*5 personal top reasons to buy a Mac*

[JonMaker]

1. Solid and reliable hardware.

2. Sleep.

3. iLife, AppleWorks, Hardware test, and xCode (all free with a new Mac).

4. Lots of the OS is open source. I can tweak and recompile the kernel if I want to.

5. My Mac has never had a kernel panic or lost any of my data.

 

[After G]

Hmm, five reasons to get a Mac ... ?

1) PC's are NOT lower priced.

Believe me, it's hard not to fall for this one. But when I do a proper comparison of PC to Mac hardware, they come out equivalently priced. An exception to this might be Centrino-based PC laptops, but then I think of TCO and I always come up with the same conclusion: Get a Mac. The hardware may be a little better on PC, but the problems that come with it when using Windows ... my time is worth more than it takes to fix Windows properly.

2) Macs take less effort to maintain, but can still be tweaked.

I remember when I was a PC user, I used to love "tweaking" my operating system. Then when I became more experienced with tweaking my operating system, I figured out that all my "tweaking" was really fixing problems with Windows. Windows would do unbelieveable things like bluescreen when plugging in a peripheral, unexplainably erase itself completely, crash as if it was on a timer, make random files go missing. My roommate always comes to me asking me to help fix his PC problems, even now. I'm glad I got out before I went nuts fixing Windows. Linux is a good start, but with Linux, you can spend endless amounts of time tweaking. It's also a pretty steep learning curve for a beginner. The initial amount of work required is quite a lot. But it is fun, no doubt about it. If you're not quite ready for a Mac, go with Linux. When you move to a Mac, you will see that the Mac OS desktop is a good implementation of "desktop Linux".

3) If you are not gaming, then what can be done on a PC is done better on a Mac for ~90% of the population.

This is the only asset I can think of for Windows. The openness of the operating system lets game developers get at the hardware and push it. But this same openness also lets virus writers and spammers make a Windows OS into a minefield. Microsoft also let game developers do what they want and work with them. I think Steve Jobs went wrong in this area when he actively DISCOURAGED game-makers from making games on the Mac back in the day (at least this is what I have heard happened?) The Mac is a little less open, but a LOT more secure. Anyway, consoles are becoming like PCs (look at those three cores on Xbox 360!), and for 90% of a gamer's needs, a console gives a gamer her fix.

4) Computing experience on a Mac is more practical, believe it or not.

There are a lot of companies using UNIX-based storage/servers/computational clusters. And there are a lot of creative companies using Mac systems to make the next generation of created content. Whether you're an engineer or an artist (or both even!), the Mac will be a solid grounding. Even if you have to use Windows for the rest of your life at work, you will be better off knowing how to use computers instead of knowing "how to use Windows".

5) The Mac community. (the most important reason IMO)

Whatever you want to do with your computing experience, the Mac community can't be beat. People on Macrumors are some of the nicest people I've had the privilege of having conversations with. When you have to deal with a new operating system, Mac users are some of the nicest people to ask for help. They know a lot, and they will help you out nicely. This is in contrast to the Windows community (where the solution to every little problem seems to be "reinstall"?) or the Linux community ("look it up yourself, and then ask.") Not that Linux/Windows users aren't nice, it's just they're not as nice. Linux is more for the hacker/coder set, for the person who can help themselves. It's nice sometimes, but not all the time.

And the Mac community has endless interests beyond computers. I've asked the people here about any number of things, like what camera to buy to start getting into digital photography. The community board on here is great for entertainment, advice, and whatever else.

There's a lot more reasons than the ones I mentioned, but posters above me have elucidated these very well.

 

[jiv3turkey748]

1.they are easy to use
2.no viruses or spyware
3.though they dont have as much softeare available they come with alot of really great software and for most people all the software they need is available on a mac
4.its not windows
5.theyre cool as heck

 

[FoxyKaye]

So this article: http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=12117

And this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=138624

And this thread, too: https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=138566

All snapped into focus today when one of my co-workers screamed at her Windows laptop, "Enough of this <explicitive deleted>! I'm getting a Mac!" My co-worker then proceeded to ask me all kinds of questions about iBooks, including: "Do they work like PCs?" and "Can I run Office?"

People just don't really think that Macs are computers, do they? Like getting a Mac is the same kind of switch that's like, suddenly quitting your job, undergoing a gender change, or losing an appendage - and all of the associated complications, costs and challenges that go along with these.

That said, here's my top reasons:

* OS X - 'nuff said.

* Easier networking and network management. Running a Windows network is insane - it can be done, but so can making skyscrapers out of chocolate bars.

* Durability - not just hardware, but ability to run - reasonably well - current software. Ever try to run Windows XP, Office XP, or Office 2003 on a Pentium II? The G3s, which came out around the same time, still handle Office 2004 - and every iteration of OS X has actually sped up system performance.

