Young Writers Society

Hmm, I'm not sure if this goes here, but I can't think of anywhere else to post it. Anyways.

I'm debating between a Mac or PC. As I have never personally owned a Mac, I was wondering if anyone who does has any strong disagreeable feelings towards them. I've liked Macs when I've had access to them, but these times don't really let one know about long term problems, like shutting down at random times, or being prone to bugs.

Advice would be most appreciated!

I've heard that Macs are better. I have one friend that is very loyal to them. Although I can't be sure. On the other hand, I've also heard that they might not be compatible with PC's. They might not have Word and stuff like that. And that could definitely be a problem since I, at least, carry my work around from computer to computer on a flash drive. I know this used to be a problem, but they might have fixed it. I'm really not sure. So I guess I've been no help at all...

Macs can run every single program a PC can run, if you know what software to get.

Yes, Macs do come with Microsoft Word. They are also about one hundred times better than a PC. I use them to do video editing at school and they are amazing. They're fast and easy to understand and use. they are ideal for more creative stuff, such as Photoshop, iMovie, Garageband, ect.(whereas PCs are more for business work).

PCs are definitely more prone to problems than Macs are. You don't get the dreaded "blue screen of death" and they don't get viruses.

On the topic of Macs running PC programs, have you ever heard of "Parallel"? It is a program that enables you to run a full version of Windows XP on a Mac and use PC programs. It's just like a separate window; you minimize it to see the Mac, pull it up to see Windows. You can even shrink it so you see both of them at the same time, and you can drag PC documents to the Mac and vice versa. You're running two operating systems at the same time, and I know someone who has had 33 operating systems running at the same time on one machine.

Short answer: get a Mac.

I personally despise Macs. Mostly because I've had really bad experiences with them. We use them to write, lay out, and publish our newspaper and they give everyone on the staff the worst time. They "unexpectedly quit" from programs totally randomly, freeze, don't have the proper extention we save our articles as, randomly delete things, etc. It's a pain to retrieve anything, mostly because what we want is gone for good. I've never had those kind of problems with PCs, even my 8-year-old dinosaur that only recently stopped working because the power cord broke during a move.

My opinion: get a PC. They're worth it in the long run.

I have a Mac and I LOVE it. It's VERY, VERY hard for them to get viruses. I also have a PC, but it's a laptop and is meant to be specifically for writing...unfortunately with internet access, it makes it kind of hard but I'm going to try and get out of that habit.

One of the best things about my Mac is that I have iMovie, and can edit footage and make videos with it. I highly recommend getting a Mac.

I have a mac, had a PC, and can honestly say that both are good, provided that you get used to the platform. The reason why I chose a mac instead of a PC was because my parents had a whole bunch of mac software and because honestly, my loves are in writing, music, and art. Therefore, I love my big screen and music capabilities. I also love the webcam included with mine -- it makes chatting with my boyfriend a lot more fun.

Macs (in my experience) seem to be long-lasting machines. For instance, one of the macs in my house is almost twenty years old, and it works fine. My sister's imac is starting to die slowly, but she is very harsh on it (she is usually very harsh on most computers, actually) but it's eight years old and sill running strong. There was one mac that sort of died on us, but that was in the OS 5 realm, and really, their macs sucked then. The technology has improved so much since then.

Anyway, that's my two cents. I got a mac instead of a PC and I love it (yay, more desk space!) but whatever you want, get it. Just remember... macs are good.

I have a Mac and I LOVE it. It's VERY, VERY hard for them to get viruses.

See here for the general reason on that. Warning: it's got a swear word in it. Also, avoiding viruses on a PC is incredibly easy. 90% of viruses received are the user's own fault.

Macs may seem flashier and fun, but they're like the cool kid at school that everyone wants to be when they're 14, but when you get older, you realise the cool kid was so shallow and idiotic. PCs are more flexible and that's why I love them. You change everything in them and you can fix problems better -- and yes, Macs have problems, never mind the propaganda that they don't. Besides, PCs play all the new video games, Macs are on Quake 2 or something probably.

If you want a few flashy programs like movie editors, photo editors, music editors, and err, that's it, get a Mac, if you want a flexible machine built for theoretically anything, get a PC.

-Shrugs- I've seen that comic before. I still find my mac incredibly easy to use and get around on, and the only problem I've ever had was when the power supply went bad or something but it wes easily fixed. My parents got me my Mac as a late graduation present. I think at least one of the reasons I love it so much is because I don't have to share a computer with my parents or sister any more.

The only reason I got a laptop and had it be Windows is because there was a writing program (Power Writer) I wanted and it was only made for Windows. So I planned on using it only for writing but that hasn't been successful.

MACS. i love them. I am saving to get one. My pc is bad compared to it so i might aswell get saving. And at the amount i get paid it is going to be a long time saving lol

Thanks for your input everyone. Jack, what kinds of problems were you alluding to?

If you get a Mac there is less support out their; especially upgrading a mac. You'd have to go to specialist retailer and it could cost loads...

Go Mac, all the way. I own a PC myself, but both my roomate and one of my best friends are Mac addicts, and with good reason--if I could have afforded it, I would have gone Mac myself.

I think FS is referring that Macs seem to be part of the cool group of computers that might be superior, but they are just computers in the end.

Still, they're pretty well-built in my opinion and DUDE. If you need them to run Windows XP or Vista and OSX, you can.

Thanks for your input everyone. Jack, what kinds of problems were you alluding to?

If Macs were so perfect, forums like this wouldn't exist: http://www.macfixitforums.com/postlist. ... rd=Forum35

The most silly error I have ever found is you can't drag and drop on a Mac.

Also, see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Tq7yykR-DM

All credit to Maddox.

What you really have to think about is what you're comfortable with.

I don't understand macs, personally. Sure, i can use them, but I can never find anything again. The format on PCs makes way more sense to me. I can find anything, and fix them half the time, too! So, it depends upon what you feel you can use. Right now, I'm on mom's mac laptop, and I get really frustrated with it -- I want my right click, darn it!

Anyhoo, that's my $0.02.