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Orwell
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25 Jan 2009, 4:36 pm

Tim_Tex wrote:

I definitely like Macs better than PCs.

Macs are PCs.

What you are saying is equivalent to, "I like apples better than fruit."

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Orwell
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25 Jan 2009, 4:38 pm

DeLoreanDude wrote:

Any OS X malware will not be able to really do much to your system at all without root or admin access. To get that, the user needs to give the malware his or her password.

Most Mac users always run as admin, with no anti-malware software whatsoever. There are some vulnerabilities in OS X.

That said, for all the terrible security practices by end-users, Macs are still generally secure and don't normally run into malware problems.

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DeLoreanDude
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25 Jan 2009, 4:40 pm

Orwell wrote:

DeLoreanDude wrote:

Any OS X malware will not be able to really do much to your system at all without root or admin access. To get that, the user needs to give the malware his or her password.

On a Windows system, even with firewalls and such, a user can just visit a dodgy web page which can infect their computer with all kinds of crap. On a Mac, any malware needs to be installed by the user. If the user is careful about what they download and what they give their admin password to (applications need to individually request admin access from the user) then they will be fine.

Orwell
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25 Jan 2009, 4:50 pm

DeLoreanDude wrote:

It's mainly IE that's the culprit for Windows infections. Running Firefox and a decent antivirus should normally keep you safe. Windows also asks for admin access for everything. Better security than either Windows or OS X can be found in Linux or BSD, but for the most part any of the mainstream OS's is decent on security.

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gramirez
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25 Jan 2009, 5:18 pm

Orwell wrote:

Tim_Tex wrote:

I definitely like Macs better than PCs.

Macs are PCs.

Only since the Intel switch...

Biggest. mistake. ever.

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Loreic
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25 Jan 2009, 5:26 pm

Orwell wrote:

It's mainly IE that's the culprit for Windows infections. Running Firefox and a decent antivirus should normally keep you safe.

Firefox and Avast! make a pretty mean duo so I don't have too many worries, that and I don't posion my system with Limewire like a lot of people.

DeLoreanDude
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25 Jan 2009, 5:41 pm

Orwell wrote:

DeLoreanDude wrote:

So your saying that Windows is just as good with security as OS X? Well, that would be why Macs get a few trojan horses every couple of years while Windows gets viruses every day, requiring many many security updates all the damn time.

It's the UNIX core of OS X that's the key to the security, and Windows can simply never have that.

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25 Jan 2009, 8:32 pm

Orwell wrote:

Tim_Tex wrote:

I definitely like Macs better than PCs.

Macs are PCs.

What you are saying is equivalent to, "I like apples better than fruit."

So in those "Mac vs. PC" commercials it's really just Apple having an argument with itself? Sweet, Apple: the world's most prominent schizophrenic.

Anyways, I've used Macs, I've used Windows (not on a Mac computer), and I'm indifferent to the two for general usage. However, since most all engineering work is done with Windows computers (I've only ever seen one engineering company use Macs, and they weren't that good of a company), I'll stick with Windows.

gamefreak
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25 Jan 2009, 9:40 pm

I will Stick with Windows. If you have Windows Vista just downgrade it to XP. I will also keep the computer on 24/7 to prevent computer problems. [Like MoBo's dying. Which is practically the only way a windows machine can blow out. It is never with anything else other then the Motherboard.]

Also if the performance is slow you just have too many startup programs.

The laptop I'm using right now which is a Entry-Level HP from 2004. [Yes, it only has 512MB Memory w/ 128MB allocated to memory.] Runs very fast.

Also not defragging and using ccleaner can also make a computer slow. The internet security packages that come with the computer or the ones you buy can from the store.

Had a friend that wanted to switch to a Mac but I made his computer so fast that he stuck with his 5 year old laptop.

Macs are not useful and can not even compete with a cleaned up windows machine w/o 8 million icons towards the system clock. A lightweight security pavkage like Avast or Symantec Endpoint.

Here is a link to Ccleaner

www.ccleaner.com

Orwell
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25 Jan 2009, 11:05 pm

gramirez wrote:

Orwell wrote:

Tim_Tex wrote:

I definitely like Macs better than PCs.

