Thoughts on Apple's Mac

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Hey all

Ive been a PC girl for quite awhile. Im thinking about getting a Mac eventually. The new Macbook to be more specific or what ever new mac laptop comes out when i get the hunkering to buy a new laptop. Any thoughts from Mac users out there, anyone who has had both pc and mac laptops?

Thanks

Mac is the BEST, hands down! I owned a Dell, a Compaq, and an HP b/f switching to Mac-- once you try Mac, you'll never go back!! :lol2: I've had it for a year now, and I LOVE it! I am never bothered by viruses or pop-ups- and it's lightning fast! It does everything my old PCs did & a million times more. It's great for music, videos, graphics, photography, to name a few!! I did take a one day Mac class after I bought it, which was very helpful since I'd never used a Mac b/f and it is different than what I was used to. I don't have to "manage" viruses, it's all automatic. I tried a Mac in the store a few times and was sold!

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BTW viruses can be managed, you just have to know how to deal with them and prevent them.

Yeah, I got the "Window's Cleaning for Dummies" book and it takes FOREVER AND A DAY to keep up with all the housecleaning that needs to be done to keep a pc running smoothly which is exactly the kind of stuff I hate hate hate to do.

I'm not a techie. I don't like to do my income taxes. I really dislike all the minute details you must keep for the tax man. I'm not detail oriented. Right now my Outlook Express won't send mail because Norton has to be removed and put back on again for some stupid reason . . . .you should really feel sorry for any tech advisors I have ever called on the phone - they deserve a huge raise.

steph

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We are a mac family. Between my brother, his wife, my parents, my sister, etc, we have 8 Macs in our family. I love how you can send documents to PCs and no issues going there or back. Of course that no spyware thing is really cool! My sister worked for Apple for quite a bit of time and was a genius in their retail location. (So we had a resident Apple nerd among us and still do- she still works there over the holidays).

I have watched my husband go thru 2 desktops and 1 laptop ( a gateway, an HP, and a Dell) all in the same amount of time that my Mac and I have been in love :) The DVD movies that I make for the grandparents are so easy! I had a MAC classic in 95 that my parents bought for my brother in 89. I should have never stopped using Macs, I will never go back to PCs again.

Mystiqx-- it is really easy to get started. Your Mac will detect all new equipment without the install CD ( Just an FYI for everyone). They send out the Mac Install CD for those of us that b/c we had the CDs for our PCs feel the need to install. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get a hold of me, if I don't know, my resident apple nerd will be more than happy to answer the question.

PS I LOVE THAT MY MAC, MY AIRPORT, THE IPOD, AND MY STEREO ARE ALL CONNECTED!!! WHOO HOO

yeah, I got the sticker on my car :)

This is my second dell laptop, the first dell i bought lasted all of 2 yrs exactly before the motherboard said "see ya sucka" and since dell was the only thing i knew anything about i got a second one, but now its reached old age as well and needs a cane... grrrrr. I have like 2 virus protect software on it, and everytime i look around there is a virus, spyware or something or the other on it. It crashes at the most odd times, im getting really irritated, ive heard nothing but good things with the macs, i dunno maybe they changed their inventors or something, cause i remember back in the day when mac wasnt compatible with much and everything was windows and microsoft, i could be totally wrong about that, but being in the pc world thats how it looked to me. Anyway i think i might just take the leap and get a mac next year, by the time i buy it, i'll probably want to throw my dell laptop out the window.

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Your email isn't going out prolly cause Norton's firewall settings are too high (they'll interfere with everything going out or in otherwise).

I avoid getting viruses by using Norton Antivirus 2005, keep it updated, allow it to do weekly checks. I also use Adaware to clean out the spyware every few weeks. Again the key is letting it update itself. I download stuff all the time and are as succeptable to viruses as the next person. My techie fiance says that the free AVG antivirus software works fine so paying for it isn't necessary. Oh and only use one antivirus software program at a time because they can cancel the other one out.

When things really go wonky, I reinstall windows and then all my programs. It's annoying and takes a lot of time but keeps you from having to call a professional or trash your computer. Yes you can learn to do this yourself and does not take a degree in computer science to do.

PC motherboards sometimes fail. As do Mac Motherboards. They can be replaced for a few hundred (which is much cheaper than buying a whole new computer.

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Your email isn't going out prolly cause Norton's firewall settings are too high (they'll interfere with everything going out or in otherwise).

I avoid getting viruses by using Norton Antivirus 2005, keep it updated, allow it to do weekly checks. I also use Adaware to clean out the spyware every few weeks. Again the key is letting it update itself. I download stuff all the time and are as succeptable to viruses as the next person. My techie fiance says that the free AVG antivirus software works fine so paying for it isn't necessary. Oh and only use one antivirus software program at a time because they can cancel the other one out.

When things really go wonky, I reinstall windows and then all my programs. It's annoying and takes a lot of time but keeps you from having to call a professional or trash your computer. Yes you can learn to do this yourself and does not take a degree in computer science to do.

