If you’ve been around a few friends who love computers, then you’ve probably heard the age old argument of “Which is better, Mac or PC?” Mac vs. PC has has almost become a religious war. “Macs Rule, PCs Drool”.
One of my favorite quotes along the way is “No one uses a Mac at work, and buys a PC at home. Macs are fun.” Now while I am sure there is someone out there who does just that, the saying rings a chord with many. Macs are considered to be the Lexus of the computer industry. People buy Macs because Macs seem hip and cool. People love the stylish, almost artistic look and feel of the Macintosh and its operating system OS X.
But the question remains. Are Macs better than PCs? I’m going to give you just a few reasons why I prefer the Mac.
1) iLife and the Mac suite of out of the box software
Mac comes with some amazing out of the box software. iLife for example which includes iPhoto, iWeb, iMovie and Garage Band comes with every new Mac purchase. Windows Movie Maker and Windows Media Gallery are laughable when compared to this suite. But then you add iCal, Mail, Stickies, and Time Machine for backups. Windows starts to look pretty vanilla.
2) No trial, junk or crap software is installed out of the box
Even better than the fact that Mac comes with a wonderful software suite out of the box, is that Apple refuses to allow crap trial software and other annoyances to be installed at the store or factory. How many times have you bought a new PC only to spend the first two days cleaning all the junk software off it? How about all of those nags to register the software or upgrade to the paid version? You’ll never see that on Mac!
3) Still no security suite or virus scanner needed
To this day it is still completely unnecessary to have a virus scanner on a Mac! Mac OS X was designed from the ground up with security in mind. Getting a virus on a Mac just doesn’t happen. Now to be fair, its certainly not impossible, Macintosh computers can be infected, but it very difficult.
One way to look at this is to try this experiment for yourself: Find yourself any version of Windows and any version of Mac OS X. Plug them both into an Internet connection without a firewall. How long does it take before the Windows computer falls on its face due to hundreds of viruses and spyware? How about the Mac? If you don’t want to do this experiment, I can tell you. About 30 minutes for the PC. Never for the Mac.
What makes this saddening, and disgusting actually, is that Microsoft has had seven major releases of its Windows operating system and they still haven’t been able to make Windows secure.
4) The quality of Apple’s hardware rocks.
Apple hardware is the Rolls Royce of computers. From their solid aluminum MacBook Pros to the fine lines of their design, to the high quality of the internal components, Apple simply makes amazing hardware.
5) An OS and hardware that actually goes to sleep and wakes up properly
Microsoft has been making Windows since 1985′s release of Windows 1.0. In 2010, we currently have the seventh generation of their OS with Windows 7. There have been literally hundreds of hardware iterations since 1985. Yet, for whatever reason, Microsoft can’t seem to write an OS that sleeps and wakes properly. Even when it does work it usually takes at least a solid minute to sleep or wake. With an Apple Mac sleep and wake is instantaneous, taking less than fraction of a second – and it works! It works every single time.
Let the flaming begin!
UPDATE: I made a video podcast follow up to this post: http://www.thegeekpub.com/902/macs-rule-podcast/
First comment!
. i admit, i used to be a Windouche a few years ago, and i thought windows was awesome. then vista came out >:O i began looking for alternatives. then i became the mac os rox guy, but i want 32 GB of RAM, i’ll make a hacintosh, the project eventually failled, i became the linux evangelist. it was around here i started to hate Windows. thennnnnnnnnnn, something happened, they called it Leopard. the new macs were superb quality and super durable and had a lot of the things i needed. i began to ask myself, do i reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally need 32 GB of RAM. no i don’t. i need i computer that works and is productive for me. lemme tell u, backup in vista is a nightmare, i almost ALWAYS gives me an error. with time machine it’s a breeze 
AND it makes a restore point, so if for example u scrapped an essay and want it back, just go back in time 
AND it’s sooooooooooo much productive on a mac, honestly. u don’t have to spend hours on preventing viruses and all that crap that comes bundled with windows. now some windouches claim it’s because it’s because windows is a better target with 80% of the computing world using it. with 50% being XP. it’s not, it’s just because OS X is so secure and is built on UNIX, similar to what Linux is built on and is exactly what BSD is buit upon
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@Andrew – Windouche… now that’s a funny name. I like it!
Windoze computers are manufactured by companies such as IBM, HP, Dell, and are by far the most popular, with about 200 million machines in use worldwide. I have to point out however that cockroaches are far more numerous than humans, and that numbers alone do not denote a higher life form (or better computer).
