Why do you think MACs are so great?

I have been wondering for some time now why it is that I opted for my first Mac (my PowerBook 17" G4 1.67GHz) over a similar spec PC. At the time I sort of just said "I want a Mac" and that was the end of it. I've never regretted the decision and it has been a brilliant computer, but it's made me wonder...

The thing is, the more I think about it, it seems that it is more than just a computer to me. I have since purchased my iMac 24" 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo but haven't got rid of my PowerBook. I've formed an emotional attachment to both of them now and couldn't bear to lose either of them. Why is this? I wouldn't think twice about swapping or upgrading other objects, my phone for example (I don't have an iPhone...yet) or a TV, or a PC, as they are just grey goods to me. But Macs are different somehow.

What do you guys think? Do you have similar experiences and opinions? It'd be great to hear from other Mac owners and even non Mac owners what they think of this.

Adam

I hate parting with most computers, but I usually dont have a problem with parting with it for a better one. Meh, guess it depends how long I have had it for. Sometimes I look at the sale price and just conclude that its use is worth more to me than what I could sell it for.

MACs are so great because they provide addressing and channel access control mechanisms that make it possible for several terminals or network nodes to communicate within a multipoint network, typically a local area network (LAN) or metropolitan area network (MAN).

Yea Media Acess Controllers are awesome!
I wouldnt be able to have a home network with out one

I used to work at a printing company/service bureau. I'd say our clients were probably about 60% mac/40% PC users, so we had to have both platforms up and running for various jobs. The Mac just seems to work more consistently with a LOT less problems and seemed less clunky to use. So when it came time for me to buy my own first computer, I went Mac. Actually, being able to install windows on my Macbook has kinda sparked my interest in window/DOS computers, but I can't imagine I'll find any of them more satisfying than any of the incarnations of Mac OS I've used over the years. I'm already a bit aggravated with some glitches I've encountered with Vista. "Computers don't make mistakes. Programmers do." (Who said that?)

See I've used Windows all my life and I'm a new Mac user (Effective on Sunday) and I didn't get what all the hype was about them.
My teacher went on and on and on about them and we really didn't get along in my first year of college. But then I nicked his iBook G4 to do some art work on it at lunch time and i was completely baffled by it. I was like, "Where's the start bar!? Where's my documents!? This is rubbish!"

But once he showed me the basics and where things were, for example the Macintosh HD is a better layout IMO than the Windows "My Computer" layout. At first I didn't see it like this, I thought it was just some freaky "computer" that didn't even have a start bar. That and coupled with the fact that the macs in our art department were so old that they did nothing but crash. In the end I just thought i'd always stick to Windows, but after using my teachers iBook a couple of times I sort of begun to understand what all the hype was about. It was easy to use (Once I got the hang of it) and everything was a click away on the Dock. Not to mention the drag and drop feature just amazed me. And this wasn't even one of the newist macs, this was an old one. So It got me wondering what the new one's were like. It didn't really help that at the time my friend was very anti-mac (but now she own's a mac mini, a white 2.1GHz MacBook, an iPod Shuffle and an iPhone...)

So I decided to go into the Apple store and have a look (I didn't tell my teacher this...) and I finally understood what everyone was going on about. The store itself was modern and well laid out, every single product Apple had under it's name was on display and accessible for people to mess around on. Not to mention how friendly the staff are and the excellent customer service. You just don't get that at PC world.

My Mac-hating friend decided to get a really old Mac which she'd seen in the paper for about £50, (The really old iMac desktops with the coloured back) and she loved it. When she got a second hand iBook G4 she sold me that mac for me to try and I loved it too. I've still got it. It's a shame i don't use it more but there's no memory left and it's very slow. But it's still going which I was amazed at because my PC is just under 4 years old and on it's way out. This one must be what...about 10 years old?

That's another thing that drew me towards the Macs: The durability of them.
That and the fact that they actually look pretty, rather than the black boxes that are PC's. They're also a dream to work with, especially if you're an art student/photographer like myself.

I've never experienced the "friendship" with a computer that you were talking about though. I guess that's probably because I have to wait for five minutes + for I.E. to open on my IBM R50e and battle through a war zone of error messages.

Village Idiot said:

MACs are so great because they provide addressing and channel access control mechanisms that make it possible for several terminals or network nodes to communicate within a multipoint network, typically a local area network (LAN) or metropolitan area network (MAN).

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You beat me to it!

Well because of the world around us. The Mac itself if just as good as any other PC. But the :

OS installed on it
The level of customer service by apple
The friendly and helpful attitudes of other Mac users
Always being kept up to date with info through here and stevenotes
The amount and quality of 3rd party apps

Are all the reasons I bought a Mac. And that's why they are great. Because they are respected so much that people feel driven to pour so much love and effort into them.

And I believe included in the price of your Mac is a ticket into this friendly community. And the ability to experience something like to other.

******************

And I agree MAC's are great things as well.

I've never experienced the "friendship" with a computer that you were talking about though. I guess that's probably because I have to wait for five minutes + for I.E. to open on my IBM R50e and battle through a war zone of error messages.

Click to expand...

I have owned both but always felt more comfortable with the mac.

The technical reasons why Macs are "better" can be debated back and forth like a techie tennis match ad nauseum.

For me, the wonderful technology and well thought out design apart, the real reason I use a Mac is emotional. I start up my computer and know that it is going to be friendly, co-operative and a joy to use, like a best friend.

Like any best friend, occasionally its going to need something back from me, a bit of maintenance and some TLC, but its still my mate, and I know its never going to ask too much from me and stay loyal.

I LOVE Media Access Controllers.......