BleepingComputer.com: Do PC or Apple products have less problems in your opinion?

my sister and I would like to know.

Please vote.

Thanks in advance.

This is a flawed question because of the large number of PC brand names. Some of them are pure garbage, but other brand names (such as ASUS) are much higher quality than anything to come out of Apple.

Despite what the Apple fanboys will say, Windows 7 is an excellent, solid, efficient operating system. Virtually all the problems people have with it are caused by the user doing stupid things. It literally has been years since I've had any problems whatsoever.

Apple computers are essentially little more than status symbols, and I would highly recommend staying away from them. A Mac can cost two to three times as much as the PC equivalent. The hardware they offer is sub-par and often outdated. Last time I checked, the high-end Macintosh Pro came with a measly Radeon HD 5770, despite the fact that the 6 series had been out for a while at that point.

The OS is little more than a compilation of a few free-to-download Unix-like operating systems (including FreeBSD). Unfortunately everything that was good about these is absent in Mac OS X including the user's freedom over the OS and security. Security is near non-existent on OSX.

Researcher cracks Mac in 10 seconds at PWN2OWN, wins $5k

thank you very much RainbowSix.

what do you think of the hewlett-packard brand?

thanks in advance.

This post has been edited by sidhardtha: 06 January 2012 - 03:37 PM

What are you planning to do with the computer? HP quality is questionable. I do happen to own a five-year-old HP which still works perfectly, though I know people who have had terrible experiences with them. I recommend looking elsewhere.

What kind of computer are we talking about? If you want a laptop, try ASUS, Toshiba, Sony VAIO, Gigabyte, or Alienware.
If you want a desktop, get it custom built with the best quality hardware from either a local builder or an online builder such as iBUYPOWER.

Thank you RainbowSix

A lot is personal preference-windows is a lot more insecure then mac, but mac has its issues to. A lot of it is personal preference. My big thing with mac is their computers are way overpriced, and I dont like the operating system (I dont like the setup) I personally prefer PC, I can usually build one for a 1/3 the price of an apple computer, that is just as powerful. Windows has its flaws but I can usually work around them, and I play with linux a lot as well. I to have had nothing but good experiences with HP-anymore if I buy a store bought computer for myself or customer, its a HP/compaq, they make decent quality, but on top of that i find their customer support is exceptionally good when something does go wrong. Though, I prefer to custom build-a custom system when built with the right parts, is often far more reliable then any store bought computer, and if you can find someone local or a site such as ibuypower like rainbowsix suggested, then that would be the best way to go.

This post has been edited by the_patriot11: 07 January 2012 - 12:44 PM

thank you the_patriot11

Quote

Where did you get this information? Statistics, hacking contests, and expert opinions have proven that Mac is far less secure than Windows.
The only reason why Macs have fewer security issues is because they only control a very small percentage of the market. Exploit scripts and viruses take time and resources to create. There is simply no reason to exploit an OS no one uses.

By the way, OSX has the firewall set to 'off' by default. Secure? Not at all.

I recommend reading these:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20002317-245.html
http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/paul-thurrotts-wininfo/security-expert-windows-7-secure-mac-os-140118
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10444561-245.html

This post has been edited by RainbowSix: 09 January 2012 - 12:44 AM

personal experience-and yes you are correct, in that firewall comes off by standard, because they live off the assumption that macs better then windows and therefore, cannot be hacked. I never said mac couldnt be hacked, any operating system including Linux-which often times is heralded as one of the most secure out there, can be hacked. My knowledge comes from the mere fact that windows is known for having many innate flaws that pretty much welcome in the most ammateur of hackers-has been for awhile. My 15 year old brother has hacked multiple windows computer using youtube to teach him how, hacking a windows based computer is rather easy. Can mac be hacked? sure it can-with ease, but not normally by your run of the mill trouble maker, mac has fewer flaws in the system, so sure people can get in, but not normally through a wide open hole in the firewall left their by the designers. Ya theres IT techs out there, like in the articles that say that macs not any more secure, but theres just as many that say they are. Am I a MAC fanboy? no not at all, I dislike apple and mac altogether. Do I think its a more secure operating system, especially with a decently knowledgeable user? yes I do. With that being said, a wise person with windows is plenty secure-Ive been using windows for years using third party firewalls and good antivirus programs and havent been hacked in years. So is mac more secure then windows in many cases? in my opinion yes. Is it better then windows? in my opinion, no. But others disagree-a lot of it is a matter of personal preference.

This post has been edited by the_patriot11: 09 January 2012 - 01:23 AM

thank you both, the_patriot11 and rainbowsix.

If I understood the poll correctly, this was supposed to be about which one has more technical difficulties, rather than about which one is more secure? An operating system is only as safe as its user is.
I've had much less difficulties with OSX than any Windows based PC I've owned. And I don't buy prebuilt computers, I build them myself.

I voted Linux, because if I were to build a new PC anytime soon, I'd just install Ubuntu on it instead of Windows.

PS. This was written on a Mac

thank you Rahiel

It would easier to help you if you would let us know what you are going to use this computer for and how much money you are willing to spend.
My preferred method is to do a lot of online research for the parts that I want,(looking through many reviews with sites I have a trust). Make a list. Go to my Intel dealer in town to get advice and order everything. Then put it together my self. I do have the option of having the dealer put it together at no extra cost because I bought every thing from them. This way you get what you want. Local dealer will cost a little more but you have someone to help you if needed. I have never used a Apple computer, Windows 7/64 works well for me.

This may have already been stated but I will give my opinion on all 3 choices.

First lets start with Windows. It sucks, it can't manage itself very well when compared, its drivers are huge, it has lots of virus's, and its built to break. But it is supported on almost EVERY piece of hardware built in the last 15ish years, there is lots of paid support for it, and almost everybody has it so compatibility is a lot smaller issue.

Secondly we have Mac. It is pretty, its built off UNIX, so it manages itself very intuitively. Unfortunately it has lacking advanced networking capabilities, but they built everything for dummies so you shouldn't have to much of a problem. This is in my opinion the most "plug and go" ready of all 3. Have you seen the driver files? Most of them are like KB! It doesn't support a majority of hardware, because that's just how they built it.

Thirdly we have the king, Linux. It is a champ, once you get it installed and configured. Whatever you need to do, they have a distribution out there for you. Once its configured and everything works, you won't have crashes (for the most part) and if it does crash its probably your fault. It manages itself so well, that if it needs to be defragmented, its just faster to reinstall it and configure it again. If you need dependability this is your man. Oh, also this has (AFAIK) the most support for hardware, now some distro's are built to only run on X, but the mainstream (Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat, Gentoo, Suse, I could go on for years here) run on XYZ and everything else under the sun.

The problem with linx, especially with your more powerful versions such as SuSe and RedHat, is that their not nearly as user friendly as mac or windows and can take a bit to learn. Even the more user friendly versions such as Ubuntu or LinuxMint take more effort to learn then mac and windows. Not that their not worth learning. . .