Imac or PC?

**fig** · 11-06-2009, 06:14 PM

I'll throw in my .02 here. I didn't fully read every post, so I apologize if I repeat anything.

I got an IMac about a year ago and will probably not get a PC again. Main reason (as someone mentioned): You can run both Windows AND OSX on a Mac with Parallels, VMWare or Virtual Box (Virtual Box is free). You cannot do that with a PC.

OSX is more stable, I have NEVER had a crash.

As for photo editing, I don't think Apple's photo editing software comes even close to Photoshop. Am I wrong? I only use Photoshop. With that in mind, you can of course run Photoshop on either PC of Mac so no advantage there.

The Multimedia built right into OSX is GREAT. I really like Apple's style when it comes to Multimedia.

Everything is prepackaged with OSX. You won't really need to get any additional software, except maybe Photoshop.

I have tried to hook up both a PC and a Mac to my TV. The PC was such a pain and the picture was very distorted. With the Mac, everything was perfect. All I had to buy was a long HDMI cable. When I hooked it up, the IMac detected the other "screen", identified the brand and the dimensions of the screen, and was good to go right off the bat. PERFECT Hi def picture.

One thing I don't think people realize is that it IS possible to get a virus on a Mac...the reason you don't get them is because no one writes viruses for Macs. Why? Because such a small percentage of people use Macs. HOWEVER, as more and more people switch, you can be sure some will start writing viruses for all these people running NO antivirus on their Macs. This still doesn't change much though in terms of PC vs. Mac.

Just to validate some of what I said...I'm a web developer/software developer. I use a PC everyday at work and a Mac every night. Good luck with your purchase.

**marcus300** · 11-06-2009, 07:31 PM

Originally Posted by fig

I'll throw in my .02 here. I didn't fully read every post, so I apologize if I repeat anything.

I got an IMac about a year ago and will probably not get a PC again. Main reason (as someone mentioned): You can run both Windows AND OSX on a Mac with Parallels, VMWare or Virtual Box (Virtual Box is free). You cannot do that with a PC.

OSX is more stable, I have NEVER had a crash.

As for photo editing, I don't think Apple's photo editing software comes even close to Photoshop. Am I wrong? I only use Photoshop. With that in mind, you can of course run Photoshop on either PC of Mac so no advantage there.

The Multimedia built right into OSX is GREAT. I really like Apple's style when it comes to Multimedia.

Everything is prepackaged with OSX. You won't really need to get any additional software, except maybe Photoshop.

I have tried to hook up both a PC and a Mac to my TV. The PC was such a pain and the picture was very distorted. With the Mac, everything was perfect. All I had to buy was a long HDMI cable. When I hooked it up, the IMac detected the other "screen", identified the brand and the dimensions of the screen, and was good to go right off the bat. PERFECT Hi def picture.

One thing I don't think people realize is that it IS possible to get a virus on a Mac...the reason you don't get them is because no one writes viruses for Macs. Why? Because such a small percentage of people use Macs. HOWEVER, as more and more people switch, you can be sure some will start writing viruses for all these people running NO antivirus on their Macs. This still doesn't change much though in terms of PC vs. Mac.

Just to validate some of what I said...I'm a web developer/software developer. I use a PC everyday at work and a Mac every night. Good luck with your purchase.

Thankyou, why dont you use them at work? would you recommend to use antivirus on a mac?

**marcus300** · 11-06-2009, 07:32 PM

Originally Posted by gunslinger2

If you need Windows you can run windows on a Mac. Its called bootcamp and it allows you to boot into either OS X or Windows. You will have the best of both worlds in the Mac. You can not do this with a PC.

If you did this would you get virus on the mac because your running windows?

**gigabitbucket** · 11-06-2009, 07:41 PM

Originally Posted by gunslinger2

If you need Windows you can run windows on a Mac. Its called bootcamp and it allows you to boot into either OS X or Windows. You will have the best of both worlds in the Mac. You can not do this with a PC.

Yep, i use this on my imac, using it right now.

Asked my wife what she would use if she only had 1 , She said her iMac

Hey I love the iMac, BUT I would still buy a PC , if that was the only PC I had.
Try to share you docs, apps with work or with your buddies.

