So i see in the commericals that pc's suffer from so many virus' and macs dont; why is this? So are macs safer and more secure than pc's; im gonna need to get a few computer here pretty soon, so should i look into them?

7/30/2006 12:24:01 AM

macs don't suffer from viruses b/c for a long time, nobody cared about macs so the people who write viruses didn't bother writing them for macs and only wrote them for windows. so no, macs aren't necessarily inherently safer, but if you've had a problem with spyware in the past on windows machines, you may find some refuge in using a mac instead

should you look into them? sure why not, everybody else is. you can't customize them as much as say, a dell, but if that doesn't bother you, give it a shot.

[Edited on July 30, 2006 at 12:29 AM. Reason : go easy boys]

7/30/2006 12:28:30 AM

I say you can't go wrong w/ an Intel-powered Mac. You can run Windows XP & OS X on one machine, so you get the best of both worlds.

And seriously it's not that difficult to keep your PC "secure" and "virus free." Stay away from off the wall porn sites, random AIM downloads, and don't open e-mail attachments from strangers and there's a 99% chance your PC will never have a problem.

[Edited on July 30, 2006 at 1:06 AM. Reason : l]

7/30/2006 1:06:46 AM

Except you pay a lot more for a mac, and you have to pay the extra cash for Windows XP.

7/30/2006 1:11:04 AM

I am not going for the troll here (easy in these mac topics), but what do you mean by "best of the worlds" when basically Vista is going to be a lot more better than OSX. Already, OSX is short on original apps, games, and development tools.

7/30/2006 1:12:03 AM

correct me if I'm wrong, but arnt *nix based systems more secure if simply for the fact that the user and admin are separate?
most people use windows as admin, which means they can alter any file on the computer. on *.nix it takes the root password or in some cases sudo privileges (no root by default in ubuntu and I think macs (?)) to change anything that isnt in your home directory (equiv of "documents and settings")

a while back there was an article on /. talking about a mac 'virus' that really only installed itself through user stupidity, where the user gave the unknown program the root password

weak passwords and downloading and installing unknown software causes issues on any system


[Edited on July 30, 2006 at 1:13 AM. Reason : asdf]

7/30/2006 1:12:11 AM

Well, it takes a lot of stupid to fuck up a Windows installation even if you use it without an antivirus on an admin password.

I was using a PII 300Mhz with 128MB RAM and Windows XP Pro as my primary desktop for quite some time. I never used an antivirus or a firewall, and often had it connected directly to my RR modem. It takes a lot of stupid to fuck up windows. PLease note that my PC was too slow to support Firefox rendering.

Even then, Windows Vista promises to be more secure when it comes to admin privileges.

7/30/2006 1:15:48 AM

um... people screw up windows and have to restore. daily. all you have to do to get flooded with ad viruses is use IE. it's incredibly easy to screw up windows, especially compared to OS X. i would have to say the same for *nix but i dont have a lot of experience with those builds.

Vista > OS X... that's definitely a big matter of opinion. and Leopard is coming soon as well.

i'll take Mac any day, as a matter of fact... i will in about a week

7/30/2006 2:00:36 AM

I have never had to re-install my Windows/DOS since 1991.

It's always some sort of stupid on the user's part.

7/30/2006 2:02:21 AM

i know you're special.. in oh so many ways gargs. you really think the whole idea of windows having more viruses and being easier to crash is just an illusion created from thin air don't you

7/30/2006 2:07:39 AM

look dude

You gotta be "special" to fuck up a windows install...not the other way around.


Heck, even my mom, who can barely send emails, has never encountered a virus/spyware.

7/30/2006 2:10:08 AM

so you really do think the whole idea just came from nowhere? i'm curious really.

7/30/2006 2:14:42 AM

It is true and someone already pointed out that no one cares to write malware for an OS that is used by less than 5% people on the earth.

But you gotta be really damn stupid to get a virus.

I started using an anti-virus for the first time in 2005, and the only virus infection I have had was in 1991 when I booted my machine using a floppy that belonged to a friend.

It's simple...just like you don't insert stray needles in your body, don't install stray programs/files on your computer.

7/30/2006 2:17:03 AM

Quote :

"But you gotta be really damn stupid to get a virus."

Quote :

"the only virus infection I have had was in 1991 when I booted my machine using a floppy that belonged to a friend."

i see what you did there.

7/30/2006 2:24:53 AM

yep

I had just bought my 286 with MSDOS 3.30

and I was stupid.

7/30/2006 2:27:20 AM

I think anyone who is vendor religious is fucking stupid.

