# Mac or PC? You make the call. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 26, 2003, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011 "2003-07-26T02:09:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/41 "2003-07-27T03:46:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RickJay \* > \*\*Sigh. > > Buy a tool that does what you need it to do. You wouldn’t buy a table saw for hammering nails and you wouldn’t buy a hammer for cutting wood. > > If you want to make your own DVDs and edit film, buy a Mac. > If you want to play awesome video games, buy a PC. (And by the way, my wife loves PC games.) > If you want an ultra-stable computer, buy a Mac. > If you want a computer with a large software library, buy a PC. > If you want to do graphic design, buy a Mac. > If you want to do business consulting work for a lot of clients, buy a PC. > > This ain’t a holy war. Or it shouldn’t be. \*\* You forgot one: If you want a computer that can be easily upgraded by yourself, buy a PC. My P3 is essentially just an old 386 that I added onto over the years. Sort of like that old joke about George Washington’s hatchet: it’s had three new heads and five new handles but it’s his hatchet. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/42 "2003-07-27T03:55:45Z")
> [@](#): > > There is no one thing that a Mac can do, that a PC cannot do. Sigh. How many times do I have to repeat this? It cannot run OS X, and it cannot run Final Cut Pro, among other apps. It _cannot_ do the same thing as well. Unless you think you can make a PC run OS X–I welcome you to try! 😉 Do you see a PC mentioned anywhere on [Final Cut Pro’s](http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/) system requirements? No? There’s a reason for that. Apple owns FCP, and it has _no_ intention of making a Windows version. I think the only iApp that it is going to port over to the PC is iTunes, since that ties in with the Apple Music Store. Don’t think that just because there is some other DVD burning software, or video editing software, that it’s “the same” as the Apple apps. It’s not. Just like other image editing software is not the “same” as Photoshop. There’s only one Photoshop, and a lot of people pay a lot of money to use it, and not something cheaper. Same with Final Cut Pro–except in FCP’s case, it only runs on Macs. MS and other Windows software companies have tried to make similar apps but so far, according to the reports I’ve heard, they haven’t come close. ---
**Author:** ![wakimika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f08c70/32.png) [@wakimika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wakimika)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/43 "2003-07-27T04:11:01Z")
Mac owners: shhhhhh. Chill. The Mac experience is about elegance and style _and_ power. I, for one, am perfectly happy that we are a small market. If we were the dominant platform, we would have to embrace Microsoft. Now that Apple has made a better browser than IE, there is no need to have any Microsoft products on your Mac. It is just not for everyone. The Ferrari is not for everyone. Ford makes cars for the masses. 😉 Most people don’t understand why simplicity and functionality are keys to happy computing. OS X would be lost on them. That is how it should be. Most people won’t see why the Cube, the Titanium Powerbook or the G5 case are works of art. Right now, the average PC user is scratching their head, wondering how an “operation” can be “illegal.” Shhhhhhh. Chill. And enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/44 "2003-07-27T04:22:15Z")
wakimika: you are right! 😃 And RickJay, I see your point too. I definitely think that there are things the PC can do better (the course I am taking uses Windows-only software, so I have a PC) but obviously I think Macs do a lot of things better too. I tire of people arguing with me and telling me that my choice is probably not “retarded” (but close). Or that I can’t do “real work” on my Mac (I hear that a lot too). But I don’t care to try to persuade every PC user to switch to a Mac, or to be convinced that my preference to Macs should be their preference too. If they are happy with PC-only, that’s fine. Just stop trying to insult me and telling me that I don’t have a “real” computer. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/45 "2003-07-27T05:33:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yosemitebabe \* > **So you are going to rush out and get a Butterick pattern and start sewin’, aren’t you? Huh? 😃** Oh yeah?! Well, I made my own Renn Faire costume, _and_ I can build a PC, so there! 😛 I like PCs because they are incrementally upgradeable. But then, I just like tinkering with things in general. I don’t have anything against Macs or Mac users, I just like to take a more hands on approach to my gam- uh, serious graphical and mathematical applications. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/46 "2003-07-27T05:41:05Z")
Macs work for some people, Win PCs work for others - not much more to be said. The marketplace seems to indicate that PCs work for more people. ---
