Is it worth it

[disneyholic family]

A virus can't KILL your computer. I wipe of the Hard Drive and reinstall of the OS will fix it.

"virus/spyware are another issue, while I agree PCs are on the losing end of this battle,....."

no, honestly.....in the case of the pc, the virus did the hard drive in completely.....it was reformatted and reinstalled, but within one day it stopped working again....completely died.....the only explanation we could come up with was that the virus had done it....or else just a coincidence...
so we tossed that computer (which was old except for the hard drive) and started from scratch...
the new pc is basically a stealth bomber in terms of hardware.....but we're very careful with this one....no illegal downloads...very careful use of facebook (a source of some very nasty viruses), and constant updating of the anti-virus (kapersky?)....

and by the way, i find windows 7 really annoying....but that's me....

as for my work laptop.....earlier in the week i had a feeling there was a virus....it starting working really strangely (moreso than usual).....
i was going to call our helpdesk, but waited until i wouldn't have to speak with india.....
but before i could speak with the non-indian helpdesk, the screen died...
the laptop became unusable (what with a black screen and all)...
so i took it into the helpdesk and a few hours later they gave me a replacement.....
they said the laptop could not be fixed....for whatever reason...
i don't care...it was a piece of garbage, as is the one that replaced it (both lenovo thinkpads...worst laptop on the planet )...

 

[trivial]

Virii are not serious issues for PCs. Of course, if you don't have anti-virus software installed or you're running programs of dubious origin on your computer, you're asking for trouble. There are several great free anti-virus packages available.

Macs are not inherantly faster than PCs... that's just silly. A PC will outperform an equally-priced Mac any day of the week.

If you know next to nothing about computers and you can comfortably afford a Mac, I'd say a Mac is a good choice. That's not to say Macs are suitable for only that type of person at all; for other people, it's really nothing more than personal preference.

 

[izzie-wizzie]

Sorry to be argumentative, but PCs are fully capable of doing many things at once. If you need to edit video, photoshop, etc then a high end PC is what you need. I think the issue here is, people get a "home model" PC(laptop) and expect it to run like a 2000 dollar Mac. Get a 2000 laptop and you'll be amazed at what it can do. virus/spyware are another issue, while I agree PCs are on the losing end of this battle, most of it comes down to user error and/or it is usually and easy fix to clean them. That said, I fix them for a living so I don't mind. (BTW, I'm a macbook pro owner, FWIW)

Not argumentative at all - Its very much personal opinion

I am basing my opinion of pc's not being able to cope as well as Macs doing many things at once on my experience with many pcs - laptops and computers, ones that I have had, universities ones, friends ones - and obviously the more expensive ones are more capable than the cheaper ones, however my opinion was not based on using cheap PCs before my mac though.

edit - forgot to mention i am mostly in the casual user category, apart from design projects for my uni course, its very much the usual bases for me - so obvioulsy my opinion is based on using the computer that way than being a pro!

 

[dpuck1998]

no, honestly.....in the case of the pc, the virus did the hard drive in completely.....it was reformatted and reinstalled, but within one day it stopped working again....completely died.....the only explanation we could come up with was that the virus had done it....or else just a coincidence...
so we tossed that computer (which was old except for the hard drive) and started from scratch...
the new pc is basically a stealth bomber in terms of hardware.....but we're very careful with this one....no illegal downloads...very careful use of facebook (a source of some very nasty viruses), and constant updating of the anti-virus (kapersky?)....

and by the way, i find windows 7 really annoying....but that's me....

as for my work laptop.....earlier in the week i had a feeling there was a virus....it starting working really strangely (moreso than usual).....
i was going to call our helpdesk, but waited until i wouldn't have to speak with india.....
but before i could speak with the non-indian helpdesk, the screen died...
the laptop became unusable (what with a black screen and all)...
so i took it into the helpdesk and a few hours later they gave me a replacement.....
they said the laptop could not be fixed....for whatever reason...
i don't care...it was a piece of garbage, as is the one that replaced it (both lenovo thinkpads...worst laptop on the planet )...

Chance are it was a coincidence and the HD was failing anyway, perhaps why you were having issues. A new HD would have been about 30-40 bucks for an older laptop.

Virii are not serious issues for PCs. Of course, if you don't have anti-virus software installed or you're running programs of dubious origin on your computer, you're asking for trouble. There are several great free anti-virus packages available.

Macs are not inherantly faster than PCs... that's just silly. A PC will outperform an equally-priced Mac any day of the week.

If you know next to nothing about computers and you can comfortably afford a Mac, I'd say a Mac is a good choice. That's not to say Macs are suitable for only that type of person at all; for other people, it's really nothing more than personal preference.

Agree completely. I usually suggest mac for users I know will call me with problems Like my mother-in-law!

 

[disneyholic family]

Chance are it was a coincidence and the HD was failing anyway, perhaps why you were having issues. A new HD would have been about 30-40 bucks for an older laptop.

i was talking about two different computers, one desktop and one laptop...

the HD that died was on a desktop pc, not a laptop...it was really old and not powerful enough for what we wanted anyway...

my HD didn't die on my laptop, the screen did....the tech guy moved the HD to the replacement laptop (which wouldn't matter anyway...my HD is completely backed up on the company network.....everything...every picture, every everything.....good thing i'm not into porn.. )

 

[dpuck1998]

i was talking about two different computers, one desktop and one laptop...

the HD that died was on a desktop pc, not a laptop...it was really old and not powerful enough for what we wanted anyway...

my HD didn't die on my laptop, the screen did....the tech guy moved the HD to the replacement laptop (which wouldn't matter anyway...my HD is completely backed up on the company network.....everything...every picture, every everything.....good thing i'm not into porn.. )

ahh....so that is why i keep getting virii

 

[disneyholic family]

ahh....so that is why i keep getting virii

 

[darrengs]

Though malware is an issue with PC's the screen on a laptop and the harddrive on a desktop failing really can't blamed on Malware.

 

[OKW Lover]

Yes its worth it.

In the office where they pay me to use a computer, I use a PC. At home, where I spend my own money on a computer, I have a Mac.

 

[kaligal]

I hope so. I'm going to get a Mac this week. I have had it with crappy laptops and with Microsoft.