How to Choose Between a Personal Computer Vs a Macintosh

Gates or Jobs? Whom do you want to support? Here's a guide to help you decide whether you want to buy a PC or a Mac computer.

Steps

1. Decide how much you have to spend. If you're not sure if it's worth paying the price for a Mac, try a Mac mini first. They start at around $500 and may actually fulfill all your requirements. A handbuilt PC costing $500 will take up more space on your desk, but can be much more powerful.
2. Decide what you want your computer to do. If you want to do high-end video editing and graphic design, you may choose a Mac for this job. PCs and Macs are both good for doing day-to-day tasks.
3. Consider your choice of operating systems. While Windows has its instabilities, Mac OS X in most cases is far superior and more ahead than even the newest, most up-to-date Windows operating systems. Mac operating systems tend to be much more secure, and offer a very easy-to-use interface with many included applications and intuitive features. Windows also has a multitude of viruses for it, while there have only been a handfull identified for Macs.
4. Macs have less of a software selection, but there are quite a few decent programs for the platform. Most commonplace programs are available on the Mac. Microsoft Office, most Adobe products, and most major software have Mac counterparts.
5. If you want a cheap disposable workhorse, or want to play games, PCs are best. Mac users have a quasi-religious devotion to their computers which is well founded: few switchers from PCs to Macs ever go back.
6. If you want a PC, but want OSX, get PearPC, a free Mac emulator, and install Mac OSX with it. Alternatively VirtualPC installed on a Mac can run most windows software with some preformance loss. A third method to get a computer with dual Mac/Windows functionality is to purchase an Intel based Mac and install Bootcamp from Apple. This allows Intel based computers to boot either OSX or Windows, meaning that the computer is both PC and a Mac. (note that Bootcamp is still Beta software, meaning that it is not fully supported though it has already been successfully deployed by many users)
7. Instead of Windows, you can try Linux, a free and much more reliable OS that is based on UNIX. There are many distributions available, visit the official website at http://linux.org/ . If you eventually decide on Windows but still want linux functionality, you can download and run WinLinux from http://www.winlinux.net/

Tips

• Macs may be more expensive, but keep in mind that it includes a lot of applications that the PC doesn't include. Apple has great tech support. Macs are also proven to last longer and are more reliable than PC's.
• While there is a 'stereotype' of sorts about the price of Mac computers, investigation will reveal that prices are more comparable now than they ever have been. The newest Macintosh computers are made with Intel processors, which should help to further bring down the price.
• PC systems can handle high-end video editing and high-end graphics as well as Macs, although PC solutions will cost much more.
• Avoid the salespeople at "Big Box" electronics stores who usually know little about computers and a lot about this week's special offer. Talk instead to a devotee of either the PC or Mac platform before making your choice. Get both to show you what each machine can do with the software that comes with the machine.
• Macs, by nature, cannot be exploited by Windows viruses. Also, there is much less of a spyware/adware problem, because most spyware/adware is written targeting vulnerabilities in Windows operating systems.
• If you decide on a Mac, you'll want to buy it either at an Apple Retail store (http://www.apple.com/retail/) or from the online store. Most mainstream retailers do not carry Macs (with exception to CompUSA and a few others), so you'll probably end up going directly from Apple. Places like Apple's online store (http://store.apple.com) and MacMall (http://www.macmall.com) are geared toward Macs and offer all Mac products.
• It is not a good idea to build a $500 computer. If you are going for the bargain basement it is almost always better to go to a big company like Dell. You will get a slightly better computer for the low price because large companies sell the bottom end machines as 'loss leaders' to get people to buy from them. With the purchase you will also get tech support and a warranty that you will not get if you build your own. However, more expensive computers with premium components are almost always cheaper to build and in general the more you are willing to spend the bigger the price difference between building your own and buying an 'out of the box' computer.

Warnings

• If you are switching from a PC to a Mac or vice versa, you will have to adjust to some minor keyboard differences (i.e., you will use the command key instead of the control key in most instances when switching from PC to Mac).
• Think before you buy.