Give my Dad reasons NOT to get a Mac!

[Ren3004]

Other than the price thing, I can't help much. They are quite expensive. Also, a friend of mine has a mac and the battery died, meaning she had to buy a super-expensive new one.

Also, please make sure that your dad DOESN'T buy a mac and then install Windows on it. Windows was made to work with a right click and Ctrl+Alt+Del. It's amazing how many times my friend asks me how to do something and I start saying "Easy, right-click, then... Oh, sorry."

 

[thenumberthirteen]

Overpriced, and you can't mod it as much as other PCs. If you want an OS that doesn't crash as much as Windows use Linux.

 

[Woodsey]

They're severely over-priced, and Apple's costing methods for "extras" are bizarre to say the least; my Dad got one and they wanted to charge £700 for an extra 4GB RAM.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

If your dad is anything like my dad a mac would probably be fine for him. They're a much simpler setup really. Much more all-in-one.

This is coming from a guy who built his own PC, so you can surmise what I would prefer personally, but hey, different people have different needs.

 

[veloper]

The only reason to get a mac is when you're in publishing. Designing magazine pages and such.

Else, a mac is worse than a PC across the board.

 

[CCountZero]

[quote="BlueberryMUNCH" post="18.262987.9940028"You can give me reasons why Macs are actually any good[/quote]

Personally, I wouldn't go near the damn things, but that's only because when I buy a computer, I wanna be able to do whatever I damn well please with it.

With Apple products in general, you're taking a walk in a beaufitul forrest, but you're only allowed to walk on the pre-laid trails.

With a Windows product, the forest isn't really that pretty, but it doesn't come with trails either, and you can beautify it yourself, if you have the proper knowledge or help.

For the layman - like my sister - I'd recommend a Mac any day. It's just a helluva lot easier for the stuff she needs to do, and the stuff your dad needs to do as well.

The drawback, then, is the pricing. The actual computing power per currency leaves a lot to be desired.

And then there's the business practices of Apple.

 

[Wicky_42]

In short, my Dad wants to get some Macs for work, and he is going to get one as his next laptop.

Out of curiosity, what is the business, and what are his motives? If its some sort of design industry so he assumes he needs macs then he's being a bit silly.

The two real plus points of Macs are
1) the have some REALLY nice screens (apparently) - very clear, good colour accuracy, though judging from my friends' printed work they seem to exaggerate contrast

2) there aren't a lot of viruses for them (atm), so it pretty safe to use them.

On the down side,
1) a lot more software is written for Windows - even a lot of the dual platform stuff performs better on a windows machine of similar or even worse spec - forcing you to install bootcamp if you need to use certain specialist software

2) their interface is VERY different to use from Windows, so if he's shifting over from one to the other, ESPECIALLY in the work place, there's going to be a period of readjustment and retraining to do even simple things like install a program (though admittedly, my experience of installing Skype was actually rather pleasant - just drag and drop the exe where it's needed, that was it!)

3) cost. It's a big one. You can build an identical computer for a very small fraction of the cost of a Mac - you're paying a lot for the aesthetic, brand and OS. Not worth it if what you are honestly after are work computers rather than show pieces to demonstrate just how "creative" you are to clients. With Windows 7 there's now no real area that the Mac OS dominates.

4) the attitude of the company. This one's a bit more abstract, but is the reason that I passionately hate Macs, but really is drawn from the whole Apple brand. From iPods that only sync to a single program on a single machine and have built-in obsolescence to machines sold purely on a decades-old 'image' no longer grounded in reality, pretty much EVERYTHING about Apple irks me.

I like being able to drag and drop media as I wish from my PC to whatever MP3 player or phone or whatever I have hooked up - it's all mine, after-all; no software should be in the middle going 'oh, this device isn't synced to this machine! Disconnect, or replace your current library to continue!!!!'

Oh, and one final little touch: Macs have their own variants on common file formats that aren't compatible with PCs, and yet PC files work fine on Macs - the default setting on a Mac is to prevent the other OS from using it, whilst the reverse is true of the PC. Save a .doc or .docx on a PC and it will work fine on a Mac, but not the other war around - same with a .jpg. Photoshop files are the same. I mean, if you're going to make incompatible file types, you could at least change the suffix, right?! Something to be aware of if you're working with Mac users, or are one yourself collaborating with PC users - learn how to save in compatibility mode!

 

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

Ask him his reasons to get Macs and then argue against those. There's no real point in giving him facts opinions on why not to get Macs. If they'll do the job better than Windows or Linux operating systems then let him.

 

[MercurySteam]

Macs are great as long as work and web surfing is the only thing you want to do on them. The only problem is that computers should be able to do so much more.

 

[Wicky_42]

The only reason to get a mac is when you're in publishing. Designing magazine pages and such.

Else, a mac is worse than a PC across the board.

See, I don't get where this comes from - no-one is able to explain to me why Macs are better for graphical design work; after all, Adobe Suit is available on both platforms and runs better on PC at that. Is there some sort of magical software only available on Mac with no PC counterpart that makes 'being creative' easier? Is it the screen? Cos you can buy ANY screen to go with a PC...

 

[Joel Soh]

Haaai Escapist.

In short, my Dad wants to get some Macs for work, and he is going to get one as his next laptop.
Now, I don't know much about them, but I'm completely against the idea, mainly due to the sheer cost of the things!

Gimme a hand guys><.

...And during writing this thread, I realise things might get out of hand. So keep this civil, and please give me actual reasons, not '0mg 4ppl3 r m0n3y hungry foo1z!!!!1!1!!!'.

