Foo - PC vs. Mac

Many of you have seen the ads with the dweeby PC guy and the oh-too-cool Mac guy.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Get_a_Mac_ad_characters.jpg

I am traditionally a PC user, but I am probably closer to trying a Mac than I've ever been. But... I am just plain annoyed at the smug "cool guy" that represents Mac and if anything they make me want to stick with a PC.

In the Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_a_Mac) about the ads, It states, "In an article for Slate magazine, Seth Stevenson criticized the campaign as being too 'mean spirited', suggesting, 'isn't smug superiority (no matter how affable and casually dressed) a bit off-putting as a brand strategy?'"

That pretty much sums up the way I see it.

Do the ads evoke a strong response from you one way or the other?

Nobody cares what you think. Or what I think. Money talks.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Apple Inc. said Monday that record sales of Macintosh computers and iPhones lifted its quarterly profit and revenue, which trounced Wall Street's forecasts.

Shares of Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) rose 7% after hours, at one point hitting an all-time trading high of $204. The previous high in regular trading was $202, set nearly two years ago.

Mac sales soared 17% from a year ago to 3.1 million units, a quarterly record.

It does annoy me a bit, mainly because they're mostly playing off the way each guy is dressed. In my opinion, the PC guy is pretty well dressed (except his pants are too long), and the Mac guy looks like a slob. That being said, I have no preference either way regarding the actual computers. I have a PC but wouldn't mind trying a Mac. Unfortunately they cost more than my car.

Unfortunately they cost more than my car.

What do you drive? A 1988 Yugo? The 21.5" iMac is $1199, more like $1100 if you shop online and find it discounted. The Mac mini is $599 if you want to plug in an existing monitor. Mac laptops start at $999, the 15" MacBook Pro is $1500.

What do you drive? A 1988 Yugo? The 21.5" iMac is $1199, more like $1100 if you shop online and find it discounted. The Mac mini is $599 if you want to plug in an existing monitor. Mac laptops start at $999, the 15" MacBook Pro is $1500.

A 1991 Civic. Actually, it was $1600, so I guess they have several models that are cheaper. But they would have to be about $300 for me to be able to buy one. Though if I could use my current monitor the Mini might be something to consider.

If I paid attention to marketing campaigns, I would never buy any products. The majority of ads are annoying to me.

That being said, I've had 2 macs and love them. The far outshine all of the PCs I had in the past.

I like the Mac guy. He was on one of the best movies of all time, Dodgeball.

I think the ads are pretty hilarious, and well done.

And I think macs are ridiculously overrated, os x is stupidly crashier than windows 5 and above, and operating system settings are stupidly difficult to modify in macs.

I like the Mac guy. He was on one of the best movies of all time, Dodgeball.

He was also the doctor in Idiocracy, THE best movie of all time.

Eh, Macs just work. That and Quicksilver. I could drop jaws with it at my old job on the Mac Pro. Since that was the only good thing about that job, I quit.

I liked the commercials at first, but the plunky piano music and occasional tidbits of misinformation got old quite quickly.

I can't imagine ever again purchasing a prebuilt computer designed to run Mac or other OSes. Although, the Modbook is tempting at times.
(http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook)

Dodgeball was pretty good. Idiocracy was much better. Mr. Long was also in Drag Me To Hell, which was awesome!

I enjoy the PC guy's bits on the Daily Show.

I get a kick out of computer geek musing on computers and how they can't hack it, they run Linux, they want to overclock their processors, etc.

These are the guys that comprise .000000000001% of the computer market. The rest of the world just wants to read their email, surf the web, and run their businesses.

I like the Mac guy. He was on one of the best movies of all time, Dodgeball.

Dodgeball was the movie that made it apparent to me that Hollywood has hit bottom.

