Is there any reason NOT to buy an apple/mac computer?

[heartmama]

We are getting a new computer soon. I really like the iMac.

I've only had the "other" kind of computer...IBM, actually an ancient Packard Bell. Is there any reason not to get a mac?

[wolfmom]

this is my hubby speaking as I have limited knowledge of computers:
macs are great for graphic design and video editing. Outside of those uses there are limited applications for the mac. You can get office and internet, and you can get some version of most of the basic programs but you will find many fewer mac programs than windows programs. With the new macs you can get a windows emulator that will let you run almost any windows program but it does cost extra. my opinion - unless you have a specific reason to go for the mac over the pc, you should stick with the pc as they are more versital.
back to me now. dh does use both mac and pc in his work and has extensive knowledge of both. Hope this was helpful!
-wolfmom

[doulamoon]

no

[doulamoon]

Sorry - I love my Mac!!!!!!! As you can probably tell from the number of my posts, I am on it all the time. I switched from an IBM. Once you go Mac, you never go back.

[AdinaL]

No. The fact is that you can run Virtual PC and be able to run ANY PC program that you want to, or may already have. And there are quite a few software programs for Mac. You may not be able to walk into Office Depot and buy it - but apple.com and amazon carry most of them. All internet and office applications are X native...and so are all the Adobe products (photoshop, illustrator, etc.) In additions Apple itself has many programs that will do the same thing as other PC programs - For example Keynote is the same thing as PowerPoint. And I actually prefer Keynote.
iDVD and iPhoto are both wonderful programs...makes editing very easy and nice looking.
I have used both....My first computer was an HP - never had a moment of the thing working correctly...took me several years of working on a PC to find everything and be able to do everything. It took me a couple of months on a Mac.
I can crash anything...any program. I used to beta test for that reason. I have not crashed my OS X iBook...and it is three +years old. I love it...the best computer I have ever owned....followed closely by our flat panel iMac.
The wireless protocol is also well established for Apple...so if you are at all interested in that, Apple is the way to go. (as I sit here in my bed, not plugged in to a blessed thing.)
Hope that you enjoy your new computer!!

[Clarity]

I have never run into a program I needed that was not available for the mac for normal everyday at home use. (actually work too, but I don't know what you egenrally do with your computer.) Some game programs and every once and awhile an oddball program (like, say software for little gadgets or other stuff not make by big software makers) might not be...but those have all been optional things. Nothing that has been so critical I really needed to go find a pc. In the last few months the only thing pc only I encountered was a promotional cd from a school I am looking at for dd. But you donlt seem to be a serious gamehead or you'd be running more than your ancient packard bell.

I hang with network engineers, and they tend to use macs and unix workstations, both. Since OSX they're starting to lose the workstations and jsut have servers plus their desktop. Sales (because people who know not very much about computers think it's a "serious" computer, and accounting (becuase until recently several of the popular large accounting programs were mostly pc) were pretty much the only pc-heavy departments. And of course, they always used outlook, never virus checked properly, and were always getting a serious virus and someone had to go in and help them clean it out. .

I have used pc, unix, and mac interchangably for the last 15 years, for a living and personally, so I don't really care. I keep going back to Macs because I can usually fix any problems I encounter myself, and pretty quick. With the PC I run into bizarre driver errors that require reinstalling everything a disconcertingly large amount of the time. Plus until recently adding devices to a pc was a big pain. And the virus stuff bugs me. Mac viruses are more rare. But sit me in front of anything and I can muddle my way through.

So use what you like. Though I find it funny how many people like to dis the mac, but really don't know all that much about anything other than a tiny niche of desktop computing anyhow. Makes them feel more expert I guess, and it bugs then that things are a little differnet. I sue all sorts of computers so everything's a little differnet, yk? And the money MS gives to places like community colleges where people now think being an MCSE = IT professional. Seriously, our local cc gives an IT degree where 90% of the course are microsoft related. I couldn't hire them.

I like mac hardware design too, but some pc design is as nice, just more rare.

[heartmama]

Oh this is great, just what I needed! To clarify:

We *only* use the computer for internet chatting, some limited document typing, and most of all, ds who is 7 loves to play computer games. Pajama Sam, Spy Fox, and Putt Putt are the variety he likes. However I do plan to start running some more education games this fall as part of our homeschooling.

I really dig the new flat screen, adjustable arm iMAC. Could it do all of that for us?

It is expensive but we have a bit saved away and really want to treat ourselves after almost 9 years on a Packard Bell that is so slow, literally, I could make a pot of coffee while waiting for it to open windows.....

[Clarity]

many education games work on both. (check the ones he likes specifically, and if they don't get the emulator...which can't be much slower than what you're using.) most chat programs work on both. And there are several choices in word processors of varying prices. The apple web site is probably helpful to check educational software titles.

[Kim]

LOVE Macs!

For home use (and professional use) you can't beat a Mac, IMO. We've moved a couple of times with our Mac and the set-up could NOT be easier. We own a PowerMac G4 and an IBook. We are also using Airport (wireless networking) and love it! Any time I feel like it I can pick up the laptop and sit outside while dd plays. It's just great.

If you are concerned about games and versatility, check the back of the boxes on the games you currently have to see if they are Mac-compatible. Other peripherals (scanners, printers, etc.) probably came with a USB cable (or you can buy these).

I can't say enough great things about Macs. Love'em, love'em, love'em!!!

[bloodrayne]

Nope, Macs rock!

My parents bought me one as a graduation gift and my roommate ruined it even though she wasn't even supposed to touch it. I don't know how but within a month I needed a new hard drive. The tech could NOT figure it out.

