That can't be. Mac's don't get viruses. It says so on their ads.

@ rlumlet haha that was funny

sorry about the spelling of your name playing a live game right now its making me type bad

I think I should be appointed WebDiplomacy's jester.

Kestas, some people were talking about country flags next to their name. Can I have a jester hat instead?

My BIL downloaded a program for Macs that was advertised as an anti-virus program. It wiped out his hard disc. He is a computer pro and got suckered. So, it happens...

However, I have had the Mac experience for six years now and, so far, not a single problem. Not even a hint of a problem. Those who laugh at the Mac's claimed resistance levels are spitting into the wind. There are frequent problems out there for all common operating systems - the less common ones come with their own in-built instabilities. Some high-profile systems are so laughably open to problems that the idea that we should smile at the odd spot on someone else's face is farcical.

There are always people who will get "suckered" with fake programs.
I have never had a problem either.
Macs are number 1 ! PCs are number 2!

That's in terms of price at least.

tbh, I hate all three of Mac/Windows/Linux.

Macs don't run things, PC's do.

Macs are expensive. PC's aren't.

If you know what you're doing, a virus on a PC isn't a big deal. Can't speak for Mac though, this may be true for both.

If Macs were popular, viruses would actually be designed for them.

Vista is a good operating system if you A. Have a good computer, or B. Know how to Google things and disable the special features.

I haven't had my PC crash because of Windows since Windows 98. In fact, in using Ubuntu in my Computer Science class, it crashed multiple times. The claim that Windows crashes a lot, frankly, is old had.

Microsoft actually innovates - for the most part everyone else copies them and makes minor improvements. I challenge anyone to find a program more useful than Excel, with the exception of a browser.

I'm done, but I think I've made my point clear. If you want more reasons, ask me later.

I don't have any reasons for prefering Macs over PCs.
I just like Macs better.

I'm surprised to hear that Ubuntu Linux has crashed for you; it works fine for me. (A PC running Linux or BSD is even cheaper than a PC running Windows, after all!) But I agree with you that Windows doesn't crash anymore.

Whenever I get on a Mac (with OS X), I just remember that somewhere, underneath the fancy crust that creates the enormous cost, there is a real operating system. (^_^)

If you have a really old PC and want to get some use out of it, Linux or BSD is the only way to go. On a reasonably up-to-date PC, the main benefit of Windows is full support for media (flash video, DVDs, etc). The Ubuntu community is friendly and helpful, and you can get all of that for it, but it takes some work. (There are legal hoops to jump through too; free software really is oppressed.)

And that is enough from me!

You like them because they're "cool".

Mac users are "hip". PC users are "old farts".

No, I like them because I have been accustomed to using Macs.
I use PCs occasionally, but I prefer the macintosh experience.
I find it funny that people will label others based on what kind of computer they use.
It seems such an arbitrary thing.

Haha, because we all know that Spaces and Dashboard and Automator and all the VoiceOver stuff and all of the innovations in Tiger and Leopard were originally Windows ideas, right? Right?

Plus, Macs are pretty.

And there it is, as far as I'm concerned. XD

@ Bayer: I have no idea what those are, but they sound worthless. Two words: Microsoft Office.

Two words: Open Source. I hate Microsoft Office with a passion - you shouldn't have to fight your word processor.

And they're not worthless - they're quite substantial improvements on basic OS functions. For example: Spaces gives you more than one desktop. You may switch between these desktops, move windows between these desktops - they're extremely functional.

VoiceOver will allow you to do almost anything with voice commands. It's very good at recognizing them, if you're in a low-background-noise environment.

Automator allows you to create scripts that will do most anything you can imagine, so if you think you're missing some sort of functionality in your OS, you can probably make it.

And Dashboard is a fancy little feature that pops up over your other windows. You can get widgets for it that will do most anything, from providing you with a specific clipping from the internet (for example, a webcomic can be kept on your Dashboard, and if you've done it right it will continually update) to providing you with flight information.