The new Windows 7 ads on TV are very good, a huge improvement, and from all reports Windows 7 is a winner, all good news. Microsoft opening store in the vein of Apple stores is absolutely key, having a venue for end users to go to get their computers diagnosed and their questions answered is crucial, as is presenting Windows-oriented hardware and software in the right light. Worked big time for Apple, I think it can work for MS.

Competition is good, if MS can make its customers happier, it will push Apple harder. Good to see MS getting its sheet together.

These are the guys that comprise .000000000001% of the computer market. The rest of the world just wants to read their email, surf the web, and run their businesses.

I think "the rest of the world" would be amazed, that after a short course on how to assemble and repair PCs, they could go from spending, oh, let's say $400 per year, per workstation on computer upgrades and replacements to spending about $100 per year. And, if they're used to getting new Windows-based Dells/HPs/etc, their new computers are going to run much better without all the preloaded junk on there.

No overclocking, linux running or hacking required.

i have to say... i really like my macbook better than my pc. i got myself a macbook and gave my pc to my mom. now, it's less games, more riding, and picture taking.

Sigh. INFOGRAPHIC TIME.

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/9572/macvspc.png

Apple has been making PCs, with few exceptions, since 1976. Saying "Mac vs. PC" is like saying "Toyota vs. Cars."

Well, more like Toyota cars vs. non-Toyota cars, but yeah. I'm still trying to come up with an appropriate car analogy for the little server sliver up there.

I have a pvr, they still make these ads? :)

Advertising does nothign for me. One way or the other. I am a LONG time geek, jock, jackass, mountain biking person. I don't fit into a box...advertising tries to find boxes for you to fit into...

Well, more like Toyota cars vs. non-Toyota cars, but yeah.No, Toyota cars fall under the generic umbrella of "cars", just like Macs fall under the generic umbrella of "PCs".


I'm still trying to come up with an appropriate car analogy for the little server sliver up there.Toyota industrial vehicles. :)

The new Windows 7 ads on TV are very good, a huge improvement, and from all reports Windows 7 is a winner, all good news. Microsoft opening store in the vein of Apple stores is absolutely key, having a venue for end users to go to get their computers diagnosed and their questions answered is crucial, as is presenting Windows-oriented hardware and software in the right light. Worked big time for Apple, I think it can work for MS.

Competition is good, if MS can make its customers happier, it will push Apple harder. Good to see MS getting its sheet together.

Didn't think about it that way, but that's an excellent point.

I've seen Windows 7 used pretty recently and I have to say it looks as good as the hype. It took ideas from MacOS and improved upon them. Which Apple will probably also end up doing with some of MS's features of Windows 7.

PC-wise, I have to say I don't ever see myself going with a Mac. But as far as MP3 players and cell phones, I'd never consider anything else. Imo, Apple is superior in that market because of the pure fact that they kept things simple, and they update their product every year without fail.

Dodgeball was the movie that made it apparent to me that Hollywood has hit bottom.

Don't really enjoy that kind of comedy?

Of course they're all under the umbrella of cars, just like most Macs are under the PC umbrella, but in this thread, I think the OP is more interested in the Mac vs. Non-Mac PC battle.

For instance Toyota cars vs all cars, would mean you're pitting some toyotas against other toyotas, say red Camry vs blue Camry or Prius vs Corolla.

We want a good, old fashioned one camp vs another camp battle here. No Toyota on Toyota or Mac on Mac violence allowed.

i think the "smug cool guy" just puts off the vibe that he doesn't really care about his machine.

where the "dweeb" is so concerned with his computer, the mac guy just knows his computer works and isn't so up tight about it.

signed,

a mac user.

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l156/Wordbiker/Copyofmac_pc.jpg

But as far as MP3 players and cell phones, I'd never consider anything else. Imo, Apple is superior in that market because of the pure fact that they kept things simple, and they update their product every year without fail.

I love my $50 Sansa mp3 player. Drag and drop works much better for me than iTunes syncing. I love its SD card slot, too. For long train rides, I'll have a podcast card, a rock card and mellow card. And it has an FM tuner, which I think some iPods finally have.