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Windouche is actually defined in the urban dictionary. Funny!
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=windouche&defid=4949552
An individual who trash talks any operating system other Windows without having experience or knowledge with what he’s referring to.
Guy 1. “Well Windows machines will always be superior to OS X in every way.”
Guy 2. “Have you even used Leopard?”
Guy 1. “I don’t have to, Windows is all I need.”
Guy 2. “Stop being such a Windouche.”
Hot debate. What do you think?
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I like how you claim to be objective, then make a statement like this. The urban dictionary also has another term Defined… I-Tard.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=itard
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ya windouche is in there so is macfag, i use both i have a windows desktop and a macbook pro. I like the desktop better windows really got their shit together with 7
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You call yourself a Geek? For shame! Prefer the Mac all you want, but the true computer of those with any technological competence is the PC.
Spew as many platitudes and exaggerated personal anecdotes as you like, but the facts speak for themselves.
1. Sure there’s some decent out of the box software on a Mac, but on a PC a quick search on Google will reveal myriad software choices from easy to use amateur software to robust professional grade applications serving all manner of software needs. The majority of this software is FREE, and that which isn’t still cost less than the cost of a Mac. I don’t install Windows for it’s software (only and idiot does that). I install Windows for the choices it gives me, choices that are not available on Macs. The free software that I use on my PC is by far better than the crap that comes with OSX, hands down. Out of the box, Windows may be ‘vanilla’, but that’s what you start with if want to make the best Sundaes.
2. No crap software, eh? Garage Band and iMovie might be a fun time-waster, but the majority of folks have no use for them. Sure, one or two of the ‘apps’ that come packaged with the Mac may be used by the average person, but the rest just represent wasted space and get in your way. Funny… I’ve never had to remove junk software from my PC, because it was not there. It all depends on where you buy and what you want. With a PC, the consumer is in control.
3. No security suite needed? What a dangerous lie. Most people who do any real work online (Mac or PC) better put a security suite on their computer or network. Failing to do so is just inviting trouble, unless of course you’re just careful about what you download and where you go, which most folks aren’t.
I tired your little experiment. Actually, I never run my PC with any sort of virus scanner or firewall and I have NEVER had a problem. My computer is 100% virus and spyware free! As for the Mac, you better check the latest stats. In the annual hacker’s convention, Pwn2Own, Safari on the Mac was the first to fall, again, any this time only after 10 seconds. http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/as_predicted_safari_first_fall_pwn2own_hacking_contest. Not very secure, eh? It failed almost as quickly this year as well. So don’t tell people lies that will put their data at risk.
4. Apple does not make hardware! Again, this is another Apple FanBoi Lie! Intel makes the CPU’s. The memory under the hood is usually Samsung, Hynix, OWC or Micron, among others. For HardDrives, they often use seagate. That’s beginning to sound alot like my PC, for a fraction of the cost of your Mac. The fact is with apple you are forced to buy their hardware, and pay a premium for it. For the same price you can buy a far superior PC system with very nearly identical or better hardware. Again, PCs leave the choice in the hands of the consumer.
5. No power management issues here. My windows 7 PC sleeps, hibernates, restarts and what ever else I want in record time. Glad the Mac does it too, but with windows 7, it’s hardly a point in Apples favor. I’m not really sure where you get your data about it taking minute to sleep or wake… this is clearly fabrication on your part. You should be ashamed.
6. Killer Apps. While apple may come with a few amateurish application out of the box, the real use for computers comes with the apps we install. There is NOTHING that compares to the speed and versatility and sheer power of Microsoft Office on a PC. Apple has nothing that even comes close. The original killer apps for the Mac were the Adobe Suite. Illustrator, PhotoShop, and Aldus Page maker are what made the Mac the great PC it *was*, that you just couldn’t get elsewhere. But no more. All those apps are available for the PC now, and are usually released for the PC first, and oftentimes have more features than the same releases on the Mac. Not only that, more developers make killer plugins for that software on the PC than on the the Mac, making the PC a much more attractive choice for publishers and artists than the Mac ever was.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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McMurphy510, I couldn’t disagree with you more.
1) With the exception of small-scale special purpose software, I see the Mac has just as good of a selection of software these days. I certainly don’t have any trouble finding software.
2) Pretty much every PC comes with junk software consuming about half of the hard drive now. In fact, that is the only way PC manufacturers can make money since they are selling the hardware at or below cost. The only way to really clean it up is to do a fresh install of windows yourself.
