Mac Vs PC

[Cry Havoc]

It WAS hidden, it's called sarcasm...

WOOSH.

[jacobdrj]

The hardware is the same. The software is a little different, and you can run Windows, or Linux, or any other x32 OS on either one.

If you do video editing or graphic art, you are more likely to get better value by getting a mac, as the software most suited to these tasks are designed for macs. However, you pay a premium for that ability.

Because there are fewer macs, there is less chance for virus conamination, as fewer people write mac viruses.

If you are a poor college student and you are NOT trying to go into the 'arts' as you major, you may want to avoid getting a mac, at least until you are a successful business man, as the price is just so damn high, even with student discounts.

Really, because the hardware is the same, the main difference is price and service. Some clients tell me that the service in the Apple store is great. Others have complained that they still don't cover the basics (nobody does) such as broken screens, and replacement batteries.

Since Windows 7 is out, I'd just get a cheepie W7 box if all I wanted to do was surf the net and write papers.

[PM5K]

The hardware is the same. The software is a little different, and you can run Windows, or Linux, or any other x32 OS on either one.

If you do video editing or graphic art, you are more likely to get better value by getting a mac, as the software most suited to these tasks are designed for macs. However, you pay a premium for that ability.

Because there are fewer macs, there is less chance for virus conamination, as fewer people write mac viruses.

If you are a poor college student and you are NOT trying to go into the 'arts' as you major, you may want to avoid getting a mac, at least until you are a successful business man, as the price is just so damn high, even with student discounts.

Really, because the hardware is the same, the main difference is price and service. Some clients tell me that the service in the Apple store is great. Others have complained that they still don't cover the basics (nobody does) such as broken screens, and replacement batteries.

Since Windows 7 is out, I'd just get a cheepie W7 box if all I wanted to do was surf the net and write papers.

I agree with that in general, especially the last part, with Black Friday you'll be able to get a decent laptop for three bills, which is hard to beat.

[PixelPusher]

mac is to iphone as pc is to jailbroken iphone

Appropriate, since some jailbroken iPhones are subject to viral attacks.

[phyzik]

Dont pretend Mac's are invulnurable to a virus or malware. To do so is foolhardy. I also work with macs at my place of business because they are great for engineering apps like Ansys, Pro/e and alot of other CAD programs. We have had viruses on them before.

Here's just a few we have ran into when we used Tiger. So far we have been lucky with OSX with the exception of the first virus I list, but then again I can count the macs in my division on 1 hand.

Mac OS X Virus: Inqtana.A Worm

Leap.A aka Oompa-Loompa virus

Mac.Simpson Virus

Melissa.W

If Mac OS went as mainstream as Windows (IE, install on any old regular PC) We would start to see a SIGNIFICANT virus increase for the Mac OS. Dont kid yourselves Mac users.

[Sense]

i'll say this much... i don't run an antrivirus app on my mac and have had the computer almost a yr.

I don't run an antivirus on my HP and have owned it longer than a year. Never ever have had a problem with it.





Computers don't get viruses... you let them in, so obviously it's the people using them who are at fault... not the pc's.

[AussieFanKurt]

thats good sense

[phyzik]

I don't run an antivirus on my HP and have owned it longer than a year. Never ever have had a problem with it.





Computers don't get viruses... you let them in, so obviously it's the people using them who are at fault... not the pc's.

Yeah, its definately a PEBKAC issue. No doubt.

Mac users love to spout about how their OS is so secure that they dont need anti-virus protection. They have no idea how funny that is to a real tech that works with both systems on a daily basis. They are so sure about that little myth that they dont even bother installing anti-virus software and remain oblivious when they do get infected with a virus or malware program.

[koriwhat]

Yeah, its definately a PEBKAC issue. No doubt.

Mac users love to spout about how their OS is so secure that they dont need anti-virus protection. They have no idea how funny that is to a real tech that works with both systems on a daily basis. They are so sure about that little myth that they dont even bother installing anti-virus software and remain oblivious when they do get infected with a virus or malware program.

what do you suggest, norton? that's as reliable as it is for winOS.

[phyzik]

what do you suggest, norton? that's as reliable as it is for winOS.

Well, if your looking for free, cant go wrong with http://www.clamxav.com/

and definitely stay away from Norton.

If anything, get an anti-virus program to check the e-mails you may pass on to a PC user. You may not get infected by the e-mail but your contacts might if they are on a PC.

[ElNono]

Yeah, its definately a PEBKAC issue. No doubt.