Being an AM radio junkie, I'm kinda interested in the C-Crane Witness (http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/c-crane-witness-am/4505-6490_7-33351260.html). $200 for an mp3 player is kinda steep, but it's like the Tivo of mp3 players in that you can set it to record radio shows.

I love my $50 Sansa mp3 player. Drag and drop works much better for me than iTunes syncing. I love its SD card slot, too. For long train rides, I'll have a podcast card, a rock card and mellow card. And it has an FM tuner, which I think some iPods finally have.
.

Have to agree...I don't like the apparent advantages.

Won't get into phones, i don't consider them a professional email option. iPhone has its place...but it won't dislodge blackberry

If I paid attention to marketing campaigns, I would never buy any products. The majority of ads are annoying to me.

That being said, I've had 2 macs and love them. The far outshine all of the PCs I had in the past.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

http://neilinspace.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/gay-test.jpg

Reasons to buy a Mac:

Service: If you are non technical, you can buy a complete stack from Apple for a lot of things. Apple can sling you the hardware, the OS, and the applications if you do music, photography, basic word processing, E-mail. Something glitch, you can call Apple, or hit a Genius Bar and have a good chance at getting the problem solved without running between a hardware, OS, and app vendor. Service calls can make the Apple tax well worth it.

Price ramping: The more expensive the Mac, the more competitive the machine. Mac Pros are actually bargains in the high end workstation department. Same with XServes and server hardware.

Development standards: I heard a rule of thumb is to make sure your program runs well on last model of Apple's Macbook (either the late 2008 aluminum one, or the black/white plastic.) This is a baseline that most college students will have. Want to write iPhone code? You have to have a Mac to write it on, unless you desire to violate copyright law (which for a business is not good.)

Reasons to buy non-Apple hardware:

Security: Macs don't have TPMs (except for a few early x86 Mac Pros), so having a trusted boot process isn't going to happen. For most people, this doesn't matter, but for people who have confidential stuff on a laptop, this may be a convern. Also, if you want whole disk encryption, you have to buy PGP. Whole disk encryption on Windows can be done in the OS (BitLocker), or a third party utility (TrueCrypt) for no charge.

Price: You can buy or build a low end PC desktop for significantly less than a Mac.

Performance: Unless you buy a Mac Pro, Mac performance, especially in the video department, is sluggish. The latest iMac video card would cost you $150 from NewEgg.

Upgradability: Want new video in any Mac but the Mac Pro? Buy another computer. Even my inexpensive bottom end Compaq can take a new video card and have a new lease of life on the latest GPU porkers.

Gaming: Macs have Blizzard games, but if you want a gaming rig, you will be running Windows, so might as well buy a Windows machine and save more cash for cooler hardware.

As for hair pulling problems, both platforms give me almost the same amount of issues. Neither platform is perfect, so if someone is picking their platform by the amount of problems, find another criterion, such as what apps and such. If you want a machine whose purpose in life is music, photography, or video, Macs excel. If you just need a machine for Internet stuff and know what you are doing, a generic Windows box is fine.

90%+ of PC users I know who have gone over to Macs would never switch back.

The post above is rather silly, but I won't expend the calories to refute its fallacies point by dopey point. Why bother?

This is the Red vs DA thread for geeks.

I have a pvr, they still make these ads? :

Look what you've been missing: (Patrick Warburton appears in "Top of the Line")
http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/

Windows was running those "We'll pay for your laptop" ads for a while, but the best video from the MS camp is their creepy Win7 release party how-to video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cX4t5-YpHQ

Compare a Mac with a PC (say, a Dell)...for the same price, the PC gives you twice the processor, twice the RAM, and twice the HD. That's a hell of a lot for the supposed superiority of the Mac OS to make up for.

Btw...I'm posting this using a Mac mini running Snow Leopard.