3) It is true, I don’t know anyone who uses or needs an antivirus on the Mac. It may be true that there were or maybe still are some security holes in Mac OS, but the fact remains that as of this date there are still no virus or spyware for the Mac in the Wild. With the PC, there are tens of thousands and hundreds being created every day. The number of websites infected has grown tremendously to the point there is no safe place to browse on a windows PC anymore. Most malware infections are now coming in through adobe flash or PDF reader which every windows PC has installed. and so much of it comes in via advertisement on otherwise legit website, so safe browsing is almost impossible these days.
4) Apple most certainly does make hardware. Sure, they may not build it themselves in their own factory in california, but they design the stuff (yes, using off the shelf processors, etc) and contract with foxconn and others to have it built. If this were not the case, you’d see Mac Mini’s and iMacs around with Dell and Compaq labels on the front of them.
5) While it is true that some Windows PCs can actually sleep properly. It is been a bain of laptop users since Windows 95. I used to work in technical support for AST computer in the 1990′s and this was a common tech support call. I’ve had friends and family experience issues with this all the way up through Vista. (not sure about 7)
6) You said, “There is NOTHING that compares to the speed and versatility and sheer power of Microsoft Office on a PC” But did you stop to think that Microsoft Office is just an application, and that application is also available on the Mac. So I don’t see how you can say this feature is unique to windows.
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McMurphy510 – I found my first WinDouche! I didn’t think they actually existed, but I found one.
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Macs only suck less than Winblows. They still suck though. Ubuntu Linux is the cure.
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Doug – Yes, I do believe the statement. I work as an IT administrator with hundreds of Windows machines. We have firewalls, antivirus, proxy-server, you name it. Yet we still get users infected with fake-antivirus programs and other types of malware regularly. I have been able to track some of the infections from websites such as MSN and yahoo on occasion. Obviously such things run rampant on myspace and other sites too. most of them come from advertisements on the sites that use holes in adobe flash or acrobat reader. So simply visiting the site and sitting there for a few minutes is all that is required. I used to clean viruses off of my family’s computers on a weekly basis until I got them all switched over to Macs. Now I don’t worry about that anymore.
As for your reference about the Elk-cloner virus.. that is a pointless observation as it affted machines that have been out of production for 15 years or more. what does that have to do with modern Macs?
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LOL @Doug, Seriously a floppy boot sector virus written in 1985 when Apple II computers were standard in the classroom? Thats not even a legacy macintosh let alone an OSX machine. I bet you make sure all the children in your family continue to be vaccinated for smallpox and other extinct diseases based on that logic.
That FAKE antivirus virus seems to propagate via advertising bar/panes/banners that honest web sites subscribe to. 3 of my family members infected their PCs with that, yet my mac has been immune and I used my mac to investigate/analyze this particular infection.
Along those lines, I wouldn’t say that OSX is immune to viruses… only that there have not been ANY in the wild infections of OSX to date, that could change tomorrow. When it comes to viruses, OSX is Mother Theresa and Windows is Pamela Anderson. No, we are not IMMUNE to viruses. I am currently hepatitis free and always have been… but if Pamela Anderson threw herself at me tonight, that could change depending on how the night goes.
If I am wrong, there are several bounties to be claimed for proof of a real world in-the-wild virus that infects/attacks a up to date 10.x machine. The posted rules are it has to be a flaw in the core OS, and not an exploit of 3rd part apps like Microsoft Office, which by the way McMurphy510 is also a OSX application suite, so scratch that off your PC fanboi list.
And more @McMurphy510, How many times a week does Garage Band or iMovie pop up with a reminder to buy the full version or renew your subscription? None. Buy a new Dell/HP and you will have to remove your socks to have enough digits to count all the demos/evals/trialware and just plain crap that comes preinstalled. You know exactly what we are referring to, and there is nothing to debate. Garage Band and iMovie are both full featured apps with many professional grade features built in for free… and if you don’t use them, delete them… poof gone. No uninstaller to execute, no dlls to clean up.
How many free picture editing/management apps are there for PC that perform lossless edits and saves? I’m talking about preserving the original photo in its entirety, and all edits/copies/variations are meta data, thus at anytime today or a year from now, you can undo all your changes and revert to the original photo? Sure you can do that manually with any application by simply saving-as some other file name… but then you have duplicates to store and manage. That’s bringing editing best practices to any quack that can power on a mac. and is completely transparent to the user. iMovie uses the same lossless editing process.
