Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Is the Mac for me? (my bro thinks no)

S

shanshor

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 4, 2008
227
82
After having a recent chat with my bro on wether on not to get a mac, he said no. "macs are only used by artists and musicians'', and "not suitable for general purposes''. Is this true? do average joes own macs? one of his main arguable points was that his 3 yr old, heavily used hp pc still worked just fine. no viruses, no problems, nothing. however my 5 yr old pc (which was used by him for the frst 2 yrs) does have many problems and cant even properly run itunes on windows xp. another reason i dont want a new pc is that they all come with vista! So, would it make sense for me to want to get a new iMac (24" 2.8)? or should i get a new pc?

please give unbiased answers. i dont do a lot of pic/video editing. i just like my games (which i WOULD use boot camp for, but only rarely) and the internet. i know this is a MAC forum, but be as unbiased and as helpful as possible
 
Macs are just computers. They can do anything any Windows-based machine can do. You're brother is either heavily biased, or more likely just uninformed.

I use my MacBook on the road about 40 weeks a year for business, and demo & train a Windows app on an Oracle db in VMWare Fusion, create presentations in Keynote, get all my office mail & calendering in Entourage from our corporate Exchange servers, write documents in Word (or Pages) and save them as PDF's--with no extra app, do all my expenses, timesheets, and billings online through Flash and Java-based tools, and keep my entire personal & professional lives up to date. I'm the only one on our team that uses a Mac, and most of them are unaware, because they can't tell over the 'Net, nor by the attachments they receive from me.

Get a Mac, you will NOT regret it, even for a minute. And you can still do all that Windows stuff you need to (only faster than you can from any Dell, Gateway, Sony, or HP).
 
shanshor said:
After having a recent chat with my bro on wether on not to get a mac, he said no. "macs are only used by artists and musicians'', and "not suitable for general purposes''. Is this true?
Click to expand...
Not at all.

Macs make fine general purpose computers.

Microsoft Office is an industry standard and is available for the Mac -- either 2004 or the new 2008.

Of course there is Adobe Acrobat and many other professional general purpose applications available for the Mac.

What is really beautiful about the Mac platform, is that with one computer you can run the Mac OS and Windows natively which is very convenient and a space saver.

The only place where I see a PC having a significant advantage is in the area of games. For those who are knowledgeable, it is easy to customize a gaming rig, and then update as needed.

Bottom line, based upon your post, I would recommend getting a Mac. You won't regret it.
 
Just go to an apple store and find out for yourself. I think most macs are very capable computers and after updates they are competitively priced.

Plus they have style
 
The Macs are very similar to a Centrino Laptop with FW and slighty different I/O ports and are also able to run the Mac OS without hacks.

The Macs are PCs, if you want to run windows -- go ahead.

---

Note: the iMac also uses laptop parts, so it is based around the current Centrino platform also.
 
For what you say you use a computer for, there is no reason why a Mac may not be usable. If there is some program on windows you use, there will probably be a mac version. Granted it may not be the same program, but there are a lot of developers.
 
shanshor said:
."macs are only used by artists and musicians'', and "not suitable for general purposes''. Is this true?
Click to expand...

No, it's completely untrue.

So, would it make sense for me to want to get a new iMac (24" 2.8)? or should i get a new pc?
Click to expand...

You might be able to get more bang for your buck with a PC but the entire experience won't be anywhere close.

The Mac OS is, in my opinion, much better for the average user than Vista.
 
If it means anything, I bought a G3 iMac a few years ago and subsequently gave it to a friend who uses it as his main computer.

It's getting on 10 years old now, and he uses it for all his schoolwork, web browsing, MSN/iChat stuff, downloading, iTunes etc... as well as quite hefty use of Photoshop (which is goddam impressive for a 350 MHz computer).

Get the Mac, your brother is wrong.
 
Or maybe your brother just wants to stop you getting a Mac so that he can still have superiority in technology :D
 
I make a living as a sysadmin for a mostly Windows-based corporate network.

I manage that network from a Mac (actually two Macs - I don't even have a Windows PC on my desk any more).

Trust me on this one: Macs can do anything Windows can do - and in many instances can do it better. There are only a couple of instances where a Windows machine might make more sense for you:

1. You're an avid gamer (the range of games available for OS X is rather limited)
2. You have a particular specialist application you HAVE to be able to run that is not available for OS X

Even in the two above instances, there's an easy workaround - Macs can run Windows too, so you can have both....
 
Macs are great for general purposes. I'd say they are better for normal users than Windows because of their easy maintenance. Your brother's computer may not have viruses, but that's because he has anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-adware and whatnots installed on his program, scanning every day, downloading updates every day, slowing down the computer and wasting your time. Macs are easy to use, have all the programs that an average user would need, and many times have better alternative programs than their Windows counterparts. The software that Macs come with are far superior than the crap that comes with PCs. There should be no compatibility issues since you can run XP/Vista via Bootcamp or parallel/vmware.
Trust me, after doing weekly spyware and virus scans, and waiting for my anti-virus program to start and download updates everyday, it was such a relief when I switched to my macbook and no longer have to endure the painful process every time I switched on my laptop. That laptop was only two years old too!
Macs also won't slow down substantially over time like Windows machine, since they don't have a registry. The overall operation is just more intuitive and user friendly, and in general snappier than PCs. The customer service is better than most PC competitor's too. Add in its higher resell price, I can't see a better computer for general computing.
 
We switched from windows to a Mac last Feb., because the Vista package just didn't seem the way to go. While the transition was not nearly as smooth as Apple would like you to think it will be...at this point we (LOML and I) are quite happy with the choice. I think in most cases the Mac does everything better than Windows, though you have to keep in mind we are anything but power users. Even so, the entry price is steep IMHO) and was the main reason to drag out the decision so long. It took me about 8 months to pop for the Mac. At this point it has been a good choice.
 
tersono said:
I make a living as a sysadmin for a mostly Windows-based corporate network.

