Mac vs PC, need info for presentation.

I have to do a presentation on macs vs pc's and i am looking for some info on both. I know some general stuff, and i was wondering if anyone knew of a good site that compares the two, or if anyone can give me a little information on both. thanks guys.

 

Well, Apple's own site has a "Switch 101: PC to Mac" that compares it a bit, but it is VERY BIASED to Mac.

You can look at CNET.com or PCMagazine.com for some more on that. They usually have some articles on Mac vs. PC.

 

Why do people like Macs so much? Is it because of the Mac commercials where the "hip" 20 yr old makes fun of the nerdy typical mid-30's myopic office worker? Personally, I find that Macs crash as much as PC's (I've worked with a PowerMac Pro running OSX at work so I know first hand), the one button mouse is heinous, and the optical drives do not have physical eject buttons and rely on a button on the keyboard (which might not work if your OS ever dies). Other than that though the software interface is pretty cool.

 

Well I think that I may be making the PC to Mac switch soon. In my opinion mac's are easier to do school work on and have a better overall setup(and have some cool software). Plus I need a change after using Windows my whole life. I'll see how I like macs but I might switch back to PC when I go off to college in '08

 

Macs are no easier to do schoolwork on than on a PC.

In fact, you'll end up using Microsoft's Office for Mac, so how does your schoolwork become easier when you end up working on Microsoft software?

Macs don't have any cooler software. iLife '06 gets boring within a week. Macs have bad gaming. Most software are for business professionals, so they're expensive.

 

Honestly I can't really explain that. I've used both mac's and pc's to do school work and I feel that I am more efficient on a mac. I don't play games either so that isn't a factor.

 

Mac sertainly has one advantage over PCs and that is iin their security. you simply cannot match a unix or linux based software for its security. most of the time Mac gets people on two points, one is the great looking computers and two is their security compared to a windows. now if you have a PC don't go running out to your mac store to get an apple. Linux has come a long way, has surpassed windows in ease of use and is approaching the mac software. If you think Linux is for geeks, and has no eye candy at all, just check out this video,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYjv0S_k0xo


Obviously it is an extreme, but it shows the potential of the linux operating system. try doing that on xp or a mac and it will probably crash.

 

One problem a lot of people have with OS X is that their favourite program for a praticular task may not be available for it. For example, most people who are into the anime fansub community use either Media Player Classic or VLC... and while VLC is pretty good for hardsubbed (subtitles as part of the actual video) files, it doesn't format softsubs (subtitles from external file) properly. MPC does, but as far as I know it's not available on Mac, and the MPC plus codec packs combo that is used by much of the community certainly isn't.

 

A bit old, but still really funny

 

The Apple Mac OS X has plenty of distinct advantages over the old 2001 Windows XP in almost every area. Mac OS X excells in performance, compatibility, ease of use, security and customizability if you are familiar with UNIX. It just feels like a modern 2005/2006 OS. The current Mac OS X 10.4 also excells over Windows Vista in my opinion, but Vista hasn't been released yet so a proper comparison cannot yet be drawn between the two OSes.
On the down side, a lot of games are not compatible with the Mac, and Mac hardware is pricier than PC hardware.
Do note that it is not necessarily the case that Mac OS lacks applications, because all Linux applications work on Mac OS as OS X is a UNIX OS. So, long time Windows users who do not yet know of many applications which are very similar or even better than what they use in Windows might find Mac OS lacking in software.
Furthermore, with the correct codecs installed, Apple Quicktime can become your main subbed video player.

I can give details and evidence supporting my statements above, should anyone request it.

 

Oh?

That depends on which task you use to measure performance (Yep, that article is about the G5 rather than the OS, but if you read through it (and the followup), you'll see that the atrocious performance is due to OS X)
OS X can also feel plenty sluggish during normal use.

Oh really? Can I run Windows software on it? XP can run pretty much any piece of software ever written for any version of Windows or Dos. That is a lot of software, and certainly much more than has even been written for Mac's.

Debatable. To someone who's used to Windows (roughly 95% of all users), Windows might just be easier to use...

Really? Apple has a nasty tendency of ignoring security flaws. True, no one exploits them, but that's only because there are more tempting targets.
Microsoft constantly patches the security holes that are found. So again, depends on what kind of security we're talking about. True, OS X is based on Unix, which is, if not a good start, then certainly a better starting point than Windows. But they also have an unhealthy disregard for security patches, and a lot of their "security" image is through security by obscurity. They're "secure because they're small and present a less interesting target.

Yep, no doubt about that.