7/30/2006 8:38:04 AM

The majority of the major exploits are independent of the user that is logged on (root or not). They exploit services that have root rights so it doesn't matter.

7/30/2006 11:26:20 AM

Go for one of the new Intel mac's. Even one of the Mac Mini's would be a cool little computer for you to use that can run OSX as well as XP. They only run about $550-650 so it's decently affordable to get into one.

The security features that will be coming up in vista can be done on any existing XP box out there. Just don't run as administrator. That way anything that attempts to install will prompt you to run it as an administrator.

7/30/2006 11:28:52 AM

you'd be amazed at how easily i can screw up Windows or Mac OS

7/30/2006 11:55:48 AM

Quote :

"I am not going for the troll here"

esgargs, i like how every word you wrote after this is you trolling. we'd expect no less from you

7/30/2006 1:26:34 PM

I stated a fact, and you did nothing to refute that except to call me a "troll".

It's ok...I was considering buying a MacbookPro even though I am aware of its software shortcomings.

7/30/2006 2:08:38 PM

why?

7/30/2006 2:10:02 PM

because of the eye candy, and the free Ipod. But then I realized I could just wait for next year, and buy an ipod with the money i save from not buying a loaded MacbookPro

7/30/2006 2:13:01 PM

you thought about buying a macbook pro for ~2k to get a free ipod and because it looks cool?

holy crap.

7/30/2006 2:15:09 PM

Quote :

"I was using a PII 300Mhz with 128MB RAM and Windows XP Pro as my primary desktop for quite some time."

I find this hard to believe, my dad's pc is a 300mhz AMD-K6 with 300mb of ram and it's absolutely crawling.

7/30/2006 2:21:11 PM

well, I dunno about AMDs, but I am not lying. I just gave away that wonderful machine to my ex-roommate last month. I even had it dual boot with Linux. It couldn't play DVDs or even Divx files, but was good for browsing the net, playing MP3s and doing java coding, Office apps.

7/30/2006 2:22:54 PM

Its very easy to run xp and never get a piece of malware. Even using IE as your primary browser.

If you dont have the common sense required to keep windows clean, then get OSX.

Quote :

"I find this hard to believe, my dad's pc is a 300mhz AMD-K6 with 300mb of ram and it's absolutely crawling."

i did it with my PII 300 as well. Its completely possible. The k6 is a godawful piece of shit. Thats why it ran like crap.

[Edited on July 30, 2006 at 7:08 PM. Reason : .]

7/30/2006 7:07:48 PM

OS X is for people who just want their computers to work. Sure there are exploits/viruses for OS X, but the few that are available pale in comparison to the tens of thousands that are available for Windows.
Windows never was built to be a secure OS, just an easy pick up and go OS. OS X was built upon Darwin BSD (which is an offshoot of FreeBSD, one of the most secure OSes in existence), so it is both secure and easy to use. To me Macs are a waste of money. I can get a nice IBM laptop, put Ubuntu on it, and be very much pleased. But if you just want to get work done and don't mind paying a premium for a laptop, then go with Apple.

7/30/2006 7:24:41 PM

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oc4oP_ITqMc

7/31/2006 2:08:29 AM

video's hilarious

holy crap i agree with Protostar. didn't see that comin. except the last part, i like Macs

Windows IS easy to screw up, and that's why so many people have. You can't argue that. Even the great Gargs has screwed one up. And IE blows, I would never use IE6 or less ever again, not after evolving to Avant and Firefox

[Edited on July 31, 2006 at 2:28 AM. Reason : ]

7/31/2006 2:19:40 AM

hahaha

bigger hard drive and runs faster

7/31/2006 2:20:34 AM

hahahah

7/31/2006 7:19:09 AM

Quote :

"esgargs: what do you mean by "best of the worlds" when basically Vista is going to be a lot more better than OSX."

if it ever actually ships...

(at which point Apple will have already released another full OS upgrade...) 

7/31/2006 9:21:36 AM

^ Even then it still is going to fall short in features OSX already has.

[Edited on July 31, 2006 at 9:24 AM. Reason : ]

7/31/2006 9:24:31 AM

^ (again)

7/31/2006 12:28:17 PM

Apple really struck a lot of noobs' curiousity with the insecure commercials. Credit to Apple for taking advantage of a clueless public.

7/31/2006 1:18:10 PM

7/31/2006 1:57:28 PM

Quote :

"if it ever actually ships... (at which point Apple will have already released another full OS upgrade...) "

Even the beta beats OSX...and apple would have released another full OS upgrade capable of launching apps slower than now.

