Recently I've been investigating Macs. About a year ago I purchased an HP laptop and have been, for the most part, satisfied with its performance. (After watching five seasons of LOST, however, it probably could have doubled as a heating pad.) But I figured why not check out the competition.
Anyway, when I launched into my voyage of Mac discovery I noticed three things right way:
1. Holy shit.
2. Getting unbiased reviews of Macs is like trying to piece together a rational argument from a 4chan thread. PC advocates produce long-winded defenses with more jargon than a poststructuralist critique of James Joyce while the other side comes off sounding like a Scientology press release.
3. How much the Mac/PC debate resembles the Middle East. Seriously, you've got two groups operating faithfully in defense of systems that, while certainly different, aren't exactly apples and oranges. It's not as if PCs are microchip-based computing machines and Macs are holographic, water-based salvation devices that allow users to slip the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God. They're both fucking computers. Christ. Likewise with your different shades of monotheism. Pick your poison, friends.
All I want is a straightforward analysis of the pros and cons of each system without all the slavish devotion. Is that too much to ask?
Same deal with religion. The faithful are nothing but metaphysical fanboys, each playing up the positives and ignoring the downsides of their favorite mythology. Meanwhile the rest of us are stuck sitting in the middle of the bullshit teeter-totter.
Well, Yahweh and Allah are both imaginary pricks, and Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are both assholes.
Can a guy get some truth up in this bitch?
11.11.2009
Mac vs. PC: Our religious war?
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4 comments:
Good luck with that one!
There's a reason why you found it so easy to compare these systems to religion. You might as well start research on how to prove any of the seven theories that shook the universe.
amen mo'fucka
Maybe I can help a little. I use both a Mac and a PC (Sony Vaio). Now I could go to using a Mac exclusively, but I could never go back to using a PC exclusively. Primarily because with the new Macs I can partition my drive and load Windows on it and run both OS's. can't do that with a PC.
It's a long story as to why I have both, but here's my 2 cents worth: If you're very computer savvy, build websites, write code, know how to tweak hidden settings and things like that, then either one will do (depending on what programs and languages you're familiar with). If you're a novice who just wants to surf the net, check email, write some papers, or blog, either one will do as well (and might be better to go PC if cost is an issue).
But if you're someone like me, sort of in between, I'd go for the Mac. I know enough to get myself into trouble with both machines. I have enough knowledge to build a secure wireless home network that supports three or four machines, and I am brave enough to fiddle with the registry on my PC. But the truth is, my Mac is more forgiving of mistakes -and I never have to fiddle with he registry. Add to that, the user friendliness of Macs and the programs that come with it (iWeb for building websites for example is much easier for me to manage than MS Frontpage or Publisher), and I've found it less of a headache to use my Mac. the OS is more stable and, even though there are now some virus threats to Macs, it's not under the kind of assault that PC's are.
Of course, if you're a gamer, stick with the PC. There just aren't that many games for Mac. Another downside to a Mac, is that some of your existing peripherals might not be compatible (some printers and external cd/dvd drives, etc), but with the intel Macs (and the ability to run windows on a mac), that's even less of an issue than it used to be.
I don't know if that gives you anything useful or not, but that's my take on it as dual user.
Holy shit, an even-handed review of both operating systems! Egad!
Seriously, though, thanks for posting. Honestly, as things stand, I know enough to operate my HP laptop with relative ease so there's no pressing need to switch. I'm a regular ol', non-gamer, hobby website builder who pretty much uses his computer for the same stuff most people do. I was simply curious why some folks are so, shall we say, evangelical about Macs. Needless to say, whenever anyone begins speaking in those tones I become slightly suspicious. Is there such a thing as a "cult of OS"?
I stuck with Windows this last time because I wanted a big fuckin' screen and a Mac would have cost me $2000 to the PC's $1000. Sorry Mr Jobs, I kinda need to pay rent too.
Perhaps I'll switch over eventually, if money allows. For now, I'll probably hang on to my boring, John Hodgman machine.
Thanks again for the reviews.
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