Reasons why I should buy a Mac

[BigE9]

Hi there, I am looking for some good logical reasons that can be empirically verified as to why I should buy a Mac. I generally build my own systems for the pure enjoyment of it all, but some of my friends have insisted over and over again. However, as I can build my own systems for a good deal cheaper than Mac offers, I am looking for some good motivation to fork over the extra cash.

 

Here is what I have come up with so far:

 

I like gaming, but since I can dual-boot into Windows for that, it's not really an issue anymore.

 

I am proficient Linux and Windows user. I have applications that work really well with me. I use the computer for programming, some photo work, music editing, and playing media (including video games). However, I am willing to part with those applications for more robust alternatives, so that doesn't have to be an issue.

 

I do not experience problems that a stereotypical windows user comes accross. I have never had a virus, never had a blue screen of death on my own computer, and so I don't consider stability arguments valid as I have never had such problems.

 

I guess the biggest issue is the price! What makes Macs worth the extra premium for you?

[teknojunkie]

"It Just Works"

 

The only reason Windows Crashes a lot of times is because they don't make their own Hardware.

They say if you love making Software make Hardware to go a long with it.

And that what apple did their design and simplicity makes it stand out without hiding it in underneath your table.

[Guest cavallo]

20 years ago the maket (us) has done a big error.why?because we did not think for future but for present, and win was cheaper.today if we choosed apple we 're gonna have win going on apple std and not apple goingto win standard.Linux will never be because it is too hard, no {censored} drivers, if there is and you choose to install it is on your risk.no application and not too free as pleople says if you need a ditribution with the app you need apple is cheaper.do you really know what is gonna to be with 2,8 or more dual ppc cpu is the standard, no f++++g intel crashing down every 2 times on three.we were gonna have quad pure ppc cpu for the same price.Be honest..... please

"It Just Works" The only reason Windows Crashes a lot of times is because they don't make their own Hardware.They say if you love making Software make Hardware to go a long with it.And that what apple did their design and simplicity makes it stand out without hiding it in underneath your table.

why you're trying osx, you'got the best

[iPirate]

The help I get when trying to get a damaged part fixed under warrantee ("Oh sure, come back after noon?")

The plethora of software that has barely any glitches, and is designed with my usability in mind.

Xcode is pretty decent for programming (really good for OS X programming).

Photo work - Well Macs like their colour profiles for that true presentation.

Garageband's pretty useful for music editing.

 

In the end it's your choice. Just spend an hour in an Apple Store playing with the machines and make up your mind.

 

I, for one, have banned myself from entering Apple Stores when I don't need anything. Noone comes up to me, noone trys to sell me anything, I just look at what's on display, have a play with it and think "I want". My wallet says "Oh noes" but it's not a voice I listen to once I've made up my mind.

 

At least I've never made a Mac purchase that I've regretted.

[derailed_spark]

Apple hardware smells so nice ...

[MuftiMan]

Apple hardware smells so nice ...

Lol, I wasn't the only one who thought that then!

 

And yeah, I'm considering getting a mac, even though my experience with the OS so far has been terrible (mainly cos it's a hack!) But apart from other bugs the OS is beautiful.

[iPirate]

Bugs? What bugs! Blasphemy I tell you!

 

Oh wait that was on a Hack... nevermind... *sheepish*

[Mac Guguen]

Why a mac??

hmm lets see if you suffer Slow PC, You might consider a change from PC to Mac Because....

1. Macs are obviously Faster....

2. Macs Dont Crash

3. Macs (comparing to PC) Has a really really low chance of getting Spyware or virus

4. Macs actually Guarantee that all hardwares in the Macs are... Genuine because only APPLE develops drivers for them.

5. Macs are Slick with 1 and only Platform to operate in, take XP... DUDE XP's got HOME and PRO, whats the difference??

6. Macs dont come in different package price for headaches, Take Vista... DUDE Vista got like Home, Home premium..., Ultimate (Whats What??)