I manage that network from a Mac (actually two Macs - I don't even have a Windows PC on my desk any more).
Click to expand...


I have the exact same setup :)

I have a feeling the OP's brother IS heavily biased, but probably because his last exposure with a Mac was in the OS 8/ OS 9 days. Towards the end of the line for the old Mac OS, you kinda have to admit the system was getting pretty dated and niche. But that was more than 8 years ago, and a LOT changed, starting in 2001.

It's 2008 now, and with the complete flop that we know as Vista, people have made a huge effort to make what operating system you're using less relevant. Even linux users aren't in such an uphill battle to do general purpose work these days.
 
scaredpoet said:
I have the exact same setup :)

I have a feeling the OP's brother IS heavily biased, but probably because his last exposure with a Mac was in the OS 8/ OS 9 days. Towards the end of the line for the old Mac OS, you kinda have to admit the system was getting pretty dated and niche. But that was more than 8 years ago, and a LOT changed, starting in 2001.

It's 2008 now, and with the complete flop that we know as Vista, people have made a huge effort to make what operating system you're using less relevant. Even linux users aren't in such an uphill battle to do general purpose work these days.
Click to expand...

He has only used a mac once, and it was tiger i think
 
Can't really blame the OP's brother. Lots of PC users have that view of Macs. This is probably because the Pro line is basically aimed at musicians and artists.

Really there is nothing wrong with Windows machines. If you run a good firewall and antivirus a PC can serve you well for many years. However, I challenge you to find a Mac that you can spend a few days with. After the initial "how do i do ____ on a Mac?" phase, I'm sure you'll be hooked.

The key is not going into the Mac experience expecting it to be Windows. A Mac does everything a Windows machine can do, it's just a matter of learning how they differ.
 
no problems here

I have to admit this... I was one of those so called mac haters (now I call it misunderstood pc user). I just listened to what I was told about them. But then I got so disgusted with windows that I really and truly looked into the macs. I will never ever regret the conversion at all. I just love it. My husband balked when I mentioned that I wanted a mac. But since it was my own money he had nothing to say about it. Now he wants his own macbook.

I have never run into any problems with my mac or not being able to find programs that were similar to others I have used for windows.
 
Hey, im a 20 yr old Student and i use my mac for everything i did with my old pc laptop and much more. my little brother and a friend of mine recently switched to mac and have had the same experiance, theres honestly very little that you cant do with a mac and in fact iv found that there so many neat, and functional apps that are so easy to use with the mac that arent available for the pc. We could all preach our good experiances and how youd never go back to pc but you honestly just have to try it, weather u sit down and take time at an apple store or go talk to a friend/co worker who has one and will show u things and let you play around. Like 99% of the people i come across, especailly on campus, everyone has this false understanding that mac is uncompaitible with pc and you cant do the same things, this is completly untrue pretty unfortunate since surfing the web, im'ing, itunes and mail are much easier/cleaner to use on a mac then a pc and is what most of the uninformed do with a pc anyway (are are constantly at risk of restarts/crashes/viruses which i personally have never run into with my macbook pro). Make the switch, i gaurentee you'll be happy you did. :apple::cool:
 
Sweener88 said:
Hey, im a 20 yr old Student and i use my mac for everything i did with my old pc laptop and much more. my little brother and a friend of mine recently switched to mac and have had the same experiance, theres honestly very little that you cant do with a mac and in fact iv found that there so many neat, and functional apps that are so easy to use with the mac that arent available for the pc. We could all preach our good experiances and how youd never go back to pc but you honestly just have to try it, weather u sit down and take time at an apple store or go talk to a friend/co worker who has one and will show u things and let you play around. Like 99% of the people i come across, especailly on campus, everyone has this false understanding that mac is uncompaitible with pc and you cant do the same things, this is completly untrue pretty unfortunate since surfing the web, im'ing, itunes and mail are much easier/cleaner to use on a mac then a pc and is what most of the uninformed do with a pc anyway (are are constantly at risk of restarts/crashes/viruses which i personally have never run into with my macbook pro). Make the switch, i gaurentee you'll be happy you did. :apple::cool:
Click to expand...

Wow! Is that the Rev. a Core Duo MacBook pro? Is it the first top-of-the-line 2GHz or the 2nd baseline 2GHz, when 2.16 came out?
You are correct though, but I beg to differ on one count. MSN for Mac is cr*p
 
I just have the 2ghz 1gb macbook pro( its about 2 years old) but i still can do everything my brothers brand new 24" imac can (with only slightly slower speeds in office 2008 , ilife and leopard...and im talking barely noticeable slower speed). i agree that msn of mac is crap but in all honesty its not THAT bad, sure u cant do nudges and ur custom display messages auto-delete after u sign-out but u can do all the basic chatting/emoticons/display pictures etc. and i kind of think that its due to the fact that msn messenger isnt as popular as aol and other im applications that Microsoft doesn't update it as often for the mac. plus i think its alot more popular here in Canada then in the usa which has obvious consequences to the frequency of updates/support.
 
I hated macs too. Then I got a new girlfriend, and she had a mac.

Now, I have 3 macs, and a lovely daughter with her too :D

BTW the (small) company where I work as a CTO is now all-mac. Funny that. :D
 
I really don't understand how people believe you can fully appreciate a Mac while standing in an Apple store. Obviously if you have no other way to use one, that is your only option, but to me it's far from ideal.

Especially for someone like the OP who doesn't sound like they have much experience with OS X, I think you really need the time to use the system, and explore the wealth of great software there is for the Mac.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back