Go ahead and use your PC. I don't care

 

 

hmm, never liked Macs.. too much bad press a few years ago.. Plus, the price! Nobody can afford that.. Well some can... but I only use my comp for basic functions, no need for it.. Plus, any company that bases their marketing of computers on colours must be trying to detract from something else

 

Apple computers have been colourless for the past few years .... Standard design has been the white/brushed steel look -- with the exception of the iPod minis.

 

Hey guys,

One of the points that I think you're missing is that there are lower end Macs that compare with lower end PC's. EMacs for students start at $599(Probably $699 retail). This eMac will blow away your $500-700 PC. Plus it includes iLife 04 and AppleWorks. iLife 04 is comprised of iMovie (video editing software), iPhoto, iTunes and GarageBand (Great music writing software - kind of like Pro Tools or CakeWalk). AppleWorks is similar to Microsoft Office and is compatible with MS Office Documents. You just get a lot more for your money. Plus you can always install virtual PC and run PC Applications.

-Stephen

 

What are the specs of this $500 mac that will blow away a PC?

I can buy a 3ghz athalon computer, with 512 megs of ram, 80 gig hard drive computer for less than $500.

 

suvh8r,

You can't compare Macs and PC's spec to spec. They use different types of processors - PC's use CISC processors while Macs use RISC. One of the hardest things to get my head around when I started working for Apple( I worked for Dell previously) was that Apple sells functionality and not speeds and feeds. I think Apple's real brilliance is in their software.

-Stephen

 

my school's $500 mac is 3x slower than my school's $500 dell .

 

While a couple of ppl have mentioned the differences in processor technology and architecture I see a TON of misinformation in this thread. To begin with the G5 is rated a SUPERCOMPUTER microprocessor. At the moment it is the fastest chip on the market...that include Sun Sparcs, AIX, Intel, etc. So for all of you claiminig your PCs are "faster", you are badly misinformed. Fast PCs may run some GAMES faster, but that has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the technology. The only reason games are faster on PCs is because programmers specifically write games for PCs and leverage the technology in the PCs to make them faster. When the same is done for Mac applications the results are even more in favor of the Apples, just look at all of the graphics applications out there for both platforms and tell me which one works better. Furthermore, when you are looking at the price of a Mac and a PC, you are looking at 2 entirely different business models. Keep in mind the term PC just means personal computer. To begin with in that PC realm there are 2 major chip manufacturers, AMD and Intel. However, the differences don't stop there, Intel and AMD don't make entire systems. Because of that they can specialize, as can all the other part manufacturers and PC makers. This drives prices down by allowing ppl to mix/match parts, causing more competition and price wars. Macs for the most part come as one solid machine. I'm not %100 sure now, but it used to be true that even the processors were soldered onto the mainboards from Apple, whereas PCs have always used socket or other pluggable techniques to mount their processors. While I have already gone over the advantages of multiple vendors making up a single machine, the advantage of having everything come from one company is not quite as obvious to most. When said company controls all of the components going into the machine, they can test for quality and compatibility much more easily as Apple can be fairly certain only a select number of components will be going into their machines. There will likely be few to no compatibilty problems and since they design all the pieces in the computer, they can design each piece to work optimally with the rest of the pieces. Anyways, after having worked with both apples and PCs since the early 80s I can confidently say that for 90% of the ppl out there PCs are great and actually fit the needs of the every day person better. However, there are niches, such as graphics, publishing, etc, where a Mac will far outperform a PC. Just know what you need and don't get to caught up in trying to compare the 2 because they really are 2 completely different machines.

 

Why hasn't anyone talked about how many viruses PC's get vs using a Mac... I'm adding fuel to the fire.. I love my G4 and I use it daily.. and am in the Graphics Field..