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As we are entrenched in the computing section of this course we need to enter into the Mac vs. PC battle.
1. Which is the better personal computer and why?
2. Which is a better enterprise computer? What I mean is which does CPU Inc. need - They have 500 PCs (towers and notebooks), need integrated file and communication systems.
3. As the Director of Technology I am very interested in the future of the Mac vs. PC battle on the student level. Which computer are students going to bring to campus over the next 2-5 years. Mac or PC?
send: Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Mac vs. PC
Labels: computing, enterprise, mac, pc, personal
Posted by Scott at 10:57 PM
16 comments:
1- I believe that by far Pc's are the best personal computer. I could never give up my ability to open up my PC and start swapping out parts. I had a friend that had a Mac and his HD failed, instead of just going to the store and getting a new HD for it he had to go to the apple store and leave his comp there. A simple fix took a couple days and he had to have someone else do it. You can’t upgrade or modify macs and for what you are getting you are paying more. (I can only imagine the amount of arguments the above comment will spur)
2- The idea of widespread macs in an enterprise environment mildly scares me. First off I have never really heard of anyone using mac servers despite knowing that they are out there. Next there are so many programs out there to make enterprise level system admin easier on a PC why would you go with a mac? Also finding people who can admin Macs on an enterprise level is going to be a challenge
3- I think PC’s are here to stay. They are very useful in the business world and will not phase out. I think this sums it up very well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0gRgls2eYc&feature=channel . Everyone can complain about PC’s but you can really find anything to complain about if you want to. I think that you will find different types of students bring different computers. I feel that the business world is dominated by PC’s and the creative (photos, videos, design) is dominated by Macs.
Either or… people need to be on a computer they are comfortable with and if they can’t use it effectively then it doesn’t matter if they are on windows, mac or linux.
I definitely agree with what Robert said. I have been a long time user of PCs, however, I have lately been toying with the idea of getting a Mac. I have never had one, but have played around on a few before and I think they are great for students who are just starting to get into computers and need an easy platform to get their work done. But as far as the business world is concerned, it seems that it is much more economical to have a system of PCs rather than Macs.
I think Matt and Robert are dead on with what students really think of PCs vs Macs. I've always viewed PCs as the "grown-up" professional tool that major corporations utilize and can communicate more seamlessly with. Whereas I've viewed Macs as the specialized, more hip than practical, computing tools that is more useful for graphic design and web-based uses with seemingly endles amounts of widgets and apps (some of which are more of a novelty than others; see the fart machine app on the iPhone).
So for personal use its really up to the end users preferences but seeing as we are in the business school I feel like most of the graduates of Whitman, no matter their personal PC/Mac situation, will be primarily using PCs upon entering the working world.
1) I don’t think that it is simply a question of what is a better personal computer but rather what is better for your needs. Many people simply need a computer to check e-mail and browse the internet and a PC is well suited for just that as well as saving them money. When an individual is interested in doing more with their personal computer both options need to be considered. PC are great for many different task and can be tailored to the owners needs. If person is hoping to do a lot of visual and audio work on their computer a Mac may better suite them.
2) The computer that is better for enterprise system would have to be the PC. The available program and information for an enterprise system is much great with PCs. The PC has become standard among business and changes would present compatibility issues that some companies may not want to face.
3) I think that you will see a stable presence of both Mac and PC users. They both have their pros and cons which will attract different users. Personally I think the Mac attracts more college students because of its design and ease of mobility. However I think that the PC tries to provide some of the innovation that Mac offers to appeal to this group. The bottom line is that campus will have to focus on being able to accommodate both systems.
PC is still the more commonly used systems around. Recently, the use of Macs have become more popular with the students and younger generations, however, I think the improvement from PCs will still make it more competitive either in schools as well as the corporate world (one company doing R&D versus a bunch of different companies). Though the operating systems still runs under Microsoft mostly, I think just the hardware itself will become more powerful and it wouild still be too costly for enterprieses at least within the next 5 years to switch to Macs at the Corporate level because PCs are just rooted into the coporate usage.
As mentioned above, you can stack the servers up with more hardware and these products are already widely common in the market place.
Nevertheless, I think more and more people will start using Macs because of the strong brand apple has become as well as its handheld devices (iPhone and iPods) which more users will be compelled into using them.
I have been an avid PC supporter for a long time. Not because the windows operating system is superior to its mac counterpart because it clearly has its flaws but because of compatibility issues. Yes macs are designed better and are more efficient in a lot of ways. I have two laptops a mac and a PC. I use my PC to get work done and I use my mac to surf the web and chat. I think the compatibility gap is getting smaller by the day. There will inevitably be a day when software wont be an issue for mac users. It will be interesting to see how the market will change then. I think for most students macs are the way to go because most of us just use computers for word processing and surfing the web.
For me-my mac does everything that I need it to do. For others their windows computer does everything that they need it do. Preference is really the driving force for this market--as is habit. Currently the workplace is dominated by PCs, it doesn't bother me, I am not a strong proponent of the mac-I do not find myself to be offended if someone opts for a pc than mac. Rather, I just accept the fact that the world is dominated by pcs and remain cautiously optimistic that someday Windows will come out with an operating system that is not so--well--horrible.