7. If you're a Dude who actually likes Graphic Design and Movies and Games, buy a Mac, cause the Macs actually are Less Dependent on the Displays, Poor XP gota run SLI to even get games to run smoothly...

8. Macs are Smart specially when it comes to self management.

9. Macs are Safe specially when you like to BT and stuff like that, cause most BTable Files contains Virus for XP.. NOT MAC!

 

(If anyone of you think i got something wrong stated up there, You can always post in disagreement. Im actually expressing my Points cause i switched from PC to Macs and i Love it considering that i bought a Mac Pro, Just love it.)

 

OH and Microsoft are Frauds Remember when the first Personal Computer was built by Apple, Microsoft was still playing with box that lights up in sequence in Albuquerque.

[cain.]

Just install OSx86 on an old rig and try it. If you are like 90% of all other people, you'll go get a Mac rightaway. But: They are _not_ as good for games, the graphics are pretty week actually because OS X is not as resource-intensive as Windows is, that is, can get way more performance out of components...

 

Windows doesn't crash often for me, it just has tons of annoying glitches if you ask me. Still like it for pure office-work and to manage huge amounts of files, but hate it when it comes to home-use if you strip it down properly. Still, you can emulate Windows without problems, I hardly notice any differences between Mac Office and Windows Office through VMware Fusion in terms of speed...

 

Still, to be honest:

- Office 2007 > Office 2008 and Office XP > Office 2004

- Windows is better for games because of DirectX and compatibility in general, though it's getting better and better here

[.ShadowFox]

In my experience, Mac OS has always been my choice.

 

However, I too am a gamer, so I keep a custom PC on hand.

[qwen3579]

"It Just Works"

 

Yes it does!

[syrian_gamer]

1. Macs are obviously Faster....

Benchmarks?

2. Macs Dont Crash

Ive had programs crash on a macbook. See attatched file

3. Macs (comparing to PC) Has a really really low chance of getting Spyware or virus

Cant argue there

4. Macs actually Guarantee that all hardwares in the Macs are... Genuine because only APPLE develops drivers for them.

Why is that significant? Check my rig in my sig. Gigabyte mobo (not made by Microsoft) and it runs great and stable.

5. Macs are Slick with 1 and only Platform to operate in, take XP... DUDE XP's got HOME and PRO, whats the difference??

Pro has more Networking features that are needed when hooking up multiple computers in the same domian or workgroup i believe

6. Macs dont come in different package price for headaches, Take Vista... DUDE Vista got like Home, Home premium..., Ultimate (Whats What??)

You've been watching too many Apple commercials. Ok i admit 4 versions is alot. But honestly Rarely does anyone i have ever sold a PC to needed anything more than Home premium.

7. If you're a Dude who actually likes Graphic Design and Movies and Games, buy a Mac, cause the Macs actually are Less Dependent on the Displays, Poor XP gota run SLI to even get games to run smoothly...

 

Ok where to start with this one. Graphic Design with Mac i would Say yes. Movies??? Not if you want to spend lots of money for an external Blu-Ray drive. On a pc you can just buy a cheaper internal drive and get the same thing. Games??? Yeah dont give me the "ill just dual boot" then why you buying a mac? Pc's just run games much better because they are built for windows. Plus Hardware vs Price you get a much higher bang for your buck with a pc than a mac.

I have no idea what you mean they are less dependent on the displays so i would even try to counter argue that one.

Umm SLI? Do you even HAVE a pc? you would be supprised how far you can crack up the details with just a single 8800GT. and YES it will play Crysis and all the other latest games.

 

8. Macs are Smart specially when it comes to self management.

Dont know

9. Macs are Safe specially when you like to BT and stuff like that, cause most BTable Files contains Virus for XP.. NOT MAC!