**Author:** ![Gest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9d8465/32.png) [@Gest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gest)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/47 "2003-07-27T06:04:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ringo \* > \*\*The marketplace seems to indicate that PCs work for more people. \*\* No, the present stuation is a result of the failure of the market. Hence Microsoft was found guilty of abusing their monopoly position. As for those who like to tinker, they should take into account _what_ they like to tinker with. If you’re interested in the harware side of things then PCs are the way to go. Software; well you’ve either got OSX with it’s open source basis or Linux or a BSD flavour if you want a non-PowerPC architecture. Even here, OSX has the edge with Objective C. ---
**Author:** ![spectrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@spectrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spectrum)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/48 "2003-07-27T06:31:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kinthalis \* > **Mac? Yuck!** Which pretty much sums up the intellectual heft of the remainder of the post. I used to use Windows. I am still something of a Windows expert… the guy all my friends turn to when they need their Windows machines fixed. But I will never own a Windows machine again. I prefer my Mac, which doesn’t give me the sort of headaches I used to get with my Windows machines, which looks better both outside and on the screen. Plus, no Windows box will run Final Cut Pro, software I would live and die for. ---
**Author:** ![spectrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@spectrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spectrum)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/49 "2003-07-27T06:39:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kinthalis \* > \*\*With a PC you get: > > wider choice of hardware, wider choice of software (gaming or otherwise), and greater compatability with both. \*\* I have far too much of a life to care about computer games. And all the Windows software in the world doesn’t matter when the apps I want (Office, InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat) run as good if not better on a Mac as on Windows, or (Final Cut, iMovie, iDVD, Safari, Watson) run only on Macs at all. > [@](#): > > You also get a powerhouse of a computer. In what was is the Power Macintosh G5 that will be delivered to my doorstep in a few weeks not a “powerhouse of a computer”? ---
**Author:** ![spectrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@spectrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spectrum)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/50 "2003-07-27T06:43:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SanibelMan \* > **Aha! Thank you. Still, why is there a “login items” control panel AND a “startup items” folder?** I have never seen a “Startup Items” folder on my OS X Mac… where would that be? ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/51 "2003-07-27T06:50:41Z")
Oh spectrum! You are getting a _G5_??? Oh, how I envy you!!! Which model is it? Huh? Huh? How much hard drive, RAM, etc.? Are you having anything added? Spill it! I love to live vicariously through other people’s computer purchases! I was going to do some serious upgrading on my G4, but I think now I will have to just leave it as-is for probably another year, and hopefully by that time I’ll afford a really spiffy G5 with tons of RAM and hard drive. (I have a serious hard drive problem–I’m a terrible HD hog. I can easily make 300-500MB Photoshop files, and a lot of them–I have a feeling you are probably not unfamiliar with this phenomenon!) > [@](#): > > _spectrum wrote:_ > > I have far too much of a life to care about computer games. You are my new hero! 😉 Wicked, but definitely my new hero! ---
**Author:** ![spectrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@spectrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spectrum)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/52 "2003-07-27T06:50:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kinthalis \* > **Also, I keep hearing about how Mac’s OS is “nicer”. What exactly does that mean? How is it superior to windows xp?** The file system is far more logically laid out. Virtually all files that an end user will have to deal with are named so as to be easily discerned. Any well written program outside of some system utilities (like Norton) can be uninstalled by throwing the icon for the program away - no uninstallers, no DLL hell, none of that nonsense. Many native Mac OS X programs are only one icon… not a folder full of dozens of icons. Unlike Windows, the Mac supports finely-tuned color management, making it the only ideal platform for print graphics work. The Mac also flows text in the print standard way – Windows documents have to be reflowed in most professional printing environments, because Microsoft has never done type flowing properly. Little details like having dialogue buttons be verbs like “Save/Don’t Save” instead of “Yes/No” makes the purpose of a dialogue clear even without having to read the text in the dialogue to determine exactly what you’re being asked to do. Or the fact that the Close, Minimize and Zoom buttons are organized in that order, which is more logical than on Windows, where Close and Maximize are right next to each other, even though they serve exact opposite functions. So if you try to hit a button but miss by one spot, on Mac you’re going to get a response that’s at least close to what you sought initially. Little details like that add up… fast. Keyboard shortcuts are often more logical (Cmd-Q to quit a program… whereas Windows uses Alt-F4, a shortcut unlike any other shortcut, which is bizarre and bad design). So on and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![spectrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@spectrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spectrum)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/53 "2003-07-27T06:52:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kinthalis \* > **I do get involved with the graphics design aspect of web design, and I use a PC for that too.