* Spyware, adware, malware, viruses - folks spend serious time cleaning up Windows systems. I'm not saying someone won't ever crack OS X with one or more of these, but I don't believe that a small installed base is the reason why OS X has virtually none of these. It's because OS X is based on Unix, and Unix won't let your OS do the same kinds of BS that M$ proprietary stuff like Direct X, Visual Basic, and other executables can get away with on Windows. Unix has also been investigated by a lot of folks because of open source licensing - people try to hack the OS to make it better, not take down M$.

* iLife - I just adore it, even if iDVD puts the Apple logo in the bottom right of all its menus.

I also don't believe that Macs actually cost more - if you figure in time wasted "fixing" Windows systems, money wasted on antivirus and anti-malware/spyware programs, and the relative short lifespan WRT to running up-to-date software - Macs actually seem like a bargain. I know in 5 years my iMac won't be the newest, fastest kid on the block, but I'll wager that the new versions of OS X will run just fine on it and I'll still be able to use it for everyday tasks - heck, I know folks using the G3/233 Rev. A & B iMacs today with little complaint.

 

[tech4all]

People just don't really think that Macs are computers, do they?

I know MicroCenter doesn't. "Computers" and Macs are two separate categories (on the right, yet they have "computers" as an option in the category, really confusing if you're new at this). Funny

* iLife - I just adore it, even if iDVD puts the Apple logo in the bottom right of all its menus.

The Apple logo water mark can be removed via the preferences.

 

[FoxyKaye]

The Apple logo water mark can be removed via the preferences.

Really? That's cool - I just started seriously using iDVD, and this was driving me crazy... Thanks!

 

[brianus]

OS X is the main reason for me. Overall, I find it the most well-rounded, feature-packed and pleasant of the OS's I've used regularly (the others being Windows 98, 2000 and XP, and Solaris). Some reasons:

* A user interface that's consistent, "ergonomic" (if such a word can apply to GUIs), and beautiful. And yet, the 'eye candy' somehow manages to look respectable and mature, rather than garish and unnecessary.

* UNIX under the hood! Seriously, without this, in my line of work, a Mac would be a pretty but ultimately useless toy. With it, on the other hand, any complaint I might have had about the Mac being a proprietary 'niche' OS with too little software available for it suddenly becomes moot. Nowadays, I tend to look at Windows as the disadvantaged 'niche' system.

* The fact that the last two bullet points are combined in one operating system. That deserves its own point because in the past it's always been a choice between having a decent, user-centric GUI and shabby-to-nonexistent tools for programmers (as in Windows) or having UNIX with some lame, knockoff GUI on top of it (Linux, Solaris, etc). That OS X manages to not only have the best of both worlds without going to the extremes of either, but that on top of that the GUI is far and away the best one out there, puts it wayyy ahead of the pack.

* Built in programs I use daily: Expose, Safari, XCode, Stickies
Built in equivalents on the other OSs I use: uhhhh.......

* A minor thing, but I still find it neat that I can just drop an app into /Applications and it's "installed" and ready to go

* Lots of popular open source software and libraries built in. Heck I hear Tiger even comes with wxperl preinstalled! Unlike Linux, of course, where you're expected to compile everything yourself (ridiculous. This is 2005.), or Windows, where half of it isn't even available for the OS

* The fact that you get all of the above without losing compatibility with most Windows file formats and PC-compatible devices.

As for Macs themselves (regardless of the OS), I can't really think of a reason other than that they're so PURDY!

On the other hand there are the more immediate, personal reasons:

* Since I work with Macs, and I find myself doing more and more work at home, it would really help to have one here. I want to try Remote Desktop, too. Can't really do that on my PC. Also need to occasionally play 'tech support' to my Mac-addicted sister, over the phone. 'Be nice if I had an actual machine to refer to.

* I have access to quite a bit of pro Mac software. I'd.... hate to see it go to waste... also in that vein, I'm interested in trying out Apple's DVD authoring software (though I guess I'd have to actually buy that)

* I have absolutely no reason whatsoever to get another PC, nor can I see any real value in replacing any of my current ones with a newer one. What am I gaining? The possibility that I might have good enough hardware to run Longhorn, which may or may not suck and may or may not ever be released? Please. With a Mac I'm gaining OS X, and that's worth the price of admission right there.

* I'm running a lot of unix software at home that has been 'ported' to Windows, but the deficiencies of some of those ports are starting to convince me that I really need to be running a real unix system. Or Cygwin, but I'm not a big fan of cygwin. Again, for the above reasons, os x is the obvious solution to this problem.

* The introduction of the Mac Mini has finally made getting a Mac a realistic possibility for me.