Also, you can give me reasons why Macs are actually any good:].

Let's think... both have their goods and bads, but I'd have to agree that PC/Windows has the upper hand.

To put it in summary

PC
+ More cost efficient
+ Can do a wide variety of things (assuming you find the right programmes)
+ Has more support and known by more people if you do come across problems

And contrary to their advertising, MACs do crash, do get viruses etc etc.

It really depends how you use the machine in my opinion.

 

[veloper]

For the layman - like my sister - I'd recommend a Mac any day. It's just a helluva lot easier for the stuff she needs to do, and the stuff your dad needs to do as well.

Maybe if most of her girlfriends also use a mac. Else it's not a good recommendation. Macs aren't so much easier than a bit different in use.
If stuff doesn't work the same way or she can't do what her friends are doing, then it will be wasted money.
Also consider that at school it will typically be Windows PCs. Prolly XP or 2000. That's what the kids will be used to work with.

 

[veloper]

The only reason to get a mac is when you're in publishing. Designing magazine pages and such.

Else, a mac is worse than a PC across the board.

See, I don't get where this comes from - no-one is able to explain to me why Macs are better for graphical design work; after all, Adobe Suit is available on both platforms and runs better on PC at that. Is there some sort of magical software only available on Mac with no PC counterpart that makes 'being creative' easier? Is it the screen? Cos you can buy ANY screen to go with a PC...

Mostly because all your collegues at work will be using mac too in that line of work.
You can do all that on PC, but it's worth it to be compatible with work.

 

[meece]

If it breaks within warranty apple will fix it very quickly for you. That's about it though and because *only* apple can fix them if it's something you could have fixed yourself it ends up wasting time.

Because of their need to look good though they can actually be more hassle - I once spent like 5minutes looking for # on a mac - turns out it needs a 3 key combination to use along with a whole bunch of other symbols which do actually go used a lot for certain things (in this particular case joining an irc channel).

 

[LondonBeer]

This shouldnt affect your decision making process but ... I know 6 Mac owners and they are all gay men. I know no straight men who own a Mac. Mac laptops I know 2 straight women who own them but they cant be considered power users as they use them for facebook & farmville.

 

[Verlander]

Now, I don't know much about them, but I'm completely against the idea, mainly due to the sheer cost of the things!

It's his cost though. There are good, reliable machines. As with everything popular, you are going to get a group of militant hardcore fans of the opposition who "know" all of the secrets, and why we're being secretly conned, and it's all bullshit. Same with Linux users.

End of the day they are good (near unbeatable-they're industry standard) for image software, music production, film making, watching films, browsing internet, word processing and generally last a long time with a longer warranty, with an incredibly minute risk of catching viruses (comparatively), they work quickly and efficiently, are easy to use and look good and professional. Anything good the Windows has done, is due to "borrowed" ideas, and each hardware company has it's own rules regarding build quality, and remember, he isn't going to be pulling these babies apart to install new graphics cards or whatever for gaming.

Unless he is a programmer or computer engineer (and if he is, he'll be making this decision for a good reason) then the only real difference is the cost. If he can afford it, go for it. It looks impressive, whereas everyone can pack an office full of PCs. A Subaru Imprezza may be a better car, but that Merc sure looks more impressive.

 

[Wicky_42]

And contrary to their advertising, MACs do crash, do get viruses etc etc.

I know, it's crazy - within 15 mins of working on my mum's Macbook Pro it crashed. Web browsing. Yeah. Can't say that's something that EVER happens on my PC (though don't try doing anything else whilst saving 4Gb photoshop file, no matter your rig - it's just not going to end well... >.<)

 

[Funkysandwich]

This is not the case with UNIX, OSX or any *nix-system out there, where full system access is rather sparsely distributed, and users rarely ever run as full system administrator (or 'root') accounts, instead getting 'root' permission when needed, via the 'sudo' [http://xkcd.com/149/] command. This, most people argue, makes the system inherently more secure.

Just like the UAC in Windows Vista and Windows 7, right? Right?

Expect it doesn't make you want to hurl yourself out of the nearest window every time you have to do it. And it doesn't interrupt you all the time with annoying popups every time you want to change your desktop background.

 

[Wicky_42]

The only reason to get a mac is when you're in publishing. Designing magazine pages and such.

Else, a mac is worse than a PC across the board.

See, I don't get where this comes from - no-one is able to explain to me why Macs are better for graphical design work; after all, Adobe Suit is available on both platforms and runs better on PC at that. Is there some sort of magical software only available on Mac with no PC counterpart that makes 'being creative' easier? Is it the screen? Cos you can buy ANY screen to go with a PC...

Mostly because all your collegues at work will be using mac too in that line of work.
You can do all that on PC, but it's worth it to be compatible with work.

K, fair enough, but that doesn't explain why friends at uni trot out that same explanation :/

 

[Wicky_42]

This is not the case with UNIX, OSX or any *nix-system out there, where full system access is rather sparsely distributed, and users rarely ever run as full system administrator (or 'root') accounts, instead getting 'root' permission when needed, via the 'sudo' [http://xkcd.com/149/] command. This, most people argue, makes the system inherently more secure.

Just like the UAC in Windows Vista and Windows 7, right? Right?

Expect it doesn't make you want to hurl yourself out of the nearest window every time you have to do it. And it doesn't interrupt you all the time with annoying popups every time you want to change your desktop background.

I love how disabling it gives you the 'your PC is now vulnerable or summing' message - I just want to reply, 'At least I can bloody use it now!'. It's like it doesn't think I know how to use the damn machine or something - god, that irks me so much!