See number 3

 

The reason i would get a mac is because they are very nice looking laptops. Yes im talking about macbooks/mbp. Depending on how much of a priority gaming is and whether you want great graphics or not you could be able to get away with the gpu's in Regualr imacs or Mac Pros. It does "just work" however getting use to the way it works is a whole other story. IMO if you have time go down to your local apple store and just play around for an hour. Surf the net check ur calendar appointments listen to music bring a dvd and watch a video. Take it for a spin or just buy a mac and return it before 14 days (Not from Apple store, they charge you 15% restocking fee) Thats what i did at my local Futureshop. And dont be worried about some programs that you use on windows. I think there is always a mac equivalent. Or worst comes to worst just VMWare .

[iPirate]

@ syrian_gamer: Safari sometimes does that on some sites. Last time it happened it was caused by shockwave or something.

 

Anyway, I think the post you quoted about "Macs don't crash" meant the entire OS, a Kernel Panic (of which I have had two, one to do with dodgy RAM, the other because I messed around in the system folder and didn't change permissions back to what they should have been).

 

XP Professional has more networking features... OS X just has them anyway. Plus OS X is way cheaper than any flavour of Windows (that is retail price, not bundled subsidised price).

 

A mac won't have $50 of bloat or adware installed (so they're at least $50 more expensive).

 

Graphic Design and Movies != Blu-Ray. If you really want one of those drives, just buy an internal drive and a FireWire external drive case. Problem solved. OS X May or may not have Blu-Ray burning built in by now. Can't remember.

 

"I'll just dual boot" (for games) is a Great reason to get a Mac. It means that you're not gonna waste all your time in Windows when you only want it for playing games. I find I get a hell of a load more done in OS X.

 

Pc's just run games much better because they are built for windows. Plus Hardware vs Price you get a much higher bang for your buck with a pc than a mac.

 

Umm, mate, if it has an intel processor and motherboard, it's built for Windows. That's one of its problems. One OS has to support an infinite number of configurations. That's just asking for trouble. But at least that means that (once you've installed the Drivers from the same DVD as you used to install OS X onto your Mac) Windows will run fine on any Intel Mac.

 

I buy Apple for OS X. I buy a Mac so that it will work to the best it can with the least (read: no) hacking. It's worth it, it really is.

[ZeroDreams]

hi im looking to get a mac book pro for design. should i wait and get one after the summer (upgrades etc) or get one now (ipod+printer deal)?

 

i need one before september, and i havent used a mac since middle school (1998). what do i need to know? should i get one now to get used to the new os? what about snow lepoard? wont i have to get that when it is released? id really like to get the most bang for my buck.

[Numberzz]

hi im looking to get a mac book pro for design. should i wait and get one after the summer (upgrades etc) or get one now (ipod+printer deal)?

 

i need one before september, and i havent used a mac since middle school (1998). what do i need to know? should i get one now to get used to the new os? what about snow lepoard? wont i have to get that when it is released? id really like to get the most bang for my buck.

The iPod and Printer that you will get for free is worth more than the $129 that Snow Leopard will probably cost.

[vbetts]

I'm gonna be honest, say what you want about this post, but a Mac will do as much as a PC will. Get on the internet, play games, listen to music, watch movies, etc. Windows is actually pretty stable, it kind of gets old hearing people say Vista does nothing but crash 24/7. Does everything a Mac will do. Though one thing, if you do get a prebuilt one like a Dell, or a HP or compaq, it will come with software you won't need, which it's not hard to uninstall it. It can be very annoying at times, but nothing that needs to have the work of a rocket scientist to do. If any prebuilt computers I would get, Gateway, Asus, or Acer computers. Come with the least or no bundled software with it.

But if you have the money to buy a Mac, go for it. They're nice, but they're not needed 100%.

[andsteele]

Macs are expensive but they are very good machines. The OS X operating system is fantastic and enables you to run programs such as iLife, and final cut pro. If you like photo editing, photoshop has been shown to run faster on a Mac. The design of the systems themselves are very good, once you get a Mac most PC's will look a bit bland.