Mac beats Dell in the All-In-One desktop for $1500 battle:

CPU: Mac 3 GHz dual vs Dell 2 GHz quad - Mac better for most users, IMO.
RAM: tied at 4 gigs, mac has DDR3, however
HDD: Mac kills it with 1TB vs Dell 320 GB
Video: I'm not too familiar with the Dell's chip, but I'm going to guess the Mac's Ati takes this one.
Display: Dell wins this segment with 24" vs Mac's 21.5"

You can try to pry my think pad with XP Pro/Linux dual boot from my dead cold hands. Developing C/C++ applications on Mac is PITA.

It wouldn't be too much work to dual boot XP Pro / Linux on most Intel Mac hardware.

There was even a Linux distro called Yellow Dog aimed at PPC Macs.

Mac beats Dell in the All-In-One desktop for $1500 battle:

CPU: Mac 3 GHz dual vs Dell 2 GHz quad - Mac better for most users, IMO.
RAM: tied at 4 gigs, mac has DDR3, however
HDD: Mac kills it with 1TB vs Dell 320 GB
Video: I'm not too familiar with the Dell's chip, but I'm going to guess the Mac's Ati takes this one.
Display: Dell wins this segment with 24" vs Mac's 21.5"

What idiot would buy an all-in-one with virtually no upgrade path?

Eh, Macs just work.

Hehe...That's what my housemate thought until he upgraded to Snow Leopard. After that, it stopped thinking he had any network adapters at all. He eventually managed to get it connecting to our wireless about half the time, but now, several weeks later, it still gets moody and often won't even work plugged in and with a valid static IP.

Apparently he's far from alone in this.


Want to write iPhone code? You have to have a Mac to write it on, unless you desire to violate copyright law (which for a business is not good.)

That right there sounds like a pretty convincing reason to avoid dealing with Apple hardware. Not quite as bad as the Verizon/BREW debacle, but vendor lock-in leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

What idiot would buy an all-in-one with virtually no upgrade path?

Not my cup o' tea, either. Apple, Sony and Dell seem to be finding folks that want these things, however.

Hehe...That's what my housemate thought until he upgraded to Snow Leopard. After that, it stopped thinking he had any network adapters at all. He eventually managed to get it connecting to our wireless about half the time, but now, several weeks later, it still gets moody and often won't even work plugged in and with a valid static IP.

Apparently he's far from alone in this.



That right there sounds like a pretty convincing reason to avoid dealing with Apple hardware. Not quite as bad as the Verizon/BREW debacle, but vendor lock-in leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

That is my biggest dislike about Apple. Want to develop on their platform? You buy their hardware, use their IDE, use their language (objective C is rarely used outside the Apple world), use their .me accounts, and you get approval from their app store. If Microsoft did this, the DoJ would have a field day with them. Apple even explicitly bans other languages or frameworks except their APIs and toolkits. That is why there are no Java apps for the phone unless you jailbreak.

Now compare the Apple model to the competition:

Want to write for Windows Mobile? Students can get Visual Studio and the tools for free through MSDNAA or DreamSpark. Non students can download "essentials" for free compilers. To distribute a file, slap it on handango or your web site as an executable or .CAB file the phone or PocketPC device can directly install. For security, you can buy a signing key for apps from VeriSign to protect your downloads against tampering.

Want to write for Android? Grab Eclipse and the Android plugins and go to town.

Symbian? Go to their homepage, grab their IDE or SDK and knock yourself out.

Java? Pick your poison. Java works on virtually every single phone out there except non jailbroken iPhones. This is how you write for Blackberries as well.

There is nothing wrong with the iPhone and Macs. However, I just don't like the lock in. This is the main reason that I plan to either wait for Windows Mobile 7 (if it doesn't slip too far back schedule-wise), or go for an Android device around the end of the year. I can write software for Windows Mobile and distribute it however I feel like, and not have some third party arbitrarily approve or ban my software on a whim.