But the new 27" iMac looks nice.
How big is too big?

Good luck!

**gigabitbucket** · 11-06-2009, 07:45 PM

Originally Posted by marcus300

If you did this would you get virus on the mac because your running windows?

depends on the virus but, YES you will get it on the device.
always run a antivirus program.

and you asked why they dont run iMac at work. ( with exceptions)
Because the world runs on a PC ( microsoft).

All hail Bill gates.

**marcus300** · 11-06-2009, 07:52 PM

Originally Posted by gigabitbucket

depends on the virus but, YES you will get it on the device.
always run a antivirus program.

and you asked why they dont run iMac at work. ( with exceptions)
Because the world runs on a PC ( microsoft).

All hail Bill gates.

What is happening now is everytime, everytime I speak to a imac user i tend to favour them most, then when i speak to a PC user and listen to them i favour a pc, BUT WITH YOU I AM TOTALLY CONFUSED

you have both but favour the PC. ive got a couple of months before i go out and buy so i guess i will have to go to the apple store and have a play

**fig** · 11-06-2009, 08:04 PM

Originally Posted by marcus300

Thankyou, why dont you use them at work? would you recommend to use antivirus on a mac?

Unfortunately, I don't have a choice at work. I don't run an antivirus on my Mac cause I'm cheap. I will if I start to hear word of viruses on Macs...but for now, I think it's a waste of money for anyone.

You asked if a Windows virus can infect a Mac? Yes, but the Mac will only "host" it. In other words, the virus has to be stored somewhere, and since all the hardware is Mac, it will ultimately be stored on the Mac. It will not, however, harm the Mac in anyway. The virus would have to be written FOR the Mac otherwise the Mac won't understand the malicious instructions.

**fig** · 11-06-2009, 08:06 PM

Originally Posted by gigabitbucket

Because the world runs on a PC

Exactly

**marcus300** · 11-06-2009, 08:08 PM

Originally Posted by fig

Unfortunately, I don't have a choice at work. I don't run an antivirus on my Mac cause I'm cheap. I will if I start to hear word of viruses on Macs...but for now, I think it's a waste of money for anyone.

You asked if a Windows virus can infect a Mac? Yes, but the Mac will only "host" it. In other words, the virus has to be stored somewhere, and since all the hardware is Mac, it will ultimately be stored on the Mac. It will not, however, harm the Mac in anyway. The virus would have to be written FOR the Mac otherwise the Mac won't understand the malicious instructions.

Let me guess this right, so if I had windows on my imac and got a virus it wont harm the imac, so I could uninstall the windows and clear the virus?

**fig** · 11-06-2009, 08:34 PM

Originally Posted by marcus300

Let me guess this right, so if I had windows on my imac and got a virus it wont harm the imac, so I could uninstall the windows and clear the virus?

Correct.

**goose** · 11-06-2009, 08:40 PM

Originally Posted by marcus300

Let me guess this right, so if I had windows on my imac and got a virus it wont harm the imac, so I could uninstall the windows and clear the virus?

Thats right,you would have to be a real stupid boy to get a virus on the windows with a mac,anything dirty you use your mac.

Your only going to use the windows maybe 2% of the time,things that only work with windows.

If you want you could have two windows operating systems .Lets say windows XP and windows 7

This is the beauty with the mac,simplicity.To uninstall a program you just grab it and throw it in the trash.Its Gone!! Compare that to windows,a joke...

**fig** · 11-06-2009, 08:48 PM

Originally Posted by goose

To uninstall a program you just grab it and throw it in the trash.Its Gone!! Compare that to windows,a joke...

First time I did that, I didn't believe it. I thought it was the equivalent of putting an icon in the trash can in Windows. I kept looking for the embedded files or the uninstall option till I gave up and googled it...only to find out it's just that easy.

**gigabitbucket** · 11-07-2009, 10:15 AM

Originally Posted by marcus300

Let me guess this right, so if I had windows on my imac and got a virus it wont harm the imac, so I could uninstall the windows and clear the virus?

