Laptops: Mac v. Windows

[Flying_gage]

Sorry to dig up this old thread but I just had to put my . 02 in...



I am sitting here typing on my "old" macbook pro that is ~4 years old. The case is dented and bulging in places from being dropped, the top is bowed in where my 2 year old likes to dance on it, the baby formula that got in the keyboard still makes keys stick at times and the stupid power cord is about shot. But she keeps right on humming along!



The things I don't like about my Mac are that the batteries are finicky even when cycled and that stupid power cord is pricey and they tend to break in predictable areas from stress.



I would never go back to a PC based platform. I use them at work and have had them at home and they don't perform at the same level that my Mac does, for the tasks I ask of it. I have to chuckle when I think of their ever increasing popularity; IT specialists the world over would be nervous if PC's performed as reliably!

 

[Joe G.]

I run Windows Vista on my Dell. No real problems in spite of letting it run all the time. In spite of others opinions, I think Vista is a much better system than XP. However, sometimes after Vista has run for a few days it tends to get sluggish so I reboot. That's not a big deal. A Mac is not a consideration because of the cost and because it won't run the genealogy software I use. I have been using Windows on various machines since the first version of Windows. Ran DOS before that. I've never been impressed by Apple stuff because of not running software I use. If there existed alternate software that would run on a Mac to do the job I might consider one, but so far, I can't find software that will run on it that will do what I want for genealogy or other stuff I like to do.

The increased reliability of a Mac is not important because I don't have any problems with Windows or the hardware.

I've never had a virus because I run a better version of AVG than the free one and other software to keep the system clean and up to date.

As far as XP vs Vista is concerned, my wife and I use Vista on our computers with no problems. Our grandsons use an XP system that I was using. Every so often I have to do a clean reinstall on the XP system because of the mess they make. I try to keep up to date on my systems so Windows 7 has been ordered.

 

[JLEONARD]

And from the other coast my wife has a Dell and I have an Acer, both laptops with Vista and no issues in close to 2 years.

 

[bheiting]

You might as well get the Mac and get the most elegant system. You can still run
Windows if you have to. You paid a premium for the best engine in the truck market.
Why cut corners on something you use every day. You'll pay more in the long run
for the Windows virus software, which they should include with the operating system.
Right from the beginning Microsoft had a certain contempt for their customers.
QDOS was an acronym for "Quick and Dirty Operating System". That pretty well
sums up their software today. They also put many of their competitors out of
business because the competitor had better products. If you don't mind being
taken for a sucker, go Windows.