Wednesday, February 29, 2012

What People Ought to Know about the Windows V Mac OS Debate

By George Jung


By now you have no doubt heard about that age old debate between computer users: Windows vs. Mac OS. This is nothing new, and each system has quite a bit to recommend it. Still, they aren't identical and that means that one system is going to be better suited for your needs. In this article we are going to explore some of the features of both Windows and of Mac and hopefully this will make it easier for you to make a decision.

Price is the biggest advantage that Windows systems have over Macs. It is absolutely easier to afford a Windows based computer than it is to buy a Mac based computer. It doesn't matter if you want a desktop or a laptop, you'll save a lot of money when you choose a PC instead of a Mac. This means that when all you want from your computer are the basics: web surfing, emailing and video watching, you will probably be better served by choosing Windows OS based PCs. You might still have your reasons for liking Macs better, like how easy it is to use or the design it has, but you definitely have to pay more out of pocket for it. But when you are looking for an affordable computer, Windows PCs definitely have the advantage.

Even if there's a Mac version, it may work differently and may not always be compatible. Still, with today's Mac computers, you can easily run Windows through Bootcamp. This means that you will be able to run Windows on any recently released Mac computer. Windows, though, cannot run Mac and probably won't ever be able to. In previous years, if you wanted to put Windows on your Mac computer, your only option was to rely completely upon unreliable and awkward programs like Virtual PC, but this isn't the case anymore. Now, when you want to read files or play games that are only made for Windows you can still use your Mac for them. When you get a Mac computer, already installed will be a wide variety of software programs that are useful. iDVD, iPhoto, iMovie and iWeb are all part of iLife, which comes with your Mac computer. Having the ability to edit your videos, photos and audio files, along with being able to organize and share them, is what you get with these programs. If you are looking for a computer that comes with good software, you won't find it in Windows. If you read the fine print, you will notice that a lot of software you are getting are free trials, so you are not getting all of the software you think you are. You might be surprised after a couple of months, to be told you have to upgrade a program to keep using it. For PCs that don't cost a lot, this is particularly true. When comparing the price of a PC to a Mac, this is something to take into consideration.

If you use computers at school or at work it's likely that those computers are going to run Windows. If this is the case, then getting a Windows based computer will probably be more convenient for you in case you have to use the same programs at home. For one thing, it can be very difficult to share files with people who use PCs if you use a Mac. It has never been easier to move back and forth from Mac to Windows based PC and back again because the newer software is more compatible than it has ever been and Bootcamp allows Mac users to set their computers up to run like Windows PCs. Of course, if the majority of what you work with are Windows based programs, choosing a Mac probably isn't a productive idea. Even though Macs are more popular now than they have ever been in history most businesses (big and small), schools and major organizations use the Windows OS.

There are any number of reasons you might prefer Windows or Mac OS over the other. This article has examined some of the benefits of both of them in terms of what you need to make your decision--needs, preferences and budget. Whether you like Mac or Windows OS better is going to depend upon what kind of design, interface and structure you need from your computer.




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