** Graphic design for the Web is great, but where the Mac shines is print graphic design, which requires color matching and text flowing that Windows can’t match. ---
**Author:** ![spectrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@spectrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spectrum)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/54 "2003-07-27T06:57:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yosemitebabe \* > **Oh spectrum! You are getting a _G5_??? Oh, how I envy you!!! Which model is it? Huh? Huh? How much hard drive, RAM, etc.? Are you having anything added? Spill it! I love to live vicariously through other people’s computer purchases!** Hmm… 1.8 GHz G5, 900 MHz FSB, 3 PCI-X slots 512 MB PC3200 RAM 160 GB Serial ATA HDD nVidia GeForce FX 5200 graphics card AirPort Extreme Bluetooth thingy SuperDrive 17" Studio Display LCD I think I’m going to name it Jupiter. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/55 "2003-07-27T07:06:23Z")
So AMD chips (well, the Athlon at least) run faster than Intel chips of the same relative speed… do Apple’s processors do the same thing? (not that 1.8 GHz isn’t more than you’ll ever need for anything except playing Need for Speed 61), but given the “most powerful computer in the universe, ever” hyperbole that Apple is rolling out for the G5 I expected a bigger number… ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/56 "2003-07-27T07:07:17Z")
spectrum: Oh my! ::drool drool:: That is a _nice_ setup you’re going to have there. And the Studio Display–wow, I do envy you! I have some simple NEC LCD monitors (not nearly as nice as the Studio Display but good enough for now) and I think LCD is where it’s at. It’s LCD for me from now on… Jupiter, eh? That sounds quite appropriate. Me, I always name my computers “Ambrose” (or some variation thereof). Long story. ---
**Author:** ![Drastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/57 "2003-07-27T07:38:16Z")
> [@](#): > > _yosemitebabe wrote:_ > > > [@](#): > > > > _spectrum wrote:_ > > I have far too much of a life to care about computer games. > > You are my new hero! 🙂 Wicked, but definitely my new hero! I suggest that taking loyalists of one camp to task for needlessly insulting tone and then getting ha-ha-dreamy-moony-eyed over needlessly insulting tone of loyalists of the other camp is a little…counterproductive. The gaming market lag on the Mac side is actually showing signs of beginning to narrow. Still a large gap there, but even a few years ago almost no PC titles were ported over for Mac release; these days, increasing numbers of titles are. I’d be happy to see that trend continue–games being a product so locked-in to a single platform probably hasn’t done their development any favors due to lack of platform-competition. I would say I have far too much of a life to get into digital image and film manipulation as a hobby, but primarily it’s a lack of disposable income. If I had enough cashflow, I’d be running both a gaming PC and a Mac at home. ---
**Author:** ![spectrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@spectrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spectrum)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/58 "2003-07-27T07:41:41Z")
Dutchboy: yes, the IBM processors Apple uses, specifically the PowerPC 970 in the case of the G5, run much faster per clock cycle than a comparable Intel-based computer. The only thing Intel has going for it is its amazing ability to ramp up the clock speeds. The specific computer Apple is touting as “the fastest personal computer in the world” is a Dual 2.0 GHz processor system… it has two processors, each running at 2.0 GHz, as the designation implies. Macs are quite adept at making use of multiple processors. It’s an inherent benefit of the non-G3 PowerPC design. yoseomitebabe: I try to “theme” the names of my computers. My new theme is going to be Roman gods (with disks named after Greek gods). I think I’ll rename my iPod Mercury and my iBook Mars to match. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/59 "2003-07-27T08:09:15Z")
> [@](#): > > spectrum wrote: > I suggest that taking loyalists of one camp to task for needlessly insulting tone and then getting ha-ha-dreamy-moony-eyed over needlessly insulting tone of loyalists of the other camp is a little…counterproductive. I was mainly bullshitting (and I _did_ call you wicked! ;)) but I do have to say that I tire of being told that PCs are great at games, as if that will mean something to me. It doesn’t mean anything to me. It is not a perk, it isn’t a selling point, it isn’t anything. “Selling” the fact that PCs are more for games works well for people who care about games, but why do some people keep bleating the “games” mantra to me, after I’ve repeatedly told them that I do not, nor never will, care about games? ---
**Author:** ![Drastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011/60 "2003-07-27T08:21:04Z")
While I suspect the OP is a case of “let’s you and them fight!” (I can barely believe anyone, in this day and age, can honestly expect a Mac/PC topic to be anything but), I think people “bleat” the “games” “mantra” because it is a differential factor between the two platforms. My cynical side (again!) also suspects they also do so because they know it inspires equally kneejerk snideness and Mac-loyalist high-fiving about having more/better “lives” than people who weigh the gaming thing more as a choice factor. And presumably (giving the OP the benefit of the doubt), those people–those seeking differential factors to weigh as a platform choice–is what the thread was supposed to be about. In other words–it’s not about you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mac-or-pc-you-make-the-call/191011.md?page=4)