[eddiecatflap]

im about to upgrade from icebook 500

i face a dilemma

pc or mac?

90% of the time im on the net - other stuff is office work with very light graphics work

ive used macs for over 10 years but after using xp was fairly impressed

what are the advantages of a mac over a pc on the net?

i really DONT want to go pc. but i cant play avi's OR open exe files when i need to log into various sites - its very frustrating

any ideas?

Flappo.

[OreoCookie]

If you are mainly surfing the net, you don't have to switch.

In case you work with some PC tools -- depending on what you do -- VirtualPC could fulfill your need to do that.

The advantage is the ease of use and the increased security (most viruses proliferate through Outlook and Windows).

I (personally) find it easier to work with a Mac (iTunes, iMovie, Unix, ...), the setup is far easier.

I administer a Windows 2000 system at work and that is work. Sometimes preferences are simply forgotten (Word is a favorite example -- it keeps on forgetting short cuts on a multi-user system, because it thinks the files are corrupt).

Drivers are also a big problem, the ones included are far too old to be usable. After installation, the necessary drivers have to be updated.

Plug and play is also far from Mac-like. Sometimes it works too good on the Win 2k machine -- every time I boot, it finds my printer again.

You can get the job done with both ...

[awcopus]

Oh my god you have to stick with the Mac platform. There's so much going on here. Have you downloaded Chimera 0.5.0? Go to versiontracker.com/macosx and do so. Check out the TAB feature, which keeps your frequently visited sites in cache for instant loading via this very Aqua-like feature. This is also a VERY fast browser.

I am a registered owner of OmniWeb, which I have been a big fan of for a while now. OmniWeb is terrific and is set to get better with the next version, which is a total rewrite of this beautiful Cocoa app from the ground up.

Utilities like Watson (and Apple's rip-off of it, the new Sherlock) are delightful. Also, the ability to share files with other family members running OS X via the smart GO feature in the finder is a definitely plus.

I have to admit that I don't know much about the PC net experience, but I know that the experience of the Web I have using browsers that eliminate pop-up windows and constrain commercial annoyances is simply outstanding. I say, stick with the Mac and OS X.

As for opening those files, maybe you should drop $150 on Virtual PC for the EXE files...as for AVIs, you should have no trouble playing those with Quicktime.

Good luck.

[eddiecatflap]

..well i tried setting up an ezboard - ez peezy..despiet all the pc users saying it would never work..hmmm..

..and the one pc thing i keep hearing is - 'i had to re-install the os'..personally for my budget of �2k($3k) im veering towards a dp867

comporable pcs may seem faster - but the entire user experience sux - xp looked nice on the surface but after delving into the file structure i was utterly lost.

i like 9.2 its logical - famlliar and reliable.

x is good but needs work still , at least with the g4 i have two good os options..instead of one half cocked one.

im sticking with the mac.

avi files - big deal. i prefer mpegs anyway.

[frock83]

avi files play fine with the divx quicktime plugin. Everything you need to play divx on the mac is here: http://www.divx.com/divx/mac/

[Thinine]

The .avi format has been so bastardized by PC users most PCs can't play the files without a codec. Most of the time my roommate wants to play they work but occasionally someone encodes something in a weird format. WMP tries to find a codec and download it but that doesn't work. Very crappy. And any site that distributes stuff as a .exe needs to pull their head out of their as s and use Java. Or find another way.

[OreoCookie]

.avi is not .avi. .avi could be a lot, because it is similar to a .mov container. Could be DivX 3.11-5, WMA or MP3 sound, etc. etc.

Sometimes different drivers are used for different .avis.

It's a big mess.

[eddiecatflap]

..'its a big mess'

...thats xp , isnt it ?

[reyzell]

The divx quicktime plugin would help with viewing avi files, as would downloading windows media player for OS X.

[Cipher13]

Originally posted by eddiecatflap:
..well i tried setting up an ezboard - ez peezy..despiet all the pc users saying it would never work..hmmm..

..and the one pc thing i keep hearing is - 'i had to re-install the os'..personally for my budget of �2k($3k) im veering towards a dp867

comporable pcs may seem faster - but the entire user experience sux - xp looked nice on the surface but after delving into the file structure i was utterly lost.

i like 9.2 its logical - famlliar and reliable.

x is good but needs work still , at least with the g4 i have two good os options..instead of one half cocked one.

im sticking with the mac.

avi files - big deal. i prefer mpegs anyway.

With OSX, we have to reinstall more often than Windows users if we wanna keep it speedy...

Nothing beats XP + IE6 for raw speed on the web. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by Cipher13:


With OSX, we have to reinstall more often than Windows users if we wanna keep it speedy...

Nothing beats XP + IE6 for raw speed on the web. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

Does it make me like the UI better?