MACS can and do get virus's. always use anti-virus software.
It depends on the Virus , (malicious code), you could get malicious code that could just about do anything on your computer. If you get the virus on the "PC" side, it "may" the imac side. It all depends on what type of code it is.

did not mean to confuse you, it all depends on what you are going to do with the computer,
What will you use it for? Photo editing, I see you like to take pics. i would get a iMac. Cant beat it.
If you are a gamer, cant beat the PC. You can get a much faster PC then a MAC. ( yes exceptions) Check out alienware PCs, $$
If you are going to run work apps , buy a PC because you will find that the apps favor PCs ( microsoft)
apps like go to my PC has issues running on Macs.
Share apps , docs with friends ,buy a PC ( most people use PCs) office for Mac, just doesnt cut it.
just surf the net, does not matter.

yes you can duel boot a Mac or run the 2 systems at the same time.
But you will find the Mac can not outperform a PC. ( Speed)

Sorry I am done,

What kind of car should I buy? just kidding

**marcus300** · 11-07-2009, 10:42 AM

Originally Posted by gigabitbucket

MACS can and do get virus's. always use anti-virus software.
It depends on the Virus , (malicious code), you could get malicious code that could just about do anything on your computer. If you get the virus on the "PC" side, it "may" the imac side. It all depends on what type of code it is.

did not mean to confuse you, it all depends on what you are going to do with the computer,
What will you use it for? Photo editing, I see you like to take pics. i would get a iMac. Cant beat it.
If you are a gamer, cant beat the PC. You can get a much faster PC then a MAC. ( yes exceptions) Check out alienware PCs, $$
If you are going to run work apps , buy a PC because you will find that the apps favor PCs ( microsoft)
apps like go to my PC has issues running on Macs.
Share apps , docs with friends ,buy a PC ( most people use PCs) office for Mac, just doesnt cut it.
just surf the net, does not matter.

yes you can duel boot a Mac or run the 2 systems at the same time.
But you will find the Mac can not outperform a PC. ( Speed)

Sorry I am done,

What kind of car should I buy? just kidding

Thanks you have been very helpfull, i have started and will being doing alot more photo editing and storing pictures on the new computer, small amount of downloading nothing major and surfing the interent, thats more or less what I will be doing. I will still have to use a PC because of work.

buy a Mercedes

**gigabitbucket** · 11-07-2009, 11:34 AM

Cool, Please let us know what you get, should be interesting.

Good Luck!

**marcus300** · 11-07-2009, 06:10 PM

Can you computer geeks help me out again please

If I got a imac and someone sent me a email containing a PDF file or word document can I open that up on a mac?

**Necrosaro** · 11-07-2009, 07:26 PM

You know what....get a pc with a 30 day trial and see if you like it. If not then try to mac for a 30day trail. Some places don't do this but some do and it is the best way for you the buyer to get the right computer for themselves.

**marcus300** · 11-07-2009, 07:48 PM

Originally Posted by Necrosaro

You know what....get a pc with a 30 day trial and see if you like it. If not then try to mac for a 30day trail. Some places don't do this but some do and it is the best way for you the buyer to get the right computer for themselves.

I have a PC now, but I am going to go to the Apple shop and have a play see which one I prefer.

**lovbyts** · 11-08-2009, 06:54 AM

Originally Posted by marcus300

Can you computer geeks help me out again please

If I got a imac and someone sent me a email containing a PDF file or word document can I open that up on a mac?

No you only need adobe reader and you can get it here, it's free

http://www.adobe.com/support/downloa...osh&product=10

**marcus300** · 11-08-2009, 12:30 PM

Originally Posted by lovbyts

No you only need adobe reader and you can get it here, it's free

http://www.adobe.com/support/downloa...osh&product=10

cool, so thats all i would need to view them on a imac, simple!

**DSM4Life** · 11-08-2009, 02:56 PM

Pc unless you need a machine for a specific reason like video/auto editing then i would say a MAC.

People who say MAC's don't get viruses are idiots. Why do you hear of so many issues/viruses with PC's ? Its because there are more PC's out there then MAC's.

**rockinred** · 11-08-2009, 06:30 PM

I know I am late on this, but I will have to recommend the Mac...there was a time when I wouldn't but Apple has come a long way and put a lot of effort on their product. Just like gunslinger stated I run VMware Fusion and have Windows and get the best of both worlds. Like having 2 computers. I very seldom have a need for Windows except for my work at home.