Mac users love to spout about how their OS is so secure that they dont need anti-virus protection. They have no idea how funny that is to a real tech that works with both systems on a daily basis. They are so sure about that little myth that they dont even bother installing anti-virus software and remain oblivious when they do get infected with a virus or malware program.

I work with both systems on a daily basis. Heck I've programmed both for the good part of the last 3 decades. We have both Mac and PC customers.
When a PC starts acting up, first thing is to check are antivirus/malware.
When a Mac starts acting up, first thing is to check is hard drive corruption.

What the average joe like you who think they know jack about operating systems doesn't understand is that Unix was created with security and user permissions in mind when it was designed and written, whereas in Windows, actual security was an afterthought.
As a matter of fact, the Mac had the exact same issues Windows does when it didn't have a mach kernel and a BSD system at it's core.

That said, nothing is infallible. But if you actually tried, you'll know it's much harder to escalate privileges using an exploit on current OS X in general than on Windows.

Obviously, there's much more to gain by finding a hole in Windows than on OS X, but the reality is also that the vast majority of Mac users don't need to run an anti-virus at all, and most certainly do not.

[ElNono]

Computers don't get viruses... you let them in, so obviously it's the people using them who are at fault... not the pc's.

Browser exploits disagree with you.

[phyzik]

I work with both systems on a daily basis. Heck I've programmed both for the good part of the last 3 decades. We have both Mac and PC customers.
When a PC starts acting up, first thing is to check are antivirus/malware.
When a Mac starts acting up, first thing is to check is hard drive corruption.

What the average joe like you who think they know jack about operating systems doesn't understand is that Unix was created with security and user permissions in mind when it was designed and written, whereas in Windows, actual security was an afterthought.
As a matter of fact, the Mac had the exact same issues Windows does when it didn't have a mach kernel and a BSD system at it's core.

That said, nothing is infallible. But if you actually tried, you'll know it's much harder to escalate privileges using an exploit on current OS X in general than on Windows.

Obviously, there's much more to gain by finding a hole in Windows than on OS X, but the reality is also that the vast majority of Mac users don't need to run an anti-virus at all, and most certainly do not.

LOL @ Average Joe. Dude, I work in IT as well. Southwest Research Ins ute in fact. We have government contracts and cant afford any loose ends. We run McAfee on both mac and PC and run our own ePO server for definition updates. I have, in FACT, had to clean a mac of a virus. Most recently the first virus I listed just a few posts ago in your precious OSX.

Part of the problem with Mac users is that they dont run an anti-virus. When they get an e-mail containing a PC virus, they are none the wiser and sometimes end up forwarding it to PC using contacts who then get infected all because Mr. High and Mighty mac user felt he was above using anti-virus protection.

Hey, if it doesnt affect you, everyone else, right?

[ElNono]

LOL @ Average Joe. Dude, I work in IT as well. Southwest Research Ins ute in fact. We have government contracts and cant afford any loose ends. We run McAfee on both mac and PC and run our own ePO server for definition updates. I have, in FACT, had to clean a mac of a virus. Most recently the first virus I listed just a few posts ago in your precious OSX.

The bluetooth directory traversal vulnerability that the 'worm' you mention exploited was patched in 2006. Unless you haven't updated the OS in 3 years, the files were probably simply inert there.
And BTW, the only way to get 'infected' with that 'virus' was to manually run an application containing it.

Part of the problem with Mac users is that they dont run an anti-virus. When they get an e-mail containing a PC virus, they are none the wiser and sometimes end up forwarding it to PC using contacts who then get infected all because Mr. High and Mighty mac user felt he was above using anti-virus protection.

Hey, if it doesnt affect you, everyone else, right?

Why would they even get a PC virus in the mail in the first place?
I gather you run your own email server, seeing that you can't 'afford any loose ends'?
We do get some spam to pass through MailScanner over here, that eventually gets picked up by Mail's spam filter, but that's about it.
But I digress, that's exactly the reason Mac users don't have to care. Because it REALLY DOES NOT affect them. A PC virus should be caught by a PC antivirus. I don't see what's wrong with that.

[Heath Ledger]

I own several Macs and several PC's now what es? I also own an Iphone.

[hater]

what? i don't get your analogy.

an iphone is nice, clean and user friendly for all ages. But to a knowledgeable person, a jailbroken iphone is 100 times more useful.

[hater]

Appropriate, since some jailbroken iPhones are subject to viral attacks.

mo money mo problems

[SKINNYPIMP210]

Just wanted to thank everyone for all the info! I'm still waiting on my Mac to be delivered to my house. But I will chime in again after I've used it for awhile.