[OreoCookie]

Originally posted by eddiecatflap:
..'its a big mess'

...thats xp , isnt it ?

Both

The MS GUI strategy is to have abundance -- at least three ways of doing things.

Apple is more focused on do everything in one place.

I dislike MS approach, because the UI is cluttered and incoherent.

My personal opinion here: I have used PCs for about 8-9 years now, starting from MS-DOS + Win 3.11 to Windows 2000 (and also XP, but I deinstalled it).
Before that I've had an Amiga for five years or so. I never came to like Windows. The difference was quite staggering when I got my first Mac (a PowerBook G3). I fell in love with the UI.
That has nothing to do with speed, but rather with �style' and consistency.

BTW, I was just working with my Windows 2000 PC and I have tried to �hide' apps twice (Apple + H)

[driven]

Originally posted by Cipher13:


With OSX, we have to reinstall more often than Windows users if we wanna keep it speedy...

Nothing beats XP + IE6 for raw speed on the web. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

I've NEVER reinstalled OSX (Except to swap out a hard-disk very recently) but the OS (installed since the day 1 release of 10.0.0 and upgraded to 10.1.5 to 10.2) was just as speedy before the upgrade as it was after a fresh install on the new hard disk.

Ahhh ... yes. I must be lying.

[Blake Bowden]

Originally posted by driven:


I've NEVER reinstalled OSX (Except to swap out a hard-disk very recently) but the OS (installed since the day 1 release of 10.0.0 and upgraded to 10.1.5 to 10.2) was just as speedy before the upgrade as it was after a fresh install on the new hard disk.

Ahhh ... yes. I must be lying.

He's probably going by what everyone recommends doing as far as installing jaguar or any other major update...format and reinstall and not just "upgrade" OSX. And yes, WinXP and IE6 will blow the mac outta the water in regards to speed...easily. I've used PC's as my main systems for years. Now with my new dual 1ghz, the snappiness of IE has been increased compared to my previous single 800, but it's still slow...better but still sluggish. It's either use IE and lag, Chimera for quickness, crashes and loss of features, or mozilla for bloatness. I agree a decent PC with XP and IE6 is the best way for just browsing the net. And anyone that claims the mac is faster in general browsing than a PC is...well...simply lying or in denial.

[GetSome681]

I have a Mac (G4/400 running 10.2) and a PC (1ghz Duron running XP_ side-by-side on my desk. No matter what browser you're taking bout on the mac..IE on XP blows it away. This is why I have the PC. It's just a crappy PC i put together myself. All my surfing on the web is primarily done with the PC. Everything else tho..is with the mac. If I were you, I look at the dua 867, and maybe you'd have a few hundred left over to build yourself a quick pc. I put mine together for less than $300. There will always be things that a mac does better, and those that a PC does better. Anyone teling you otherwise just doesn't see things very clearly. However, if the 3rd party mac browser corps keep developing at the pace they have...the mac might really come close very soon. Good luck.

[OreoCookie]

Don't buy two machines when you just need one. No use to have two computers hummin' and keep them runnin'

If Chimera would be stable, that would be a fast browser for X.

[eddiecatflap]

im thinking of buying a dp867 and buliding a pc..no way is dell getting MY dosh.

with about 2-3 k i think its feasible

2200 on the mac and 800 on the pc should do.

[dfiler]

Originally posted by eddiecatflap:
im about to upgrade from icebook 500
i really DONT want to go pc. but i cant play avi's OR open exe files when i need to log into various sites - its very frustrating

any ideas?

Flappo.

I prefer to use a Mac with OS X. However, PCs are considerably cheaper and much snappier for web browsing. However, I'm willing to live with slightly increased web response times in exchange for a drastically improved overall experience. Download speeds are the same between platforms.

You will find a large community of mac servers which don't require you to jump through hoops (like exe files) in order to download your latest fix of digital content.

In summary: Get a PC if you can't afford a Mac and just want to play games. Otherwise... well, what kind of response did you expect in a powermac forum?

[Sarc]

I have used Mac's for years and PC's too.
I have 10.2 and use many Win2K-WinXP systems.

I honestly think Mac OS X is a better operating system. Plain and simple.
XP is quite an advancement for Win users, but OS X Home Directory structure just can't be beaten, it just keeps the system clean.
Windows (I don't care how many times it has been said) get in your way, OS X helps get your stuff done.

And browsing, this WILL get better as time passes, the reason IE6 is so darn fast is because M$ puts amazing amounts of cash in it's flagship app.
On the other hand, the Mac has only browsers done mostly by small groups, except Netscape of course that sucks on both Win and Mac.


Chimera is a great advancement, and it's done single handed. I do think that it will get to 1.0 blazing fast. (currently at 0.5)

Sarc