The eternal Mac versa PC question!

[BadDisciple]

Hi people,

I'm here to possibly get precious info as I'm at the point to make a step to
add the the Mac world to my Windows world. I've been working for 15 years with PCs
for which I got skilled to a point to assemble them myself buying the best parts
and putting all together + installing, re-installing etc. So, I know myself as a fish in
the water with Windows. The only hick is that I'm fed up with these strange bugs
coming from the architecture of the system, or from the Antivirus and also that
I need to re-install everything from scratch peridocally to have my system fit.

I am a musician, I often work with audio, sometimes on extended processing levels.
It's welknown that most professionals work on Macs. But I've got few valuable (?)
arguments against:
1.Small Macs are not better than a powerfull PCs for even less the price.
2.To have a powerful Mac you need to invest serious money.
3.One can touch NOTHING on a Mac, no control, no re-installation, no freedom to use
whatever software you want etc. Doesn't one become an adicted slave of a Mac ?...
4.It's not excluded that a Mac frozes too, as it even happened in the hands of
(holy) Steve Jobs...

Any opinions on that would be very hepful.
Thanks.

Bad Disciple
Intel Dual Core 2.0 GHz, 4MB L2 cache;
2GB DDR;
320 GB HDD, 2 external x1TB HDDs

 

[Binary Ranger]

Okay, for starters, is not a Mac a PC? PC stands for personal computer right? So if that's the case then a Mac is a PC.

Secondly, Mac's are made to be "user" friendly in the sense that hipsters and college students can use them without accidentally downloading tons of malware.

That and I believe Mac's were constructed on some form of Unix and Job's himself intentionally cut out all of the customobility so people would have something that was cool looking and easy to use. (I read that in a TIME article once) Of course the best part is that he somehow convinced the entire world that spending all that money on something that was less customizable and more costly was somehow worth it.

 

[PP Mguire]

Hi people,

I'm here to possibly get precious info as I'm at the point to make a step to
add the the Mac world to my Windows world. I've been working for 15 years with PCs
for which I got skilled to a point to assemble them myself buying the best parts
and putting all together + installing, re-installing etc. So, I know myself as a fish in
the water with Windows. The only hick is that I'm fed up with these strange bugs
coming from the architecture of the system, or from the Antivirus and also that
I need to re-install everything from scratch peridocally to have my system fit.

I am a musician, I often work with audio, sometimes on extended processing levels.
It's welknown that most professionals work on Macs. But I've got few valuable (?)
arguments against:
1.Small Macs are not better than a powerfull PCs for even less the price.
2.To have a powerful Mac you need to invest serious money.
3.One can touch NOTHING on a Mac, no control, no re-installation, no freedom to use
whatever software you want etc. Doesn't one become an adicted slave of a Mac ?...
4.It's not excluded that a Mac frozes too, as it even happened in the hands of
(holy) Steve Jobs...

Any opinions on that would be very hepful.
Thanks.

Bad Disciple
Intel Dual Core 2.0 GHz, 4MB L2 cache;
2GB DDR;
320 GB HDD, 2 external x1TB HDDs

The only difference between a Mac and a Windows PC these days is the over zealous name and the operating system. You can install Windows on a Mac and OS-X on a PC now, even though it's frowned upon due to copyright.

You can install whatever you want on a Mac program wise long as it's OS-X compatible, and bugs go both ways. Not sure where you are going with AV. If you have a buggy PC or bad experience with a Mac then fine, but I don't see what your angle is with the post. There are plenty of audio programs for PC and the power to back it up.

 

[patonb]

This really depends on YOU. and what programs YOU plan on running.

 

[danhodge]

You can install whatever you want on a Mac program wise long as it's OS-X compatible, and bugs go both ways. Not sure where you are going with AV. If you have a buggy PC or bad experience with a Mac then fine, but I don't see what your angle is with the post. There are plenty of audio programs for PC and the power to back it up.

I think he is refering to the idea that Macs don't need antivirus, since most viruses target Windows instead. It seems to be a popular justification for buying a Mac over a PC.
However, didn't that change recently when some big virus hit a load of Macs anyway?

People have always said that the people in more 'creative' jobs use a Mac, but the PC always has alternatives. Garage band for example is fantastic software, but i doubt there isn't anything that can match it for the PC.

 

[BadDisciple]

Hi back folks, in reply to all, well I totally agree with you on the issues.
Mac Personal Computers seem to me a "totalitarian regime". No freedom.
On the other hand, Windows PC has a complete free customization and in
that sense it seems user friendly to me. And yes, Macs don't need Antivirus.
Another think that p**es me off is this sudden Windows slowness when
the Antivirus checks every single bite… Of course, I can always dedicate
one Windows PC with no Antivirus and no connectivity for ONLY work
and another one to wag-a-tale in the Internet, right? (Still, when that one will
get choked I'll have to spoil time again to reformat and reinstall everything…)

Also, most of the professional software I use has both Windows and Mac
installation versions. It's just the stability of the system that is in question.
The architecture of a Mac seems to me better made as it doesn't sit on layers
but goes directly to the brain centre. Right or wrong?

 

[PP Mguire]

Stability relies heavily on how you setup your software. From my experience Mac has freedom too but not much content is generated to customize a Mac because it really isn't needed.

Mac needs an AV as much as Windows because it has more security issues and loopholes. The only reason virus makers don't target Mac is because their demographic is much smaller.

 

[BadDisciple]

Stability relies heavily on how you setup your software. From my experience Mac has freedom too but not much content is generated to customize a Mac because it really isn't needed.
....

I thought that precisely the stability comes from the architecture of a Mac
as it doesn't sit on layers (like with Windows) but everything goes directly to the "brain" centre. So more simplicity and clarity, right or wrong?

 

[PP Mguire]

Not entirely.

You can put it this way, Mac OS wasn't made to do as many things as Windows aka gaming and other things. It's kind of like developing for consoles where you have one set of things to go by and you can perfect it which makes it more stable. Windows is geared to run on many different types of hardware and have APIs to do many different things such as gaming. In a way you have to admire Microsoft for the beast they have made since Windows 95.

 

[Roark]

My 2c:

Macs are way pricier from what I've seen. Go check a pre-built mac against the same hardware on a pre-built pc, you'll see what I'm saying.

As to the virus/anti-virus stuff, its mainly a matter of being smart. The majority of viruses I've dealt with are more "blanket" based, meaning they aren't targeted you get them from going to the wrong websites or clicking on banners/ads. So unless someone is trying to directly hack you just avoid the seedier areas of the net.
For doing virus checks, time management is your friend. Set it up to only do full scans when you're not going to be around (class/work/shopping/etc...). I love MSE because I never know its running in the background, takes up less resources than the LCD software for my keyboard.