Seriously, have none of you ever realized how slow the Mac is when it comes to launching apps? I am used to clicking on a shortcut and instantly seeing something run...but I guess the Mac n00bs are too busy oooooooooooing over the eye candy, they forget Firefox shouldn't take so long to launch.

7/31/2006 2:03:50 PM

Quote :

"esgargs: Seriously, have none of you ever realized how slow the Mac is when it comes to launching apps? I am used to clicking on a shortcut and instantly seeing something run...but I guess the Mac n00bs are too busy oooooooooooing over the eye candy, they forget Firefox shouldn't take so long to launch."

I guess I just need to restart my computer more, b/c I don't have an issue with launching slowness. I feel like I'm missing out on one of the features...

7/31/2006 3:54:53 PM

I'd let someone else post more information about Mac's slow responses to mouse clicks and application launches.

7/31/2006 4:08:15 PM

^ gargs is correct on this one. it's been well known for years that Macs lack, as it's known, "the snappy". The interface is simply not as lightening quick as Windows - it's gotten faster and faster with each version of OS X and with all new hardware, but for almost the almost immeasureable quickness of mouse and keyboard reactions, it's simply slower than Windows.

application launches are very good the Intel Macs, although I would say on average, they're still slower than Windows. Some faster, some slower, but in generally I would say slower. If you feel they launch "fast enough", that's great - but in a side-by-side comparison, it's generally slower.

this is coming from a Windows and Mac user, routinely moving between a fast Dell workstation at work, a mid-range Dell laptop at home, a 1st generation Mac Mini at home, and my wife's new Intel Macbook, so I have a pretty good sense of how all the machines feel

7/31/2006 4:17:50 PM

I'd rather an app take a little bit longer to open, than to have it open quickly then crash for some unknown reason. One thing that I would like to see is the inclusion of virtual desktops. Why isn't it that the mainstream OS makers haven't included that in their set of features? The Windows taskbar gets so cluttered when you have multiple apps running, and with dual core processors as cheap as they are now the performance hit would be very small.

7/31/2006 4:50:05 PM

theres a windows powertoy to add virtual desktops.

as for apps crashing, i'd point to bad 3rd party apps or user induced malware.

7/31/2006 4:51:36 PM

Another instance where you seem to know nothing...

and what kind of applications do you use on Windows that crash? The only 2 times I have had my XP crash was when I used FedEx Kinkos' printer software, and they accept that there's a problem with th software.

Also, Microsoft already has virtual desktop out for free. Google powertoys.

[Edited on July 31, 2006 at 4:52 PM. Reason : .]

7/31/2006 4:52:23 PM

Well for one, WMP has crashed before. Lots of times. VLC has never crashed and iTunes has only crashed a couple of time. IE is inferior and has crashed before as well. Plus, if you leave a Windows app open for like a week, and try to go back to work, it is slow as hell.

Quote :

"theres a windows powertoy to add virtual desktops."

Ya, I know about that, but in the end it still feels like an addon. In Linux it feels natural because its built into the DE from the getgo. Its a nifty feature especially when combined with XGL/compiz. I don't understand why MSFT/Apple haven't added this feature to their OS line up (if only as turned off by default).

[Edited on July 31, 2006 at 5:01 PM. Reason : ..]

7/31/2006 5:01:07 PM

OMG n00bs!!!

is that all that geeks have to come up with nowadays? just call somebody a n00b cause they have a different opinion?

IE crashes. firefox crashes. aim crashes. EXPLORER crashes.

Macs are more stable, system-wide.

virtual desktops would be cool... but nothing i'd miss to be honest

7/31/2006 5:04:57 PM

WMP and IE have never crashed for me.

And you must be talking about memory leaks when you say slow apps, which is a joke, because everyone knows OSX has more memory leaks than any other OS out there..

7/31/2006 5:05:19 PM

and WMP crashes too.

7/31/2006 5:08:43 PM

Quote :

"WMP and IE have never crashed for me."

Different strokes for different folks. Both apps have crashed on me plenty, especially WMP. Plus I hate WMP because it tries to be a jack of all trades and fails miserably at everything it does. I like high quality specialized apps which only do one or two things. VLC for videos/DVDs and iTunes for music.

Quote :

"And you must be talking about memory leaks when you say slow apps, which is a joke, because everyone knows OSX has more memory leaks than any other OS out there.."

Well, I've left iTunes open for days and come back and it has been just as snappy as before. You try and do the same with ITunes on Windows and you might as well go get a soda while Windows chugs along trying to pull iTunes back up.

7/31/2006 5:13:24 PM

iTunes loads slow as balls on Windows PCs

and i agree, i really don't like WMP

7/31/2006 5:14:31 PM