Which one is better?
- PC
- Mac
0 voters
If you had your ‘others’, and $ wasn’t a big issue, what would you have? Pray tell, why?
I experienced the “Mac” effect first hand, and here’s my story:
I was on a team of system admins to support roughly 150 Macs and 300+ Windows workstations. All the guys I worked with are extensively knowledgeable on computers, especially the Windows guys. At the time, there was 4-5 admins on the PC side, and 1.5 Mac admin (one full time guy plus me when I can spare time to help him).
Our work routine was checking problem reports every morning submitted by users. Every single day, we were almost always short-handed on the PC side. As for the Mac guy, he’s almost always helping us out becuase there’d be no or few problem reports from Mac users. And after a while, I started to realize how frequently and differently all the PC problems were. Everyday there’d be different problems on different machines. And the cycle continued. On the Mac side, almost always the same problems would happen to the same machines (hence we had to replace some of then eventually). The problems on the PCs seemed random, while the ones we found on the Mac were rather systematic, and some of them were very well documented either on Apple’s web site or on the Interent in general.
Now, if you were a sys admin, would you rather deal with systematic crap or random crap? Crap that’s not documented anywhere, or crap that’s not explained anywhere in any documentation by any manufacturer? And not to mention the occassional finger pointing excercises from one vendor to another (sorry, that’s an operating system problem; sorry, that’s a hardware problem; sorry, you have to call blah blah… )
Over the years I have had to help friends with problems on their computers, and almost exclusively, all PC users. So when the time came for me to get a new computer, I realized I just did’t have the time to deal with the “problems” anymore. It was fun and a great learning experience building and fixing PCs. But I’d rather stick to a Mac and not to lose sleep over it.
Cheers…
When you say “PC users” don’t you really mean “Windows users”? 
My machines are all Intel x86 based but only one runs Windows. Everything else runs Solaris 9, Linux or OS/2. The only problems I’ve ever had have been with Windows.
I voted for the MAC. I think PCs in this case should include all open architecture computers. The open architecture is customizable and therefore requires setup and maintenance. The MAC has fewer options to play around with and therefore less worries for administrators. But I find that Notebook PCs (Windows, Mac OS, or Others) are even less hassles for administrators because it is more like an appliance compared to the typical desktop PC.
Oh goody … a religious war! Why don’t you tell us precisely what you plan to use the computer for, and then you may get focused answers.
When you say “PC users” don’t you really mean “Windows users”? My machines are all Intel x86 based but only one runs Windows. Everything else runs Solaris 9, Linux or OS/2. The only problems I’ve ever had have been with Windows. [/quote]
You are absolutely right. My IRIX experiece has been a pleasant one back then too. Linux machines at my current work are also robust. It’s almost always the Window machines. Thanks for the clarification.
Indeed laptops can be seen as different. But ultimately I still feel they are a pain to support due to spcialty parts and drivers invloved, especially in the case of Sony laptops. Your comment about “Macs having less option, hence less problems” is also a good point. Mac OS doesn’t have to deal with compatibility issues as much as Windows does, which I do think Microsoft has done a good job with 2000 and XP (well, the processor and memory requirements pretty much eliminated much older machines, henced increased compatibility).
On a multiuser level, laptops are more personal, thus only used by the same person at most times, where as workstations in a multiuser environment are more problematic becuase of all the things users are doing to all those machines…
Publishing, graphics, document creation, internet.
And, a dvdplayer/burner as I’ll be homeless in about a year and will need to take it wherever I go while all my other personal effects are on a container ship or in storage.
So, I need a reliable home office and portable entertainment system, mainly. Oh, and with a long-lasting battery, relatively lightweight lots of memory, and FAST. I don’t have time to putz around like with this clunky old desktop. Nor do I want to have to tweak a lot of crap.
I can afford 100k.
Sounds pretty common, that could be anything.
Here it starts to look like a notebook…
Apple Powerbook
I saw something like 104k (tax excluded), but if you talk nicely to them…
(This would be a G4/1G, 60GB HDD, 512MB and “SuperDrive”…)
Logic really doesn’t cut it when talking about Macs and PCs. There are three Macs in the office where I work and they never cause problems. The problems that do come up are invariably related to the network and/or Exchange, which is to say more Windows problems. You have to look at Mac vs PC through another lens to find out why people still use and, for those that know the difference, prefer PCs.
Honestly, there’s very little money to made on the Mac side. People can take care of their own machines and peripherals work as advertised right out of the box 95-plus times out of 100.