@MacMurphy510′s #6, “few amateurish apps”, you must be overlooking the entire suite of BSD/Unix tools and daemons included in OSX. Can your Windows 7 do client and server for SSH, FTP, SFTP, TFTP, Telnet, NIS, NFS, AFP, and the rest of the other standard tcpip apps/protocols? Or are you limited to just the ones Microsoft thinks you need? Your included email application, Outlook express, sync with your corporate exchange servers email, contacts and calendar?
Last but not least, how many versions and variations of Windows 7 are there? WHY? Snow Leopard upgrade, $26, only one edition and its full featured. Windows 7 Home premium upgrade is $79 dollars, and gimped versus the Professional or Ultimate editions. Leave it to M$ to redefine premium as the weakest/cheapest option available.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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1. Yes, excellent out of the box software. But as others have mentioned, there is a multitude of software titles available for Windows. Many of those are freely available. This is a non issue.
2. Depends on what PC you buy. Buy a custom build and you’ll have complete control as to what is installed “out of the box”. I build my own PC’s therefore I’ve never seen any crapware.
3. Yes, it’s not needed. I’m sure you’ll find that this will dramatically change as the popularity of OS/X grows. Good luck when it does. Windows users have had 10 years of learning how to deal with invasive malicious software due to the popularity of the platform. Apple users won’t know what hit them.
4. Apple hardware is built by the lowest common denominator. For example, Foxconn. I wouldn’t use a Foxconn motherboard if it was free. Aren’t you guys wondering why Apple hardware is getting cheaper?!
5. Please. The power management on my Win 7 PC works perfectly. Plus it’s fast. Why not compare computers that have eject buttons on the optical drives?
Hot debate. What do you think?
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@David Murray…
I couldn’t disagree with you more… lol… but thanks for putting together some good points.
1. No doubt that there’s some great software available for the Mac, just as there is for the PC… but if you want to do you computing on a budget or for free, there’s a lot more great freeware for the PC. And on the other end, virtually all the apps that made Macs great are now available for PC’s and are identical. And some software you simply can’t get for Mac, like Autocad, not to mention many games.
2. Half the hard drive? Really now? The junk software argument is really quite sophomoric. Yes, some PC vendors put junk software on their systems, others don’t. Shop around, or as you said, just do a clean install of Windows.
3. Here’s your security holes: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/apple-plugs-28-mac-os-x-security-holes/6707.
That’s just one of many articles detailing the dangers of that undefended Mac users face.
4. So what exactly does Apple design? The motherboard and chip are designed and built by Intel (sure, maybe Apple gave them a set of requirements, but that does not change who designed and built them). The memory and video are also designed and built 3rd party. As are their hard drives and most other components. If your argument is that because Apple cherry picks components for their systems based on a minimum set of requirements this makes their systems better, then guess what? There’s plenty of PC manufacturers who do the same thing. In fact I can (and have) build a PC with identical parts as a Mac, only substituting comparable parts where necessary (such as the motherboard), and that system running windows 7 is just as fast and stable as any Mac; and come in under the cost of the similar Mac. It’s this very point that you Mac users can never seem to address or counter. This is the one point that kills you.
5. Sure. I’ll give you 5. But again, it comes down to hardware. I’ve never had an issue with windows sleeping or hibernating. There’s motherboards and chipsets available that are not compliant with industry standard power management specs. Computers made with those components are not gonna sleep. Those components are available to people with PCs. Apple simply does not use them. But, really, who cares? I don’t buy components that are non-compliant, and don’t need to go to Mac for that.
6. The iLife suite is just an application too… but you Mac types always seem to point it out as a reason why Mac is better. Sure it may be free, but PC users have their choice of free, comparable software available for download. True. Office is available on the Mac, but its functionality on that platform pales in comparison to the PC. Compare this to the Adobe CS suite (what used to be considered Mac territory). The functionality, easy of use and speed are now identical on each platform… and on the PC, there’s more 3rd party plugins available.
@Peenwheedle… why don’t you show some bravery and respond to my comments like David Murray did, instead of being a cowardly troll.
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@McMurphy510 –
Ok… you asked for it.
I’ll start off with just crushing you on ONE item and see if you want me to continue Papa Smurf.
Apple designs ALL of their motherboards, with their own in-house engineers. Then they send them off to FoxConn (on some occasions Intel) in China to manufacture. They do not simply give “requirements”. They give them a schematic.
Want me to blow you out of the water some more? Are are you willing to admit defeat? Obviously you are a WinDouche.
