What are the similarities and differences between Macs and PCs?

Answer 1

In my humble opinion, Windows is inferior to Macintosh. The Macintosh is built with very good graphics capabilities and is very user-friendly. The Windows,on the other hand, has stretched graphics whenever a widescreen monitor is used The user reports on the latest Windows operating system are very bad, but the ones for Mac OS X 10.5 are just the opposite!

Answer 2

When thinking of the differences between PCs and Macs, there are two things that come to mind: Difference in the hardware (actual machines), and the difference between Windows and Mac OS X.

=== === A Mac is technically a type of PC made by Apple Inc. Apple makes the hardware (a high end Mac Pro tower, the iMac all-in-one, the small Mac Mini, the professional MacBook Pro laptop, the consumer MacBook, or the lightweight MacBook Air) and the software (Mac OS X). Other companies, such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, Sony, Toshiba, and Acer, make a wide variety of what is commonly referred to as PCs (Desktops, Laptops, and Tablets), and they use 3rd party software, either Windows or Linux, as the operating system. Macs are typically a little more expensive than PCs with similar specs, but they usually last longer too.

For practicality, both operating systems will fulfill almost all needs just fine. They share almost all basic functionality and have more similarities than differences.

* On PCs you can install many 3rd party operating systems. They often ship with Microsoft Windows, but some people replace that with Linux. Macs always ship with Mac OS X, and they have recently gotten the ability to duel-boot with Linux and Windows. * Macs can and do run Mac OS X, but PCs cannot legally run Mac OS X. * Macs are generally more expensive and more reliable than most PCs. * One of the main element of Macs since the late 1990s are their aesthetic design, something that many PCs still lack. Included in this is a reduction of indicator lights such as CPU usage.

* iMacs, Mac Minis, and the different MacBooks lack internal flash card readers and certain less common ports that many PCs do have (such as older monitor ports and a phone jack), and this must be dealt with by purchasing a USB hub and various port extensions. * MacBooks lack a two-buttoned touchpad, so right-clicking requires holding two fingers on the touchpad, holding the "control" key, or purchase of an external mouse. * MacBooks are often thinner and more lightweight than their PC laptop counterparts. * The MacBook Air, though the thinnest existing laptop, lacks an internal CD/DVD player that most ultraportable notebooks have. * MacBooks use magnets to remain shut; notebooks usually use hooks which could easily become damaged. * MacBooks, unlike other PC notebooks, has a magnetic power cord to prevent tripping over or yanking of the cord.

* iMacs and MacBooks all include built-in webcams for video conferencing. Some PC developers have recently begun to include webcams as well. (Apple has recently patented a design to spread the CCD sensors between pixels on the screen, allowing the user to maintain eye contact with the other chat member. This design is not yet in practice.)

* The unibody aluminum line of Apple laptops now include multi-touch trackpads, allowing for more controls and uses of the trackpad. Some PC notebooks include touch-sensitive screens.

* Windows has a large number of viruses and other malware, while there are no Mac OS X viruses and very little malware. * Windows is based on the Windows NT kernel; Mac OS X is based on Free-BSD/UNIX, something generally considered to be faster and more secure. * Mac OS X uses a Dock to list the most common applications and those in use; Windows uses a Start Menu and Taskbar. * Windows has a larger number of programs written for it than Mac OS X does, but the difference has recently become negligible. * Almost all advanced 3D games are supported by Windows, but companies such as EA and id have recently added support for Mac OS X to their games.

* Mac OS X uses Aqua which is less processor intensive and more effective than Windows Vista's Aero equivilant. * Mac OS X Leopard supports multiple desktop spaces, Windows does not. * Mac OS X Leopard has Time Machine to easily backup and restore files with an external hard drive. Vista has a similar feature, though it is less intuitive. * Windows requires more regular maintenance to prevent performance and other issues.

* Windows is more susceptible to accumulating problems over time, requiring re-installation of the OS. * Windows is more expensive than Mac OS X. * Windows releases new service packs and new versions less frequently than does Mac OS X. * Many programs installed on Windows are automatically set to turn on at startup, reducing system performance and requiring the msconfig tool in Run to disable them.

* Computers shipping Windows often include extra software which is unwanted and reduces performance; Mac OS X includes iLife for things like creating web pages and photo organization, though they do not run at startup to reduce system performance. * Mac OS X is more intuitive for beginners than Windows is. * Windows requires internet or phone product activation, including re-activation upon major hardware modifications of the PC. Frequent hardware modifications can result in prevention of access to Windows and your files/programs. Losing a product key on an old copy of Windows could pose a similar problem. Mac OS X does not require activation or consider the owner to be a thief.