Moreover, if you’re a “reasonable” sys admin you’re going to go with a system that empowers you and that isn’t the Mac. As noted, Macs don’t need much if any support and PCs require tons. No support, no staff. No support, no budget. Think of those “lonely” Maytag repairman commercials javascript:emoticon(’
’) of years gone by and consider what a real-world person javascript:emoticon(’:twisted:’) might do to get some friends, money and prestige.
People around the office where I work are continuously having their systems re-installed, upgraded, updated, etc and they still get nowhere. Some of the “smarter” people javascript:emoticon(’
’) have actually gone out and bought their own. This generally reduces their problems, but by no means eliminates this grief. But, it’s really indicative of how desperate they are…
I doubt any of the people there could make a reasonable go at Linux. That is except for the MIS people are they’re all running some open-source OS.
If you’ve got the skills and, frankly, lots and lots of time, go open source. If you don’t have the time or skills, get a Mac. It’ll just pay and pay and pay for itself. Moreover, because Macs run Unix, open source and the command line are just one click away.
While working as an architect in Sydney I used a Mac, and I recall experiencing just one “system crash” in about one-and-a-half years. Life was so peaceful then…
But soon after moving to another company which used the Windows OS, we were obliged to routinely (i.e. every 5 minutes) save our data for fear of losing it when the system crashed.
So when it comes to designing, it’s MAC for me, any day.
Cheers,
The Big Babou
just had osx installed yesterday at my side here. Yes it looks real cool and I will give away my wintel box for it. But geez, I can’t work on it, all my work related apps are on wintel. I might as well get a Mac at home for my parents. But wait, osx chinese input is immature or at least not as intelligent as MS Phonetic IME. I think for Mac Vs Win, it’s always love and hate.
ax
Hmm… which apps are those? And do they not have OSX version? Most major apps have a version for OSX nowadays.
As for IME on OSX, I agree it’s not quite as smooth for Chinese. However, the “intelligence” part you can turn on under Preferences. I think it’s off by default. It predicts ahead what you are about to type (say, a proverb) and changes the words you have typed based on the current word to match most common phrases. But it does get annoying from time to time…
What I hate about the Chinese IME on Mac is that you can only type one character at a time instead of one whole string or characters as in Windows or previously in Hanin on OS9.
Do you have better options? I’m new to OSX, may be you could give some hints schew…
ax
[quote=“ax”]What I hate about the Chinese IME on Mac is that you can only type one character at a time instead of one whole string or characters as in Windows or previously in Hanin on OS9.
Do you have better options? I’m new to OSX, may be you could give some hints schew…[/quote]
I actually dislike the “type in small window” style. But I think there’s a way to turn it on; never bothered to do it though…
Here’s a helpful like that will get you started on Chinese IME on OSX:
yale.edu/chinesemac/pages/hanin_X.html
Cheers…
i check my IME preference, it doesn’t have check box for hanin.
could you leave a phone no. on private msg, I’ll call you tomorrow.
ax
If it had been a desktop we were talking about, I’d have voted for a PC. Instead I voted for Mac, as 95% of the PC notebooks I have ever had the misfortune of using feel like they had the build quality of a … of a … :x actually I can’t think of anything shitty enough to compare them with.
PC notebook manufacturers need a good kick up the arse, that’s for sure!
Apple notebooks are manufactured by the same people who make Wintel notebooks. Right here in Taiwan. 
And…the US Army runs Solaris x86 on it’s battlefield systems. Not Winblowz.
kansascity.com/mld/kansascit … 666779.htm
[color=red]Battlefield Internet helps 4th Division see through fog of war[/color]
NORTH OF BAGHDAD, Iraq -It’s not the earth-grinding Paladin howitzers and Abrams tanks that give the Army’s 4th Infantry Division its moniker – the “digitized division.”
The heavy hardware is guided by a sophisticated computer network that, in its first use in battle, tracked the division’s 1st Brigade during a skirmish Wednesday for the Taji air base north of Baghdad.
The system is known as Force 21 Battle Command Brigade and Below, or FBCB2, and works as a battlefield Internet that keeps track of fast-moving combat vehicles.
The FBCB2’s key component is a rugged touch-screen computer mounted in vehicles that, proponents say, could have prevented the March 23 ambush deaths of nine soldiers from the 507th Maintenance Company after their convoy took a wrong turn.
FBCB2 computers sit in shock-resistant ribbed cases that help dissipate the heat. Developed by Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman, they were first fielded in 1995, said Mike Iacobacci, a Northrop technician traveling with the 1st Brigade. The computers carry no cooling fan that could suck in sand or water. They run Sun Microsystems’ Solaris operating system, which allows the scale of maps to be changed or overlaid with satellite imagery or terrain features.