Not my cup o' tea, either. Apple, Sony and Dell seem to be finding folks that want these things, however.

You would be surprised. People like "moniputers", especially people who are doing nontechnical tasks with their computers. Even HP has caught onto this and is offering all in one models (with the video card in a PCI-E slot so when Crysis's successor comes around that burns GPU like mad, the machine can still run it effectively with a card change.)

Prefer PC just because getting games on them is 9999x easier than on a Mac. Additionally, every Mac I've used doesn't have a right click mouse (yes I know they exist, but why don't people use them?). Most games I play require a right click...

And, because the people that use a Mac at my University tend to be hipsters who try too hard to look... well.. hip.

They actually do have a right click (atleast the Intel ones). The option just isn't enabled on the mac.

What idiot would buy an all-in-one with virtually no upgrade path?


Not my cup o' tea, either. Apple, Sony and Dell seem to be finding folks that want these things, however.

Ok, I'm an idiot then. I consider myself an average computer user. While I have dabbled a tiny amount in my [6-year old] pc's guts, I'd rather not. And I only did that because it had problems. How many average users have a need to pull the panels off and dig in?...other than to possibly add more RAM (which is easy enough on an imac). I'm trying an iMac this time around.

Upgrade path?

In the real world (i.e. the business or personal computer world) people buy a machine, run it for 3-6 years or so, then they get another machine. They don't upgrade some aging box. It doesn't make sense. My current Mac is 5 years old (dual G5 Tower running 30" and 22" monitors) and that is ancient by business computing standards.

Upgrade? Here's my next upgrade, genius:

http://www.geniusdv.com/news_and_tutorials/2009/10/21/new_27_inch_imac.png

I can buy one for $1600 or less, it has more screen real estate, a much better display, a 4x larger HD, 4x the memory, MUCH faster CPU and video performance than I've ever had before, and my current machine is already sufficient for the work we do here (which is heavy graphics work).

Why would I upgrade my old machine? That's nuts. I'll plug my 30" monitor into the machine above and I'm all set.

Hehe...That's what my housemate thought until he upgraded to Snow Leopard. After that, it stopped thinking he had any network adapters at all. He eventually managed to get it connecting to our wireless about half the time, but now, several weeks later, it still gets moody and often won't even work plugged in and with a valid static IP.

Apparently he's far from alone in this.



That right there sounds like a pretty convincing reason to avoid dealing with Apple hardware. Not quite as bad as the Verizon/BREW debacle, but vendor lock-in leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Same thing here at work.

The mac users were forced to have a self-imposed moratorium on their snarky mac-hubris for a while while the PC techs helped them get their wonderfully easy, foolproof macs back to being usable again.

But hey, to be fair, those mac users didn't need the internet, connections to our exchange server, or photoshop. They had such a precious, er I mean "cool" GUI and cute, er I mean "useful" little jumping icons, they were happy.

90%+ of PC users I know who have gone over to Macs would never switch back.

The post above is rather silly, but I won't expend the calories to refute its fallacies point by dopey point. Why bother?

It's a well known fact that once a person's latent tendencies are expressed, it is generally a one-way journey.

But you mac users know all about that. Don't you?

Same thing here at work.

The mac users were forced to have a self-imposed moratorium on their snarky mac-hubris for a while while the PC techs helped them get their wonderfully easy, foolproof macs back to being usable again.


How could anyone ever out-snark you?

90%+ of PC users I know who have gone over to Macs would never switch back.

I'm part of the other 10%. I actually switched back to Windows from being a Mac guy back in the first gen G4 days.
As for the advertising; I chuckle at them. I like the most recent "If I have to migrate everything, I may as well move to a Mac" series. As if it's as simple as going out and just buying a Mac and migrating all your files to the new machine. Oh yeah, then there's the matter of having to re-purchase all your software for the new OS; I'm sure that's not going to put a dent in anyone's wallet.