Do you like MAC computers?

[SweetGeorgia]

As to the original question (because all the cable and tech stuff is way above me!), I think both Macs and PCs have their place. Leaving out Unix because that's a little specialized and not something the ordinary consumer uses.

I've been a Mac girl for almost five years. Nice interface, stable OS, plenty of applications available (and very often cheaper than the Windows counterparts). Very pretty hardware that is VERY expensive. No virus maintenance. I think of Macs as great for hipsters and your grandma.

PCs have infinite variety, netbooks, and are much cheaper. You probably won't get hacked or suffer much virus damage, but if you do it's awful. The hacking I had (following a virus infection) was on a company telephony server with expensive security, and the loss of the machine was NOTHING compared to the trouble of getting a replacement up (because the original had to go to law enforcement) during the holidays, blah blah ruined my Christmas one year. Big companies have tech people; small companies have YOU. I could have had a similar set-up on a Mac for 1/3 the price, including hardware. Eh, hindsight.

Also, on a Mac, everything can print to PDF. I took this for granted, but my husband (PC tech dude) was completely blown away by that fact.

[westom]

Leaving out Unix because that's a little specialized and not something the ordinary consumer uses. ...
Also, on a Mac, everything can print to PDF. I took this for granted, but my husband (PC tech dude) was completely blown away by that fact.

Unix is the OS on the Mac (at least Apples version of Unix). Why do you think it is anything special?

I also print to a printer, to a fax, or to a PDF file. Printing in PDF is just another printer on a PC. Nothing fancy, special, or difficult. One problem I have with Mac are many systems that required special Mac software to interface - still. The corporate printer, copy machine, fax, and scanner machine was locked up - they required a service call - because the only Mac user in the building tried to print to it. Don't know why Mac still has to do it 'their' way. No reason create that complexity. Also is the difficulty when doing something that is not ‘mainstream’. Abilities for unique situations also get difficult on a Mac.

Other than that, Macs are now significantly better since using a Unix type OS and Intel hardware. It a machine designed to be simple – to do common and simple things. And it is also (Apple flavored) Unix. What AT&T could have been doing (because they had it first) if the right type of people ran the company.

[ChaseDidThis]

You are correct printing to PDF is nothing special, I did it for years on my PC via third party software, where as on a mac it's built in. Just like I can make jpegs of anything on my screen, either the whole screen or individual windows without the help of any third party software. I think the Mac and Apple products in general is all about the User Interface. Ever surf the internet on an IPhone - awesome. Other small handheld devices can surf the internet, but not like an Iphone, MP3 players is the same way, why would i buy an ipod for $150, when I can buy some other MP3 player for $20, they both will play music, I buy it for the User Interface, it really is that much better. Do you need it? of course not. I think if Apple ever allowed other companies to make hardware to run their software, their profits would plummet, their products are good because they can keep control of it.

What special Mac software is required to interface with what? When I take my MacBook to work, I was able to instantly find the printers that were broadcasting themselves via bonjour, and any others I needed I found via searching the directory. I can even join the domain via the directory utility app, as long as you have the Admin's password for the windows server, I found it just as simple adding my macbook as adding any of the other windows XP computers. This is evidently Kudos to Windows server 2008, or how it's set up, I really don't know but i am the only one using a Mac there on the Network.

Your printer probably locked up trying to communicate with the Mac, because I have noticed that when my Mac is trying to connect to a shared drive and there is a communication error, the Mac is persistent and just keeps trying, it will eventually give up but it takes forever, I have found the best thing to do is have Spaces activated on the Mac so you can switch to another desktop Space and shut it down via force quit.

[westom]

What special Mac software is required to interface with what?

One year old Ricoh printer, copier, scanner, etc (a standalone device) requires extra software for Mac printer standards. Sending Mac stuff using common industry standards works reliabily. But when Mac must initiate the communication, sometimes it gets intermittent or fails. Just because your Mac successfully printed to some printers does not mean Mac uses the same protocols that all others use. Mac printer software is a different standard. Still causes problems with some printers. In that case, literally force a service call on a very expensive printer station.

Meanwhile, integrate earlier Mac OSes into existing PC printer networks. Sometime after Lepord that Apple finally got anywhere near to obvious simple. A transistion to Intel hardware and the Unix OSes meant Apple had to rewrite everything mostly from scratch. Some functions did not get properly written for some time. Looks like Apple has finally gotten most every function properly stable in the last OS. It was a major transistion that created headaches for people like me who do more than just the standard simple stuff.

[ChaseDidThis]

One year old Ricoh printer, copier, scanner, etc (a standalone device)

Uh Oh, I better check into this, I think we have one of these also. Thanks for the heads up.

Meanwhile, integrate earlier Mac OSes into existing PC printer networks. Sometime after Lepord that Apple finally got anywhere near to obvious simple. A transistion to Intel hardware and the Unix OSes meant Apple had to rewrite everything mostly from scratch. Some functions did not get properly written for some time. Looks like Apple has finally gotten most every function properly stable in the last OS. It was a major transistion that created headaches for people like me who do more than just the standard simple stuff.

you're right, I was thinking of recently, Mac has changed a lot in the last few years.

[nc73]

I'm in IT and haven't had that much exposure to Macs. Windows 7 is somewhat like a mac operating system. The Mac I did have at one point was crap because their browser kept crashing the OS. In any case why use a Mac when a PC is much better? Mac is good for graphics though, that's about it.