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Mac or PC in the current economic reality?

I've heard all of the compelling arguments for Mac over PC i.e. ease of use, more stable OS, superior look and feel, creative friendly apps. But, convince me in a sentence or two why a person with a modest income who does little more than email and surf should plunk down an extra grand for a Mac.

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13 Answers

  • Photo_small
    Reputation: 1254
    Moderator

    No matter how bad the economy gets, I still won't go to McDonalds for my coffee.

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  • Picture_2_small
    Reputation: 59

    Those answers were clearly all oriented towards people who are super-tech savvy.

    I convinced my 60 year old mother to switch to a Mac and she loves it. She just reads the Internet and e-mail. And the people at the Mac store even offer lessons on how to do things (use Excel, Power Point, set up file sharing) so it's great for her there also.

    But the selling point is really not having to worry about five different obnoxious programs for Anti-Spyware, Anti-Virus, Anti-Adware, and then some other Firewall that breaks your programs.

    Whenever I deal with a PC and see all the pop ups from AV companies asking people to renew or update, I am so thankful I paid the extra 100 in advance.

    But I'd get a cheap Mac. The lowest end brands are still SO amazing.

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  • N10714711_27945_small
    Reputation: 18

    PC with Linux. Everything breaks (including Macs), but a PC will be cheaper to begin with and replacement parts are astronomically less expensive. Not to mention you can easily fix your own PC without having to deal with Apple's proprietary bullshit. The problem with PCs is that Windows sucks. That's where Ubuntu comes in.

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  • 3899952594_8afb14035e_small
    Reputation: 212

    If you're concerned about prices try looking for a refurbished Mac from the Apple store. You can still get Apple Care on it and from all I've heard they work out well.
    I've had a PC my whole life, but today, yes today, I bought a second hand Mac from someone trust-worthy and I couldn't be more excited!

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  • Avatar_default
    Reputation: 50

    Mac for sure. You can run virtually any operating system on a Mac. The ease of use, speed, and power are all worth the slightly higher price tag. I used to have three computers: Mac running OSX, and two DELL boxes - one for Linux and one for Windows. Now I have a single laptop with Linux, Windows XP, Windows 7 and OSX.

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  • N597793105_1002641_5217_small
    Reputation: 35

    Always Mac. Overpriced, but the dependability and intuitiveness are worth it. Some people grouse about Apple products, but I've never had a major problem with any Mac, iPod, etc. that I've owned.

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  • Avatar_default
    Reputation: -3

    Being in IT, I can assure you that Macs are not somehow naturally "intuitive" nor do you have the diagnostic tools available when something does go wrong.

    For instance, when 10.5.6 came out, our marketing department (All Macs) started having absurdly long webpage load times due to DNS server connection and transfer errors. It wasn't something that you could easily diagnose through the Mac itself. If it had been a PC I could have done simple cmd line entries to see where the problem resided (Is it the connection itself into our switches? Is it DNS lookup? Is it DNS errors on our ISP's side? If so why is the problem localized to only our Mac users?).

    Turns out that the problem is ingrained in 10.5.6 and the supposed work arounds suggested by users (like setting a static DNS for another ISP) don't always work.

    Another example is the Adobe patch downloader program where it was crashing every time it initialized a transfer. There was a workaround posted but it didn't work for every product update download. The only solution was to do each update individually and manually.

    Yet another problem is searching for files in subdirectories on networked drives. You have to search in the subdirectory, not at the highest level on the drive.

    As or the inherent intuitive nature of Macs, I find it that laughable. Intuition is built upon by experience, and switching from a PC to a Mac after 20+ years of PC use, nothing on a Mac is intuitive. The locations specific settings for programs, system settings, access to programs that aren't on the dock, etc etc are not intuitive to a long time PC user. And given the market share of Windows OS over OS X, I doubt that many people besides long time Mac users find it intuitive.

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  • Mr_rogers_small
    Reputation: 22

    I thought this was a really good answer to your question:

    http://www.slate.com/id/2215267/

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  • Img_0024_small
    Reputation: 48

    another point to remember: some Macs can also run Windows.

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  • Photo_on_2012-01-03_at_17
    Reputation: 628

    I know what you mean Jimm...my parents just got a laptop PC and didn't spend that much on it. It is a decent machine for what they need--internet, email, solitaire and looking at photos. Still, I can't stand PCs. I often have to help my parents set things up or figure stuff out on the PC because they aren't too techie. PCs make me mad, because it is as if the machine and all the programmers want nothing more than to infuriate you and make you feel stupid.

    I don't know. The thing about Macs is that they are elegant compared to clumsy PCs. Take the wireless mouse for example. I know it is silly, but with the mac you turn it on and the computer pairs it: simple, easy. With a PC you have to have a separate thingy-doodad to lose that you plug into a port and then you have the mouse and then it connects somehow. You might as well attach a cord!

    I'm sorry this response is getting so long.

    You'll always have people who love their PCs and will defend them. There are the Linux nerds of course. You'll RARELY have people who will defend Windows OS. And I've actually never heard of anyone (although I'm sure there is someone out there) who has gone BACK to a PC after having a Mac.

    Do you want to enjoy, nay, LOVE and have fun with the machine you use for so many hours per day, or do you want to be annoyed on a regular basis with it?

    If you really don't like computers and think you never will...then I guess, think of it in terms of only money and get a PC. If you are open to the possibility of there being something more, something exciting and magical about computing, even if you are a newbie, then, by all means go for the Mac.

    Like Charles here said: why don't you just sleep on a cot? It works for sleeping. Some people might even prefer cots. Personally, I like a nice, soft bed with a lot of pillows and stuffed animals for fun! :)

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  • Bike-scope_small
    Reputation: 1884

    An extra grand?

    What are the PC and Macs you were looking at? Or did you get the "extra grand" concept from a Microsoft ad?

    I was recently looking at the many many laptop PCs at Best Buy and was surprised at how cheaply built they were. Seriously, I thought I was going to break a few simply by touching them.

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  • 555_pinout_small
    Reputation: 1090
    Moderator

    Why don't you sleep on a cot? It's much cheaper, it may fall apart occasionally and not be comfortable, but your mostly just sleeping on it.

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  • Avatar_default
    Reputation: -3

    PC for Price
    Mac for Pride

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