Gulf News answers the Question Should I buy an Apple Macintosh instead of a personal?

ny · 7th June 2008, 11:59

Gulfnews: Investing in a suitable computer system

What a silly lame advice !!

noixe · 7th June 2008, 15:02

tht is a PC chauvenist, thts what he is. he's set the PCs as the benchmark and is constantly comparing Apple with the PCs... blargh! u pay a little more for Apple becuz U GET THE GOODS

ultrablue662 · 7th June 2008, 16:24

Actually CNBC (I think) did this study where (In the US at least) a Mac and a PC are not that different in price spec for spec.

The average Mac just outpaces the average PC. Buy your Average Acer laptop for 3000 and you get nothing. buy something comparable to a Macbook and you end up paying 5500. same price.

Also, The answer about the viruses is an ignorant one. since if you combine all Unix based OSes you get an even larger market share and the virus infections rate doesnt go up.

Also, a HUGE chunk of servers, like 30% I think (probably including gulfnews' own server) are Linux servers. and yet they dont go thru 1/2 the drama that a windoze one does.

That was obviously written by a novice at best. Lets form a lynch mob!

Magnus · 7th June 2008, 16:30

I think the more misleading part is to not call a Mac a "personal computer". Sure, PC stands for personal computer, and when we say PC we usually mean a computer running Windows, a non-Mac computer running Windows I should say. But saying Mac vs. "personal computer" implies that Mac is not a personal computer, which it is, isn't it?

And to say that "there are Mac viruses out there" might be technically correct but how many of you have encountered one? I'd say the odds of getting a virus on a Mac is much smaller than "much smaller". And it might be that if Mac sales continue to increase there will be more viruses, but the reporter is avoiding the issue of Mac OS X being inherently more secure than Windows, something that many experts seem to agree on. That should be pointed out to readers too, shouldn't it?

And to say that the choice between Mac OS X and Windows "often comes down to basic issues, such as ease of navigation or system maintenance" is to oversimplify it I think. Or at least explain what you mean by it, Scott. What in terms of "system maintenance" makes a difference between Mac OS X and Windows? I know I have much less problems in terms of maintenance with Mac OS X compared to Windows. And what in terms of "ease of navigation" is different?

And to say that "Macintosh has a cult-following among computer users thanks to a very effective branding effort" is also simplifying things a lot. Could it be that there is a cult following because the products are just that much better, the company is cooler, etc? Does it have to be all down to a branding-effort? I think that's not taking into account real differences in products and company.

So, I've seen worse articles on the same subject, but I think Scott is leaving out some important issues, and whoever reads this may end up with the wrong impression. This is where Apple IMC ME should be active and set the record straight, I think, because there is so much misinformation in the market and we all suffer because of it.

noixe · 7th June 2008, 16:31

LOL@lynch mob!!!!

noixe · 7th June 2008, 16:35

true that Magnus, but im not sure if we shud thingy scott atleast on the PC issue, cuz, just to give him benefit of the doubt, Apple does refer to normal computers as PCs in their own Ads, its always "Hi, im a PC, and im a Mac" so i wudnt be too harsh on tht point, but other than tht, i totally agree with u

Magnus · 7th June 2008, 17:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by noixe

true that Magnus, but im not sure if we shud thingy scott atleast on the PC issue, cuz, just to give him benefit of the doubt, Apple does refer to normal computers as PCs in their own Ads, its always "Hi, im a PC, and im a Mac" so i wudnt be too harsh on tht point, but other than tht, i totally agree with u

I know what you're saying, but there is a difference, I would argue between saying "PC" and saying "personal computer".

Benson · 7th June 2008, 22:18

It is only one page isn't it? I was looking for a second page it seemed to just stop. Just shows peoples ignorance to what is on the market.