So anyway, it hasn't been the same since and now it's just too slow for me, so I'm waiting to get a new one. I use DH's IBM-compatible and I HATE HATE HATE it. I still cannot figure out how to do certain things on it that were easy to figure out on my Mac, and I am by no means computer illiterate.

I can't wait to get a new Mac.

[Len]

Originally posted by heartmama
Re: Is there any reason NOT to buy an apple/mac computer?

a) You own lots of Microsoft shares
b) You have lots of time to spend reebooting your computer after every crash

Macs rule! Your difficult decision should be which Mac should I buy?
What's the point on having thousands and thousands of titles available if you will only use a fraction of them? There's everything you need for personal use and sometimes more (iTunes, iPhoto) than on a PC

[vein]

I'll probably the lone voice here, but, I can't help my dislike for Macs after using them for quite some time. (Although I have promised I would give OS X a try at some point in my life)

First of all, Packard Hells have *always* been awful computers. I wouldn't judge a pc on a PB, because I never knew anyone who actually liked theirs. Most spent major times being fixed because of various problems.

Secondly, because Apple doesn't allow others to build/sell a computer, the cost is so highly inflated. You can get a faster (and better, IMO) computer for $600 or more LESS than you could get a Mac. Including a flat panel display.

Third, yes, Win95 and 98 and ME sucks. However, on all of our Windows boxes we're running Win2k or XP. My 2k machine has not been down for a reboot in 4 months. It's been running fantastically. Before I had it down for a few minutes to put in a new graphics card, it hadn't been rebooted in about 6 months. Plus, if a program were to "die", it doesn't bring down the whole OS like it does in the older versions of Windows. (XP is another story, and I wouldn't allow it to be put on my new box)

The best thing about Windows 2k we'll make full use of when our son is old enough to use the computer - you can lock it down to allow him only access to the computer at certain times of the day (no sneaking out to play on it in the middle of the night). Because you can have different SECURE desktops, it's also a lot easier to have all of the childrens games easily accessable on that one desktop, with any sort of filtering software installed if wanted, without it affecting the other users of the computer.

Just my 2 cents.

[AdinaL]

Secondly, because Apple doesn't allow others to build/sell a computer, the cost is so highly inflated. You can get a faster (and better, IMO) computer for $600 or more LESS than you could get a Mac. Including a flat panel display.

Actually this is not entirely true. while they don't allow the hack job custom things that windows does that you can find for really cheap, there are a lot of resellers. Macwarehouse, for one. And they have good prices. As for faster and better....no PC I have used to date (and I worked on a brand spanking new one last week) has been more stable or faster than our g4.

The best thing about Windows 2k we'll make full use of when our son is old enough to use the computer - you can lock it down to allow him only access to the computer at certain times of the day (no sneaking out to play on it in the middle of the night). Because you can have different SECURE desktops, it's also a lot easier to have all of the childrens games easily accessable on that one desktop, with any sort of filtering software installed if wanted, without it affecting the other users of the computer.

You can also do this on OSX. My dh and I have 3 different log ins on our iMac...one for each of us and one as master. And you can lock each one for certain things, allowing only access to kid's stuff, or media stuff, or even a guest login. I am not sure about the locking it out for certain times.....but I am sure my dh knows about it and at this point I am sure there is an Apple script available for it.

And do give the new macs a try - you will be pretty impressed....I didn't like them after working on them for a while either...and then when the new ones came out, I think they are the most rock solid computers out there.
As for rebooting - The only reason we have rebooted any of our computer was to install new software. And that is since I put OS X on it. Our iMac has never been rebooted except for a power outage (can't do nothing about that) and software installs. And in OSX, a program dying won't take the whole computer down either. It just says the program has quit and nothing else has been affected. One of the major reasons I love it so.

[Viola]

I would say no. My husband, the Mac fanatic in the family, the one who converted me, well, he will say, sure. If you are buying a computer to run the latest games right away (like the big action games that cost a lot of money to produce, not educational games), you are better off with a PC. I don't play computer games, so I don't care.

With the current Mac OS X, I don't believe that is possible to have a time of day lockout, but of course you can have the different desktops with different levels of security.

As far as reboots go, I've had both Macs and Windows machines crash on me plenty o' times. I have had a kernel panic with OS X, which is not common, but I had to immediately quit what I was doing and reboot. I use a portable, and I'm not necessarily kind to it, however.

I think it depends on what you are looking for and what is important to you. I do think for style and simplicity, I'd go with an iMac, but I'm biased I know. I had a Dell desktop machine running WinNT, and when we moved over a year ago, I never bothered to set it back up again. It's still sitting up there in my computer room, packed away in a box, and I'd like to donate it. I love Airport, iPhoto, iTunes and my iPod, and iMovie, and I'm sure there are probably comparable Windows programs, I am just not familiar with them, and I really don't think they'd work as seamlessly with the OS, but maybe I'm just basing that on prior Windows experience. I haven't tried XP. My worry, and maybe Vein can disperse my concerns on this topic, is the way Microsoft seems to be moving in wanting to license the programs on a subscription basis instead of selling them outright--maybe that's all water under the bridge, but it seems like there are other similar issues. I don't have a problem with MS wanting to protect their software--I don't use pirated copies of anything. If I'm not willing to pay for it, I don't need it, so I'm not upset about security protections unless they infringe on our rights in other ways, and that is my concern.

I also like the fact that I just don't worry about computer viruses as much--most of them are not Mac compatible.