Help! Should I change to a Mac when I upgrade our laptop soon?

[lostinwails]

Does anyone out there have experience of a Mac? I want to upgrade our very slow old laptop and have been looking around. I've recently set up a website and my lovely tech guy comes round with his mac book pro and I'm in love! (computer, not tech man, lovely as he is)

If you ignore the cost issues are mac's as good compared to ordinary computers as people make out? The only thing that bugs me is the lack of Flash player as I'm mildly addicted to the silly games my sons introduce me to on the free websites (currently very into Stick War, not at all bothered that my 8 year old is better than me noooo.) Can I play those on a mac?

If you ignore cost then I suppose Macs are pretty decent, though if you're just an ordinary user who just wants to surf and do a bit of word processing then I don't understand why you'd go for a mac, especially now that Windows 7 is out, which is a really big improvement on previous versions of Windows IMO.

And then when you DO take cost in to account, PCs win hands down. But I'm sure others will have different opinions.

And I thought it was just the iphone and ipad that didn't have flash, not the regular mac computers? If regular Macs don't have flash either then I would say definitely don't get one. Though I would guess that Farmville would be OK.

There are pros and cons to moving to a Mac.

On the positive side the big thing is that there aren't viruses for Macs. You don't have to worry about anti-virus software clogging up your machine. They're also generally very easy to use and things feel a lot "prettier" and nicer than Windows. My Mac is a pleasure to do things on, my Windows machines are somewhat clunky tools.

Everything works really well together on a Mac. Your music and photos are all looked after and it all feels nicely integrated together.

However there are downsides. The biggest one is if you're a gamer, not Flash we'll come to that in a moment. There are some games for Macs but the selection is really rather pathetic. In general you'll also find that there's less software out there. Yes you can put Windows on your Mac, but that's extra expense, and half the point of having a Mac is moving away from Windows.

Macs also aren't very customisable in terms of hardware. Most desktop PCs can be taken to bits and have extra things such as new graphics cards and sound things added. With Macs it's not so easy, you tend to stick with what you've got.

Macs also aren't very customisable in terms of software either. I've got all sorts of things running on my Windows PCs and I hack them about all over the place. As with hardware when it comes to the Macs software it's pretty much as it came.

Macs do have a Flash player so you can keep on playing Farmville and Stick War, don't worry about that.

Definitely take one for a test drive though, some people just really don't get on with them.

In the end to me my home machine is something that I don't want to have to worry about, want to enjoy to use and I don't want to have to worry about viruses. I want it to "just work" and I'm not a big gamer.

So for me a Mac for a home machine was an ideal choice and I can't ever see me buying my own Windows machine again.

That said I couldn't imagine doing my job on my Mac, Windows while clunky and awkward is incredibly powerful and flexible.

Horses for courses...

"And then when you DO take cost in to account, PCs win hands down. But I'm sure others will have different opinions."

Others do have different opinions :)

Apple don't make cheap computers, you won't find a cheap low spec Mac as an entry level machine. So you have to compare Macs with the better built PC models, at which point they might still come out slightly more expensive but not so badly as they can appear.

The Mac vs. PC cost thing is one of those huge arguments out there on the internet, that it goes on and on and on is some indication that it's just not clear cut.

And anyway I was personally happy to pay a bit more for a decent well built machine that doesn't give me any of the security and running problems that my Windows boxes routinely do.

See I'm the opposite. I've been using Windows at work for the last 15 years and I still can't bear it. Even for usual office-y ype things it gets on my tits. At least half a dozen times a day I mutter to myself that this task would have been done by now if I was at home.

And if you're a gamer you'd buy an xbox or playstation surely. I'd never buy a computer for that reason.

"I've been using Windows at work for the last 15 years and I still can't bear it. Even for usual office-y ype things it gets on my tits."

Ahhh, I don't do the usual officey sort of things. I do a lot of very technical stuff and the tools you can get for Windows just trump those you can get for a Mac.

"And if you're a gamer you'd buy an xbox or playstation surely. I'd never buy a computer for that reason."

A lot of people do want to do gaming on their computers and the lack of a decent range of games is a real problem for Macs.

All that said I am a Mac fan, but it's important to realise that it's not all roses and that it's not as simple to say that one is better than the other.

i love my mac. It is fab. mostly because it is pretty.

I once played farmville on it. Worked fine. You can play games on it, i think, but i don't.

I changed to a Macbook about a year and a half ago and would never, ever go back to a PC. It's great not having to worry about viruses etc, but once you're used to it, Macs are so much more user friendly.

For work I found it a bit annoying that you can't do macros on the Mac version of Excel (guess you could always run the Windows version with a bit of set up on the Mac if you really wanted to) , but that's supposed to be fixed on the next release due at the end of the month.

Nothing beats Macs for photo editing though.

Wow went for tea and there's lots to read, thank you, I will shoot back to the top and start reading!

Lots to think about. I'm not really a 'gamer' just like to pootle on free internet games designed for 10 year old boys, they relax me!

I've just set up a website for our village ( Can I plug that? I'm very proud of it www.stdogmaels.org ) and I'm starting an end of summer de clutter and upload all the autumn stuff this week. I want to get more into the code area as well as the pretty bits/basic content and as I've only ever seen my tech guy work on his mac I like it!