PC motherboards sometimes fail. As do Mac Motherboards. They can be replaced for a few hundred (which is much cheaper than buying a whole new computer.

Norton ALL OF A SUDDEN started messing with my outgoing Outlook Express mail . . I get all my incoming mail. I just cannot send. And Norton said I have to uninstall and then reinstall . . but first I have to find the original reference number so I can prove I bought it and can reinstall it for free. And that would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Plus, we just moved our entire office into our old dining room . .there are boxes and drawers stacked everywhere. :uhoh3:

I used to use Adaware but for some reason it won't work anymore on my computer. I have Norton Anti-virus but since downloading the most recent Internet Explorer, I'm getting lots of viruses and pop-ups. Norton takes care of them but still, why did I get them by downloading IE? Also, reinstalling Windows would be a major headache for little old computer illiterate me. I have nothing backed up - nothing. I have no idea how to do it is the first place. You have to imagine me as an infant who cannot speak yet . . .

I want it easy and quick and with no confusing directions . . .

steph

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I'm a pc girl and will most likely be a pc girl in the future. I used mac's in high school and we all hated them. Confusing as h*** and that was still after a year of using them. They crashed probably at least once a week. Granted this was in 1998 so maybe things have changed.

I have a Dell laptop now and I love it. I've had it for 1.5 years and have not had a single problem with it. It holds my 5000+ photos and doesn't miss a beat. I like Dell because you can choose what you want put on it. It's like building a house - you choose everything.

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Mystiqx- My hubbie's dell laptop did the same thing, motherboard out the window. He called Dell and asked the price of the new motherboard. They told him that since the laptop (this was the 1st problem child of his pc lineup) was outdated (ie 2 years old), that he could send them the laptop and they would replace the motherboard and update everything for around 500.00 (his laptop was top of the line when he bought it). But since I am in school he knew that we couldn't afford that. So, instead, he got the gateway. That latest about 7 months, smoke started coming out, called gateway, they said that he had nulled the warranty, we aren't sure how. So, then he got the HP, and that too didn't last very long either, HP said that even with his virus protection he had managed to download some virus. Once again, little customer service. So, he went to a discount pc store and bought another tower for about 100.00. I don't know if he is the kiss of death or what to pcs. But he keeps eyeing my mac and he knows that he is hands off. ;)

Stevielynn- A mac is an out of the box no work setup, just plug it in and go. No virus protection, no crashing, no installing uninstalling windows. Just turn it on and BOOM you got the whole thing right at your fingertips to play with. In addition, mac support is great, you can either go online and ask a question or if you live near a store, just haul it in there, they have "geniuses on staff:

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Stevielynn- A mac is an out of the box no work setup, just plug it in and go. No virus protection, no crashing, no installing uninstalling windows. Just turn it on and BOOM you got the whole thing right at your fingertips to play with. In addition, mac support is great, you can either go online and ask a question or if you live near a store, just haul it in there, they have "geniuses on staff:

I know - my "bigwig" friend who rubs elbows with Microsoft executives loves his Mac and tells me I should get one whenever I start to whine about my Dell.

My kids had a Mac in school too - but that was years ago and it just isn't the same anymore. Even my oldest son, who hated working on Mac, wants me to get one.

steph

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its all about your personal preference. if you pay for all of your software then you will not find any problem owning a mac. PC are more prone to spyware and malicious file but all of that can be prevented. i am a pc and a mac user and i like both OS. i'm very well up to date with computers so i never have any of the problems many of you hvae mentioned. i like to take the mac out and use it when i am sharing photos and surfing the web. i do think mac are quite expensive for what they are because you can do the same thing on a pc that is half price, however they do try to keep their OS as simple and user friendly as possible but i don't need user simplicity. PM me with any questions.

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Specializes in Palliative Care, NICU/NNP.
I've had too many problems with their computers to count. Too expensive, too difficult to fix, they charge you for basic upgrades and other ripoffs, there's constant software compatibility problems, the operating system sucks ... the list goes on and on.

There's a reason MAC has only six percent of the computer market after all of these years ... it's a totally unreliable system.:typing

This isn't my experience at all and we own five MACS. Had PCs and got tired of all the fatal blue screens, hours on the phone with tech support. numerous security updates.

The first MAC I bought I took it out of the box, followed the diagram on how to set it up, plugged it in and off it went. Never had a softward incompatibility problem, and the OS doesn't suck. I believe Apple's OS was the basis for Windows.

There must be 94% of people out there making bad choices...:lol2:

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The words "crashing" "unreliable" and "Mac" should never be in the same sentence.

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Specializes in Palliative Care, NICU/NNP.
What if you needed to print a document that you made on mac from a pc. Meaning, i like the print alot of stuff from the pc's at my job. if i made, lets a say a word document on mac, (typed an assignment in word on mac) would i have issues trying to print my document on the pc at work? hope this question makes sense.

There is an option in MAC using Apple Works so that it can be read by Windows Word. I also make my Apple documents into PDF files with Adobe Reader if I need to email stuff to Windows based users.

:welcome: to MAC World

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