[adi_sun]

Its a never ending debate, for me its a Mac for personal use and Windows for office . Over the last 5 years of using this combination I am confident Mac can do everything windows can and might be even better at it except for one thing MS Office.
I cant use MS Office in Mac and no matter how hard I tried it could never fit in the way windows did (MS office not iWork) further the shortcuts are different and with hair turning grey I cant remember 2 sets of shortcuts.

In a nut shell my eco system is clear all office is windows and all non office is Mac, the added security in Mac is a peace of mind not sure how much of it is real.

[F1-Addict]

This is another debate that will always be there.

My take is that similar to IOS vs Android it ultimately all boils down to user preference and functionality needed.

I will restrict to MACs Vs Windows PCs and not complicate it Linux, Ubuntu, etc as these are more for the advanced technical user.

If you are already inside the Apple universe (own an iphone / ipad / watch) you will definitely embrace the Mac like a long lost lover & will wonder how you have survived all these years without. Macs run smoother compared to Windows PCs. This is a fact and the reason is simple. They integrate the hardware and the software better as they are in charge of both.

Windows PCs are really not bad at all. Neither would windows not any of the PC manufacturers survive for so long if they were bad. They offer the user the flexibility and the convenience of being part of a larger ecosystem compared to Macs.

But yes PCs running windows tend to slow down post 3-4 years.

So back to the point. At my home we have 3 iphones, 2 Ipads, apple TV and 1 watch.

Yet I voted PC.

Why? Simple.. For my work my office has given me a windows Laptop, my wife too has a windows laptop for work from her office. So the home laptop is majorly used only by my son for School work. and in the computers subject in school they are taught Windows. He would be lost on a Mac.

So at the moment a Mac would serve no purpose in my home. A few years down the line yes maybe. But not currently. Individual needs & choices.

[gischethans]

Can't vote. Membership level limitation I guess.

My personal preference is 'Others' i.e., budget hardware running latest Ubuntu LTS (Long Term Support) Release. Have an amply powerered work laptop running the latest version of Windows 10 with 32 GB RAM, 2.5 TB HDD etc. and it runs smooth except for poor battery life just after two years. Experienced Mac too and in my opinion they are overpriced. At that price, I would certainly expect good level of reliability which lot of people express happiness about.

Over ten years ago, I initially chose Linux since I didn't want to use proprietary software. I feel Linux is light on machine hardware and unless one needs to run specialist applications limited to Windows/Mac, procure a budget home PC or laptop running DOS, thus saving the Windows license cost and install Ubuntu on it.

[ZenMaster]

I've have limited experience with MacOS.

Setting aside personal preference and objectively looking at things, the following would be my choice/recommendation.

#DESKTOP (for work or personal use) : A proper upgradable Windows PC (OEM or Custom build). Nothing can match the performance scalability and wide software support of a powerful Windows Desktop.

# LAPTOP :

*Macbook - for thise who have the $$$ to spare or if provided by company- for the style, build quality, ease of use, support and performance.

*Windows Laptop - for people like me who don't have 1 Lakh+budget to spend on a decently specced machine or pen support/touchscreen and dont want to spend more on dongles.
OR
Hardcore windows users/Gamers who need the windows OS and van afford the Thinkpad / XPS line or Gaming laptops

*Linux Laptop - for people who just want to surf the internet. Do basic word/spreadhseet processing or programming.
Best option for low budget shoppers, children studying from home and non computer savvy people or older people who needs a portal to the internet.


To people saying windows will slow down:
Apart from bugs due to updates, Windows unfortunately requires you to properly maintain the OS and keep things clean for it to keep functioning smoothly especially if you use Mechanical Hardrives.
i.e.
1.Delete unwanted software and files. The rule is to keep your hardrive only upto 75%full (ideally at 50%) If you near the full capacity of the drive the system will turn into a sloth.

2.Do disk cleanup, delete logs, temporary files

3. Disk defragmentation (not applicable to SSD in my opinion)

4. Update the hardware according to software as time goes by. Newer versions of the software will always be slower on the older hardware.
An old PC which has never been updated and having period correct software will still run as fast as when you bought it.

My experience: My office computer (Desktop DELL 9020 Mini Tower)which had a core i7 (3rd gen ) CPU performed like an old Dog. Startup took ages, opening softwares like a lifetime. The system would freeze if I had several chrome tabs and a word document open. I couldn't understand why a core i7 worked like this. Using it drove me mad.

Finally figured it out: it had only 4GB of RAM .
Don't know which idiot configured the system.
I was supposed to make Heavy CAD models on it and run small simulations

So what did I do?
Opened up the system, saw there were 4 RAM slots.

I ordered two 8 GB ram sticks on Amazon for around 5k or 6k

Slapped it into to the slots for Dual Channel configuration and voila! The system ran like an absolute dream. This 8 year old PC with an old mechanical harddrive ran faster than my friend's new laptop with SSD and all the bells and wistles. It started booting up in 10 to 12 seconds! I thought it only happened on SSDs!

My system now has 20GB of RAM and you should have too

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by The Rationalist

On which Laptop have you installed Linux? I had installed Linux on my Dell, but it didn't last a year, so much for Dell! I'm having two Lenovo's , one a ThinkPad. So thinking of installing Linux on one.

Personal laptop is a decade old Lenovo G550, and the official laptop is a Lenovo T470.

Personal laptop runs an ancient Core2 Duo processor, and was struggling to load Windows or multi task, even after a memory upgrade to 6GB. I was about to discard it for a new one, but then just tried Linux Mint Xfce. It now runs decent (as a more modern Windows PC would) and I'm keeping it as a backup to the MAC desktop.