Marcus, I am pretty sure that what you have listed you won't regret an iMac or a Macbook pro. Aslo, you will have to learn quite a few new things that might frustrate you with learning a new way but it is always good to learn new things. Good luck.

**rockinred** · 11-08-2009, 06:36 PM

Originally Posted by DSM4Life

Pc unless you need a machine for a specific reason like video/auto editing then i would say a MAC.

People who say MAC's don't get viruses are idiots. Why do you hear of so many issues/viruses with PC's ? Its because there are more PC's out there then MAC's.

DSM, while your statement above is true about more virus' because there are not as many Macs on the market, it is also untrue a bit. I think there is only like 44 virus' that have ever hit Mac since the begining.... Mac's only share about 4% of the market and that equates to little to no virus'... they also place a higher priority on the security of the Operating System. Just different. True, eventually the luxury of no virus protection software and safe system will probably come to an end, but it is also true that there are no major virus'. People aren't writing them for the mac...

**marcus300** · 11-08-2009, 07:15 PM

Originally Posted by rockinred

DSM, while your statement above is true about more virus' because there are not as many Macs on the market, it is also untrue a bit. I think there is only like 44 virus' that have ever hit Mac since the begining.... Mac's only share about 4% of the market and that equates to little to no virus'... they also place a higher priority on the security of the Operating System. Just different. True, eventually the luxury of no virus protection software and safe system will probably come to an end, but it is also true that there are no major virus'. People aren't writing them for the mac...

Thanks for your comments,

**DSM4Life** · 11-08-2009, 08:19 PM

Originally Posted by rockinred

DSM, while your statement above is true about more virus' because there are not as many Macs on the market, it is also untrue a bit. I think there is only like 44 virus' that have ever hit Mac since the begining.... Mac's only share about 4% of the market and that equates to little to no virus'... they also place a higher priority on the security of the Operating System. Just different. True, eventually the luxury of no virus protection software and safe system will probably come to an end, but it is also true that there are no major virus'. People aren't writing them for the mac...

That's my point. People believe MAC's don't get viruses but the fact is most people don't buy MAC's so people who right viruses figure why waste their time. Apple spins this into our MAC's are safe which is BS.

2008 Market Sales

http://www.systemshootouts.org/mac_sales.html

Look at the graphs.

HP sold 13K+ PC's (which is only one vender of PC's)
Apple little over 2K

If you were writing a virus program which would you choose ?

So again back to my point, as long as there are more PC's people will continue to attack PC's. If MAC is ever on top the same would hold true.

**rockinred** · 11-08-2009, 08:31 PM

Originally Posted by DSM4Life

That's my point. People believe MAC's don't get viruses but the fact is most people don't buy MAC's so people who right viruses figure why waste their time. Apple spins this into our MAC's are safe which is BS.

2008 Market Sales

http://www.systemshootouts.org/mac_sales.html

Look at the graphs.

HP sold 13K+ PC's (which is only one vender of PC's)
Apple little over 2K

If you were writing a virus program which would you choose ?

So again back to my point, as long as there are more PC's people will continue to attack PC's. If MAC is ever on top the same would hold true.

yeah I agree for sure. MAC is operating off different language than Window's... Also, there is an added deterrent to hackers... Apple takes a lot more time in creating the system so in addition to the low market demand, it is also a little more difficult to hack so there is no bother. Which I think really is a plus for mac owners.

**gunslinger2** · 11-09-2009, 12:52 AM

People who say MAC's don't get viruses are idiots.

OK put up or shut up. I have been working on computers professionally for 10 years and have yet to see an infected Mac. I have many friends who have owned Macs for years and have never been infected. I have owned my Mac for almost two years and have never had any malware or viruses.

While there have been Mac viruses out there they are few and far between. Show me someone who uses Windows and has never been infected and I'll show you a a lying bastard.

**marcus300** · 11-09-2009, 03:31 AM

Originally Posted by gunslinger2

OK put up or shut up. I have been working on computers professionally for 10 years and have yet to see an infected Mac. I have many friends who have owned Macs for years and have never been infected. I have owned my Mac for almost two years and have never had any malware or viruses.

