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Mac vs. PC

S

Smoljan

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 16, 2008
29
0
I am giving a persuasive speech in my communications class on Mac vs. PC. (Pro Mac of course..) and PC includes everything else..Windows etc..

I need three main points for my speech and I need a little help with why Mac's are better; specifically iMacs.

Does anyone know any details on hardware comparison between an iMac and Windows PC? Or does anyone know a good website that compares the two? What about software compatibility and reliability? Any information will help!
Thanks:D :apple:
 
A Mac is a PC. Same processor architecture, same RAM types (DDR2 and DDR3), same hard drive connectors and drives (SATA), etc. The difference is the quality of the construction, the materials used in the casing, the battery capacity (Mac laptops have the best out there).

But the real plus is Mac OS X. It's much easier to use, yet not dumbed down. It can be incredibly powerful, due to its UNIX architecture.
 
http://www.apple.com/why-mac/

Won't get into hardware because after switching to Intel Macs aren't essentially any different to your normal PC. Main advantage is the OS, built quality, product design and the marketing hype.
 
Smoljan said:
Does anyone know any details on hardware comparison between an iMac and Windows PC?
Click to expand...

There's no difference between an iMac and a PC, you can find nearly identical configured PCs using similar components. The only real difference between a Mac and a PC is that most PCs (about 99%) use Bios, and Macs use EFI.
 
maflynn said:
There's no difference between an iMac and a PC, you can find nearly identical configured PCs using similar components. The only real difference between a Mac and a PC is that most PCs (about 99%) use Bios, and Macs use EFI.
Click to expand...

It is only a matter of Time before PC will be going EFI as well. Hard drive sizes are just getting to the point were BIOS can not handle them any more for booting. That 2 TB limitation for a boot drive has finally starting to become possible on a single drive. It will not be long before that become more mainstream consumer side.
 
  1. No viruses for OS X which means there is no need for antimalware software that would be eating resources on the background
  2. The whole package comes from the same company. With PCs, the hardware come from one company, operating system from another and they are often bundled with 3rd party crapware. Macs are just designed to work.
  3. iMac doesn't take any more space than a display does but it houses the latest components that you can find inside a normal tower PC. With a PC, you need the tower box which is huge AND a display. It saves space, is gorgeous, has amazing display and is still very powerful.

I'm looking this through  glasses and just giving OP some points he could talk about, so don't take these too seriously and start saying that you don't have expandability etc as it looks like OP wants to be biased when comparing Mac and PC
 
  • iMacs only have ONE cable, and that's the power adapter. Your mouse and keyboard can be Bluetooth.
  • The ports are easy accessible, compared to desktop machines that have them in the back, they're better for studio setups for that reason.
  • I can't think of a third one. :p.
 
Rodimus Prime said:
It is only a matter of Time before PC will be going EFI as well.
Click to expand...
Agreed, there are some motherboards out there now that are EFI. MS/Intel needs to get their act together and push to make EFI the standard. Heck, they created EFI for that reason and basically gave up on it
 
Ok, I'll bite:

1. Everything done by 1 company, hence everything is made to work flawlessly.

2. Low market share allows Mac OS X to not be a target for viruses and hence has a really small number of threats.

This one is very user dependent, but can be brought up
3. Aesthetics.

Trolling bonus
4. OS X is much more stable and streamlined than Windows. Also, it is better planned for the future from the ground up rather than just adding flashy animations or bloat code to make it look like the competition.
 
You know, I was just saying to a buddy today, "You know what's really lacking on the internet? Comparisons between the Macintosh and the PC."

So thank you for bringing up this very neglected subject!
 
jav6454 said:
4. OS X is much more stable and streamlined than Windows. Also, it is better planned for the future from the ground up rather than just adding flashy animations or bloat code to make it look like the competition.
Click to expand...
You had me on all of them, except for this. Win7 is very stable and is just as streamlined as OSX is.

I also disagree with being better for the future from the ground up, just look at what happened with Snow Leopard. They made major changes to the internals of OSX because the OS needed to be updated for multicore systems. While windows has a lot of legacy code because of its age, Snow Leopard has a certain amount of bloat because its a 10 year old operating system
 
Jessica Lares said:
  • iMacs only have ONE cable, and that's the power adapter. Your mouse and keyboard can be Bluetooth.
  • The ports are easy accessible, compared to desktop machines that have them in the back, they're better for studio setups for that reason.
  • I can't think of a third one. :p.
Click to expand...

I would argue that most desktop PCs have much better access to ports. PCs have been putting USB and other ports on the front of their desktops for a decade now. I have yet to see an iMac that has them in the front.