One thing I did notice while hitting the stores this weekend was how many more Apple computers are in the shops. Even comparing to last year the amount of Apples I saw was huge!!

medopal · 10th June 2008, 10:13

is he kidding, PC has a variety of OSs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
who is that guy, did he ever use a Mac!!??, on Mac u can put any OS, while on PC u can't, at least u cant put Leopard!!

The price thing is bad too. Mac Book with same specs on Dell has almost same price, Sony Vaio is lot more expensive!! And for the OS price, XP until today is still 300$, who wants a 5 year outdated OS for 300$, and Vista is even more, while Leopard is only 130$

Then just another small thing that all those M$ fans user forget each time, with Leopard u have lots of Bundled Software, if u want to but something like iLife for PC it will cost u a fortune. And u also have Preview for PDF, Automator, Front Row, Time Machine and lot more of free bundled apps.

Yet another point, talking about investment, well lets do. If u want to buy a PC, u will need to upgrade it each year to run the new programs and games. and when M$ releases a new OS u will need a new PC!!! thats not the case with Mac dude. u can run Leopard on G4!! and maybe G3!

Scott, next time when comparing please talke about something u know, if u dont know whats Leopard OS then try wiki, duh!!!

venky83 · 10th June 2008, 12:33

I find it funny that GulfNews technology guys don't actually talk about technology they rather talk with a 30,000 feet view and it does not make sense primarily because that article does not help anyone decide whether to go for a Mac or not (avoiding PC to avoid confusion that Magnus pointed out), which I think was the whole point of that article.

I was telling Zaid yesterday that my uncle was not considering the mac because he felt that he would have to reinvest in software or worse still not get those softwares at all and then I explained to him about boot camp, parallels and fusion and he was convinced in 10 minutes about buying a mac and he has already ordered one - that point was never covered.

It was like he was being biased but did not want to show himself as being outwardly biased. Basically, I rate the article as an 'environmental waste' too much of an energy emission as every page request led to a carbon emission, shouldn't gulf news pay the neutral carbon money that travellers are asked to pay?

7th June 2008, 11:59	#1 (permalink)
ny Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 113	Gulf News answers the Question Should I buy an Apple Macintosh instead of a personal? Gulfnews: Investing in a suitable computer system What a silly lame advice !!

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7th June 2008, 15:02	#2 (permalink)
noixe Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Abu Dhabi Posts: 443	tht is a PC chauvenist, thts what he is. he's set the PCs as the benchmark and is constantly comparing Apple with the PCs... blargh! u pay a little more for Apple becuz U GET THE GOODS

7th June 2008, 16:24	#3 (permalink)
ultrablue662 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Abu-Dhabi Posts: 1,043	Actually CNBC (I think) did this study where (In the US at least) a Mac and a PC are not that different in price spec for spec. The average Mac just outpaces the average PC. Buy your Average Acer laptop for 3000 and you get nothing. buy something comparable to a Macbook and you end up paying 5500. same price. Also, The answer about the viruses is an ignorant one. since if you combine all Unix based OSes you get an even larger market share and the virus infections rate doesnt go up. Also, a HUGE chunk of servers, like 30% I think (probably including gulfnews' own server) are Linux servers. and yet they dont go thru 1/2 the drama that a windoze one does. That was obviously written by a novice at best. Lets form a lynch mob!

