PC vs. Mac

-or- the suit vs. the slacker

Published on May 23, 2006 By BlueDev In OS Wars

By now, I am sure most of us have seen the new round of Mac vs. PC commercials. You know, the one with the middle age, sort of uptight looking, fuddy-duddy dude in a suit representing a PC, and the young, hip, cool, laid-back dude in old jeans and a T-shirt representing a Mac.

I have seen a couple of variations, but they all focus on the same thing. They all are trying to convey the same message: Macs are just cool and "work", whereas PCs are out of touch, laborious and problematic. Of course, I find it odd that so much of the advertising lately is on the hardware (considering I am typing this entry on my Windows laptop with Intel Core Duo processors, an pretty nice ATI graphics card, more RAM than a Mac Book and a larger HD than a Mac Book, at easily a few hundred dollars lower cost).

Nevertheless, I am not a Mac hater. In fact, I fully anticipate owning a Mac someday, when I can afford to have one IN ADDITION to my Windows computers. But I have to admit, I really don't care for these new ads. They just seem like such a faulty use of details, that honestly, I think they are embarrassing. In that spirit I share the following (sorry, can't paste the image myself as it is not mine and I don't have permission to be pasting it):

An alternative comparison between PC dude and Mac dude.

I found this quite entertaining.

Comments (Page 7)

starkers

on Jun 03, 2006

Before you buy it though Starkers you should check you don't qualify at all for the educational discount. It's not a lot, but it'll take a few hundred off the shelf price. It reduced my 12" ibook from 1800 bucks to a more competitive 1500, so it's definitely worth a shot.

Thanks muchly for the info, cactoblasta....I might've left school 48 years back, but recently I've been considering a return to learn more on computing, etc.

I've just been informed that we have an Apple Store here in Launceston, so I can go in there to research/investigate a Mac purchase more thoroughly: ie, ask up front questions and see things first-hand.

BlueDev

on Jun 03, 2006

I'd much rather have all the programs I'd use regularly already installed and, most importantly, designed to work together smoothly, than have an empty OS that I have to spend hundreds of dollars on filling up with programs that'll probably try to kill each other.

I agree. I would rather Windows come preloaded with all that stuff as well. OS X does it, Linux distros do it. But we can't have MS do it. That is just bad. . .

MasonM

on Jun 03, 2006

I find the in-fighting between OS fans to be pretty amusing at times. I make no secret about my preference for Linux, Slackware in particular, and I do make the occassional joke about Windoze or OS/uX(<-----jokes) but really couldn't care less what someone else uses. One should use what works best for them.

You can even find the same sort of nonsense between users of different Linux distros. "My distro is better", "No, you're an asshat, mine is better". It's a great source of amusement.

I think the suit vs slacker ads to be funny as hell even if they are basically FUD of a sort. But then, what advertising isn't?

I use Linux because:
A. It works for me.
B. It's free and I'm a cheap bastard.

starkers

on Jun 03, 2006

I agree. I would rather Windows come preloaded with all that stuff as well. OS X does it, Linux distros do it. But we can't have MS do it. That is just bad. .

Absolutely, and it was industry leaders such as Apple and Linux who brought the anti-trust suits against MS....and rather hypocritical in the light of day. I'm sure MS would love to be able to bundle more software with their OSes, but that's not acceptable to those who do the same and are praised for it.

Wouldn't it be nice if software/OS developers invested more in the benifits/merits of their own products to further their interests, rather than suing the opposition in the hope of suppressing their products, stunting their growth. Consumers would be better off and legal systems would be freed up to deal with 'real' crime.

MasonM

on Jun 03, 2006

#94 by starkers
Sat, June 03, 2006 8:20 PM

Yeah, it's not like Microsoft ever engaged in any unethical business practices or anything.

lolapoa

on Jun 03, 2006

ADMIN JAFO, IT WAS A YOURTUBE VIDEO, SO.........WHAT IS THE POINT OF TAKING IT OUT, OH RIGHT.....U HATE ME CUS IM ON A MAC, JUST HAVE FUN AND CUSTOMIZE URS TOO LOOK LIKE ONE LOL TALK BOUT WINDOWS ZEALOTS...

Jafo

on Jun 03, 2006

lolapoa ...#88 was/is quite clear.

Plagiarism, or the bulk-posting of another's literary article without clarification or indication of credited source is not acceptable.

If you MUST take from someone as if it is your own 'thoughts' do so with appropriate credit.

'Fair Use' pertains to the quoting of EXTRACTS for teaching/educational/reference purposes.....entire reems of content is not 'fair use'.

It's nothing to do with Mac OR Windows or anything at all related....

starkers

on Jun 04, 2006

Yeah, it's not like Microsoft ever engaged in any unethical business practices or anything.

Nobody is saying MS are angels. The point is that their most vocal critics are often those whose ethics, business practices can leave much to be desired....and when those very same companies engage in litigation against MS for doing the same or similar things, it's pure hypocrisy and becomes quite farcical. The money spent on lawyers and litigation could better be used to develop quality software to benifit consumers, rather than 'fat cat' legal eagles.

This is neither pro or anti MS, Apple or anyone....just a wish for a wiser deployment of resources, a better understanding and co-operation within the industry. All this inter-company bickering, to me, is counter-productive and, in some cases, tit for tat childish envy from 'purportedy' mature adults.

