I think I'm finally going to break down and buy a computer with my tax refund check. I've been looking at ibooks, imacs, and the mini-mac in particular, but they don't really seem to be that great of a deal. It seems like you can get alot more for your money over at dell. I'm definitely not the most knowledgeable consumer when it comes to computers. What am I going to give up by buying a dell over an imac or dell laptop over an ibook? Is it just style or is there something unforseen? i.e. the mac has much better performance at something? I'm not sure what the computer will be used for, immediately it's just for digital photos, music, and internet, but I'd like to think someday I will use it to create something. What that is I don't know.

depends on what you want to do.

get a dell if you're into soulseek. solarseek just isn't up to par. i have a pc at home specifically for this [as well as other applications that don't run on the mac platform].

if you're into multimedia/design, go with apple.

in some ways yes, apple is all about -style-.

macs are, from a technical standpoint, pretty sweet machines. better allocation of resources, unix-based operating system, etc. and they look cool and are easy to use. if you're using one for most simple office tasks and art then i say go for it. if you're going to try and use it for business i'd say that the 90% of the business world that uses windows would appreciate the flexibility and compatibility that they afford you. what do you REALLY need one for? that would help determine your requirements.

I bought my Dell with my tax refund check three years ago this month and it still performs well enough for personal and work (graphic design) use on a daily basis. I added some RAM, 120 GB internal hard drive, 120 GB external hard drive and some USB slots since I got it. Other than that, it's been an excellent machine.

My two skrints: Don't buy the fastest possible processor, you can save a few bucks you won't even notice by purchasing one or two slots slower. Load up on RAM, unless you are comfortable installing it yourself, which is cheaper. It's not hard, but some people don't wish to fool with it.

I've found Macs to be competent machines, but nothing overwhelming performance-wise. Sure, they look cooler, but I use my machine as a tool, not a piece of furniture. The pro-Mac contigent will most certainly put it on a pedestal, but I have never seen it.

Don't fall for the bogus claims that Macs are impervious to viruses and other malware. It's not invincibility, but their small marketshare makes it impractical for those wishing to do harm. In three years I've gotten one virus, which was my own lapse in judgement, and there was no harm done.

Also, there's more software offerings for a PC out there. One example would be our varied attempts at putting us all on a shared network of some sort.

I don't own a laptop, but from what I've gathered, if you're gonna spend the money out, get an IBM ThinkPad.

I have it in my mind that someday I'm going to create some type of multi-media art...I guess. I'm into reading about how short animated films, music videos, editing, etc are made. One of my younger brothers has acted in a couple short films that his film school friend has made and has started writing a script for a short film. I really have no experience at all in any of these things and it's really just a pipe dream for me to think I could do something with it. I guess it'd be a hobbie, something more for myself than anything. Also, to know that if my brother does finish this script and we get a camcorder, I'd be able to edit it and put it on dvd and we'd have something that we made. So it sounds like a mac would be more in line with what I'd like to do?

edit: I didn't get a chance to read your post Kung Fu before I posted. Ironically, my work laptop is a thinkpad (the cheapest one) and I do kinda like it.

If you are computer illiterate and want to stay that way, get a mac. That tiny mac thing seems to be really cool and economical.

If you get a pc, and are illiterate, Dell usually has good deals on some cheaper machines, that might not be top of the line to the tune of $5-600 bucks. But if you start making it swet you can get upwards of $1500.

If you wan to be economical and know a thing or 2, I'd go to a build your own machine. I like this one http://www.cyberpowersystem.com they have some cool customized machines and it's real easy to pick and choose things to get performance where you want it.

What timmyjoe said + whether you go buy or build, make it upgradable.

i scratched hell out of my "learn to play guitar" cd and haven't tried it since that discovery. bums me out. i was up to my FIFTH chord!

i own a dell (had 2 microns before that) and have found that if you just have the right juice behind any good computer, you can run about anything on it as good as any other machine. Granted, i haven't had a regular exposure to macs since college, but all good computers are fairly comparible now.

I'm with that, which makes PCs more attractive based on price.

i think that the thing with apple is that the software that ships with the OS is pretty good quality, so in theory if your needs never change then you'd never need to buy anything. that's a big if, though.