Official laptop runs RHEL 7.8.

[wheelguy]

Have been using Dell Inspiron series laptop since 2008, had no issues with it except for two battery replacements over the period of 12 years. This January bought a Lenovo laptop to replace my Dell, over the 8 months of using it, I came to a conclusion that it will not last as long as my previous laptop (Dell). The old Dell is still working! though on Xubuntu OS.

Got to buy another laptop at home, my mom and sister were so smitten by Mac that they don't want anything other than Mac, they aren't budging, planning to buy MacBook Pro this time. Going for it even if I'm apprehensive about Mac's durability and longevity, hope it will last longer.

[Spaced Out]

I have owned MacBookPro and MacBooks and have been an iPhone user since 2012.

I have to confess that I am done paying the Apple premium. My current iPhone 7 is probably going to be my last Apple phone and I recently switched to a Lenovo/Win 10 that does the job pretty well.

I am fed up of

- fancy chargers for Macs and iPhone that fray most easily

- Keyboards whose keys flip up and don't function when needed

- Ports that disappear because the Apple designers decided they were not cool enough

- Adaptors that I need to buy because the rest of the ecosystem disagrees with Apple

- Repair costs that are steep enough to make me reconsider the damn device

- Hardware that's really stunning but not very functional (my old Aluminium MBP used to heat up like mad, finally burnt through the fan and the repairs really hurt!)

And if that's not enough, consider that there is some research that online sites for buying air tickets etc hike up prices for Mac users. Their research shows that Mac owners are generally happy to pay higher prices.

In my last job, I was forced to used a Dell Latitude E350 with Win 10 and I was sold. When my old Mac started giving me issues, I went with a relatively cheap Lenovo and I have no regrets. I will junk this in another 3 years and get another instead of paying a premium for Mac.

[BlackPearl]

I have been using windows and linux distros from 1999 on PCs and Windows based laptops like Acer, Vaio and Lenovo. In 2018 I got a Macbook Pro from office and initially struggled a lot to adapt. But after a while it became quite enjoyable. I still continued to use a Lenovo laptop for personal use. But at the end of 2018 I bought a DSLR that started churning out 50 Mb RAW files. The outdated Lenovo was not able to handle them and started crashing. So in 2019 February took the plunge and bought a Macbook Pro with 16 GB RAM on 0% finance for 1 year thinking that I will never be able to afford a 2 lac INR laptop once I am back in India. Currently I am using the Mac for most of the things and use the Lenovo for playing Age of Empires. I have almost stopped using Linux though I still have Ubuntu running on the Lenovo. So that is my story in gist of using Mac and PCs. For me both are needed, so can't really say which one I prefer.

[NDK286]

I was a staunch supporter of macs for most users. Great build, ecosystem,
battery life and general "kewlness" (In fact I still say Starbucks in India are unofficial Apple stores. Just walk in and see everyone showing off their macs ). Bootcamp was also a great tool ("was" because no longer supported by Apple when they move to ARM processors)

Although its a pain to use if you need a lot of Microsoft in your life, and even apps that were previously optimized for Macs may not support new versions of the OS which are 64 bit only.

I have used a macbook pro (15 inch) since 2015, but im sure my next laptop will be a windows machine (maybe a dell XPS15)

[nimit3105]

As someone who has been using both the Operating systems for years, I can't live without either! So I've found the best of the both worlds by making a Dual-Boot Hackintosh. It's basically a PC that runs both Windows & Mac.
Reasons for Mac
It's the best all rounder and a must have for content creators. Everything is a lot more reliable and seamless to work with & if you have other Apple products, the way they're synced together makes the whole experience a bliss. It also is a lot more future proof I feel as people hold on to their Macs for year.

Reason for Windows
I use it majorly for my Games as you won't find any main stream titles on Mac. I also use it for stuff life Excel as I'm more comfortable with Office on Windows. So for Office/Administrative work and Gaming, It's Windows. Plus if you have a Windows PC(Basically an assembled one), They can be long lasting too as you can update the parts as and when needed.

So it depends on everyone's personal preferences and workflow

[Sk8r]

Voted for PC . Why ?

My dad used a Mac book air bought in the US for the past 4 years. All of a sudden it refused to switch on and was getting warm at the bottom. Service center guys took 5 k for diagnosing the issue and quoted 35 to 40k for repair
I booked a HP laptop in amazon for 35 k - 1 TB, 8 GB Ram, win 10 with MS Office and was delivered in 2 days

[ankitsharma]

Originally Posted by The Rationalist

I had installed Linux on my Dell, but it didn't last a year, so much for Dell!

May I ask what failed ?

[Sreesh1009]

Voted for Mac. I have a 10 year old Mac (desktop)and a MacBook Air (2015). Both run flawlessly! The quality and user friendly controls make them indestructible.

[AZT]

Quick question for Mac users. I see a lot of people saying they are still using their over 7 year old Macs with zero problem. I wanted to ask is the quality the same today if I were to buy one.

[carthick1000]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

It is very rare for me to run into programs that don’t run on Mac, with one notable exception: Almost all car workshop manuals will only run on Windows!

I use Linux and got some windows based workshop manuals run using wine on linux. There is also wine for Mac, I think. Now-a-days some workshop manuals are browser based or some people who converted them from windows program to browser based ones. For eg. there are browser based service manuals for MX-5 ND and Tesla Model 3.