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Q: MAC User question re: PC vs Mac

What is the best way for one to explain the basic difference between a PC system vs. Mac to someone who is thinking to buy a new computer. Is the main difference in the hardware or software?

iMac G5, Mac OS X (10.5), 20 inch

Posted on May 10, 2015 4:14 PM

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Q: MAC User question re: PC vs Mac

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  • by MGW,Helpful

    MGW MGW Oct 15, 2010 7:37 PM in response to userremoved
    Level 7 (27,026 points)
    Oct 15, 2010 7:37 PM in response to userremoved
    The internal architecture can differ, but basically the CPUs are much the same. The outstanding difference is the Operating System, Apple is much more intuitive, much more stable and so far, no viruses have eve been detected. No blue screen of Death, no having to reinstall the OS because the computer has been infected, in short, Macs are much more reliable. In short, it's the software that is so superior.

    As far as I am concerned, there's no contest. Also, buying an intel Mac will allow the use of Windows on a separate partition, so one can have the best of both worlds.








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    Message was edited by: MGW
  • by userremoved,

    userremoved userremoved May 10, 2015 4:14 PM in response to MGW
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 10, 2015 4:14 PM in response to MGW
    Is it that Windows may be a more flexible software allowing one to do more but the flexibility is it's weak point? Where the MAC software may be more restrictive but stronger thus protecting the system from some of the issues you stated.
  • by Klaus1,Helpful

    Klaus1 Klaus1 Oct 16, 2010 1:40 AM in response to userremoved
    Level 8 (48,831 points)
    Oct 16, 2010 1:40 AM in response to userremoved
    Another important difference is security: Windows is prone to attacks by viruses. There are no (none at all) known viruses that can affect Apple OS X.
  • by userremoved,

    userremoved userremoved May 10, 2015 4:14 PM in response to userremoved
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 10, 2015 4:14 PM in response to userremoved
    Is the weakness in Windows due to it's flexibility as I stated before? Is there information one could read that would explain the issue in more detail?
  • by MGW,

    MGW MGW Oct 16, 2010 7:19 AM in response to userremoved
    Level 7 (27,026 points)
    Oct 16, 2010 7:19 AM in response to userremoved
    The weakness is mainly that there are so many PCs out there that it's not worth a hacker's time to write viruses for the Macs, also, the security is more robust, Mac users don't even need, and most don't use, virus checkers.






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  • by userremoved,

    userremoved userremoved May 10, 2015 4:14 PM in response to MGW
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 10, 2015 4:14 PM in response to MGW
    Ok I can understand that one reason can be enviorment/culture. However my question is more of mechanical relating to hardware or software structure.
  • by Klaus1,Solvedanswer

    Klaus1 Klaus1 Oct 16, 2010 10:02 AM in response to userremoved
    Level 8 (48,831 points)
    Oct 16, 2010 10:02 AM in response to userremoved
    I think this article:

    http://www.familyresource.com/lifestyles/technology/buying-a-home-computer-mac-v s-windows

    includes a good explanation of why security on a Mac is greatly superior to that on Windows.
  • by userremoved,

    userremoved userremoved May 10, 2015 4:14 PM in response to userremoved
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 10, 2015 4:14 PM in response to userremoved
    Thank to those who got me the information I was looking for.
  • by Blackcurrant,

    Blackcurrant Blackcurrant Oct 21, 2010 4:36 AM in response to MGW
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 21, 2010 4:36 AM in response to MGW
    Can I butt in here as I've been looking for something definitive on Macs and viruses. I'm a PC user but my elderly Dad has a G5, with no virus software (not surprisingly.
    If what you say is true, that the reason there are no threats to Macs is merely a matter of statistics, a numbers game, that says it's not worth writing viruses, then you are relying on faith and at some stage when virus writers ramp up and take notice, Mac users may get caught out? Or is the firewall protection enough against viral code targetted at a Mac?

    I worry about my Dad doing online banking, because he is a bit 'click happy' and downloaded an email from yahoo with an attached keystoke logger (I looked it up but for get what it's called). I found info about checking a certain mac folder that would hold the file if our Mac were infected, and it didn't, but I still feel nervous. Needless to say I know nothing about the inner workings of Macs! So I didn't really believe I'd checked everything. I can't do a restore because we have no original disks. Should I be bothered about security or not?

    I would be relieved if it really is impossible to get infected, but less so if it is technically possible, just unlikely!


    Thanks.
  • by Klaus1,

    Klaus1 Klaus1 Oct 21, 2010 4:58 AM in response to Blackcurrant
    Level 8 (48,831 points)
    Oct 21, 2010 4:58 AM in response to Blackcurrant
    It basically comes down to the strength of Unix, the backbone of OS X, and the fact that you need your root password to install anything.

    You may find my User Tip on Viruses, Trojan Detection and Removal, as well as general Internet Privacy, useful:

    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1764179
  • by MGW,

    MGW MGW Oct 21, 2010 9:14 AM in response to Blackcurrant
    Level 7 (27,026 points)
    Oct 21, 2010 9:14 AM in response to Blackcurrant
    I would also suggest that your father never open any attachments, even from people he knows, unless he is expecting them, and that he never install something he didn't actually download himself. He should be ok if he takes these simple precautions and doesn't visit sites he doesn't know. He should also check his cookies and make sure that only cookies from sites he visits are accepted, not third party ones. He can set that in Safari or other browser preferences.






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  • by wga,

    wga wga Oct 21, 2010 4:07 PM in response to MGW
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 21, 2010 4:07 PM in response to MGW
    Microsoft has to make their OS work for an infinite combination of hardware and that's practically impossible and leads to tremendous complexity. Apple optimizes the operating system for the known set of hardware that they provide. Years ago people call this a closed system, but in practice it's the best of both worlds, since Apple provides leading edge hardware and software. The underlying Mac Unix architecture has better security, functionality, and flexibility than Windows. For these reasons the Mac OSX is simpler, less problematic, and more secure than Windows. Apple also provides a lot of software at more affordable prices than Microsoft; Pages, Numbers, iPhoto, the list goes on. To top it off if you want to run Windows, no problem, the Mac can do that too.
  • by WZZZ,

    WZZZ WZZZ Oct 21, 2010 8:28 PM in response to Klaus1
    Level 6 (13,112 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 21, 2010 8:28 PM in response to Klaus1
    Klaus: Just tried having a look at the link to familyresource.com on security.

    LOL


    Image and video hosting by TinyPic


    Also

    http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=familyresource.com

    Of the 258 pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 4 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 2010-09-26, and the last time suspicious content was found on this site was on 2010-09-07.


    Malicious software includes 8 scripting exploit(s), 4 exploit(s). Successful infection resulted in an average of 2 new process(es) on the target machine.


    Malicious software is hosted on 3 domain(s), including blamesslek.com/, wallpapers63.com/, ratsix.com/.


    1 domain(s) appear to be functioning as intermediaries for distributing malware to visitors of this site, including wallpapers63.com/.



    Message was edited by: WZZZ
  • by WZZZ,

    WZZZ WZZZ Oct 21, 2010 8:18 PM in response to Klaus1
    Level 6 (13,112 points)
    Mac OS X
    Oct 21, 2010 8:18 PM in response to Klaus1
    Duplicate/deleted.

    Message was edited by: WZZZ
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