Whats the point?

[Sidious1120]

I use windows xp right now and ive seen macs and the desktop looks so much nicer, easier and neater. It seems much easier to get around and find stuff. But in general i still dont get what the big diffrence is? Is mac faster some how? What makes people decided to get a mac over windows?

 

[The General]

lots of reasons. hatred for microsoft. annoyed by BSOD. windows is ugly, os x looks nice, windows constantly has problems, os x never has problems (unless im using crappy opensource software) (im not saying opensource software is crappy, because most of the best software is opensource ... just some of it sucks), windows has viruses, mac os doesnt (yet... when mac os gets viruses, ill be pure linux) simple stuff like dragging files is easier, navigating windows is easier with expose, the dashboard is useful sometimes, i dunno ... lots of reasons. haha the other day my mom got an email and it had an attachment and was like wtf is this so she sent it to me to check it out for her, it wasnt a virus... okay im done, someone else jump in

 

[Sidious1120]

does os x cost more? Does it only work on apple built computers as you cant build a mac?

 

[macdude425]

NO, OSX does not cost more. It only runs on Apple machines, but soon, hackers will have a way around this once the Mactels come out.

 

[Sidious1120]

Whats a mactel? And is there any point in getting OS X if there will be viruses for it soon? And can most windows programs run on it like steam and other games because on games it usually sais you need windows. Also so i have to buy a apple machine i cant buy apple parts?

 

[Qiranworms]

A few points:

• If a program is only made for Windows, you can only run it on Windows.
• People have been saying there are going to be OS X viruses for years now...there still hasn't been a single one. Even if people manage to create a few successful viruses, I highly doubt you will ever see the epidemic of malware Windows is currently plagued with.
• While the operating system is not more expensive, the hardware tends to be.
• The point? Because some people prefer the operating system. Specific reasons depend on who you ask.
• Apple is switching their CPUs from the IBM/Motorola/Freescale PowerPC CPUs to Intels. This will happen sometime in 2006, the name that has been dubbed for them to distinguish these is 'Mactel' (compared to the not-commonly-used-anymore 'Wintel' phrase that refers to Windows running on Intel-based machines).
• In an official sense, to run Mac OS X you must buy a computer from Apple. In an unofficial sense, you can look around eBay and other online locations for parts, but it'll probably end up costing just as much for no real benefit. You can also emulate the PowerPC architecture with PearlPC (which is free opensource software), but this method is ridiculously slow. Lastly, you can find a delevoper build of Mac OS X for the unreleased Intel-based Macs online (this isn't legal) and install it on a machine providing your CPU meets certain criterea.

 

[Sidious1120]

ok so say i bought http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10068520&catid=
for $1999.99 CAN. Could i buy and built a MUCH better system for windows with that kind of money? Can i still play all my games on mac tho? Like steam? ( Half life/Counterstrike ). Because if i cant play my games on a mac forget it

 

[Qiranworms]

If a game is released for Mac, you can play it on a Mac. Unfortunately many are not at the moment, so it would be wise to check compatibility. This isn't a flaw

 

[Sidious1120]

I just checked and steam is not compatible with macs. sigh. But i was hearing all this new stuff about the macs for 2006 will be able to use almost all of windows programs including games?

 

[macdude425]

Since Macs will be based on the x86 chip like Windows machines, and Apple has no plans to stop people from running Windows on the Mactels, then it is likely that soon, you will be able to run just about any game on the Mac, given you have the proper software.