<p>any computer-savvy people here who can tell me the advantages of getting a mac over a pc? my mom's getting a new computer for us.. probably a laptop or maybe a non-bulky desktop. we're looking at pcs vs mac.. and the macs seem pretty, and i know they're good for video/imaging.. but anyone here know about their other advantages and stuff?</p>
<p>Oh my god, Macs are soooooo much better than PC's. I had a PC for a few years but swtiched to a Mac and will never, ever switch back to a PC. Macs are amazingly stable and never crash. I mean never! My old PC used to crash at least once a day. Also, its so easy to use. The OS X operating system is incredibly user friendly, and since the hardware and software are both made by Apple, everything is compatible. You can get Office (inc. Word, Excel, etc.) and other popular programs for Macs too. I have a 12 inch Powerbook and its sooo cute and handy. Its really light and I can take it with me anywhere I go. Disadvantages? I can't think of any.</p>
<p>hmm.. what about the programs? did u have to repurchase them? since.. lots are for pc and stuff. :></p>
<p>don't listen to him. Both of them have their pros and cons. Macs are require far less "maintenence" but it can be harder to play around with settings. PCs can require more maintenance (but that is not necessarily true if you're relatively savvy with computers and surfing online), but there is much more stuff you can do. Now, macs aren't necessarily better for video or imaging. The choice is a matter of personal preference and price. You'll find that with the same features, macs tend to be more expensive. But for a lower maintenence system it might be worth it.</p>
<p>that business with crashing too -- maybe its just me, but i think that goes hand in hand with however much you're overloading your computer. I've never had my either of my PC's that i've had crash, and mac's that ive been on crash alllllll the tiiiiiiiime--so maybe that's just personal experience, but that's what you were asking for sort of, so yeah.</p>
<p>Most programs will be compatible with macs, such as Word, Excel, Photoshop, MSN Messenger, etc. Even the files are transferable between systems. For example, you can email a Word file from a Mac to a PC no problem. </p>
<p>As I've said, my experience with Macs has been great. I'd never switch back to Windows even if someone offered to pay me. One more bonus: 99.9% of viruses don't affect macs! My favorite oxymoron: Microsoft Works.</p>
<p>Macs tend to be (now don't get angry with me here) more for the less-computer literate. Apple doesn't include more complicated things like multitasking. However, this comes at a price. If you're the type of person that likes having more than one window accessible at a given time (say, listening to music while downloading a video and reading the news), then on a mac you're gonna have to drag your windows around a lot. As has been said, while Windows may be a little more difficult to learn, it offers a bit more agility. Most of the people I know that own macs tend to be the type of people that only want to look at their email and maybe send a digital photo. BEWARNED: if you play computer games, a mac is probably not a good choice (check out <a href="http://www.speckz.com/movies/switch.mov%5B/url%5D">http://www.speckz.com/movies/switch.mov</a> for a funny parody of a mac commercial with this idea in mind). Sure, there are a couple new games that come out for mac, but the selection is much smaller than for a pc. Not only do developers stay very far away from the mac platform, but macs are notorious for low memory caches (as my friend put it: they don't give you enough memory to even run any of their own programs). This brings up another point: with a pc, if you decide you want more memory or a new hard drive, you can buy it and upgrade it-- not so with macs. Apple has a strangle-hold over its hardware, and upgrading a mac is kinda an unheardof thing to do (partially cause mac people aren't 'into' that sort of thing, for the most part). Apple has pretty much one stance on all its products: elegance, beauty, and ease of use. Look at the ipod and you know what I mean. Now, this reply may have come off as rather harsh towards macs, but they have developed their own little niche: they are generally the preferred platform for developers and at least until recently for image-editing. Overall though, I would have to say that if you can navigate to a computer forum you probably are gonna enjoy a pc more than a mac.</p>