7th June 2008, 16:30	#4 (permalink)
Magnus Administrator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Dubai Posts: 9,195	I think the more misleading part is to not call a Mac a "personal computer". Sure, PC stands for personal computer, and when we say PC we usually mean a computer running Windows, a non-Mac computer running Windows I should say. But saying Mac vs. "personal computer" implies that Mac is not a personal computer, which it is, isn't it? And to say that "there are Mac viruses out there" might be technically correct but how many of you have encountered one? I'd say the odds of getting a virus on a Mac is much smaller than "much smaller". And it might be that if Mac sales continue to increase there will be more viruses, but the reporter is avoiding the issue of Mac OS X being inherently more secure than Windows, something that many experts seem to agree on. That should be pointed out to readers too, shouldn't it? And to say that the choice between Mac OS X and Windows "often comes down to basic issues, such as ease of navigation or system maintenance" is to oversimplify it I think. Or at least explain what you mean by it, Scott. What in terms of "system maintenance" makes a difference between Mac OS X and Windows? I know I have much less problems in terms of maintenance with Mac OS X compared to Windows. And what in terms of "ease of navigation" is different? And to say that "Macintosh has a cult-following among computer users thanks to a very effective branding effort" is also simplifying things a lot. Could it be that there is a cult following because the products are just that much better, the company is cooler, etc? Does it have to be all down to a branding-effort? I think that's not taking into account real differences in products and company. So, I've seen worse articles on the same subject, but I think Scott is leaving out some important issues, and whoever reads this may end up with the wrong impression. This is where Apple IMC ME should be active and set the record straight, I think, because there is so much misinformation in the market and we all suffer because of it.

7th June 2008, 16:31	#5 (permalink)
noixe Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Abu Dhabi Posts: 443	LOL@lynch mob!!!!

7th June 2008, 16:35	#6 (permalink)
noixe Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Abu Dhabi Posts: 443	true that Magnus, but im not sure if we shud thingy scott atleast on the PC issue, cuz, just to give him benefit of the doubt, Apple does refer to normal computers as PCs in their own Ads, its always "Hi, im a PC, and im a Mac" so i wudnt be too harsh on tht point, but other than tht, i totally agree with u

7th June 2008, 22:18	#8 (permalink)
Benson Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Dubai Posts: 321	It is only one page isn't it? I was looking for a second page it seemed to just stop. Just shows peoples ignorance to what is on the market. One thing I did notice while hitting the stores this weekend was how many more Apple computers are in the shops. Even comparing to last year the amount of Apples I saw was huge!!

10th June 2008, 10:13	#9 (permalink)
medopal Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Abu Dhabi Posts: 392	is he kidding, PC has a variety of OSs!!!!!!!!!!!!!! who is that guy, did he ever use a Mac!!??, on Mac u can put any OS, while on PC u can't, at least u cant put Leopard!! The price thing is bad too. Mac Book with same specs on Dell has almost same price, Sony Vaio is lot more expensive!! And for the OS price, XP until today is still 300$, who wants a 5 year outdated OS for 300$, and Vista is even more, while Leopard is only 130$ Then just another small thing that all those M$ fans user forget each time, with Leopard u have lots of Bundled Software, if u want to but something like iLife for PC it will cost u a fortune. And u also have Preview for PDF, Automator, Front Row, Time Machine and lot more of free bundled apps. Yet another point, talking about investment, well lets do. If u want to buy a PC, u will need to upgrade it each year to run the new programs and games. and when M$ releases a new OS u will need a new PC!!! thats not the case with Mac dude. u can run Leopard on G4!! and maybe G3! Scott, next time when comparing please talke about something u know, if u dont know whats Leopard OS then try wiki, duh!!!

10th June 2008, 12:33	#10 (permalink)
venky83 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Dubai, UAE Posts: 476	I find it funny that GulfNews technology guys don't actually talk about technology they rather talk with a 30,000 feet view and it does not make sense primarily because that article does not help anyone decide whether to go for a Mac or not (avoiding PC to avoid confusion that Magnus pointed out), which I think was the whole point of that article. I was telling Zaid yesterday that my uncle was not considering the mac because he felt that he would have to reinvest in software or worse still not get those softwares at all and then I explained to him about boot camp, parallels and fusion and he was convinced in 10 minutes about buying a mac and he has already ordered one - that point was never covered. It was like he was being biased but did not want to show himself as being outwardly biased. Basically, I rate the article as an 'environmental waste' too much of an energy emission as every page request led to a carbon emission, shouldn't gulf news pay the neutral carbon money that travellers are asked to pay?