I could honestly write a novel about this, but I'll give you my top 5 quick pros for the Mac:

1. Media. We live in an age where we can't get away from e-mail, instant messaging, pictures, videos, internet, etc. Macs dominate in handling all of these things and make it so easy to manage for everyone - (if my parents can, anyone can).

2. Everything works together. All the applications work seamlessly with one another. You can essentially drag and drop anything anywhere. Everything is compatible with everything else. iCal works with Entourage and Mail. iPhoto works with Mail, iChat and Photobooth. Contacts works with Mail. iTunes works with your iPods and iPhones. iPhones work with iCal, iPhoto, etc., etc., etc....

3. Performance. I've been using Mac for about a year now, and it has never frozen on me. I have never had a virus. The only reason I've ever restarted it was to complete software updates. It's incredibly reliable and amazingly responsive. I have never had such a powerful, consistently "there" machine. Don't even get me started on wi-fi internet connection with PCs.

4. Customizable. I can't tell you how different my Mac looks from the student next to me on the same machine. You can move so many things around, adjust precise preferences to your specific liking, etc. etc. Your Mac is truly YOUR Mac. Not to mention the password keychains keep you in check with all your security information.

5. Domination. The Mac is catering to everyone's needs, and more people are catering to it. You want Office? Microsoft Office has a Mac edition and it works just fine. If you don't like Office, Mac has its own version. There are many more web browsers for the Mac, software applications have never been more easy to find, install, and use. Overall, the Mac knows what the people want, and it's there for us.

Again, I could say pages and pages more, but if you don't believe me, check out Mac beat the PC once again:

It's not better. It's different.

It's a more streamlined experience, but it's all about the software you're using, and, oh boy, do you pay for it. If you're doing video, Mac has FCP, which is the best, but there are half a dozen good options on the PC. If you're editing photos, the king of all of them (Photoshop) is on both, and works the same on both. The Mac will be set to the industry standard gamma out of the box, but they don't come calibrated, which is really necessary for photo use.

Apple has iMovie, Windows has Windows Movie Maker, on the "included with OS" level. Mac has "Time Machine", Windows has a fine automatic backup tool with no catchy name. Apple has better advertising, MS confuses people with Seinfeld. Apple has iTunes, which will run on either, the PC has WMP, which sucks as badly as iTunes. Winamp, thankfully runs on OSX.

Customizable? While Windows isn't quite as customizable as Linux, it is distinctly more customizable than OSX.

Here's one example, which I think sucks:
http://www.stardock.com/products/desktopx/images/screenshots/DesktopX_theme3.jpg

Here's a better one (I still don't think it's great, but this program can be used to make objects with malleable characteristics, and there are numerous ones waiting to be downloaded):
http://www.stardock.com/products/desktopx/images/screenshots/DesktopX_theme4.jpg

Want a dock like OSX?
http://rocketdock.com/

You can even do Expose:
http://insentient.net/

It's no surprise a lot of people emulate things found on Macs, a lot of people do like the interface.


Some of the biggest problems with Windows are when you buy a system from someone like HP and it's loaded with crap. But it doesn't need to be that way, you can build you own for less, and it only takes a couple of hours to put the parts together.

Feel free to spend $1800 for an iMac that's slower than a homemade $750 PC if you like it. If the iMac is fast enough, may as well build a $450 PC, and get a nice laptop, and have some cash left over, too. And you can plug in your $60 2GB iPod Shuffle in to your Mac, and it will "just work", and I can plug my $16 2GB Sansa clip, which might be bigger, but has a screen, FM tuner, and mic, which "just works" on my PC. The Zune is as much a pile of bloated crap as the iPod is.

Apple makes fine machines. I'm not disparaging them. The price difference is worth it to some people. They have a different theory behind the interface which some people get, and others don't, in the name of consistency, for instance, to resize a window, in OSX, you use a certain corner. In any version of Windows, you can use any edge or corner. That's a tiny difference, relatively irrelevant, but it exemplifies the differences between the two. Learn the different logic of the Mac and you'll understand it just fine. Don't, and it'll be no different than using a PC.



Lastly, if you want to run OSX on PC hardware, you can. Far cheaper, though it does take some time to set up. I've contemplated doodling around with it, but OSX doesn't do anything that Windows doesn't.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSx86


- I have 3 computers, 2 run windows (Vista) and one Ubuntu.

Well technically both are PC's (in that both are Personal Computers). ignoring that.... At the hardware level, you can't blanket say Mac is better than PC. Both have the same components/architecture. Also, there is such a wide array of PC hardware, some really crappy, some quite good. Which of the PC hardware would you compare to Apple's hardware?

What I think you're wondering is why is the Mac computer experience often perceived as better? And it is here where the large difference comes into play, the Operating System. Mac (OSX) often requires less user intervention to keep running smoothly (much less virus/spyware risk). also, since OSX is coded to such a narrow spread of hardware, it is often more stable than Windows. Of course the knowledge of the user plays a huge part on both PC/MAC. Either system run terrible if a user installs every bit of code they download on the web.

Actually I think PC is better than Mac, but in large part this is because I am a PC user, not a Mac user.

Whereas Apple early on made so much of their hardware proprietary, such that you'd have to ship your computer to AppleCare for even simple part replacement or maintenance, PCs have for the longest time had a wide variety of hardware vendors. You didn't have to buy from one brand of hardware manufacturer, in general you had a bunch to choose from.

I tinker with hardware, so I like that flexibility a lot, and I'm comfortable with doing it. Many Mac users may not like to play around with the guts of their hardware at all, but I'm definitely one who doesn't mind getting my hands dirty playing with components and upgrading my system.

Again it depends on how you use a computer and what you enjoy doing with it. Mac and PC are like apples and oranges, either taste good but it depends on your appetite.