<p>^ Well, no one on this thread actually said the Mac was “safer.” And btw your second article concludes that the Mac still has the advantage, lol.</p>
<p>The poster simply said they were tired of viruses, and Mac can offer them what they want: little to none virus encounters compared to a Windows system.</p>
<p>Like I said, “There just aren’t enough people using MacBooks for hackers to actually care about wrecking havoc for us.” It’s not that the Mac is so amazing that it is impenetrable, it’s just that the OS was well-made and not enough people use Macs for it to be worth a hacker’s trouble to mess with. Sure that could change someday, but how long are we talking here? 10 years? By then I’m pretty sure Apple is going to have to step up their protection and by then I’m sure Windows will have to keep up with their security issues too so it’s all the same to me.</p>
<p>my personal solution is netbook + higher end desktop.</p>
<p>for portable use, you want something that is PORTABLE. Emphasis on portable. That said when portability isn’t an issue, you want something with some power behind it.</p>
<p>FYI, while not 100% legal, it’s very possible to install Mac OSX onto pretty much any modern computer.</p>
<p>also LOL at people who get viruses malware adware etc. Are you guys THAT TECH ILLITERATE?
I haven’t regularly run an AV in years. Occasionally, I install one for shiggles and I get nothing. The number one cause of infection is between the monitor and the keyboard.</p>
<p>I’m sorry to tell you guys this, but even the most robust system cannot cure idiocy. If you’re an idiot, run your web browser via a VM.</p>
<p>anyway, the most reliable OEMs for laptops are ASUS, Sony, and Apple. In that order. This is at the very least in terms of failure rate. Given that Macs tend to cost $$$ and people take better care of expensive equipment, that doesn’t bode THAT well for Apple’s own ODMs. For general use, pretty much any operating system works well enough assuming you’re not as dumb as my step father and if money is an issue, you shouldn’t even be considering a Mac. If money is a non-issue, I will say Apple does have some nice innovations in terms of hardware implementation(I believe most of their newer laptops use eIPS panels and I do like their trackpads) I don’t consider this worth the price premium though. I’m also one to buy new computers every other year(I sell off the old ones/parts from them)</p>
<p>Wow ok, all I want is a computer that’ll run simply without issues with a LESS chance of viruses. I’m not going to be running many programs on it. I’m going to be a psych major. I’m not VERY tech savvy, but I’m not ILLITERATE.</p>
<p>If a Mac is less of a hassle, then why not?</p>
<p>the downside is that if it doesn’t work straight out of the box(it usually does with minimal setup) you’ll be browsing the internet a bit for support and in certain regards it’s more aimed at advanced user(like most linux distributions are)</p>
<p>and you’ll have to forgive me if I sound condescending. I deal with tech illiterate parents and am a technology enthusiast(albeit more on the hardware side of things than software)</p>
<p>for the record, I love many of apple’s products, I just don’t approve of their pricing or anti-consumer behavior…</p>
<p>You might want to calmly re-read your posts before submitting…A debate is always healthy, but calling someone tech illiterate in caps, an idiot, etc. is just really unnecessary. If anything it devalues anything you have to say, no matter how knowledgeable you are. There’s a difference between a tech enthusiast and someone who won’t get off their high horse…</p>
<p>I think it’s a well established fact that USERS are responsible for their own infections. Things don’t automatically download themselves and give themselves system access.</p>
<p>I’ve got a friend without a HS diploma and who can’t get a GED and he has no issues with viruses despite not running an AV. It’s not a matter of intelligence.</p>
<p>it’s a matter of sitting in front of the damn screen for around 2000+ hours and learning what’s actually happening.</p>
<p>the issue isn’t the operating environment, the PEBKAC.</p>
<p>^ Completely unrelated to my reply and the fact that you were just plain rude. I think it’s funny how you suddenly jump to defending yourself and preaching to us why we are all automatically idiots if we ever get a virus on our computers. It’s time to get off your high horse. We’re all educated here, otherwise we wouldn’t bother getting a higher education. The poster simply wanted our opinions. I don’t recall anyone asking for you to berate people or be utterly patronizing.</p>
<p>You’re now using Ad hominems as to why my conclusion (human error) is not valid. I never berated individuals. I might be a bit overly blunt, but I feel that at times it’s required to drive a point, again note how I never mentioned individuals or targeted anyone.</p>
<p>I would like a reasonable explanation as to why you consider human error to be invalid in such an application. Why do you feel that improving the knowledge of an individual consumer would not be of benefit? Why is technology literacy frowned upon in a thread dedicated to informing others about technology?</p>
<p>Again I’ve stated that I don’t feel that that virus infections are a matter of intelligence, it’s a matter of ignorance. In today’s technology driven society, if you’re to ever reach a high position, it’s expected that you are competent in all regards. If the worst happens, it should be noted that explaining to an employer that you’ve effectively crippled tens of thousands of dollars of equipment is never pleasant, and telling him that you’ve lost almost as much productivity isn’t either… then there are the lost opportunities. While what one does with their own equipment is their own choice, the simple fact remains that being well educated on the technology you’ll invariably be forced to use IS VERY IMPORTANT. I’m not saying that you should know how to turn a computer into a VM farm of sorts capable of running a hundred different stations, I’m saying that you should be knowledgeable enough to know how to NOT mess things up. This might mean taking a few courses at a community college from time to time (though I will say I took one and found a number of errors and inaccuracies in the textbook)</p>
<p>As I’ve said before, the only negatives macs have would be that they run a bit hot, and that they cost a fair bit more(especially if you need to install windows on the system in the future). There are some definite positives(tight hardware-software integration, generally better screen panels) and the implementation of a UNIX based OS(great for running a lot of legacy applications while having compatibility with many present day apps like photoshop, possibly quite important for certain scientific applications) These advantages can be obtained by other means however, or at least closely simulated.</p>
<p>Just remember, however, if you aren’t rich or very well off, this will effectively be paid for with a student loan. If another $500-1000 of debt isn’t a big deal to you, then it isn’t. If it is, you’ll be amazed at what $500-600 can get you (it’s more than fast enough for general use) just keep in mind that the average starting pay for most non-science/business majors is less than $40,000.</p>
<p>Hahaha - PoorCookie, how perfectly you predicted this when you first replied to this thread at the very beginning “I can see where this thread is going…” with that great sense of foreboding.</p>
<p>It only took a few replies, and one socially incompetent tech nerd with a fight to pick, to hijack this thread. I guess xelink has nothing else to do these days than to call out other people’s ignorance as he tries to kill time waiting to meet his only friends at the next video game convention.</p>