioned. The price included the laptop, software and a four year warranty that included everything even if it's dropped it gets repaired or replaced.

I'm not very proficiant on a Mac but when I use it I feel like I'm driving a ferrari then I get back on pc laptop and strap into the horse and buggy.