Mac! I switched over after a horrible experience with Toshiba and Vista. I've been using my MBP for a little over a year now and I have no complaints

I consider myself to be more computer literate than most, but I appreciate the fact that everything on Mac is done.

i've been an apple girl my whole life! even when nobody had a mac when i was in college, so there was basically no tech support to help me, i still had fewer problems than my pc friends.

everything is so much cleaner and more streamlined. and there's less of a virus threat. i could go on, but i'm a total fangirl. never owned anything else!

PC...but I really have no reason for that. The computer that I use 99% of the time is my work laptop, and that is a PC, so that is really the main reason. I would probably be just as happy with a Mac.

Oh, I've also found Apple customer support to be far more comprehensive than anything I've experienced directly from a PC manufacturer or retail middleman. For example, Apple covers the cost of replacement batteries in their warranty but Best Buy didn't.

Get a mac- user friendly, when you buy it you can sign up for one to one (classes between you and a creative instructor), better customer service, viruses will be a thing of the past - mac does have "boot camp" so it can run some PC stuff for you. You can also sign up for ".mac" which lets you network.

Once you cross over you will ask yourself - why was I ever a PC?

Mac girl here -- all my life. I have had a PC laptop and work on a PC at work, but I just prefer Mac. For me it's because they're more intuitive. For others, it might be the same with PCs.

I figured everyone would recommend Macs, but I have had horrible experiences with two separate Macs in the past. (Although, to be fair, one was ages ago when people first started getting home computers.)

I'm a PC all the way! It's just about getting the right PC. I've had good experiences with Sony Vaios and HPs. (And, oddly, a Tangent that I bought from my school in college (they made us get them), but I don't think you can get Tangents in a regular store. Seriously, though, it was the best computer I've ever had. I had that and a Mac that my parents had bought me and I had so many problems with the Mac that I stopped using it and just used the Tangent.

I was super ornery about not using Macs for years, but I finally switched about five years ago and I will never go back.

Amy, I also had a time where I used a PC at work and a Mac at home, and I would get so annoyed at work when I'd try to use Exposé or email something just by dragging it into Outlook and it didn't work. I would have thought having been a PC user from the age of 8 or so through 22 would make it hard to switch, but you're exactly right when you say it's just more intuitive. The interface is just...better.

Plus I like the idea that the same company is making the OS and the hardware. It makes for better synergy and makes it easier to get support when you need it.

Yes! I love that you can just click and drag on icons and put them exactly where you want them! Makes my brain happy.

I also agree with Kim, though, that if you go for a PC, it needs to be the right one. It's not entirely fair to compare Macs to PCs since an emachine will be different than an hp, for example.

Mac girl all the way. Never had any of the horrible viruses or crashes that I had with a Dell (knock on wood)

Amy, are you talking about just arranging your desktop? I think PCs do that. : )

I mean, like, I have some video files that have weird extensions, and instead of changing the extension or right-click>open with>choose application...I just drag the video file over to VLC and my computer's like, "Oh, you want to open this file with VLC? Sure thing!"

Or I can drag a picture over to the icon for my mail program, and it's like, "Oh, you want to create a new email and put this photo in it as an attachment? Right-o!"

No! I meant what you said in your last to paragraphs. haha

er, um, last TWO paragraphs.

I'm like lilk, I'm a pc girl through and through. It seems like Sugar attracts inordinate amounts of mac users though, I've noticed. I have always had vaios for laptops and I will consider buying them, they're great.

consider= continue

please note: SY is the anti-mac

It's probably because Sugar users skew young. I think college students are one of the fastest growing market shares for Apple, so in a younger crowd you're likely to find more Mac users.

I would argue with sam, but she's telling the truth.

I also find that a lot of people on Sugar are designers and/or in a creative field... another reason it would be a lot of mac.

My PC will let me do the types of things you described in comment 13, too, TS, although, some of my past ones wouldn't. It's probably because it's only 6 months old and it's a nicer PC, which brings me back to my earlier point (that you agreed with), with PCs, it's all about which one you get.

Star, instead of looking at it was a dialectic (pc or mac) I'd go to a store and just look at what they have. Think about what you want to use this for... if it's just basic stuff then you don't need a fancy pc or a fancy mac and you'll end up spending more for features you don't need.