Put simply, some of them need to grow up and concentrate on the business at hand ....software/hardware development.

Underdog45

on Jun 04, 2006

Microsoft may well be stepping in the right direction with Vista. The "Vista Ultimate" SKU will include:

- Media Center code

- Tablet PC code

- DVD editing and burning software

- Networking configuration options in one panel

- Code that will read the hardware and scale the OS to optimize performance for the given machine

- A driver model that makes use of the 3D capabilities of current video adapters

- Anti-spyware in Windows Defender, and at least a measureable improvement in security focus and features when connected to the web.

- A search feature that essentially eliminates the need to create structured folders manually, except for individuals who want to create the structured folders.

- And much more.

It would seem that if the performance is good, the PC platform running Vista may be quite easy to manage and include a lot of the benefits that the Mac currently offers in multi-media.

It is quite remarkable the features you'll get in Vista Ultimate. It also will sport a quite remarkable pricetag of $450. My source is this: http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/4463/53/ , but only read it if you want to check the cost of Vista and Office 2007 because the rest of the article is mainly flamebait. Almost no one will, or at least should, have to get the Ultimate edition. The way I figure, the Home Basic, Home Premium, and Business versions replace XP Home, Meida Center, and Professional editions, and those are the main 3 you're going to see. Only it appears that only high-end gamers and people who require the Tablet PC functionality would have a need for Ultimate.

100

DesignCaddy

on Jun 04, 2006

kudos to all for not turning this in to a flame war. Civilized mac/pc comparisons? A feather in your caps.

101

Corky_O

on Jun 04, 2006

It also will sport a quite remarkable pricetag of $450

I do not believe microsoft has released the prices yet, so that information is conjecture at this point.

The estimated prices for the new Office 2007 are here http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/info/pricing.mspx

The office prices are basically the same for the new version as they are for the current 2003 version, and were for the older Office XP (2002) version.

It would appear that people will always want to guess about hardware requirements, pricing, and faults of upcoming products before they are officially released.

102

TasT

on Jun 04, 2006

I have been having the mac/pc debate with myself for the last month or so. I was in the market for a new laptop and wanted a 13.3in Macbook. After thinking about it for a while and checking the necessary software that I would have to buy to get the mackbook up to snuff compare to a windows based laptop I decided on a Compaq. I saved $600 on the hardware. ( got an AMD turion processor instead of a Intel.) In the deal though I got a Radeon Xpress 200M and a DL-DVD burner that the mac didn't have.

As far as software, the notebook came with a DVD player, Some crap photo software and works among other junk. Point is though I can load all I need from either free stuff or stuff I already owm. With the Mac I would have had to buy office software( I know that openoffice.org runs under X11, I want native)so that would have been an extra $250 for MS office. On the PC laptop it came with works and Openoffice.org runs natively. I own several different versions of Painshop pro so I just loaded version 9 on the laptop, much more powerfull than iPhoto.

I don't think I need to go through the rest, it just came to a point that I realize that the macbook was going to cost me near 2K once all the software was bought. The PC laptop has cost me nothing, some of the software isn't the most current version but, that's ok with me.

Once OpenOffice.org is made available for OSX and Adobe gets thier software into universal binary format I will probably purchase an iMac so I can learn OSX and have a more secure desktop for photo editing and my story writing.

For me it's not the price of the hardware, it's getting native software and no, bootcamp is not an option. I refuse to pay for a Mac and then pay the MS tax also.

103

Island Dog

on Jun 04, 2006

I was afraid of that when I bought my iBook. However I was wrong. NeoOffice is what I use for an "office" suite, that is based off Openoffice and does not run X11. I use both Mail and Thunderbird for my mail clients because both have their advantages. Most of the other software I have on my iBook is freeware and is some of the best you can find. I have spent less than $150 on software for my iBook, and I have everything I could use. Image editing, web design, etc. When you do decide to buy a Mac, I can recommend the best software for it. Most of it free.

104

TasT

on Jun 04, 2006

I have looked at NeoOffice and considered it but there seems to be some tension between OpenOffice.org group and the NeoOffice guys. I would rather wait till the software is officially available for OSX from OpenOffice.org. As far as the other software, I want native stuff, meaning universal binaries, once Adobe gets light room out of beta, I'll probably think more seriously about an iMac. My girls are sure excited about having a Mac, they use them in school. So if I don't warm up to it they'll definatly use it.

The other problem is that I can play WOW on my $600(after rebates) Compaq, but not on an $1100 Mac? WTF, that just doesn't make sense, most all Windows laptops have a pretty decent mobile vid card, not the MacBook....

I guess I expected to much from Apple with the Macbook. The delivered everywhere except the vid card.

105

Vermino

on Jun 05, 2006

ok i think i seen most of the mac vs PC commericals - but the one that gets me is when the PC guy stop talking and then starts again in a minute - where the other guy is like "yea PC's are always vulnriable to viruses where -I'm not" ... Right now, i got some spyware that is pissing me off my PC (i got norton but they haven't came out with the update for this spyware) but I really got to ask, is this true about Mac's? or they are bending the truth?
Never owned a Mac, so i dont know - they do look nice, but you can polish a turd but it's still a turd...

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