Mac or PC?

 It was bound to happen sooner or later. I’m settling into the sofa chair with a nice warm blanket and a hot cup of decaf white mocha chocolate in one hand and the remote in the other. The movie started out slow but has just begun to pick up some steam and now I’m invested.  The kids are asleep and the wife is busy on Facebook. The evening is perfect, then it happens, the phone rings. I look at the caller id on my Droid mobile phone and it’s mom. I have to answer it, right? Of course I do. You see, mom has decided after 65 years that it’s time to get on the Internet and she has a lot of questions. Has this happened to you? Are YOU the one making that late night phone call?

It doesn’t matter, as I stated in the About Us page, I really don’t mind helping family and friends with their computer issues. However, this brings up an interesting topic. When shopping for a computer, should you buy a Mac or PC? The answer depends on several factors. Take the example in the opening paragraph of this article. My recommendation to my mom, who has no experience with computers or being online is to purchase a Mac instead of a PC. Why did I make that recommendation? Read on and the answer will be clear.

The first thing you need to know is that, either way you go, you can’t lose. They are both excellent platforms but they are not compatible with each other. This is important to understand especially of you’ve invested in expensive software such as Adobe Photoshop for Windows or something similar. Although you can install Windows software on an Apple computers, you’ll most likely suffer some performance loss especially if you own a PowerPC based Mac as opposed to an Intel based Mac. By the way in my opinion if you are going to buy a Mac, you might as well get a PowerPC based Mac.

Below is a summarized comparison  between both of them.

PC – Personal Computer (Microsoft)
Operating System (as of Oct. 2011)
The current operating system for Windows is Windows 7.

Cost
Because there are so many more manufactures of PCs than Macs, PCs are less expensive than Macs. Again, there are many differences of opinion on this topic. Apple admirers will vehemently defend the cost justification arguing that if you compared “like” hardware between a PC and a Mac, that the cost between the two would be much closer. This may be true for the graphic designer but for the everyday person just wanting to purchase a computer, they will be spending a lot less money on a PC that in most cases will do the job they need it to do.

Industry
PC computers are the standard in the business world, outside of the design and film industries. There are considerably many more PCs out there in the world than there are Macs. The advantage of course is that more people know the Windows operating system which leads to a plethora of choices when it comes to software and hardware. This can be a little overwhelming for some. Microsoft continues to improve their operating systems and Windows 7 is no exception. It is a solid OS. It is more secure than it’s predecessors XP and Vista and a bit lighter as well. What I mean by that is that Windows 7 will run more efficiently on older hardware (given enough memory, at least 2GB RAM).

Viruses and Malware
The downside to being the more popular kid on the block is that more folks get to know the operating system and its vulnerabilities and therefore the introduction of viruses and malware are much more common place than that of the Mac. Windows 7 out of the box is secure in that the firewall is on, Windows Defender (anti-malware software) is built-in and UAC (User Access Control) a new security technology first introduced in Windows Vista is also activated by default. As long as you keep up with the latest Windows Security and Critical updates and update your Virus application daily, you should run into fewer problems.

Mac – Macintosh (Apple)
Operating System (as of Oct. 2011)
The current operating system for Mac computers is OS X v10.7 “Lion”.

Cost
Mac computers are typically more expensive than PCs. There are many differences of opinion as to why the price point is higher but in my opinion the reason is due to the fact that you have less competition when it comes to manufactures of Mac computers. Also the popular MacBooks have a sturdy aluminum casing and powerful processors and probably has one of most advanced operating systems

Industry
The Mac computer has become the standard in the Graphics Design, Audio and Visual and Film industries. All Macs come with the iLife suite, which provides tools for organizing and editing photos, music and videos. Although I never worked with the suite, I’m told that it is quite advanced for free.

Viruses and Malware
Mac computers very rarely get viruses and malware. There are several reasons for this which I’ve listed below from a great website http://www.computerhope.com/. For this reason alone, I would recommend a Mac over a PC to someone who has little to no computer or Internet knowledge. Approximately 90% of the time I spend helping folks with their PCs are caused due to viruses and malware. Some of which is very difficult to remove for even the most experienced users, I can’t image what folks like my mom would do.

• Newer Macintosh operating systems, such as the Mac OS X, is built on the Unix kernel, which is one of the oldest and most secure operating systems available.
• Microsoft Windows is used by a lot more people than the Apple Mac OS. Because more people use Microsoft Windows, it is a much better target than Apple computers.
• Most of the computer virus writers are more familiar with the IBM platform and Microsoft Windows, which means its easier for them create a virus for that platform.
• Many of the tools and scripts used to help users create viruses or other malware are designed for Microsoft Windows.

Overall, both platforms have their pluses and minuses. It is up to you. To be honest, if I had the money I’d probably own both a PC and a Mac just so I can play with both of them. But sadly, I do not own a Mac as of this writing but it’s only a matter of time before one of the kids wind up asking for one.