PC or MAC???

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G

glasses123

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May 11, 2009
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  • #1
    Dear All,

    I am looking to purchase some new equipment for the office. I am looking for some advice.

    I am considering buying either MAC'S or PC'S and am unsure what would represent the greater long term value.

    I run a mixture of online ecommerce website and an high street retailer outlet.

    This may sound like a stupid question but I have heard good bad things about Mac's.

    Anyone know any good deals at the moment

    Thanks one and all:D

    Gavin


    Quality designer prescription glasses online
     
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    C

    chrisinit

  • #2
    Macs are expensive and not very compatible with software, but they don't get viruses.

    Depends what software you need it for?

    I swear by my Mac but when it comes to ecommerce it can be a pain with different software packages and browsers views.

    If it was for a business i would go for a PC.

    If it was for designing and making everything look fancy then a Mac
     
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    garyk

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  • #3
    I would say now Chris that compatibility is a much smaller issue than it used to be. I can probably find software for 90% of my needs and for the other 10% when it has to be windows then I just use Parallels (windows virtual machine for those that do not know) or you can setup the machine to dual boot using BootCamp.

    Price is an issue but they hold their value better. I recently sold a 3 year old windows laptop for £160, I have still got 5 year old G4 Powerbook which I have been offered £200 for so like many things, pays your money makes your choices!

    What I would say is check out the refurb offers on the apple store. Go to the store and search for 'refurb' where you can buy completely renovated imacs and powerbooks and save 12-20%, I got £160 off of one of the new 13" macbooks and it still comes with a 12 month warranty from Apple and is as new.

    Gary
     
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  • #5
    Hi Gavin,

    I bought my first Mac approximately 6 months ago, and I've never looked back. The market share of Mac's are growing as the PC market share declines, this is due to compatibility issues becoming less of a concern nowadays.

    Apple offers iWork for basic Word Processing, Spreadsheets and Keynotes, but if you want real compatibility, there is Microsoft Office for Mac.

    I am slightly biased towards Mac but that's because I believe the whole user interface is far superior than that of Windows, and this just means your productivity is a whole lot greater.

    Also if you really need windows, you can install it on your mac and run it alongside the mac OS, which means you have the best of both systems. The extra cost of a mac is justified once you've learnt how to use one.

    Hope that helped,
    James
     
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    benjamin_c

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  • #6
    There's a lot of debate over which is better. but from what i've seen Mac is a much better platform and the extra cost is more than justifed. as a business you will rely on your IT system to work when it's needed to and with PC's there's no end of issues that can occure, viruses, crashes, compatability issues, other securty issues, and many more. mac's are built on a solid unix based foundation and have excelent system uptime and are very secure and pretty much virus proof. they are in many business' in the USA, the UK market is slowely starting to adopt apple technology in comercial environments.
    most software works on them these days and as all new macs are intel based they can be dual booted with windows and have windows running within the OSX system via Parallels as mantioned by (garyk)

    and although this may not be a huge issue to you, macs look so much better in an office and set such a clean and professional atmospher :)
     
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    M

    Martin @ EcoPrint

  • #11
    Hi,

    As a printer, we use MACs in our studio, as they are by far the best solution for graphics and design programs. They handle large files well, and a probably more stable than PCs.

    However MACs aren't compatible with some programs. If it is just for basic programs like Word and Excel, i'd stick with PCs!

    Martin
     
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    D

    designsbysteve

  • #13
    As a web designer I use both, and though I do love macs for the ease of use of the system I understand why businesses don't buy them. In fairness over a period of yours a mac more than pays for itself just sitting there chugging away, doing what you ask it. While undeniably cheaper, PCs can be very frustrating and the user interface is not nearly as nice.
     
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    cjd

    cjd

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    • Nov 23, 2005
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  • #14
    The Mac/PC thing is a bit of a nonsense now. It used to be true that Macs were far better for design work. This was because some of the best graphics software was written for the Mac hardware - Mac native.

    But these days Mac hardware is identical to PC hardware and Adobe etc write to PC so that advantage has been lost.

    Macs have far fewer viruses {not no viruses} this is true and a definite advantage, but also, because they have very few viruses they have no protection either.

    Their real weakness though is that they are not compatible with a stack of really important software and services.

    You can utterly disregard any claims of them been easier to use - that is, and always was, PR bollox.

    So you're left with their looks and image which may be important if you're trying to impress ignorant high-end clients in your West End design lab - but otherwise Mac is a dumb choice these days.