Sinister Peenwheedle
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McMurphy,
How do you quantify your #1 point? More is better? If someone needs a GUI FTP client, they only need one. So what if the PC has 100 to choose from and the Mac only has 5? It only takes one to achieve your stated goal of computing on a budget. #1 is null until you can give an example of freeware on the PC that has no OSX equivalent.
On the topic lets compare Cnet’s top downloads for mac and PC:
The top 3 most popular Windows downloads are antivirus programs.
#4 is a youtube downloader
#5 is anti-malware app
#6 is Win-Rar.
#7 more anti-malware
#8 ….
#9 more anti-malware
#11 Camfrog Video chat client
#12 VLC
#13 Virtual DJ
Looking at the most popular Mac downloads:
#1 is Virtual DJ,
#2 is VLC,
#3 is Adobe PS CS5,
#4 is a youtube downloader
#5 is Rar-expander
#6 is CamFrog video chat client.
….
#19 is the first antivirus on the list.
That list says alot!
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Ok. I’ve tried to stay out of this as I wrote the original controversial article. I didn’t want to sway anyone from speaking their mind. I love hearing you guys opinions.
Before I digress, I want to make it clear. I love technology. I love Mac. I love PC. I love Linux. I don’t hate ANY of them. Ok, well I do hate Windows Vista.
However, some of the arguments that have been made are just silly. So I want to set some of them straight.
1) FoxConn makes some of the cheapest components in the industry. They also make some of the best. Just like at Target, you can buy a fresh Salmon Fillet or a canned one. This has zero to do with the quality of Apple components. Foxconn even makes a large portion of Cisco’s data center class switch boards. But even this doesn’t matter.
2) What does matter is ConsumerReports.com’s report on Apple vs. Dell vs. HP failure rates. Apple was the lowest at 4%. The next highest was IBM at 9% and it gets worse from there. With those kinds of numbers you can’t argue that Apple makes crap hardware. They obviously do not. There are rumors that Apple may fall to #2 this year as IBM has gotten better, but even the number 2 spot is nothing to laugh about IF they do.
So can we quit arguing about hardware quality?
Because Apple makes great hardware. And so do others. I just wish the others put a GIANT trackpad on their machines. 
Let’s talk about the OS which is really the big difference between the machines. OS X vs. Windows 7. Which by the way… my opinion. They are both GREAT OSes.
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We’re not Pro Mac. We love Mac. We love PC too. We just love technology.
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Rer -
Sure Mike loves Apple products. But you’re also talking about the same guy who:
1) Refused to buy the iPhone 3GS because it was nothing but a featureless money grab.
2) Ripped Steve Jobs over not ditching AT&T.
3) Said the Macbook Air was “just plain silly!”
Mike does tell it how it is! You don’t have to be a hater to tell something like it is.
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You are both right and wrong about Foxconn. They manufacture to the EOM’s specs. PC companies ask for cheep they get cheep, Foxconn makes it happen within their required cost per unit. Foxconn also makes high end quality stuff for companies that pay for such. Cisco, Apple, and many others get exactly what they pay/negotiate for.
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I can tell you as a Mac user for over 7 years that I have never had a single virus! My mom, dad, brother, friends all with PCs are constantly taking their computers to Bestbuy to get viruses cleaned off of them and they all use virus protection!
PCs SUCK!
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Just want to throw my opinion in here as a visitor from stumbleupon… Macs rock; they are reliable, come with things people need standard and polished, and are secure because of their small base (the claim that viruses will never penetrate macs will change when they hit 20% market share…). They are also reliable and have a high resale value, which is a relevant consideration.
PC’s rock also…. they are cheap (my current one, bought off newegg is a nice dual core, 3 GB Ram, 320 GB HD cost under $300). Cheap is not bad…
Obviously all parts are low end in my PC… bottom of the barrel trash that couldn’t sell for a profit otherwise… so they make a PC out of it. THAT is the difference…
The Mac/PC battle isn’t about new tech… it’s about how to please the consumer. Inexperienced people who buy a cheap PC deserve what they will inevitably get, viruses, BSOD’s, etc… they should get a Mac… they are too dumb to own a PC.
The PC isn’t about safety… it’s about the wild west. Taking your caravan with nothing but 3 barrels of rice (and a barrel of beer) into the wilderness, trusting in yourself to overcome the problems…
I was going to end this with an anti-Mac rant… but I won’t… I have no hate for the Mac lovers…. I just think they are lazy
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Dude! Apple switched to Intel processors in 2005, over 5 years ago. How long do you expect a machine to last?
The very reason Windows is slow, bloated and full of security holes is because of the backwards compatibility they keep in there for decades. It’s ridiculous!
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