Apple vs PC

[Guest EurythmicThrust]

I am sooo ready to launch my desktop PC out the window! I'm curious though to hear what others would have to say about Apple Mac desktops. My main irritation is my PC doesn't seem to like being online much...judging by the slow page upload time and other functions on the web that seems to take forever. Yea, I have done everything technically possible from the DSL side to improve service, so I'm laying the blame on my PC.

Any thoughts/opinions/raves/rants about MAC internet functionality would be greatly appreciated!

[Guest raulgmanzo]

Well there are a lot of variables at play. Your hardware, operating system, applications, how things are set up etc. While Apple usually implies MacOS and PC often is Microsoft windows, it doesn't have to be that way. For example I use a lot of PCs (and some Apple computers) but don't run Microsoft Windows. And even if one is running Windows the drivers and the network hardware can make a huge difference as can the browsers and any proxies and the servers of pages you are accessing.

A good start would be to try and identify where the bottle necks are and at just what kind of speeds you are getting your data. http://dslreports.com/tools is a site which along with lots of discussion of DSL providers also has some tests that can help you determine which part of your system and connection is causing the slowdown.

How new is your computer? Sadly, contemporary OSes, browsers, and web pages can quickly swamp slower processors and systems with amounts of memory that just a few years ago would have been plenty.

Raul

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[TotallyOz]

Hands down, go with a Mac. Throw that Windows computer out the window. Go to your Mac store and get a new Mac. You will love it. It is faster, better and stronger!

[Guest EXPAT]

Apple without a doubt. I even used to be a PC product manager years ago for a PC mfg company. But I just bought my first Apple, a 24" iMAC desktop and it is the most amazing system I've ever purchased. I got a 1TB system with 4GB RAM. The 24" screen is unbelievable.

I also have an iPhone which has helped me make the apple decision. I don't even think I need a laptop anymore when traveling.

For me the decision is simple and 18 months ago I was defending PC's until the end. Now you couldn't pay me to have a PC ever again.

[lookin]

ET, listen to Raul. Step one is to make sure you’ve got a speedy internet connection. The speed tests will tell you that. If you do, then a new computer should do the trick, whether it’s a Mac or not. That’s because it will have plenty of memory, and the hardware and software will be fast and up-to-date. The Mac isn’t inherently faster than a PC for internet browsing, assuming it’s similarly configured. But, if you’ve got a slow internet connection, neither a new Mac nor a new PC will help much.

The other thing I’ve learned is that connection speed is quite variable. In the middle of the night, I get 6mb/second from my Comcast cable connection. In the evening, I might get only 2mb/second. It’s the difference between reloading this page in one second, versus three seconds. See what you get. If it’s taking you a lot more than three seconds to reload this page, you probably have some issues with your DSL connection. Get the phone company to check their signal at your place.

Once you’re sure you’ve got a fast connection, then listen to Oz and EXPAT. Get a Mac! They’re pretty and they’re fun. It’s easy to do stuff, and things just work. I listen to my PC friends bitch about the time they spend downloading fixes, trying to figure out why stuff stopped working, and re-installing all their software. Some people love doing that stuff, and some people hate it. You sound like you hate it, so you’ll enjoy a Mac.

You mentioned you’re looking for a desktop, and may have a good reason. But there are some advantages to a Mac laptop too. You can plug a laptop into a big monitor if that’s what you need. But you can also unplug it and take it into the kitchen, out by the pool, or to bed with you, and still be connected to the internet. You can do that with a PC laptop too, but the Mac makes it dead easy. All Macs have built-in wireless capability, so all you need to do is plug in an Airport Express (mini-router), plug in your DSL cable, answer a few questions, and you’re good to go. (You can also plug your stereo into an Airport Express, and play all your music from your laptop. Plug your printer into an Airport Express, and print from anywhere in the house.)

And a Mac laptop travels very well. Flip it open, and it will find a wireless signal at Starbucks, your hotel, or hundreds of other places, and ask you if you want to connect. All the technical expertise you’ll need is to be able to click “yesâ€. If you really like being connected to the internet, a Mac laptop is as good as it gets!

Well, except for an iPhone.

[Guest Stephan]

I am sooo ready to launch my desktop PC out the window! I'm curious though to hear what others would have to say about Apple Mac desktops. My main irritation is my PC doesn't seem to like being online much...judging by the slow page upload time and other functions on the web that seems to take forever. Yea, I have done everything technically possible from the DSL side to improve service, so I'm laying the blame on my PC.

Any thoughts/opinions/raves/rants about MAC internet functionality would be greatly appreciated!

Desktop PC ? hum... What is that ?

Anyway Let me help you throw that thing out of the WINDOW for you You'll be better off without that Piece of C**p

I have a funny video to share about someone that knows how to treat a PC

http://www.steflacoste.com/en/fav_movies.php

[Guest EurythmicThrust]

He lives!

Haven't seen you online in a while, bonbon! Drop me a private email so we can play ketchup! I lost the bet to my pal...I thought when i posted this topic, you would respond with the answer you posted (and i expected) much sooner...like leaving catnip out for ya!