I'm a huge fan of Apple products, but you cannot use this ports argument at all, Apple falls behind in ease of connecting peripherals in my opinion. I know it's for aesthetics, but reaching around to connect a USB cord is not the easiest thing in the world to do. Tossing aesthetics to the wind, I leave my cables already plugged in and have iPhone and mine USB cables covering my desk so that I can easily connect items when I need to. :(
 
Comparing the Windows operating system and the Mac OS X operating system is like comparing Apples or Oranges or BMW and Audi, it's whatever is good for you and what you need it for and what you can afford.
 
maflynn said:
You had me on all of them, except for this. Win7 is very stable and is just as streamlined as OSX is.

I also disagree with being better for the future from the ground up, just look at what happened with Snow Leopard. They made major changes to the internals of OSX because the OS needed to be updated for multicore systems. While windows has a lot of legacy code because of its age, Snow Leopard has a certain amount of bloat because its a 10 year old operating system
Click to expand...

Which is why I labeled it trolling bonus;)
 
Shouldn't be too hard. I would simply talk about design. Why it is important, how Apple seems to understand it and why they're good at it - here's some inspiration for you:

"Today you find only a few companies that take design seriously, as I see it. And at the moment that is an American company. It is Apple." - Dieter Rams

Quotes by Jonathan Ive:

"The defining qualities are about use: ease and simplicity. Caring beyond the functional imperative, we also acknowledge that products have a significance way beyond traditional views of function." (Interview for Design Museum (2003))

"There’s an applied style of being minimal and simple, and then there's real simplicity. This looks simple, because it really is." (On the design of the Apple Cinema Display. As quoted by Leander Kahney in a Wired News article (June 2003))

„Being superficially different is the goal of so many of the products we see . . . rather than trying to innovate and genuinely taking the time, investing the resources and caring enough to try and make something better." („The Globe and Mail" (January 2007))

"I think so many of the objects we're surrounded by seem trivial. And I think that's because they're either trying to make a statement or trying to be overtly different. What we were trying to do was have a very honest approach and an exploration of materials and surface treatment. So much of what we try to do is get to a point where the solution seems inevitable: you know, you think 'of course it's that way, why would it be any other way?' It looks so obvious, but that sense of inevitability in the solution is really hard to achieve." (Interview for the Icon Magazine (July 2003))
 
Meh. Jonathan Ive just talks in words that makes it look like only an intelligent person would understand it. If an Apple computer is so simple, and simpler now than ever, why does it take 20 screws to undo a MBP? Why didn't they stick to the pop out keyboard design? Why do you have to remove the screen to replace a hard drive?

And to reply to mstrze, sure front ports are nice, but not when you need to hook up stuff like mixers that need to be to the side permanently. Cameras, externals, things that stay for a hour or less should be at the front. Like, you wouldn't want your Internet/serial connectors/all your FireWire stuff at the front.
 
Thanks for the great replies everybody!
I just emailed my teacher and it is unfortunate that someone else in my class is already doing a Mac vs. PC speech...

So I agreed to be pro PC... :eek: I'll definitely include how the hardware between a PC and Mac is similar and the price difference between the two.

Unless I go back to my original topic of "why your next phone purchase should be an iPhone."
 
Smoljan said:
Thanks for the great replies everybody!
I just emailed my teacher and it is unfortunate that someone else in my class is already doing a Mac vs. PC speech...

So I agreed to be pro PC... :eek: I'll definitely include how the hardware between a PC and Mac is similar and the price difference between the two.

Unless I go back to my original topic of "why your next phone purchase should be an iPhone."
Click to expand...

Whats with the Apple infatuation?
 
Mike225 said:
Whats with the Apple infatuation?
Click to expand...

Hmmm.. I don't know.. haha I just use my iMac and iPhone everyday and thought why not just talk about one or the other? :)

Another thing I'm considering is "Should sex offenders be named and shamed?"
 
Smoljan said:
T
Unless I go back to my original topic of "why your next phone purchase should be an iPhone."
Click to expand...

Why not broaden your topic to make it more manageable, ie,by giving a speech about why smartphones in general should be the audience's next phone. You could use the iPhone as your template, but leave it general so you avoid senseless brand war nonsense.
 
CalBoy said:
Why not broaden your topic to make it more manageable, ie,by giving a speech about why smartphones in general should be the audience's next phone. You could use the iPhone as your template, but leave it general so you avoid senseless brand war nonsense.
Click to expand...

Oh I never thought of that. Thanks! That's a great idea :)
It will be so much easier with that topic. I can include so much information with a variety of phones!
 
Smoljan said:
Hmmm.. I don't know.. haha I just use my iMac and iPhone everyday and thought why not just talk about one or the other? :)

Another thing I'm considering is "Should sex offenders be named and shamed?"
Click to expand...

I think that would be way more interesting to the average person than technology.
 
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