While there have been Mac viruses out there they are few and far between. Show me someone who uses Windows and has never been infected and I'll show you a a lying bastard.

I like that sentance lol

**DSM4Life** · 11-09-2009, 05:08 AM

Originally Posted by gunslinger2

OK put up or shut up. I have been working on computers professionally for 10 years and have yet to see an infected Mac. I have many friends who have owned Macs for years and have never been infected. I have owned my Mac for almost two years and have never had any malware or viruses.

While there have been Mac viruses out there they are few and far between. Show me someone who uses Windows and has never been infected and I'll show you a a lying bastard.

People get infected because of something the user does not the operating system. I have been building my own PC's for years. The last virus i had was maybe 12 years ago when i first started playing with PC's.

**DSM4Life** · 11-09-2009, 05:15 AM

There are, as far as we know, no Mac OS X viruses in the wild.

To prove that assertion wrong, you only have to name one.

Academic proofs of concept and theoretical vulnerabilities don't count. Neither do computer worms, Trojan horses, spyware, adware, spam or any of the other nasty species in the zoology of malware.

That eliminates Inqtana-A, iBotNet, MacSweeper and a handful of other examples of Mac malware usually trotted out at this point by PC apologists. Nor can you count the 10-second Zero Day Pwn2Own Safari exploit that got so much press attention last March. None of these, strictly speaking, were viruses.

The issue comes up anew because Apple's (AAPL) latest Get a Mac ads are once again hammering Microsoft (MSFT) for those "thousands of viruses" to which its operating systems and application suites are heir. And that, in turn, has led to a resurgence of comments in this space to the effect that a) Macs are just as vulnerable as Windows machines and b) the only thing that protects them is their miniscule market share.

Those ideas, while widely promulgated on the Web, are wrong. The fact that Mac OS X represents less than 4% of the worldwide installed base of computers might explain why there are fewer Mac viruses. But it wouldn't explain why there are none.

So what's the answer?

First, let's define some terms.

A Mac OS X virus in the wild, to use the definition put forward in a short-lived contest that offered $25,000 to the first hacker who could write one, is executable code that attaches itself to a program or file so that it can spread from one Mac to another. "In the wild" means it has infected, or is currently infecting, new machines through normal day-to-day usage.

By this definition, there have been hundreds, if not thousands, of Windows viruses (see partial list), a handful of Mac OS 9 viruses, and not one for Mac OS X.

The reasons for this have been extensively debated by security experts, who offer several explanations:

* Small market share. There is some truth to the "security through obscurity" argument. Many virus writers are motivated by the power they can command — and the money they can make — by seizing control of large numbers of computers. That puts a financial premium on Windows viruses.
* Mac OS X, with its Unix-based file system and kernel, is harder to infect with a self-replicating program. (See Claudiu Dumitru's MacOS X Vulnerabilities for background.) Windows, as I understand it, allows users to write run executable code outside their own protected memory space; Mac OS X does not.
* Viruses are going out of style. The action these days, I'm told, is in Trojans and spyware.

This is not to say that OS X is invulnerable. The frequency of Apple's security updates and the emphasis the company is putting on the new security features in Snow Leopard are proof that it is not. Maybe Apple is just lucky. Or maybe it's better at protecting its users from infection than Microsoft.

That said, if the built-in anti-virus protection in Windows 7 is as good as some earlier reviewers suggest. the security gap could close when Microsoft's new system finally launches next month.

Which may be why Apple is hammering home the "thousands of viruses" message now.

http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune....o-mac-viruses/

**Necrosaro** · 11-09-2009, 10:40 AM

^ Like the above post:

People get infected because of something the user does not the operating system. I have been building my own PC's for years. The last virus i had was maybe 12 years ago when i first started playing with PC's.

Exactly the same way I feel and never felt the need to run an antivirus in any of my computers anymore. I have also not been infected for a very long time just for the fact that I know what I am doing with my computer and have dealt with many forms of viruses and malware in my lifetime. I am not going to say either that I have not got one in my lifetime because I have but that was before I knew how to use them carefully. Over my years of computer techincian I have seen many viruses and malware on computers that I have fixed and can easily tell you it isn't the operating system that causes this but the computer user. Sure there is security openings here and there which get patched however if you don't know what your doing(even with a perfectly patched computer with all security holes closed) you are going to get viruses and malware.Simple as that.