Macs are PCs.

Only since the Intel switch...

Biggest. mistake. ever.

No, Macs, even the old PPC ones, are PCs.

DeLoreanDude wrote:

No, Windows is not just as secure as OS X, it is less secure. But with decent practice, Windows can be secure enough that you don't have to worry about it. It's not that hard to run antimalware and avoid clicking on obvious phishing scam links.

gamefreak wrote:

Macs are not useful and can not even compete with a cleaned up windows machine

Macs are quite useful. I've tried to ask this a dozen times before: what can you do in Windows that you can't in OS X? Aside from certain games, nothing. At all. And even if there were anything, I have Windows on my Mac, so there is absolutely no lost functionality by using Apple hardware.

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BryceEason
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27 Jan 2009, 10:12 am

DeLoreanDude wrote:

There are NO viruses for Macs. There are a few trojans but very very few are in the wild and all threats for Macs need to be installed by the user, so just do some research on software before you give it your admin password and you will be fine

UNIX (which OS X is based on) is very secure from viruses and hackers

It's a lot more reliable, too, and it dosent get slow and laggy like PCs do (you may need to repair the permissions once in a while but that's not hard at all and takes about 20 minutes).

Buy a Mac and enjoy it

True, but that doesn't mean Macs aren't able to get viruses. Every computer system has the threat of getting a virus, some are just more hard to give them to. I mean, if you were a virus maker, would you spend your time writing viruses for a small system when you could do 100x more damage on a much larger and more used system? I sure wouldn't go for a small one.

DeLoreanDude
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27 Jan 2009, 11:34 am

BryceEason wrote:

DeLoreanDude wrote:

UNIX (which OS X is based on) is very secure from viruses and hackers

Actually, if I where a virus maker and I knew there where a bunch of computers with no security programs installed (as is the case with most Macs) I would try writing something for them, especially as Apple gains marketshare every year.

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27 Jan 2009, 12:37 pm

gramirez wrote:

Buy a Mac now, and you won't need to buy a new computer in at least 10 years.

An unsubstantiated claim.

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Fuzzy
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27 Jan 2009, 12:41 pm

gamefreak wrote:

The laptop I'm using right now which is a Entry-Level HP from 2004. [Yes, it only has 512MB Memory w/ 128MB allocated to memory.] Runs very fast.

You have often made this claim, but never filled in any real particulars of how you get 'very fast' or what very fast means to you.

How about some bench marks please?

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Orwell
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27 Jan 2009, 4:27 pm

Fuzzy wrote:

gamefreak wrote:

The laptop I'm using right now which is a Entry-Level HP from 2004. [Yes, it only has 512MB Memory w/ 128MB allocated to memory.] Runs very fast.

You have often made this claim, but never filled in any real particulars of how you get 'very fast' or what very fast means to you.

How about some bench marks please?

I've run into this issue with people I've spoken to in person- they'll insist that Vista runs "just fine" on their machines. If I ever see Vista in action on their computer, though, I am appalled- various *nix systems have given me higher expectations for the responsiveness of my system.

That said, XP does tend to work pretty well and goes much faster than Vista.

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Emor
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28 Jan 2009, 6:59 pm

gramirez wrote:

Orwell wrote:

Tim_Tex wrote:

I definitely like Macs better than PCs.

Macs are PCs.

Only since the Intel switch...

Biggest. mistake. ever.

Power Personal Computer processors xD.
I use a Mac, and recommend it.
Despite enjoying the flexibility and customization options Linux offers, I always prefer Mac OS X over it, since in my opinion, it just seems more stable(i.e Flash doesn't stop randomly working, hardware is detected better, etc.). I don't want to start off an OS war or anything though

.
As Orwell has stated before, Macs can not only run Mac OS X, so even if you do decide that you don't like the operating system, you can easily install Windows with the provided Boot Camp tool in OS 10.5.
I was tempted to go for one of the higher end DELL models as opposed to Apple's base MacBook, but am very happy I went for this model(though I do wish I could install 5 operating systems D: ).
EMZ=P

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