DH and I are also big into our amatuer photography so the photo editing is a big draw. and it's very pretty. I also don't think I would ever get DH to part with that type of cash for a high end PC and BadgersPaws comments about entry level price ranges make a lot of sense.

I don't use a computer for work (well I'm a radiographer in an all digital department so I do but it's not the sort you could take home to work on!) So I don't use a lot of the office type softwear, I would like to be able to design posters for the PTA (rock and roll eh!) though and can't do that on this laptop.

So, if money was not an option (obviously it is but I'm having pre purchase fantasies ATM) what would you all buy be it PC/laptop/mac book/iMac?

Another mac lover here (obviously, ) I was given one for work about 2 years ago - after an initial period of confusion, I was hooked. So much so that when I changed my job and had to return my work mac, the first thing I did was buy my own macbook. I'd never go back to a PC now for personal use. The photo editing is a big draw for me (also amateur photographer in spare time). If money were no object, I'd be buying a macbook pro!

If portability is important, I'd go with a 15" Macbook, but if that and space isn't a huge issue, consider an iMac.

Are you based anywhere near an Apple store? The new one in Covent Garden is brilliant for a browse and drool.

We are a total mac household - we have 2 desktops, a Macbook Air laptop and an IPad.

I use my Air all time - it's so light, I can sit for ages with it on my lap, which was why we bought it. The kids use the desktops and the Ipad and love them - especially the games and videos on the ipad! I do spreadsheets etc for the PTA too, and have no problem with the Macs for that. We wouldn't go back now - DH uses windows for work and I used to, and the Macs are so much more pleasant to use and just never crash!

I'm out in the wilds of West Wales so no Apple store here, probably a good job as I would never leave it! I got an iPhone about 12 months ago and love it so much I would never go back to other phones. I can't believe the manual is so tiny as it is just so intuitive, if the computers are the same I would never leave the house again!

I worked with a Mac in the 90s, swapped to a PC because of difficulties with compatibility at that point, then swapped back to a Mac three years ago. There really is no comparison - a Mac is so much more intuitive. We have other Windows laptops at home, using XP and Windows 7, and they're still clodhopping dinosaurs by comparison. They feel ugly and unwieldy.

I don't do any gaming but the flash player works fine if you ever need it. I work as a translator from home so a really good friendly system with good graphics quality is crucial for me.

I have a 13 inch MacBook which is generally hooked up to a 24 inch external monitor at my desk. That's a double advantage because I have a large screen most of the time but still the flexibility of a small laptop when on the move.

The one downside I've found is that Word for Mac is full of bugs, both the 2004 and 2008 versions. Seems Microsoft couldn't be arsed to test the program as much as for Windows. Word is the only application that ever causes the poor pooter to crash.

Just been on the apple store website and DH is a teacher and therefore gets a discount!!!! I think we might be getting a new computer soon

money no object, would be a macbook, hands down, probably a macbook pro as i already have a macbook that is about 3 years old.

The only issue I have with this, is I have gone through 3 power supplies. The first blew my computer up, or rather the motherboard, it was within warranty and all was fixed without charge and no hassle, using the genius bar (tech support instore/online). Second time, it 'burnt out' and my BIL bought me a new one for xmas . I had read this is a relatively common problem with the older (ie 3 years or more) macs/power supplies. However, it would be prudent to pay the £100 per year extended guarantee and use the Time Machine remote backup to back up your files, then it would not be a problem even if it happened to you.

Pavlov, that's bad luck, hey?! I wonder if it was a problem with that specific batch / year or general issue of the earlier Macbooks? Ds has an ancient Ibook (he's 2.5, so Ebay purchase by geeky dad, I'm innocent in that one!), and it's still going strong.

Dh has 2 Macbook pros (one for work), I have another and we've had no problems at all (in 1.5 - 2 years), so hopefully they've sorted it all by now.

mis yes I think it was bad luck, maybe a dodgy batch/laptop which perhaps burnt out both supplies? Either way, it would not put me off it, just make sure i have continuous warranty.

I love them. i prefer the way the functions work. no virus', fast, quiet, you can watch/download/browse without slowing down the speed using 'spaces'.

See I originally came on here in the hope everyone would shout NOOOO don't waste your money and I would buy the perfectly serviceable laptop I looked at today not the beautiful, desirable Mac's that spoilt me for everything else!

Well, looking at your history, that's some recommendation! :)

It was mentioned up thread, but another thing that I hate about PC's are how often they crash for no reason whatsoever.

Strokes her Macbook....

"another thing that I hate about PC's are how often they crash for no reason whatsoever"

One of the biggest causes of Windows machines crashing is down do the drivers that they use to support their internal bits of hardware. There are so many different things out there, all of which can run Windows, that there are bugs and compatibility problems.

As said above Apple control their machines to a very strict degree, you can't just plug any graphics card into a Mac.

The upside of that is that Apple need to work with less drivers for the fewer hardware combinations that they offer. Those fewer drives can therefore be really pretty resilient and solid. So you get fewer crashes.

The downside is that you don't have the flexibility and customisation that you do with a Windows based PC.

The reality, is that for most things that most people want to do , all modern computers are essentially identical.

Always had Macs, when I have to use a pc at work it drives me insane.