[spursncowboys]

I own several Macs and several PC's now what es? I also own an Iphone.

Sudo bust a cap in yo ass. Ubuntu fo life.

[phyzik]

Why would they even get a PC virus in the mail in the first place?
I gather you run your own email server, seeing that you can't 'afford any loose ends'?

Yes, we run an exchange server. How you would even ask how any computer would get an infected email to begin with makes me want to really question what you know about viruses.

Just because you run a mac doesnt mean you dont recieve infected e-mails. Granted, they may be targeting PC's but just because a mac user recieves the e-mail on a forward doesnt mean its no longer infected. you can still forward it on to a PC user, unknowing that it has a PC virus because your so careless enough to not run an antivirus program. Just because it reaches a Mac doesnt mean its now Virus free.

I really think your assuming me as a Mac hater. Im not. Mac's are awesome when it comes to CAD design programs, my problem is thst you think its such a superior OS over Windows. They both have their negatives and positives. for me, I prefer Windows for the gaming, its FAR superior in that regard. If I was into engineering apps and just surfing the web and checking e-mail, I'd go Mac. It's far superior to Windows in that regard.

bottom line, Mac isnt as superior to Windows as you think it to be. It just depends on what the user is wanting out of their OS. there is a reason most companies run Microsoft products, hence why there are so many viral attacks on the OS. Dont kid yourself into thinking if it was the other way around that Mac OS products wouldnt be just as vulnerable.

I could run the Amiga OS on a system and claim its even more secure than a Mac only because of the fact its not as widely used. I bet there are NO viruses that affect the Amiga OS.

[koriwhat]

Yes, we run an exchange server. How you would even ask how any computer would get an infected email to begin with makes me want to really question what you know about viruses.

Just because you run a mac doesnt mean you dont recieve infected e-mails. Granted, they may be targeting PC's but just because a mac user recieves the e-mail on a forward doesnt mean its no longer infected. you can still forward it on to a PC user, unknowing that it has a PC virus because your so careless enough to not run an antivirus program. Just because it reaches a Mac doesnt mean its now Virus free.

I really think your assuming me as a Mac hater. Im not. Mac's are awesome when it comes to CAD design programs, my problem is thst you think its such a superior OS over Windows. They both have their negatives and positives. for me, I prefer Windows for the gaming, its FAR superior in that regard. If I was into engineering apps and just surfing the web and checking e-mail, I'd go Mac. It's far superior to Windows in that regard.

bottom line, Mac isnt as superior to Windows as you think it to be. It just depends on what the user is wanting out of their OS. there is a reason most companies run Microsoft products, hence why there are so many viral attacks on the OS. Dont kid yourself into thinking if it was the other way around that Mac OS products wouldnt be just as vulnerable.

I could run the Amiga OS on a system and claim its even more secure than a Mac only because of the fact its not as widely used. I bet there are NO viruses that affect the Amiga OS.

yo PC!

btw you keep saying how the hardware is the same, i agree, so why keep distinguishing your ty winOS as a PC and mac as OSX? aren't they both PC's? again, fuuuuuck yoooooo P-C!

[Cry Havoc]

yo PC!

btw you keep saying how the hardware is the same, i agree, so why keep distinguishing your ty winOS as a PC and mac as OSX? aren't they both PC's? again, fuuuuuck yoooooo P-C!

Simple.

Windows 7 = or > OSX.

Hardware is NOT the same.

PC >>>> Mac for hardware/price.

[leemajors]

I would say Windows 7 <= Leopard, Vista < Leopard, Windows 7 > Snow Leopard. I really liked Leopard, but Snow Leopard really doesn't seem like much of an improvement at all. They hosed Expose imo, but I still prefer it to Vista. 7 is great so far. I have a 20" aluminum iMac at work, and a PC at home.

[baseline bum]

Dont kid yourself into thinking if it was the other way around that Mac OS products wouldnt be just as vulnerable.

I don't buy that at all, not when the BSD's that make up the core of OSX build on 40+ years of knowledge building operating systems designed from the ground up to be multi-user and with security in mind. Microsoft is still the new kid when here, and while they've come a long ways since the seemingly hourly concurrency bugs causing crashes in Windows 95, their codebase is both enormous and monolithic. I heard in a lecture from Alan Kay that if you printed the Windows source code and put it in a stack, it'd be the size of the Empire State Building. If you think I'm full of crap when I talk about their codebase being just a huge structure built by brute force, ask yourself why they can't ever seem to get major features like WinFS done, even though they were talking about it (and promising it) for years. I mean, this was initially supposed to be the key selling point for Longhorn (aka, Vista).