What are the advantages to owning a personal computer, PC, rather than a Mac? Well, I am totally biased because I’m a PC girl but I have looked into Macs and they have a few things going for them that I wouldn’t have expected. However, there are some solid reasons to stick with a PC.
First, it is what almost everyone uses. No, I wouldn’t say if everyone was jumping off a cliff you should too but this is different. In a working environment most people use Office software. Just a fact of life. I know there are ways to get around this if you are a Mac user, but is it worth the trouble?
Software. Almost all of the PCs out there are created to be able to use any software created for any brand of PC. Macs, on the other hand, only use Mac stuff. This means that your software options are much greater with a PC than a Mac. It’s even easier to find free downloadable tools for PCs. I mean really, when it takes a special program just to defragment your hard drive you know you need more options.
Price. There are sooo many PC options out there that you absolutely can find one that will meet your needs at a price you can afford. Add that to the crazy huge selection and you are good to go.
My advantages may not have a lot to do with specs, but if you are an average person I doubt the processing speed and total memory are really what you are interested in anyway. You want to know if it will work well and play well with others. The answer to both of these questions is, yes. Unless you have a specialized need for something the Mac offers, PC is the way to go.
Why do you have a PC?
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June 19th, 2009 by birdievogel | Posted in Mac vs PC | Comments (1)
First, let me just get the semantic bit out of the way. I know that PC stands for personal computer and that a Mac is a personal computer, but come on. When I say PC I mean a Windows computer, or to broaden it even further I mean not a Mac. Second, to be fair, I’m a PC user…but I’m going to try to be an impartial judge.
Alrighty first test: ease of use. Pretty much everyone agrees that Mac is easier to use. It’s more intuitive and you don’t get hammered with the ‘do you want to continue’ and ‘are you sure you want to continue’ messages you can get with a PC. (see I can be fair) Heck, even something that should be as easy as defragging a fragmented hard drive can cost you several “continue” clicks.
Next, performance. Well…typically a Mac will start faster because it is specialized (types of software on the machine) rather than diversified but that is where the edge ends. Once a computer (either kind) is up and running it depends on the specifics, so it could go either way.
Finally, options. Well this is one where the PCs get a clear win, although it isn’t really fair. I mean, Apple is the only one making Macs so obviously the choices are going to be more limited than the bajillion computers offered by every other company out there. If you want something totally specific you are going to probably have to go with a PC.
So, are you a Mac or PC fan?
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June 18th, 2009 by birdievogel | Posted in Mac vs PC | Comments (1)
Time for me to be less unbiased. Now I’m going to give you just the reasons you should buy a Mac. After all, there are good reasons to own one or they wouldn’t be selling so well, right?
Let’s start with design. Macs aren’t made with plastic, they are made with aluminum (well that’s not all but you get the idea) they can take a beating and keep on ticking. That’s pretty sweet, especially if you are accident prone like…well me.
Graphics…ohhhh….ahhh.. pretty. You want specs? Feel free to check out the different styles and specs at their homepage, I’m just gonna go with pretty. I’m a girl and I like pretty dang it.
Safety. I’m a safety girl. (bonus points to anyone who can name that movie) Mac is safer than it’s counterparts. There are fewer security holes to sneak in through so you’ll likely have fewer problems.
How about green? Yes, green is pretty but I was talking about the environment. The MacBook Pro earned it’s Energy Star and an EPEAT Gold. Pretty nifty, huh? Not only that but the battery lasts up to five years or 1,000 charges. That means fewer batteries that need to be trashed. Oh an that aluminum that makes it so tough? Also pretty darn recyclable as is the glass that is used. Not to mention all of the substances that aren’t used like arsenic, mercury, and BFR.
I bet you thought this was going to be your standard spec review, but no. If you want to know which computer will let you defrag fastest or optimize game play, this isn’t the review for you. I’m all about practical information…like pretty and environmental friendliness.
Why did you choose a Mac?
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June 17th, 2009 by birdievogel | Posted in Mac vs PC | Comments (1)
One of the easiest ways to know it is time to defrag your PC is when it starts running really slooooow. Many times this is because the hard drive has become seriously fragmented. This fragmentation can happen just with standard everyday use. When you create a file, delete a file, install or remove new programs… all of these things can lead to fragmentation.
Defragging your PC is actually quite simple. Depending on your operating system you just go to the hard drive and find the option to defrag and begin. This is one of the biggest differences between defragging a PC and a Mac. The Mac doesn’t call it defragging 
Of course, just like a Mac you may not be satisfied with the defragmentation that is natively possible with you machine. If that is the case, there are a number of free and pay to use defragmentation programs you can utilize.
I have a PC (not a Mac) and I tend to use the defrag option that came with my operating system pretty routinely depending on what type of work I’ve been doing. Because of this, the process never takes too long and seems to work well. If, however, there was extensive defragmentation I might consider one of the more popular defragging programs out there.
How do you defrag your PC?
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June 16th, 2009 by birdievogel | Posted in Mac vs PC | Comments (0)
One of the nice things about a Mac is that you usually don’t need to defrag it. Why? Because they have an auto optimization that takes care of it for you…most of the time. In extreme cases, however, you may still need to defragment your Mac. When this happens there are a few things you can do. You can go to the utilities folder in the applications directory and highlight the hard drive, then have the program repair permissions. Not what you usually think of when you defrag a PC hard drive, but it accomplishes much the same thing.
If that doesn’t speed up your computer you can always find a defrag program that is designed to work with Macs. Before you implement such a program, however, make sure you back up everything. Defragging a Mac is a lengthy endeavor and you don’t want to lose anything important. When I say lengthy, I mean run the program when you are going to bed or when you are going out to watch a movie, or when you are going to be at work all day. Really, it takes a while.
Do you defrag your Mac? What do you think of the process?
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June 15th, 2009 by birdievogel | Posted in Mac vs PC | Comments (0)
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