Dear all


At the moment I will start my own internet business, so I am thinking on changing to a mac system, a G5 I think. My problem is that I never worked with Apple before, although I kwnon I can achieve better results, I don't know what are the advantages and disadvantages of using mac instead of PC.
Would anybody be so kind to give me a lght on this? Thank you, I will appreciate any coment.

Hello,

The main point here is - what do you plan to do with your computer? Will you just use it for paperwork, databases, and e-mail, or will you be using your computer for its power - such as video, photography, audio, etc.

I would personally suggest sticking with a PC since a lot of "business standard" software is available for it - such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, Outlook, etc.

Most business and companies use PCs through their networks.

The main point is - what do you need your computer to do?

Thank you very much for your feedback WZAR.

I am sure your comment will help me to make up my mind.

I am going to start running a website on restaurants, and apart from some pictures I don't think I am in need of any special material like video or complicated animations.

I was thinking more in reability to store data basically and probably a bit of image as well. I want to have the best resources to produce the best results possible.

Best regards

Daniel

My Mac experience is out of date, OS 7.6. However Windows is a copy of the Mac OS, just enough different to give the lawyers a chance to win suits and be able to claim it is better. It is much easier to move to Mac from Windows than to Linux. With either, you can find software that will work with most Macrocrap files, opening them and saving to them. You will also be rebooting after a crash less often.

Neither have much malware, viruses and such available. The Mac likely will be easier to find drivers and tech service for. The Brighthouse and Roadrunner techs refuse to even look at anything in Linux.

I still have my Mac, and go back to it for simple jobs I need to do quickly. Word and Open Office are powerful programs, but a sledge hammer is not the best tool to swat one fly.

Thanks Labman for sharing your experince, I will stick with Windows as compatibility is a great advantage. Sounds like Mac is all right if you need to desgin or create.

Just another quick question?


Can Microsoft Office files be red in PC if they were made in Mac and the other way around?
What about other files like pictures, mp3, movies, etc.

Thanks for your help.

You need to be very careful about what software you use. I had a copy of Word on the Mac, but it could not open .doc files emailed to me from a PC. I think it was Icword it had that could. It could have also been a new Word and old Word problem. I despise Microsoft for continually developing new formats requiring continual upgrades.

Microsoft hasn't materially changed its Office formats since Office 97. Word Doc files, Excel files and Powerpoint files should be interchangeable. Some functionality might be lost but the files should be readable.

Thanks, It helped a lot.

Office is completely interchangeable between Mac and PC (the files that is.) If you are just doing day-to-day business stuff either machine is equally suited. The software is there for a Mac (although not in as great quantity for PC) to do whatever you want to do. The greatest limitations are video games and CAD software - for either of those, I would go to a PC - otherwise, it is really preference. Macs are easier to use and install software for than a PC. If you want a cross-compatible database setup that can publish to the web, use FileMaker Pro. You can run it on Mac or PC.

Macs aren't really limited anymore - anything you can do on a PC, you can do on a Mac. Most people just don't know that because they don't use them. I manage a network of 30 Unix servers from a Macintosh laptop, write documents in word, email them to my PC-toting counterparts and have no problems.

Give it a try - it make take a week to get used to the differences but overall I think it is a better computing experience.

Carvel

I find this statement interesting since the selling point of new PCs was just the opposite of the past. It used to be PCs saying they could do anything a MAC does.

Thr problem has always been, that while MACs were a superior machine, you paid a premium for that superiority. PCs, could do much the same as MACs for a lesser price. As time went on PCs caught up and passed MACs in the quality and quantity of software available, while maintianing the price advantage.

Macs, recently jumped a share point from 4-5% of the market. PCs comprise over 90% of the market.

Limited in the sense of being able to take something created on a Mac/PC and move it to the other platform seemlessly - i.e. Word doc, excel spreadsheet, etc. A lot of companies wouldn't use Macs for compatibility reasons while other companies used them because of their inherent abilities (i.e. video, graphics, etc.)

That gap has been narrowed considerably by Microsoft, Adobe, and a few other big names.

For day-to-day business, you can send a document, spreadsheet, whatever from a Mac to a PC coworker and there are no issues. In that regard, they are no longer limited - but it wasn't really the Mac that had the limitation, it was the software...

True for BUSINESS use they aren't as limited as they used to be, but and it's a big but, they are still massively limited when it comes to general home use.
Sweeping generalisations are wonderful ;)

Could we have some examples of common home applications unavailable for the Mac? I doubt many people need Autocad. Maybe games?

Great computer for those that don't have a sysadim to help with malware.

Labman, games was what I was referring to.
OK so if you want to play all the latest games you could get a console, but that wasn't my point.

There is malware available for the Mac and it will become more wide spread as more people start to realise the power of widgets.
So we all have to be careful out there.

Viruses are certainly an issue. I run into them, just not as often as on a PC. Overall, I would say that Macs are easier to administer than PCs.

For games, a Mac is not the way to go but we may see more of a market share increase in Mac game software over the next year or two. A PC and the consoles will most likely always be the gamers choice.

Whoa whoa whoa! Lets slow down with the assumptions that you can do nothing on a mac. THE ENTIRE OFFICE SUITE is available for the mac. EVERY major design app, I.E. Photoshop is ported from the Mac (Hit Alt + Q on your PC, is that a normal way to exit?)

Anyway, I love PC's, but for website design data storage, there should be no issues. Personally if your going to drop $2500 on a new Mac you should also buy a test PC. $300 dell that couldn't hold a candle to the Mac, but then you can test compatibility. I have web design clients who do web design as there business and Apple is there primary machine. The assumption that the software does not exist is a load of crap. Give me a outcome and almost definitely it can be completed on XP and OSX. Hell they make a Windows Domain client for the mac! Anyway, I see this as a null point, Macs are easier to maintain and your data has a much better chance of staying secure. There is no reason to have a PC, I mean no reason like 'YOU HAVE TO HAVE A PC TO RUN... ". I mean you can't load up stupid crap like Vongo or other new, non-industry, apps, but everything else is fine.

AND NO THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OFFICE ON MAC OR PC! Documents are identical. Oh and you could always use OpenOffice on both PC and mac and tell MS where to put Office 2006 (Or whatever they come out with next).

Hi JC,

I've noticed a lot of notes from you in the past day or so. Mostly with very good info. However, you might want to be more careful about checking the dates of the notes you reply to. You have revised a few old threads.

I do have to clarify some things here you said here. While there is no difference between File formats on MAC and PC I'm not sure whether MAC versions automatically assign an extension since they aren't required for MAC OS. This can cause hassles when trying to transfer files between machines. Also there is no version of Access for the MAC, that's strictly PC.

Mac OS uses the same extensions as a PC. The extensions have been 'standardized'. Jpg, gif, doc, xls. Mac uses extensions to resolve which applications to start also. You CAN associate in other ways (I think), but via extension is by far the simplest and an obvious way to organize.

I know I don't check the dates on my post but preaching about the Mac is timeless, jk.

Just so eeveryone knows though I use a PC everyday I love my PC, but from a single user support POV, Macs are easy.

Windows domains are great for large companies, but one person/family, mac is great. (Except not all Vid Games are ported to mac, but a lot are)

I'm not a MAC person which is the reason I'm asking. From what I recall, MAC files were not assigned an extension by default. Basically filenames were free form for MACs. So they could use files whether they had an extnesion or not. I know I've gotten files from MAC users that had no extensions and I had to rename the files to get them to work on the PC side.

So the question is whether MAC versions of software AUTOMATICALLY assign extensions or not.