Thanks so much to Raul- we ran that DSL speed link- found nothing odd, but we were already planning to upgrade our modem anyways (actually done this morning). So Raul's sexy, smart AND a bit of a tech geek? I may be in lust-love!

So, I have noticed a bit of improvement with the new DSL modem, but not the speed I get from my Apple laptop (yep, i do have one, but am still new to it). As Lookin and ExPat and OZ have said, i think its only a matter of time before i fully convert...based on my recent boy-crazy spending spree though, I have to wait a bit till i make that investment.

I'm interested in a desktop mainly as a creature of habit..i still havent quite gotten used to typing on a laptop keyboard, but it has been pointed out to me that i can use a plug-in keyboard, and that i can plug in a laptop to my monitor (my other drawback to laptops), so eventually that may be the future setup at home.

As someone who is viciously loyal to a fault, I'm going to give the HP (hate it!) one more chance to improve its performance..my pal and i are going to gut it and reload everything (yes, fun times in the ET household), If at that point, i still get the same poor performance, I will summon Stef back to SF and we can launch it off the Golden Gate Bridge!

[Guest Stephan]

He lives!

Haven't seen you online in a while, bonbon! Drop me a private email so we can play ketchup! I lost the bet to my pal...I thought when i posted this topic, you would respond with the answer you posted (and i expected) much sooner...like leaving catnip out for ya!

I meant to answer sooner but every time I started the answer .. something came up and ended up loosing half of what I wrote... Then I got busy with great company.. so couldn't do much on the computer.....

As someone who is viciously loyal to a fault, I'm going to give the HP (hate it!) one more chance to improve its performance..my pal and i are going to gut it and reload everything (yes, fun times in the ET household), If at that point, i still get the same poor performance, I will summon Stef back to SF and we can launch it off the Golden Gate Bridge!

There is nothing you can do on those computers.. I am sorry to keep bragging about it... but been there done that... and ain't fun at all.

Now I just can't wait to set up the launch lol

[Guest JCinVegas]

Mac kicks PC's ass anyday.

[JKane]

My $0.02... Apples are gorgeous computers, but they cost 20+% more than equiv. PCs. Now, it's a great feature that you can dual-boot it into Windows, but if you do that why pay more in the first place?

OSX is finally pretty good, though a recent hacking contest re-emphasized that the only reason it is perceived as secure is because it hasn't been big enough to be a target... yet. The real problem is if you want to do things other than web and email. Apple is doing a better and better job of making themselves 'not worth it' for software developers. Even bread and butter like Adobe and Avid now develop first on the PC, with the MAC often being a version behind--IF they even bother to release a Mac version of the software in question (especially now that users can just be advised to 'reboot into PC mode'). Apple seems determined to make it so you run only their software on OSX--and they have pretty good software, but I just don't like the limitations.

But they're sleek, sexy, and easy to use (until you want to do something they don't think you should need to--then they're a royal pain in the ass) so they're kinda a de-facto overpriced fashion accessory for some gay men.

Me, I'll save the 20-30% and retain the ability to easily do things like VPN into work or tether my Microsoft cell phone as an 800K/s modem...

[lookin]

I can't match your two cents, but I'll throw a penny into the pot.

There are plenty of people like you who need PC's for specific applications or for work, and who aren't afraid of tethering their cell phones as an 800K/s modem. Right now, you're not Apple's market.

There's another group of PC users who are saving 20% - 30% on their PC's, but would love a Mac if they didn't cost more. And those are the people that Apple's got its eye on. What makes them switch, even if a Mac costs more? As far as I can tell, they do it when they start putting a value on their time.

A friend of mine bought a $700 PC laptop for his parents for Christmas. He also offered to help them set it up, get it connected to the internet, and transfer their software from their old PC to their new PC laptop. I saw him when he was one week into the process, and he was bitching up a storm. He had spent at least ten hours getting almost everything to work, but he was still having trouble getting all their data transferred, and their email still wasn't working. He had spent the morning on hold with tech support, he was on his way to Radio Shack to buy a cable, and he was going to have to spend most of his weekend trying to get everything working. He was not a happy camper. We figured out he had saved almost $400 by not buying them a Mac laptop, but he would gladly have paid $400 to save himself the aggravation he had already gone through, and it wasn't over yet.

Without rubbing it in, I told him what I had gone through when I bought my Mac laptop a couple of years ago. I turned it on, and it asked me a few easy questions, one of which was "Would you like to transfer information from another Apple Macintosh?" After I said yes, it told me to connect the two computers with a firewire cable, and to restart my old computer while holding down the "T" key. That set my old computer up as a target drive. Then my new computer asked me if I wanted to bring over everything from my old computer, or just certain applications and files. I told it "everything", gave it my password, and it told me it would take about an hour. When I came back and restarted my new laptop, it was the spitting image of my old desktop. Everything was there, my desktop wallpaper, my applications, my files, my old emails, my browser bookmarks and cookies, even my passwords. No more to do, and everything worked.

A month ago, my friend got an iPhone. His next computer will be a Mac. He's the guy that Apple is after.