To each his own though
As far as students, more and more of my friends are ditching their PCs for Macs. The interesting thing tho is that none of them are what I would consider power users, in that they use their computers for relatively simple tasks like writing papers and Facebook stalking. I can see this trend continuing, but never to the point that Macs overtake PCs, especially at the enterprise level.
Enterprises require a whole lot more out of their machines than a Mac can offer, even in a fully-Mac environment (both clients and servers). PCs have ActiveDirectory and the wealth of policies that can be applied instantly by an administrator hundres or thousands of miles away from an actual machine, and Mac just can't offer that. PCs also have the software that enterprises use. Try to find some of your specialized apps for Macs. It's just not going to happen.
I completely agree with Mark. It's not a battle of which is better but a question of what do you need it for. I see a lot of professionals that have their work computer and phone which is a Windows OS computer/BlackBerry and their home computer and phone is a Mac/iPhone. I think this is the way it will be for a while until Mac improves upon their network capability.
Couple of other things:
1)It pisses me off that it's Mac Vs. PC. PC stands for personal computer, a Mac is a PC everyone is just falling into their marketing trap
2)Gotta Love Linux :)
I believe that Mac have a cult calling and it is only a matter of time before someone breaks their coding and is able to send virus, worms and etc. to a Mac. Because of their price and focus more on multimedia lovers they have already segmented themselves in the market.
However, the majority of the population is more familiar and knowledgeable with PCs. People will play favorites but as far as business is concerned the PC will continue to be king. PC companies are changing the way in which they are presenting themselves in order to stay in competition with Mac. Also, PCs have much more flexibitity in terms of customization and programs that use the Windows/Microsoft platform.
I got a mac about a year and a half ago because my Dell was running slow and was being a pain in the A. However, before I got my Mac I considered the many other PC out there because they were focusing on changing their image in the market. (Ex. My HP- Sean White, Jay Z, etc.)
Also because whitman is on a PC system and my future employer will most likely have a PC system compadability was a major concern of mine. Let me say that if my computer ran as smooth as the Whitmans computers I would have stayed with a PC...that and I have a fear of getting bugs on my computer.
As for what students are going to be bringing there will be more Macs but people will naturally adjust to whatever they are offered here at Whitman. For business students I don't think that Mac is all that suitable.
I agree with most of the points made here, especially what Bill said- that Mac's are taking more of the market share through other products they are creating (ipod and iphone come to mind). In the next 3-5 years, you will see a large increase of mac users compared to PC users, especially on campus.
Compatibility issues are decreasing, but as Mac's become even more mainstream, I think that security issues will arise.
As most have already said, PC's will always have a market simply because of their programming capabilities. In fact, my friend who works at the apple store sold a computer to a software programmer so he could run windows.
If you look at some of the specs of Macs and PCs, you will see that Macs usually run about 500 to 1000 dollars more for comparable configurations. As long as there is such a big price difference, there will always be a market for PCs.
I would have to say I disagree with most on this topic. Although I currently have a PC and have found to enjoy it, I would say the MAC will become the more popular computer in the future. I feel that MAC's popularity will rise simply because of the hype apple is experiencing with ipods. I believe that the MAC will become the trendy computer to have, and greatly impact its market share in the near future.
I have have been using Apple products for the last 7 years and I love them, but the direction that apple has been going in with its products bothers me. Take for example iLife 08. I previously used Imovie alot for video editing, and was excited about the new version that apple was releasing. However, what they released was less capable software with less features that was more designed towards ease of use rather than more powerful video editing software. I feel that this is the direction that mac is going in, and as an experienced user, im not going to be willing to pay a premium for products that look flashier and are easier to use but have less features than my old model. Now I could purchase the professional Final Cut pro software that apple offers but then I would need one of their more powerful machines, which is out of my price range. They need to return to the center with their products or I feel like I might switch to PC in the future.
I grew up using a PC and brought a PC to college with me and recently just switched over to a mac. I love using a mac and I think it is much better as a personal computer. I am someone who is very organized and I love the features the mac has that keeps my documents and programs organized to the way I want them. To someone like me who is not a techy person, I dont know much of the difference between the two however I definitely like macs better. I think that Apple has completely renovated its brand toward the public and Mac computers will become the more popular computer. My parents only use PC's and my sister is going to college next year and they just got her a Mac.
I definitely agree with what Dana has to say. If you look ahead, everything is all about innovation. I think the MAC continues to emphasize innovation. It has various applications that would help any start-up venture get up to speed fast. It has Dream Weaver, an application for website design, and programs that range from something basic like Excel to InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Final Cut Pro etc...all the essential applications that will help shape any developing business. Sooner or later, I can see MAC coming out with a business savvy and professional like computer. Apple is a company that has enhanced products so simple including the cell phone and music player, and has transformed them into a device that can handle the majority of mass communication.
corey, I agree with your comment about iMovie. I actually found the online now, so I use the old on my mbpro. why would they change the way users edit video? focus on something else.
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