Windows 7

[bacteria]

From what I read before (i've never had an Apple) you are tied with an Apple more than just the OS - with a PC you can replace most of the guts yourself and cheaply (eg hard disks, graphic cards, etc); whereas with the Apple, it has to go back to them for expensive repair costs... that is a virtue of Windows/Linux PC's - cheap to repair and upgrade as wanted.

[RCBH928]

I do agree with everyone here saying that apple is more expensive, and less upgradable(although I think it fairly is)
But it works, it will always work. No hassle .

In the Windows/Linux world, it is cheaper and more configurable but good luck with it. If you are extreme genius of computers you can do whatever you want with them, but for the rest of us, its just so irritating. I know a lot of you say its upgradable/configurable , but I find the best way to deal with Windows is not to mess with it, at all.

I also realize my own problem is Dell's fault(but the freezing and not reboot wasn't) , but in the end both of them create this one problematic product.

This is not to start a war or anything, I would tell you to chose linux because it is cheaper and powerful, but you have to be an advanced computer user to get around it.
And we all know Windows and what to expect.
I really wish Windows 7 is a better experience.

[lordofduct]

I do agree with everyone here saying that apple is more expensive, and less upgradable(although I think it fairly is)
But it works, it will always work. No hassle .

In the Windows/Linux world, it is cheaper and more configurable but good luck with it. If you are extreme genius of computers you can do whatever you want with them, but for the rest of us, its just so irritating. I know a lot of you say its upgradable/configurable , but I find the best way to deal with Windows is not to mess with it, at all.

I also realize my own problem is Dell's fault(but the freezing and not reboot wasn't) , but in the end both of them create this one problematic product.

This is not to start a war or anything, I would tell you to chose linux because it is cheaper and powerful, but you have to be an advanced computer user to get around it.
And we all know Windows and what to expect.
I really wish Windows 7 is a better experience.

No worries, I'm pretty sure we all would agree with what you're saying.

Windows - upgradable, semi-configurable, plagued with driver and virus issues, relatively pricey

Linux - upgradable, massively configurable, plagued with driver issues and difficulty of use, very cheap

Mac - proprietary, not so configurable, quality support and ease of use, expensive

Just a side note, ease of use is subjective... such as the difficulty of use for linux, any super nerd has to admit how difficult it is, though it may appear easy to them. Where as Mac to the same super nerd may appear so constrained and reduced that it becomes difficult for them all over. The latter mostly coming from what may seem intuitive to a mac user is far from intuitive for a linux nerd (or even windows nerd). But in a general concensus, for the average computer user, yes the ease of use thing matches pretty well to the mac=easy, linux=hard, and windows floating somewhere in between.


I will admit I was at an earlier time a super Mac hater. Today I just don't like Mac... I won't use it... As for Steve Jobs on the other hand, he's a hooting retard who demands being burned over a fire pit!

[the7k]

While I think it would be nice to have a Mac, it's nowhere near as essential to me as a Linux or Windows PC is. In the end, all I would use a Mac for would be Photoshop. Now, while I use Photoshop a lot, and it would be much better on a Mac than using it on either Windows (runs slow as sin) or Linux (can only use Photoshop 7 effectively), it's just not worth the cost.

[lordofduct]

While I think it would be nice to have a Mac, it's nowhere near as essential to me as a Linux or Windows PC is. In the end, all I would use a Mac for would be Photoshop. Now, while I use Photoshop a lot, and it would be much better on a Mac than using it on either Windows (runs slow as sin) or Linux (can only use Photoshop 7 effectively), it's just not worth the cost.

I've ran the entire Adobe suite numerous ways, through numerous versions, on Linux Windows and OSX. I didn't see much of a huge difference in speed between Windows and OSX (Linux did of course, but that's just Wine, and it was an older version as any of the newer CS versions will even pass installation). This is of course considering real life work scenario, not benchmarking... but even then I just ran the "retouch artists speed test" in a virtual machine (a rather slim one at that) of XP and scored all right considering the set up. I wasn't expecting the sub 1 minute results mac pros get, but I'd call it all right considering I have to virtualize the damn process and have tons of crap running on Linux along side the VM. 2 and half minutes if you were interested.

[Niode]

Since apple moved to intel processors you're not going to see huge differences in performance on apps like Photoshop. The main reason apple macs were famous for being faster for Photoshop was because they were much more streamlined to handle parallel processing tasks thanks to the PowerPC processor. Now they've moved to an x86 model, they're just the same performance. You may get a little faster on a mac due to the operating system being more streamlined and being in an optimal state to make the most of the systems bandwidth etc (IE no rogue drivers or anything creating an unexpected drain on performance) but the difference is negligible.

I think it's the way macs work, and how work flow is improved when using a mac (when you know how and why they work in that way) that causes professionals to use them. That and the fact they have very little to no downtime due to 'PC problems'.

Regarding the expensive repair bills, generally the 3 year applecare extended warranty is a very smart move when purchasing an apple mac, sure it's an extra £100 odd quid (£30 to students and tutors, bargain!) but considering that these things are stupidly delicate inside and just a simple hard drive upgrade (in the older models) involves the removal of about 40 tiny screws. It's just best to leave it to a pro, plus, if they break it, you get a new machine. If you break it, you're fucked. My Macbook Pro has been in the apple shop about 4 times since I got it 4 years ago and the total cost of repairs is somewhere in the region of £400-500. Which is a lot of money that I would have had to spend if I hadn't bought the extended warranty.

[BoringSupreez]

Cracked.com has an awesome review of Windows 7 right now: http://www.cracked.com/blog/using-windo ... to-murder/

[Ziggy]

Ah shit, you need a floppy drive to install 7?

[fastbilly1]

Good thing I still have floppy drives (of both the 3.5 and 5.25 variety). I need to get around to installing a 5.25 on my gaming rig. Lets see seven choke that one down.

[Hobie-wan]

Good thing I still have floppy drives (of both the 3.5 and 5.25 variety). I need to get around to installing a 5.25 on my gaming rig. Lets see seven choke that one down.

Man, I've picked up two 5 ¼ drives for something I wanted to do, only to have both of them fail to read disks after about 10 minutes of use despite being carefully cleaned. They were both the cool 3 ½ and 5 ¼ in one unit combo drive too.

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