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Originally Posted by Amphibious  Aaarrrrrrrggghhhh!!! Now my computer is better but still running at a snails pace. It's three years old (yes, ancient, i know), running at 2.8ghz, 1 gb of Ram and 100 gb hard drive so, it shouldn't be slow. |
As the System Admin motto goes: "The safest computer is the one that is shut off".
The Windows XP Pro workstations I have deployed at work have always been disconnected from the internet, only run our "Primary" applications (instead of being clogged with ancillary programs and personal files), run only required services, and only receive updates when necessary. With this effort, Windows has been very stable and virus free. I have very little to complain about in this regard...but I understand that this is not how you intend to run your personal computer.
We too have used Bootcamp to run Windows XP Pro on 5
iMacs and 4 Mac Pro's with very good success. I have only run into a problem using Wacom graphics tablets on Mac Pro towers running XP, but there could be other driver-run hardware devices that may also present a problem. YMMV.
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OK, what would you MAC lovers say to me but, more important is telling me WHY. Don't give me one word answers like, BUY A MAC!
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The problem that I have with Macs for professional use is how every user wishes to personalize their computer with their own music, photos, desktop images, and other mods. JUST GET TO WORK!
This doesn't happen with our Windows XP boxes, which I think is a testament to the user-friendly Mac experience.
IMHO, the core behind the Mac experience for personal use is the seamless integration of the numerous Apple-branded applications, including Safari, Mail, iCal, iChat, Address Book, iPhoto, iTunes, iWeb, iMovie, iDVD - all included with a Mac purchase. These are "smart" apps that are to some extent interconnected, knowing how to find, import, sync data from one app to another, from an app to a iPod/iPhone, or from a digital camera to the Mac with hardly any effort. Devices are usually automagically recognized and the appropriate iLife app boots (if desired) to interface with the device. I do not have to install questionable drivers or 3rd party applications just to use my electronic devices.
Drag-and drop support on the Mac tends to be far more extensive and fluid than Windows, which makes the user experience more fluid.
The Apple branded templates (called "themes") in some of the iApps (like iDVD and iWeb) are a bit much for my taste, but Apple has gotten better at letting the user save out themes of their own. I tend to strip away all the toy-like eye-candy that I can to get to something clean and basic. Then I save out my theme or create a project file as a template.
The core behind Mac OS X is UNIX, which is a love of mine. The average user doesn't even know it, but underneath Apple's Finder and the Aqua interface is a robust, modern operating system as reliable as Linux. For power users, scripting, programming with Xcode and compiling open source software is all free, which is really cool.
Apart from USB - Firewire, Wireless, Bluetooth, and CD&DVD burning are all standard on most consumer models. There are no devices, cards, adapters, or drivers to install. Since all of these are included, you know the reliability is (most likely) less buggy.
Lastly, and not of least importance, is the product engineering behind the Macintosh. Apple takes a very smart, modular approach (where possible), and chooses expensive materials by which to produce their computers, and every generation gets even better. Macs are more expensive, but you are really getting a better built machine. When I open an Xserve,
iMac, or Mac Pro, or even just install memory in a Mac Book, I am always noticing small, but really smart aspects of the design that make repairs and installations a breeze, and a level of finish inside that is superior to any
PC I have worked with. I have sliced my fingers installing memory in a few
PC computers in my day, so I really have to hand it to Apple in this regard. Apple could shave off a couple hundred dollars on their computers if they cheaped-out with materials or integrity; Fortunately for us who love the platform - they don't...and it shows on both the inside and outside.
The typical arguments I get from
PC users is about cost and software availability. These are two real issues, but you have to calculate the risks of ubiquity (in the form of viruses and malware), and add to that the genuinely better Mac user experience and engineering. I would second the notion that "what you can do on a
PC, you can also do on a Mac - sometimes better, or with more ease."; feel free to
PM me your list of software concerns and I may be able to offer some solutions.
The Mac is not perfect. Like many computers, we sometime experience slow downs having to do with low memory, processor overload, memory leaks or hardware defects. These things sometimes happen. Add to that iDVD's somewhat finicky taste in recordable media compatibility, Safari's lack of support for Microsoft's Web extensions, Mac laptops not waking up from sleep in a timely manner when jolted before sleep engages, and a few others. A relatively short list to be sure.
If you plunge, feel free to post or
PM with any questions about any Mac models or purchasing options.
-Scott
) I'm not a Mac expert and I do know that they can be infected as well, it's just a lot less common so the odds are in your favor.
icon under their name to add to their reputation. 