 

I'm getting my first Mac soon (MBP) and getting rid of my PC.

[coolied]

Why a mac??

hmm lets see if you suffer Slow PC, You might consider a change from PC to Mac Because....

1. Macs are obviously Faster....

Well, my Hackintosh is identical is performance between my Vista install and 10.5.4; so nope to that one.....

2. Macs Dont Crash - So there is no such thing as a kernel panic? And my Vista hasn't crashed since I replaced my bad RAM

3. Macs (comparing to PC) Has a really really low chance of getting Spyware or virus - Lower than a PC, but you still need to be careful

4. Macs actually Guarantee that all hardwares in the Macs are... Genuine because only APPLE develops drivers for them.

I'd assume that the vendor develops the drivers and Apple qualifies them

5. Macs are Slick with 1 and only Platform to operate in, take XP... DUDE XP's got HOME and PRO, whats the difference??

Mostly networking and domain functionality

6. Macs dont come in different package price for headaches, Take Vista... DUDE Vista got like Home, Home premium..., Ultimate (Whats What??) - Handy table on MS's site to tell you what's what

7. If you're a Dude who actually likes Graphic Design and Movies and Games, buy a Mac, cause the Macs actually are Less Dependent on the Displays, Poor XP gota run SLI to even get games to run smoothly... - bullcrap, my single 8800GT does fine

8. Macs are Smart specially when it comes to self management. - what???? not sure what you mean

9. Macs are Safe specially when you like to BT and stuff like that, cause most BTable Files contains Virus for XP.. NOT MAC! - Again, you still gotta be careful.... even you said 'most', not 'all'

 

(If anyone of you think i got something wrong stated up there, You can always post in disagreement. Im actually expressing my Points cause i switched from PC to Macs and i Love it considering that i bought a Mac Pro, Just love it.)

 

OH and Microsoft are Frauds Remember when the first Personal Computer was built by Apple, Microsoft was still playing with box that lights up in sequence in Albuquerque. - nope, read this:

 

http://www.blinkenlights.com/pc.shtml

 

The first "Personal Computer" was designed by Edmund Berkeley in 1949 and was called "simon"

[axmasta]

^^^

I was hoping someone was gonna point that stuff out.

I have immense respect for their operating system, but there are an unsettling number of OSX sheep that will regurgitate anything the "Jobs" crew puts in their media without any thought of how valid their points are.

 

OSX put XP to shame, but i'm running Vista with no blue screens, no hardware conflicts (besides one rediculously {censored} driver from D-Link and my relic of a Webcam), and best of all no crashes to date on my homemade system thats almost 2 years old. Not to mention the hardware I put in it has kept its ground in the sporadic market of PC hardware pretty damn well.

 

On the other hand, a Machead buddy of mine bought a gorgeous (and wickedly pricey) Mac Pro back in '05, and to date i've probably heard him complain about (and also witnessed) kernel freakouts - causing his system to temporarily fall apart untill reboot - about every 4 months.

So OSX Vs. Vista in terms of dependability, theyre basically on par.

 

Security wise, nobody's gonna spend months of their time writing viruses for 15% (correct my figure if i'm wrong, please) of the market share. So Macs are in the clear, as long as they don't become too widely used, I believe.

 

Just FYI for kicks, along with my main PC, within the next four days I hope to own a lightly used Blackbook, mainly for school and travel.

 

Just dipped into the linux side of things recently since starting to learn Python. Linux is wierd.....

[or_astroman]

BigE9,

 

The reason to get a Mac? That's easy, do you want a Mac? If it's yes then get one. If it's maybe, borrow, beg, find someone who has one and test drive it.

 

Me, I love Macs. I've been rocking a Mini with 10.4.? on it for years. I've used it to record shows for an internet radio station, some graphic design, music management and storage, a few game emulators, and of course some interwebs. It has been phenomenal with everything. Everything I have tried with it has worked first try without any troubleshooting.