    If you are starting from scratch, I'd look at Linux for a while at least
     
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    benjamin_c

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  • #15
    linux is a pain in the ass, i have used it a few times and it's so confusing, staff would need so much training. macs do have security packages avalable for them and there's alternatives for every software package on macs. there's one business women i know who uses bootcamp on her mac to run sage accounts and payroll but everything else runs in osx,
    the only people i recomend PC's to are gamers. apple are gaining a growing marketshare and the imacs are getting a lot of desk space in business' these days :)
     
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    bcmedia

  • #16
    At the University we operate both Macs & PC's. The Macs are pretty but they're way too expensive to fix & the parts are extortionate. Macs do break & they suffer from problems just like a windows machine. Macs do get viruses so its naive to think that your automatically protected. Its only because of the tiny market share that hackers don't really bother targeting Mac users....You would soon see how safe an Apple was if it had the user base of Windows.
    As a printer, we use MACs in our studio, as they are by far the best solution for graphics and design programs.
    Click to expand...
    I'd take that with a pinch of marketing PR salt as the best design software is by Adobe, which is dual platform and I've never had any issues with their software on a PC.
    IMO, your money is better spent on a Dell, where the build quality for laptops are on par with Apple, at half the price (and much better spec too). If money isn't an issue & all you want is a word processor/web browser then the Mac is a cool bit of kit. However, get the Applecare - I've had two macs break on me this week, both under 2 years old and no apple care......Its cheaper to scrap them than fix them.
     
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    D

    Dawg

  • #17
    If you are going to buy a Fisher Price, oops sorry, a Mac, and you aren't going to get it from Apple Business, then get it from John Lewis. The prices are virtually identical to Apple's but they give you a two year guarantee, (Apple's is one year).
     
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    mobyme

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    Jan 12, 2004
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  • #18
    As cjd has already pointed out the component parts of a Mac are identical to those of a PC and as he also states Mac's do get viruses but not as many as PC's because they have so little of the market share that Hackers to date have tended to virtually ignore them (But there are more and more being reported daily). We have Mac's and PC's and while Mac's are better suited to heavy graphics in my opinion, performance (speed) wise a PC will leave them standing. Unless you have a specific need for printed graphics I would recommend a PC every time. Everyone to their own but I find it hard to believe that anybody would buy a refurbished Mac or PC unless they have no other choice (refurbished = used = you don't know how much life the un-replaced parts have left in them) You could get lucky but you usually get what you pay for.
     
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    BlueprintAnimation

  • #19
    Your staff might object if you buy macs - it's not just a case of needing training for a different operating system, e.g. i KNOW how to use a mac, i just hate using them.

    Stupid one-button mouse, they make me feel like I've lost a finger...
     
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    garyk

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    Jun 14, 2006
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  • #22
    bcmedia said:
    At the University we operate both Macs & PC's. The Macs are pretty but they're way too expensive to fix & the parts are extortionate. Macs do break & they suffer from problems just like a windows machine. Macs do get viruses so its naive to think that your automatically protected. Its only because of the tiny market share that hackers don't really bother targeting Mac users....You would soon see how safe an Apple was if it had the user base of Windows.
    Click to expand...

    Theres a good place I use for bits for Macs http://www.macupgrades.co.uk/store/ and I think the prices are reasonable.

    bcmedia said:
    IMO, your money is better spent on a Dell, where the build quality for laptops are on par with Apple, at half the price (and much better spec too).
    Click to expand...

    It might be just that I am unlucky but I am in battle with Dell at the moment over the battery failing in an xps m1530 that is only 13 months old, I even paid £200 for 'premium' 3 year support but guess what....everything is covered apart from battery. They say they only warranty batteries for 12 months, I say thats horse$hit having owned numerous laptops and never having a battery fail before. Poor quality if you ask me, never again!
     
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    A

    apeebles

  • #24
    When buying IT equipment you have to decide what software you are planning to use and really that should dictate your requirements. i.e. If you are buying an Adobe product then you've got flexibility and you can choose your preferred platform dependent on price or other factors such as design. If you are going for a business app which is written specifically for the PC then this can cause you problems (additional costs /time) in trying to run this on a MAC.

    Hopefully this is helpful

    Alistair
     
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    B

    bcmedia

  • #25
    over the battery failing in an xps m1530 that is only 13 months old
    Click to expand...
    I've been running an XPS1530 for 12 months with no problems whatsoever - Batteries are a consumable & as such you can't expect every battery to last forever. I'd still expect more than 12 month, but then I rarely have my laptop running on battery only. Apple will not even cover a batteries lifespan with apple care - "the AppleCare Protection Plan for notebook computers does not cover batteries that have failed or are exhibiting diminished capacity except when the failure or diminished capacity is the result of a manufacturing defect"
     
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    Eagle

    Eagle

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    Oct 3, 2004
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  • #26
    chrisinit said:
    Macs are expensive and not very compatible with software, but they don't get viruses.
    Click to expand...
    Oh yes they do.