No, I'm not claiming PC's are better, I'm simply disputing that "Mac has distinch advantages in almost every area".

 

The thing with mac and linux is that you can have more than one OS on your system. Infact you could have mac, linux and Windows on your system if you wanted. As far as security Windows simply cannot compete with mac and linux, and it is not because there are less bugs out there for them(like windows fans try to claim) but because it is just harder to write a virus for linux or mac. not to say it cannot be done, its just harder.

As far as your performance comparison is concerned, it is a joke. you are comparing some old apple to exons and dual opterons there is no comparison. Take a look at some of the new mac pros, they are plenty fast, faster than many PCs. Now I am not a big mac fan, fact is their machines run kind hot and are a little pricey. but for video editing and graphic design, in a secure environment, you don't beat a mac.

 

I know a few Mac users who would appreciate the info... most of the softsubbed stuff I see nowadays is MKV format (occasionally the video version of OGM but it's rare), although the actual codec used can vary.

Also, is there any way to get Quicktime to use external subtitle files (.ssa, etc.). Admitadely I use that one very rarely but it has come in handy on occasion.

 

I think that the only reason that Mac is more secure is because, as Jalf said, there are much more tempting targets out there. How many businesses use Mac as their primary OS? Why would someone writing a virus, for malicious purposes, want to just hit ~2-3% of the computing market? Wouldn't it make more sense for them to write one for the ~95% of people using computers?

This is all my opinion however. It just bugs when people say how much more secure and stable is than pc. I have had Macs crash under circumstances where a few year old pc of mine didn't. So stability is dependant on software and demands of the individual user.

 

Well, Mac OS X is based on UNIX, which has a much more robust kernel than Windows NT.

 

I believe unix/linux has a little more than 5% of the market, I think it is around 15-20%. My dad works for Honeywell and from what I hear Linux is used for many of their servers.

Security does seem to be a major topic when talking about macs and it is true that they have no were near the presence Microsoft has, but that is only a fraction of the reason that unix/linux is more secure. I think the main reason, for their security, is that most linux or mac users just do not want to wright viruses that will mess up their machines. Of course this will change as as macs and Linux OS' become more popular. So I guess we will have to hope that the more "robust" nature of the unix/linux kernel will protect it.

 

Who sells Mac-based computers? Which company in particular? How many mac-compatible brands are there?

Apple makes and sells Mac-based computers. PC-compatible hardware is branded and sold by hundreds of companies. As a result you see extreme innovation in case design, quality, range of use, and power. It is impossible to find that variety in Mac computers. You won't find a Toshiba, HP, or Sony computer that is Mac-based. The net result is much higher end-user cost.

You can justify this by saying that Apple controls every aspect of the Mac life cycle. However, having other companies manufacture and sell Macs would be a pretty large benefit to Apple and to the consumer. It would generate licensing revenue for Apple while allowing the company to cut expenses. This move would also increase the range of mac-based computers.

Apple made a bold move when it introduced Intel processors into its new line of computers. Replacing the dated Motorola G5 with a more powerful market leader in Intel allows the new Macs to do much more than the old Macs. For instance, the Macbooks can now run Windows with a sofware boot program. The fact that Apple is releasing its stiff control over Mac products shows a good trend toward compatibility and increased user acceptance.

However, Mac computers are not Apple's main focus or profit-driver. That distinction belongs to the iPod.

 

I'm not advocating for one OS over another, but please have your facts straight when talking about security. Any OS can be secure if you take proper security measures. The biggest threat to any computer is the operator.

This is a good article. There are dozens that can be found with a simple search of the web.

http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=18700097

 

And here is another one that basicly says you can't believe anyone's research on security because it is all biased

http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=04/07/06/1812203


And one more that should help out the OP with his research:

http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=11000AYUK3US&page=1

 

Thnx guys you have all been great helps!

 

Eh...you find me a Mac equivalent to ActiveX and I'll find you a Mac that's running Windows...

 

Mac's are still used heavily in the DTP markets, visit your local newspaper.

Hollywood still has a love affair with Mac's which are used in editing and other general purpose tasks. Used to be Mac's sitting around a lot of sets as props but it looks as Dell is paying out the a$$ for on air marketing lately.

Macs are used a lot in the music creation and editing tasks. Some of the older machines had very low latencies but don't know about the new stuff. You might visit your local guitar shops where Mac's are used in a lot of turn key set ups.

 

This maybe non related to ur stuff but i find mac's hardware very attractive. Way nicer than any other PC manufacturers. Well, this is the reason i switched from PC to macs thou i still use pc as a gaming platform. But that made me a mac user.