Get a PC.

I'd say get a PC, unless you're seriously considering playing around with video editing - Macs rule for that.

Here is why you should get a PC:
-You're used to PC's
-They're cheaper
-All told, you can do the same stuff
-The software you need in order to do the things you're talking about is insanely expensive, and will be much easier to pirate for a PC
-Music is easier to pirate for a PC

I have nothing against macs, but you should get a PC. I don't know about Dell desktops, but their laptops are absolute shit.

yeah, right now I'm really considering a pc. I'm thinking with the money I save on a pc I'll go ahead and buy a decent digital camera. I'd really like a laptop so I can take it anywhere with me, but I don't want a piece of shite either...and I don't want to shell out $1500.

Sounds like your mind is made up, then.

THREAD CLOSED

I don't own a Mac or anything, but...

OS X > Windows XP

As chase said, they ship with quality software. XP ships with a shitty browser and multimedia player. OS X comes an assortment of unshitty, neat tools.

OS X is more secure. It's just a fact ( fact I can't be bothered to provide evidence for due to my laziness), which isn't entirely due to their small market share. It's an OS that is much better written than Windows XP.

And it looks cool, I guess.

I'm a big fan of DIY, but it really depends on how comfortable you feel with computers. If you have the time, you can learn a ton about computers by researching compenents, etc., and then even more by putting it together. But if you're someone who's not good at figuring out techie things on the fly, you might want to stay away.

there are also lots of sellers out there who offer bundles of motherboards & processors & sometimes RAM. This can be a good way pick and choose your compenents without having to put it together yourself and still save $$ while getting high quality stuff.

for researching components, I like http://www.motherboards.org, especially their forums.

Online sellers I like are http://www.newegg.com and http://www.mwave.com

I'm not saying which OS is better or even which is more secure; however, t is naive to assume that Apple wouldn't have more significant security problems if the market percenatages were reversed.

I'll take Firefox over IE any day, but since the big upswing in Firefox users, there have been formerly unknown security issues that have arisen since making a large enough splash on the radar.

I'm going to play the devil's advocate ("here, try an apple - just a little bite, it won't hurt nothing") and say that, if you want to dabble in multimedia design, osx and all of the basic software that you'll get with iLife make it awful easy to play around. if you are more comfortable as a pc user, that may be the way to go.

<---- avowed mac user.

Oh course Macs can have vulnerabilities, and probably do. But Microsoft has a bad history of not providing timely security patchs for exposed vulnerabilities. I don't follow OS X, since I don't have a Mac, but I've never heard of Apple acting terribly late on security issues. I might be wrong, though.

Firefox has had a few vulnerabilities exposed, proving it to not be 100% secure like some people wish to advertise it as being, but their developers make sure to take care of dangerous bugs quickly, and patches are usually released the day after an exploit is revealed, or sooner.

Security is not just how good the software is, how well it's maintained, and well, Microsoft isn't so hot at maintaining and providing secuity updates.

But then again, if you know what you're doing, you're probably still safe with whatever you choose to use.

Everyone seems to be a Dell fan these days, but I still buy Gateway computers and have been satisfied with every single one I bought over the past 5 years. I own a Gateway desktop and a Gateway laptop so I know what to expect from each type of computer. If you want to look at some models, go to the website below.

http://www.gateway.com/home/products/hm ... dex~~shtml

anyone who buys a pc these days is a retard. the days of having to have the same platform as everyone else to share information are gone. macs are better machines. better hardware, better os, and better, although admittedly less, software. now with the mac mini, macs even compete on price. pcs are only superior for gaming.

here's an interesting salon article that will tell you the same goddamn thing: http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2005/ ... index.html

path dependence was a brutal force in the home computing market, as evidenced by people who have good taste in music telling you to buy inferior machines. i guarantee you would be happier with a mac mini than you would with a top of the line pc.

I further guarantee that you'll pay more, and that the mini mac is based on the technology of two years ago. So much for savings.

Damn straight. Like I said before, I've only gotten bit once, and that was because I didn't think before opening something my mother forwarded because she couldn't open it. My own damn fault.

Protecting your machine is pretty simple on both ends, assuming you care enough to take the few minutes to do it.