    If it was for designing and making everything look fancy then a Mac
    Click to expand...
    Why? What can a Mac do that a PC can't?

    James7 said:
    The market share of Mac's are growing
    Click to expand...
    And the virus writers are coming for you!

    Also if you really need windows, you can install it on your mac and run it alongside the mac OS, which means you have the best of both systems.
    Click to expand...
    You could run Mac OS on a PC if it wasn't for Apple's over-restrictive licencing.

    The extra cost of a mac is justified once you've learnt how to use one.
    Click to expand...
    No. It isn't. Can you elaborate on that statement?

    chris nangle furniture said:
    macs are by far the better bits of kit never had any glitches in all the years i have been using them
    Click to expand...
    Same here with PCs.

    Martin @ EcoPrint said:
    Hi,

    As a printer, we use MACs in our studio, as they are by far the best solution for graphics and design programs. They handle large files well, and a probably more stable than PCs.
    Click to expand...
    Sorry, that's the kind of self-perpetuating myth that needs to be stamped out

    cjd said:
    The Mac/PC thing is a bit of a nonsense now. It used to be true that Macs were far better for design work.
    Click to expand...
    Someone's talking sense.

    Macs have far fewer viruses {not no viruses} this is true and a definite advantage, but also, because they have very few viruses they have no protection either.
    Click to expand...
    As above, the more popular they become, the more viruses will be written for them.

    You can utterly disregard any claims of them been easier to use - that is, and always was, PR bollox.
    Click to expand...
    Quoted for truth.

    So you're left with their looks and image which may be important if you're trying to impress ignorant high-end clients in your West End design lab.
    Click to expand...
    Yah. :D

    mac5vf1.png



    Dawg said:
    It's not heated because it has been done so many times boredom levels are approaching critical mass.
    Click to expand...
    And the ignorant myths perpetuate.

    best,

    PC and Mac user. :)
     
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    D

    DotNetWebs

  • #27
    Eagle said:
    ...PC and Mac user. :)...
    Click to expand...

    Good signature. It's funny a lot of the people who have an almost cult-like hatred off all things PC or Microsoft can't seem to understand that many of use who use PCs or MS products don't need preaching to because we have already tried or currently also use Macs or Linux etc. and find that for many tasks / environments PCs with MS software are more productive than the alternative.

    Regards

    Dotty
     
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  • #29
    Eagle said:
    You could run Mac OS on a PC if it wasn't for Apple's over-restrictive licencing.
    Click to expand...

    That doesn't help anything, I could sit here all day and list a number of things that would be possible if it wasn't for the policy of Apple or Microsoft.

    What I was saying is that currently it is possible to run Vista on a Mac, however it is not possible to run Mac OS X on a windows machine, therefore that makes Mac's the most compatible computers available.
     
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    Scott-Copywriter

    Scott-Copywriter

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  • #30
    For me I just hate the way the Mac's try to make it easier and end up really restricting what you can do.

    It took me half an hour once to find out how to save to any file I want since it only ever let me save to recent or popular files. I want to be able to access every file, every folder, all the core bits, just like the PC.

    The keyboard shortcut and one mouse button was always a huge pain in the arse. When I was doing my graphics A-levels I had to use a Mac for 2 years and it frustrated me to death. I was finally glad to use a PC when I managed to get on one.

    My iPod Touch has also caused me a crapload of problems so anyone who says Apple are all pristine perfect are lying :p
     
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    D

    DotNetWebs

  • #33
    Eagle said:
    ...nowhere near as good as the Mac evangelists would have you believe. :)...
    Click to expand...

    I think that's the point with SOME Mac / Linux / anythingbutmicrosoft users - the 'badge of honour' become more important than anything else and may often exclude a hardware / software combination that may be more suitable to the task in hand.

    Regards

    Dotty
     
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    benjamin_c

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  • #35
    bcmedia said:
    O'RLY?!?

    http://osx86.thefreesuite.com/
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    i've done it before, it doesn;t work that well, you need a patch for most pieces of hardware like video cards ect as osx is designed for apple hardware so it doesn;t have the universal drivers like windows has, and you dont get the performance that you'd expect to get on mac hardware. it;s ok for a mess-about but not as a realistic computing solution.....
     
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    traxor

    traxor

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    May 23, 2009
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  • #37
    I'm impartial to Macs, although they are gorgeous looking machines and do run quite well, I can't see the appeal of them over PCs, they're on a level playing field for me, and it's a similar choice to buying a Renault or a Fiat, they're both reasonably priced and pretty much doing the same thing, just each with extra features, some useless, some not so useless, but in the end it comes down to one thing: personal preference, which nobody should be judged on, but one thing everyone should do is respect one anothers opinions.

    I can't stand the Nintendo Wii, but many people like it, so fair enough.
     
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