Questions about MACs

[Punkin]

Hey everybody, I've read the earlier PC vs. MAC thread and one thing struck me.... it seemed as if the pro-mac people actually gave facts supporting their opinions (I'm talking mostly about dhej). But some PC people were interesting too just not many (most of the posts comprised mainly of, "MACs suck. HATE HATE HATE HATE MACs.).

Anyway I'm thinking about buying a MAC.

In fact I'm using one right now
I'm at my uncle's house and he is an Apple nut. He constantly yells about how PCs suck and you can do anything on a MAC that you can on a PC. I ,however, agree and dis-agree on some points.

My biggest gripe about macs is software. It seems MACs are weak in terms of networking/hacking software and VERY weak on games. I also don't like the outragous mac prices. It kinda gets on my nervs that I can't find a command prompt or windows registry sorta thing anywhere. How in the world am I to screw around with the OS? Ohh well. I've started to come under the impression that MACs are the king for simple programs such as word processors, graphics programs, and Internet Explorer. But if you wanna do hacking or networking you get linux and if you wanna game you get windows. It seems like windows is the mediator between linux and macs in that it can do both of what they can but it doesn't do it as well.

My uncle said you could do anything on a MAC. You can't game on one or do networking seriously. However he has never done either of those. Heck he doesn't know jack about PCs the deep parts of the internet or any other nerdy things I thrive on. He had never heard of the Windows registry or BIOS and tcp/ip, all he knew about was to configure it on his machine for the internet. But I do readily agree with him that MAC is the most stable operating system. It seems to be a rather simple OS and simple usually means few crashes. Microsoft tried to bite off too much with windows and thus it is a POS. Linux is very stable but it has its flaws. Mainly that it is so damn hard to use the user ends up crashing it. But it can't be beat by anything in terms of networking and the ability to screw around with it.

In conclusion:
Pros:
I am begining to think that Apple Perfected desktop publishing and everyday use

It never crashes (sorry hardly ever is better) unlike windows (due to shitty OS) and linux (due to stupid user)

It is increadibly easy to learn

You don't have to waste your time trying to perform simple tasks like booting up (windows) and running programs (linux)

I like the idea of not having to back anything up or having to worry about virii and the ease of use.

Cons:
I hate the Price tag $$
I hate the software limetations
I hate how weak it is in terms of networking
I tried win2k once but it crashed on me as soon as I loaded it (I think it was a virus but some pretty freaky things happened that no-one could explain) , I have yet to try again. So, maybe win2k runs stable enough that a MAC is a waste of time I don't know.

Please don't make stupid posts like MACs suck. If you've got something to say at least try to make it intelligent. It really boosted my opinion of macs in that no-one that was for them said moronic things like PCs Suck or one sentence opinions like the many PC users who said, "MACs are too propritory for me."

[MrLinus]

Originally posted by Punkin


I like the idea of not having to back anything up or having to worry about virii and the ease of use.

Ummm.. Hardware is hardware. So I would caution against never backing anything up. In addition, there are viruses for macs albeit not as many as on Windows (thank you VBScript).

Many of your comments are correct. One of the issues in regards to mac software is the fact that windows is so dominant. This issue also applies to Linux to a degree. (There is a Lotus Notes client for Mac but not Linux althought there is a Linux server.. go figure).

[ThePreacher]

I dont see how you can blame linux crashing because the user doesnt know what they are doing. User stupidity can take out any OS even the macOS. Linux and mac both have a proven record of stability, however you will be hard pressed to find a Mac system that has been up for as long as some linux systems. My main problems with mac are like you said, its hard to get down and screw with the system to see if you can improve performance. Also the price is a big problem. When it comes down to it, I dont think the mac is better than linux in terms of word processing, internet, games, networking or graphics. The windows pc beats out both just due to the sheer amount of software but still has a higher setup price than a linux pc.

[IchNiSan]

hmm,

never tried it but..

Get a mac running OS X, or, upgrade whatever mac you get to OS X. A perfectly good fully functional BSD based *nix command line should be available to you then.

Good Luck,

IchNiSan

[Focmaester]

Originally posted by MsMittens


Ummm.. Hardware is hardware. So I would caution against never backing anything up. In addition, there are viruses for macs albeit not as many as on Windows (thank you VBScript).

Many of your comments are correct. One of the issues in regards to mac software is the fact that windows is so dominant. This issue also applies to Linux to a degree. (There is a Lotus Notes client for Mac but not Linux althought there is a Linux server.. go figure).

Yes, there is more crap out there for *nix then you can imagine, it's just that noit the majority of PC users have *nix and the fact that most kiddies don't know anything bout it.

[Taggie]

If you are concerned about lack of software on a Mac, you should seriously consider what your needs are. Sure there is a lot less software, but it comes down to quality not quantity. I have everything I need on my Mac. I'm not a big games player, but the game situation is improving and Macs perform with the best of them in games like UT.

What is your problem with networking and Macs? I always thought they were easier to network than PC's. I'm in a office running both PC's and Macs and they co exist happily.

Pricetag? Well basically you pay for what you get. Mac hardware requires very little maintenance and have very little down time. Sure macs crash occasionally, but they also usually boot back up again without any problems and adding extra components is a breeze with very few incompatabilities.

If playing around with your bios and hacking are your main interests, then perhaps the Mac isn't for you.

[Wintermut3]

it's hard to hack wintel and linux boxes from a mac, but a mac is IMPOSSIBLE to hack using anything other than a mac

[TQEHRheum]

Much though I'd love to agree with you on that last statement, we can't say that now that Mac OSX is on the floor.

Cool system to run (yes aren't we all fascinated with that y'olde "uptime" command), but if we are going to put Mac's back on the map against the more used machines then we should be putting our backs to the grindstone now while the OS is young. Brian did a fantastic job putting together Brickhouse, but there are problem well below this level. Lets put some pressure on now to fix this stuff.

I'd be interested in hearing from people who want to give this some serious thought. (Particularly, since the last three threads I've just read on this forum have nothing whatsoever to do with Mac security.)

.. I'm crawling back inside my clamshell now ..