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PC or not to PC, that is the Question


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#1
gunn1

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My trusty Acer-Which I use for work (truck mounted) is still running, but getting slower. I have been Looking and talking with people regarding their reviews of laptops and what they prefer.
What I am finding is, no concensus. It just seems what you like, you like. So with that out of the way I am getting down to Operating systems,PC Vs Mac. I do not want to start anything, but what do you beleive to be the better system? I know one thing, and that is Apple's are more expensive than their competition in comparison to screen sizes, Memory, Ect. Why is this the case? Are they truly worth the extra Dough ray me.

Thanks

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#2
Crowbar

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While it all comes down to personal preference, in my household, budget trumps all. I just picked up a nice 64 bit dual core laptop with 4 gigs of ram for under $400. I don't think you can find even a used mac for that kind of money.

Edited by Crowbar6761, 26 March 2011 - 08:23 AM.

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#3
Cold Titanium

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In this case you can't really just say "Mac is better than PC" or vise versa. As Crowbar pointed out, it all comes down to personal preference.

In my experience, Macs have been super sleek and shiny and EXTREMELY expensive. The base models usually start at a bare minimum of $700

A lot of recording artists tout the "oh it's designed for recording and multimedia people!" Personally, I've not had a single problem recording with Vista or Win7 on 2-year old hardware(an HP laptop).

They're supposed to be more stable and have fewer errors than windows. This has held true for most of the time in my limited time with a Mac.

You say "truck mounted" I'm guessing that means it is a work laptop. One note: Apple computers seem to make a more attractive target for thieves than just a normal laptop.

You could go through 2-4 laptops before paying for one Mac. I've never been able to justify those prices and I probably will never buy a Mac. For that kind of extra money, I could get a super powerful laptop.
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#4
gunn1

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Thanks for all the replies to this post. Well so far it is not looking so good for Apple recommendations.

I once read somewhere from a laptop Guru that he Owned alot of Apple stock because for some reason people buy the over priced stuff like lemmings,causing the profits to be higher than other PC based computer companies. This same individual said he owns and uses a PC based system. Still their MUST be a reason why Apple can garner the money they do.

I'm just not sure

Gunn1
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#5
Cold Titanium

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Still their MUST be a reason why Apple can garner the money they do.


A good marketing department and good designers. Most people get Macs just because it's the "thing" going. It's a fad. A really really expensive fad.
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#6
hfcg

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Just for fun,
PC stands for "programable controler"
ALL micro computers are programable controlers.
A MAC is a PC.
:D

A friend of mine uses a MAC for his music, and a windows based for his day to day computing.
But he has a LOT of money.....
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#7
gunn1

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Thanks for clarifying that point.

Gunn1
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#8
Spyderturbo007

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I just have to dispute the "fanboy" comments in this thread. :D

Keep in mind, since the introduction of Windows 95, I've always owned PC's so I wasn't a "fanboy". The Macbook Air was my first Mac and bought it on the recommendation of my best friend. He had one and was able to explain to me why he thought they were better. I trusted him, so I gave it a shot.

I have one of each, a Windows laptop and a Macbook Air. I picked up the Air when it came out a couple years ago and can't say enough good things about it compared to my Dell laptop. It's very light, ultra portable and the battery seems to last forever compared to the Windows based machine. It's much faster, even though the system specs are technically lower for the Air.

It boots in about 20s and shuts down in under 2s. The screen kicks the crap out of any other laptop I've ever owned and the Air is very quiet when powered up. Even with the fan running at full speed, you can't really even hear it. When you pick it up, it seems sturdier than the Dell even though it's much lighter. I'm assuming that has to do with the all aluminum uni body construction.

The charger for the Air is a mag lock, so if someone walks by and kicks the cord while it's charging it just pops off without doing any damage. The charger is also a much better design than the bricks that come with most PC's. It's about the size of my wallet and adds to the portability of the Macbook Air.

Another thing I really like is the cost of OSX upgrades. I was shocked at the price of the upgrade from Leopard (OSX v10.5) to Snow Leopard (OSX v10.6). Apple charged $29 for the upgrade and that included shipping of the disks. That and there is only one version for your home / work computer, so no messing around with choosing which version to buy like you have to with Windows. ;)

OSX also natively controls the cores in the CPU unlike it's Windows counterpart. With Windows, the program you are running has to support the use of multiple cores. So you can have a quad core processor and if the program doesn't support it's use, then the other cores are just sitting there with nothing to do. On the other hand, OSX does this within the OS. So the programs don't have to support multiple cores as the OS makes sure you're getting full use out of your hardware.

I feel that OSX is far superior to any of the Windows versions I've used and other than the transitional learning curve, I can't say anything negative. I was surprised at how everything just seemed to work right out of the box. Its automatically detected my wifi connection the first time I booted and asked if I wanted to connect. Right after that it found my desktop PC, my NAS and asked if I wanted to connect to the shares. After it connected to the desktop, it asked if I wanted to install the drivers for the shared printer attached to the desktop. I said yes, and viola' it installed the drivers. No disk, no downloads, nothing.

The think "just freakin' works". :D

Don't get me wrong, they are more expensive, but I think it's worth the cost. The one thing you do want to check is the availability of software when it comes to the Mac. I haven't run into the problem, but have heard of others looking for software that was PC only. But, with their market share increasing, it's becoming easier to find things these days.