**gunslinger2** · 11-09-2009, 12:48 PM

All that being said I challenge anyone to hack my Mac or get me infected.

I agree that Windows has come a long way in security. They are still more prone to viruses than Macs and thats the bottom line. I can provide numbers to back it up.

I agree that computer security ultimately falls on the end user but the Mac user can be a lot more careless and not have to worry, its just a fact, deal with it.

I'll be the first to admit I like Windows 7 a lot. Its pretty much everything Windows Vista was promised to be. So, why not have both? You can with the Mac. I dual boot my Mac with Windows for those few times I have wanted it on there.

I have not been infected with a virus or malware in years either but its because I as a computer tech know what I'm doing. You can't expect this from the everyday user. I do most of my web surfing and all of my downloading inside a virtual machine, I use firefox, I don't open email attachments, ect. The end user should not have to worry with such things. As computer techs we often lose sight of this.

**gigabitbucket** · 01-12-2010, 05:56 PM

After all this, What did you Get?

**BJJ** · 01-27-2010, 05:31 PM

What was your final decision?

**shredhead** · 05-04-2010, 07:25 PM

todays mac's are all intel based computer... guess what pc's are intel based components... you can buy the SAME EXACT component that come in macs.. they dont use special graphics cards you cant buy for a pc....or special cpu's...or special RAM or hard drives..it is all the same crap now.. funny thing is, when apple switch over to these their prices didnt go down at all. the only thing you are buying different is the OS...one thing tho, apple makes intel add a little tiny itty bitty chip on the intel motherboard.. that tells the OS cd that it is a mac computer and it will load the OS...thats it ...nothing else is different...macs are big rip off...and yes they do get virus' and everything else.

**Nooomoto** · 05-05-2010, 01:33 AM

1. You're going to be paying a shit load of extra money for Apple's manufactured coolness. There is no real justification for the exorbitant price of Apple products. They are not technologically superior in any way.

2. Unless you're some super bad ass graphic artist/photo/video editor guy, you're not going to be pushing any system to it's limits in terms of multimedia capability. So don't worry about that. I'm sure the Adobe suite of programs will handle more than all of your needs.

3. If you're really THAT worried about viruses and what not (I'm a heavy PC user since I was 10, I've had to do a fresh install maybe 5 times due to infection), buy a PC and install something like Ubuntu or Linux Mint. You just saved yourself around $1000.

4. Macs do fail, frequently. The reason they fail is the disturbing part. As Apple does not allow third party development, you cannot blame the failure on faulty third party coding as you could on PC, which would allow you to isolate the problem, and take care of it. So why do Macs fail? OS problems. When Macs fail, it's difficult if not impossible to figure out why it failed. More so...when it does fail, Apple's solution is to give you a new one. Sounds great, unless you have valuable data on your Mac, in which case you're rightly fked. I shit you not, I was in an Apple store and overheard a guy giving them hell because they chose to give him a new Mac to replace his business Mac, taking his valuable data with it, for which he was demanding compensation.

Serves him right though, since when the fk did anyone ever use a Mac for business purposes?

Save yourself the money and don't worry about aesthetics and manufactured cool factors. You can get/build a sick PC for what a Mac is going to cost you..and if you outgrow it you can ALWAYS upgrade it to do whatever you want.

95% of the computers in the world are Windows based PCs. If all the talk you hear about how terrible these machines are were true, the world wouldve plunged deep into chaos long ago. I'm sure a Windows PC can handle your needs just fine, and then some.

**mario_ps2** · 11-26-2010, 09:02 PM

Marcus... what you really want is power... Build a pc from scratch like i do,

buy i7 950 4 cores or
amd phenom x6 1090t 6 cores
Good quality over-clocker motherboard
high end graphic card.. Ati 6000 series
10,00 rpm hard drive
Blue Ray dvd burner
Windows 7 from torrents..lol..
42 inch samsung EDT full 1080p with 240 hertz for outstanding clarity.. better than mac..

The components (the internal parts from a computer whether from mac or PC ) are the same. What is different is the operating system.. that is it!!