 

At nearly all of my jobs, I've always had to use PC's. I'm not against Windows and have zero experience with Linux, but I have had more problems on the MS platforms than my Mac. There is one Windows machine in our home. I've tried to do some of the same things on it that I do on my Mini with mixed results. I'm not saying that my experience is universal, but for me "It just works" has proved very true indeed.

 

When(if?) the new models come out, I'll finally upgrade to the Intel macs and get rid of that Windows box. I gotta have my Netflix instant watching.

[tomazzzi]

2. Macs Dont Crash

 

Erm, that s a legend...

 

Yes macs crash

 

3. Macs (comparing to PC) Has a really really low chance of getting Spyware or virus -

 

Another legend, you are a virus friend on pc if you are a porn friend

 

Why a mac??

 

Cause it s well done with robust hardware.

 

if you have the money go mac

 

But you can have similar performance with a good PC assuming you grab the good parts

[viciov]

Hi Guys,

 

After many trials ... since I've no more time.... Yesterday I've just bought an iMac 24'' .... only one word I can say now: " It's Fantastic !! ";

 

I suggest you all to buy one if you can and spend your time to improve by testing this OS....

I'm proud to be a new entry the beautifull apple world..! Take it easy !

 

 

Ciao.

[poopmonkey]

I have to disagree on buying a Mac. The macs are simply overpriced, you are paying a lot for the style, "look" and the apple brand. Take even the most expensive iMac the 24inch 3.06ghz intel core 2 duo, which costs $2,199.00 off of the apple website. Well, now considering I would have 2,199.00 dollars to spend on a computer I can build a much more faster and receive a bigger "bang for the buck" if I build a Hackintosh using compatible hardware.

 

Also, whoever says Macs do not crash are dead wrong. I've been working on various Macs through the years and have experienced quite a few myself. For example, I once was editing a clip in Final Cut Pro and I suddenly recieved a blank error and Final Cut instantly quit on me. Another example was when I had a G5 Tower and a year into it's life, the hard drive simply failed on me. Afterwards, I saw that the G5 Tower is plagued with these kinds of things. Also, on occasion you might get a kernal panic after you update but those seem to be not too frequent.

 

It all depends on your own judgement, if you want your computer to be upgradeable,but be stylish and take up little space without much hassle then get yourself an iMac. But, if you want your computer to be upgradeable, not too sore on the eyes and take up a bit more space, then build a Hackintosh. Also, getting a Hackintosh would require you to do more work on it to get it all to work properly.

[BBrown]

Excuse my ignorance if this seem erraneous or inaccurate. I read that the maufactures who make peripherals for PCS are the same ones that make the peripherals for Macs, with the only difference being that the hard drive in a mac does not carry the seagate name or logo even though it was made for Apple by Seagate via contractual agreement. The same holds true for things such as graphics card. So, if that is the case, are you really paying for better build quaility for a Mac over a PC or is this a myth? Are you just paying more for Mac OS X and if that is the case is it worth paying the additional money for the operating system alone.

 

After reading the comments in response to whether one should purchase Apple Care or not as per article posted here http://www.tuaw.com/2008/03/06/to-buy-applecare-or-not/ I have to ask myself how in the hell you get hardware failure in less than 3 years and in some cases in less than one year for something proclaiming to have better build quality than a PC. Yes, I know that happens with PCs as well and I am not suggesting that it does not. The only concern is that Macs are often touted as having better build quality than PCS, so why do hardware failures arise over such a short period of time over mac ownership. The comments to the article posted on the above link would seem to confirm that there are a fair number of people who recommend purchasing Apple Care with a new Mac due to their own experience of hardware failures with the first 3 years of ownership that would have otherwise been quit costly had they not had Apple Care.

[kdb424]

They are sexy for one. They work and are easy to use, and they are legal. I do like the idea of building my own system. Even if it was a kit they sent me it would be better, but I love my Macbook Pro!