Edited by Spyderturbo007, 30 March 2011 - 09:45 AM.

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#9
stettybet0

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Just for fun,
PC stands for "programable controler"
ALL micro computers are programable controlers.
A MAC is a PC.
:D

You mean personal computer? I don't think either a Mac or a computer running Windows would qualify as a programmable controller.

If you are using the computer for work, getting a Windows computer is probably the best choice. Depending on your line of work, you may be running software that is only available for Windows. And, of course, the most obvious reason is the price:performance advantage it would have over a Mac. There's a reason why you (almost) never see an office full of Macs... if a Windows computer can do the same thing for cheaper, it just doesn't make financial sense to pay a premium for a name.
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#10
hfcg

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Microcomputers, PC's, are programable controllers.
The term "personal computer" was coined to bypass government regulation on import export of computers.
While the term personal computer has been used and is accepted in everyday life PC 's are programable controllers.
My arguement is that a MAC and a Windows based machine are both PC's.
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#11
stettybet0

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While I completely agree with your statement that Macs are a type of PC, I cannot find anything on the Internet that supports your claim that the terms "microcomputer" and "programmable controller" are interchangable. All references to "programmable controller" show that the term is more commonly "programmable logic controller", and it refers to a specialized computer that is used for the automation of electromechanical processes. So, while it would be correct to say that a programmable controller is a microcomputer (being that the definition of microcomputer is "a computer with a microprocessor as its central processing unit"), it would be incorrect to label all microcomputers as programmable controllers. A "personal computer", on the other hand, is any computer which is intended to be directly operated by the end-user for "personal" use. Therefore, I think it would be much more prudent to label Macs and computers running Windows as personal computers, rather than programmable controllers.

Also, the term "personal computer" was first coined by Henry Edward Roberts in 1975 in a print ad for his Altair 8800 microcomputer. The Altair 8800 was produced and sold exclusively in the United States, so it seems doubtful that the term was developed to avoid any trade restrictions.
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#12
gunn1

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Boy you guys/gals make my head spin!!I LIKE IT!! I do not know if I should start another post on other laptop possibilities and what you think as to pros and cons.

Like Toughbook or Gammatech or the Toshiba Quosimo. also refurbished versis new. what do you think? new subject or continuing with this thread?

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#13
Crowbar

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Boy you guys/gals make my head spin!!I LIKE IT!! I do not know if I should start another post on other laptop possibilities and what you think as to pros and cons.

Like Toughbook or Gammatech or the Toshiba Quosimo. also refurbished versis new. what do you think? new subject or continuing with this thread?

Gunn1

You asked a question that has probably started many a flame war on other forums!! Hopefully not here, as I think we are all pretty civil! :D

People in the Mac camp are pretty entrenched, and also the same in the PC camp, but you should choose what suits your needs best.

I personally would love a Toughbook, but that darned budget thing keeps getting in the way. They are up there in the Mac price range. But if it's going in your truck, it does look attractive. I must admit that my new Compaq seems pretty flimsy as far as the outer case goes, but it fit my budget quite nicely at the time.

One of the folks I work for has a Mac Air, the screen looks great, but frankly its so thin and light, I am almost afraid to touch it, as I am a rather clumsy person. I swear I could snap it in half with just my hands and little effort. I would never really do that to someones computer, (especially my bosses computer) :D It really does fit in those manilla folders, just like the ad !!!

I have no problem with refurbished, especially if it has a full guarantee, and was re-done and sold by the manufacturer.

Edited by Crowbar6761, 30 March 2011 - 01:09 PM.

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#14
gunn1

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Crowbar,I am not trying to start anything, Its just I do not know and that is why I ask. Although the differences make for a nice informative background.

The refurbished Toughbooks(CF 29-30) are on thee-bay, their is a place that refurbishes them and calls them "Maximum" Tougbooks looks to be a reputable company, but I dont know if they are factory approved or not. They are reasonable compared to new, and have updated HDD and processors.

Then their are the Gammatech Durabook's they are not as rugged, but have the same look. Some even have 1 to 2.5 TB's of storage. Best B's got em on their web site.

I am just wondering if anyone has experience with either of these makes of Ruggedized laptops.

Thanks again for all of your constructive comments.

Gunn1
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#15
admin

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As your probably finding out it comes down to your intended use, budget, and personal preference.

The current Macbook offering is pretty compelling. I decided to order one about 12-18 months ago (forget exactly). However, ended up returning it within the 30-day refund window. As a lifelong Windows user, I found it frustrating navigating through the system. Given more time I'm sure I would have mastered it, but there were other issues. Apple is a company known for design, but one design choice was very bothersome. Who thought it was a good idea to have a sharp corner on the case, right where your palms rest? Very uncomfortable. OSX recently turned 10 years old, I thought the interface was showing its age. Enough with glass buttons and metal appearance - very dated IMO. The system also ran pretty hot. I actually use my laptop on my lap, and it was sometimes uncomfortable. I did like the LED screen, and multi-touch touchpad. It was also fast to resume from sleep (but so are Win7 systems).

I have a colleague who I dared to take the same 30-day challenge. He kept the Macbook, and still speaks glowingly of it.

Basically, Apple is a consumer oriented company. Microsoft enterprise focused. I think Apple may be a good choice for common activities like email, web, photos, videos. PCs are better for serious work. If you require much beyond the pre-installed apps that Apple provides, you're probably better off with a PC.
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