I forgot Spotlight, too, which is an actually functional search engine on your computer that doesn't take hours to find anything. Try seconds. :)

I'm biased, though. I love my computer.

oh I do really love spotlight, probably one of the best features ever. it's so nice because iliminates the need to a start menu. if I need a program I just type in it's name and then it will show up, I click on it, and there ya go.

@ Bayer - I wouldn't want any of those coded into my operating system - it would take even longer to load...

Open Office is alright if you're going to do word, but if you want to use any of the decent programs in office, you want the real thing.

lol, I don't want to join the OS religious war here.

@jman777
What are your symptoms that make you think you may have a trojan? Do you always run as a regular user? Have you installed any software recently?

I'm definitely fine with Macs but they are ugly and expensive to boot. Not to mention that a lot of their features originated from Windows. Windows to me is a lot more modern and useful than a Mac even though they crash and and freeze a lot.

An OS is a tool. If I'm working on a fileserver for a cross platform environment, I prefer Linux. Web or SQL server? Windows Server 2KX. Desktop for business needs and/or web/desktop software development? Windows XP Pro or Vista Ultimate. Graphic design work? Mac.

Every tool has a purpose and you shouldn't say one OS is better than another anymore than a rotary tool (Windows) is better than an airbursh (Mac) or a table saw (Linux).

@orange

I think I may have jsut panicked because some sites redirected me. I was looking for a decent site to watch NCIS on. some of them redirected me without notifying me, so I think I just need to change my browser settings so that it won't allow that.

that was very well put draugner.

Yeah, I'll concede Draug's point, to a certain extent.

Coding: Linux/Ubuntu
Graphics: Mac
Everything Else: Windows.

Since the vast majority of people fall under everything else, I'd say it's safe to say PC's are better.

Draugnar is right, of course. Still, I have one question (sincerely meant) for Steven C.:
>Not to mention that a lot of [Macs'] features originated from Windows.
Such as … ? (The examples that I know go the other way.)

Also, may I add that a PC is a *machine*, not an *operating system*? I have a PC. I don't have Windows on it.

I am, truly, amazed at the claim that a lot of Mac features originated from Windows. I hadn't realised just how ignorant some young pups were out there.

The current Mac OS was created from the experiment called Borland. You need to go back to the seventies to get to the start of that. Even by the early eighties (very early), Borland was a simple to use graphic-based interface making Apple machines look cool. The first ever Windows system was like the Chinese Astronauts who went round the Earth recently, very late to arrive in the game and it started off by doing a few of the things others had done before them. It wasn't until Vista that a Windows OS actually looked like Mac OS.

The argument that Apple are expensive is certainly true, but they also deliver. I, for one, am willing to pay a large premium for a safe, steady machine. I use my machines for my life's work. Dip is the only game I play on any of them so I can totally ignore that side of the PC's advantages.

Put another way, I make my money from my machines, I do not have to keep spending it to make them play games. A higher price for a reliable set of tools is perfectly acceptable.

It is also worth noting that there are very expensive PCs out there too, such as the Sony Vaio and Fujitsu models. Why doesn't anyone put the boot into them? My suspicion is that the cost argument is just a cover for those who have decided they don't like Macs.

@Rlumley: It doesn't take any time at all to load. Macs start up infinitely faster, in my personal experience. It may have to do with my Windows-running PC, but... it's just a trend. Have you ever really used OS X for an extended period of time?

Draugnar has a point - we're comparing apples to oranges. I'd say that you can do just about anything with one or the other - I know for a fact that a lot of Linux variations can do something very similar to the Spaces thing, even if it's not particularly convenient. But there you have it - it's a matter of personal preference, I suppose. It depends on what you feel up to running and what you're capable of running, not just what you're trying to accomplish.

Now, were we to discuss something specific instead of the vague term "better"... That would be an argument worth having.

Debate Question: Is OS X, Windows, or Linux better for writing papers on.