Side note, Best buy plans have paid for replacement batteries on all of my laptops, which all have been PC. So I don't know what best buy plan you were on dorothy?

goodness... looking at it *as (not was) I really shouldn't type with a bandaid on my index finger. Who knew?

if you are coming over to our side (which has cookies) go to an apple store and talk with them. tell them what you want from it now and in a year or two and let them recommend one. if you buy from apple you get to sign up for the one to one but if you buy elsewhere i have heard that you can't sign up.

Sy do you need your boo-boo kissed

MAC girl. Never going back.

I would highly recommend going to Best Buy or a similar store before going to Apple Store. I think it's good to research before you get locked into a brand. If you research at Best Buy, etc. and decide you want an Apple, then go to the Apple Store.

Not an Apple, a Mac. You know what I mean.

Yeah me too. My lil bro is a "computer specialist" at Best Buy and he went through a lot of training for it and also is a total nerd, so they should be pretty knowledgeable and helpful.

And sam, yes I do!

Kim, I haven't used any machines with Windows 7, I'm sure it does new stuff I don't know about! And it probably has copied a lot of neat features from OS X, because that's what Microsoft does. : )

Star, if you end up in the market for a Mac I'd check out their refurbs. For some reason no one seems to know about them, and they're such good deals! They have the same warranty, and I think a lot of them aren't even refurbs as much as they're just older models that didn't sell before an upgrade.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac?mco=MTIzMzI

I soooo have my eye on that $1,099 MacBook Air, because I want the multi-touch track pad and I'd love to shave a pound and a half off my laptop bag when I'm lugging it around, but sadly I can't justify it right now.

SY

There are what they call "end of life" ones which means that the new one came out and the older one is now to be put up really cheap.

I'm a Mac girl....have been for as long as I can remember. My dad is a photographer, so our family computer was always a Mac.

Sam, have you seen "end of life" ones listed separately? I thought they just put them up for sale in the refurb section. Although I have seen them sell previous version iPods...

little secret -go to the store and ask about them. when a new model is announced and delivered they need to get rid of the old ones.

oooooooooh sam thanks for the hint! i'm in need of another, smaller laptop, but don't want to spend a ton, since it will really only be used for traveling.

if you frequent an apple store you are bound to make a friend or 2 on staff. they know when these come up. i think there are still E.O.L imacs on sale.

i never even though of that. one of my good friends works there part time, so i'm sure she could help me out

Snarky, if you're not going to use it a lot I might just go with a PC since you will definitely be able to get one much cheaper and probably smaller.

Well, I mean not that I might, because I wouldnt, but you know...

i know, but i can't bring myself to do it. i've never owned a non-mac, and i'd like to keep it that way!

Wow. I go away for a few hours and come back to Mac World.

Thanks for the input everyone. I've used different PCs over the years, so I'm fairly familiar with what I'd want in a PC. I've never laid hands on a Mac before so I was wondering how Mac users felt about them... especially people who have converted.

It's still going to be a few months (I hope) before I look at buying... but I also drag things out when a major purchase is in the works. I like to do my research.

Snarky, what will you use it for while traveling? Just checking email, browsing the internet, and watching movies on the plane? You could always look for a used guy on craigslist. I wish they still made 12" iBooks. They were so small!

Star, before you buy check out this buyer's guide:
http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/

You don't want to buy something and then have them come out with something new the next day.

good idea TS, my sister used to have a 12 incher. so cute, and perfect for traveling! i should have bought it off her! oh well.

i travel quite a bit for work, so i'd be doing some work on it, but mostly using basics like word processing and spreadsheets, but using it mostly for the reasons you mentioned. i'll def look around for a used one. for some reason with electronics, i never think about getting something used!

sy - maybe it's a Canadian thing? I know when I bought my Toshiba dude told me all parts were included in the extended warranty for 3 years. When my battery crapped out (it lasted 3 minutes) after a year I took it in and they told me batteries weren't included because they're "consumable."

It may have changed in the last few years though.

Are you talking about the manufacturer's warranty or Best Buy's replacement plan that you pay extra for?

With the replacement plan you get a new battery.

(and I got the new battery probably 4 or 5 years ago, so not too recently)

It was Best Buy's 3 year extended warranty. I'm just going to go with the fact that American Best Buy is less mean than Canadian Best Buy.

PC

Boo Canadian best buy!