Job Discussion Forums

nawlinsgurl · Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:31 am Post subject: MAC or PC????

Looking to get a new laptop. Want to use it for Word processing and internet mainly. Some cool features would be nice, but I want durability and the most for my $$$ (who doesn't?) Thinking about crossing over into the world of Mac...those commercials are alluring....any advice?

Like a Rolling Stone · Joined: 27 Mar 2006 Posts: 872

earthmonkey · Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Posts: 188 Location: Meguro-Ku Tokyo

Buy a Mac.

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

I bought an imac this spring and a new PC laptop this summer. While I do like the mac, it just doesn't feel as comfortabe as my pc. If you get a mac, you will have to buy new software for it. Macs are a pretty good price here in Japan, less than in the US or Canada when you consider the taxes.

Quibby84 · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 643 Location: Japan

a mac is not NEAR as heavy as a dell pc...make sure you get something light...I have to carry my dell laptop around and I always feel like my back is going to break off...

callmesim · Joined: 27 Oct 2005 Posts: 279 Location: London, UK

As Rolling Stone said, this kind of question is just asking for a word-fight and sadly I'm one of those people who will always jump to the defence of Macs.

Yes, they cost more (though the MacBooks are much cheaper these days) but they work, the operating system is by far the best, no worries about viruses, they look great, they come with a swag of free software (especially if you buy consumer models like iMacs and MacBooks) and when it comes time to upgrade, their resale value is miles ahead of the competition.

Join us!!!!!!! Twisted Evil

madeira · Joined: 13 Jun 2004 Posts: 182 Location: Oppama

I don't care what type of puter I have, as long as it works.

Buy the cheapest one that fits your specs. So far, you don't have any.. so buy the cheapest one in the shop. That will be a PC. Oh, and don't let them sell you Norton.

Flame away! My Korean puter will repel you... and if it doesn't, I can go buy another.

Mavis the Fat Fairy · Joined: 21 Sep 2006 Posts: 15

Personally I'd go for a Mac, although I know a lot of PC users who can't stand them, mostly to do with the fact you need to get used to a new set-up, but once you've gotten used to that there's no going back.

A couple of things that bug me about macs though; some web sites just don't seem to be recognised (tho not many), and a lot of mp3 players just aren't compatable, which is a huge pain if like me, you don;t really like i-pods! Also, i-photo just managed to wipe all my photos off. Not the end of the world as the original files are still there, but all the edditing I'd done is lost Evil or Very Mad

Not selling this too well am I? PCs are also capable of huge evils, probably more so. And macs are less prone to pop ups and viruses, which makes the whole iphoto thing a lot more tolerable.

BrytSyde · Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 20 Location: Orange County, CA

once you go mac you will never go bac... hands down the best choice, get macbook or the macbook pro..if you still need windows you have the abilty to run it on the mac, alot more durable and secured operating system.. mac rules

Hoser · Joined: 19 Mar 2005 Posts: 694 Location: Toronto, Canada

I'm a gamer so I always go with PC Smile

womblingfree · Joined: 04 Mar 2006 Posts: 826

markle · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 1316 Location: Out of Japan

I have joined the Mac ranks. Why?
1. Security-popups, viruses, worms, malware, adware, etc are generally designed to exploit Windows based software there are virtually none for Mac (yet)
2. Ease of use in Japan. Mac OS X works in most languages by a simple option change. No extra software or need to get specific software editions
3. Quality I bought my iBook at the same time as two friends bought similarly priced PC laptops. Both have had to send them in for some repairs. Nothing so far for mine.

Aesthete · Joined: 28 Sep 2006 Posts: 8

The problem with laptops is that, in general, they are not durable... hinges break and so on.... so what you are looking for is a company that is good with repairs... lol. Macs seem to have a good track-record for durability, for notebooks.... and if you have their warrenty they are generally nice to you. Many other companies... are not so nice, and many don't offer extended warrenties, forcing you to get it from the store you bought it from, which is a whole other mess in and of itself.

If you buy a Mac, you can run windows on it. This solves compatibility issues. Use another mouse. I don't like that one button deal. I need like... 5 buttons... and a scroll wheel... that's a must have.

In the end it's up to you, and while yes, i'm a die hard PC person... but after all the trouble i have had with notebooks in the past.... my next one is going to be a mac running windows. It's really hard to get a notebook and have problems with it, and then have it gone for a month while they try to "fix" it, only to get it back, unfixed.

Sad

Sweetsee · Joined: 11 Jun 2004 Posts: 2302 Location: ) is everything

Mac ibook G4 here.

azarashi sushi · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Posts: 562 Location: Shinjuku

I've always been a PC person but last year I bought an iMac G5...

The only reason I bought a Mac was because I wanted a desk top and it's difficult to get an English OS desktop PC in Tokyo. No other reason. I've gotten used to the Mac and I quite like it but I still think PCs are better.

My last PC was a Toshiba laptop which I had for five years... I never had any problems with it. The iMac G5, on the other hand, has broken down twice in the first year. Perhaps I have just been unlucky.

The good things are, as other people have mentioned, the lack of viruses for macs and its ease of use. It does come with included software eg. e-mail is set up and ready to go, video editing software, photo editing software, Apple works.

The thing that bugs me is the compatibility issues... Unless you are preparing and printing everything at home, Apple works is pretty much useless... If you want to e-mail documents, you'll have to get Microsoft Word ... which is a substantial extra cost (unless of course all your friends have macs). I've found, too, some websites are not compatible with macs. It's really annoying!

The photo editing software is pretty ordinary... You'll still need to get photoshop if you are serious about photo editing. It has just about every language and font but again unless your friends have macs, it's pretty much useless. I was excited to get Latvian letters but I can't really use it to send e-mails to anyone because no-one else I know (who reads Latvian) has a mac. You can't write kanji on Dave's with a mac. It comes out as: ???

As both you and your husband are American, it's not really important for you to be able to change the language of the OS. You'll only ever use English.

You mention you want it for word processing and internet mainly... I would say just go for the cheapest Windows PC, preferably one that has Microsoft Office included.