My 2 cents... for what they're worth...
PC
- Desktop version: upgradable and not that expensive. Some brands cater the all-in-one crowd and have a niche market price tag to go with it.
- Laptop version: not really upgradable (on some you can add RAM, change HDD and... little else), more expensive than a desktop. Several brands from where to choose, meaning that it's available to more people's wallets.
- OS:
windows » still the one with the most games available
linux » If you don't do games, this free open-source OS is the perfect choice!
MAC
- Desktop version: all-in-one, large high-def screen with a price tag above a similar PC, but the specs are never on par.
- laptop version: pretty box... for the hardware inside, you can find similar specced laptop from another brand for a nicer price.
- OS: MacOS » a unix port. had the merit of being one of the first to offer a windowed environment and did great graphics processing... nowadays, it's a fool-proof OS that even your grandmother can use... given a bit of training and no prior habit on another OS. This makes it a bit harder to have control over the HDD usage, partitioning, etc...
As it is with everything, humans get used to something and find it a bit hard to shift that habit to something else. I've always used windows... since 3.0 and before... DOS 3.11. Windows has changed a bit with time, but win95 was the one great interface change.
So, whenever I have to do something on a friend's mac, I feel a bit awkward, not knowing where anything is... which leaves me a bit frustrated at that OS.... I assume the same happens to someone who is used to MAC and has to use windows on occasion.
For most people who are starting to use computers, either would work... although... if you're budget conscious, you'd do better going for a PC running linux...
PC
- Desktop version: upgradable and not that expensive. Some brands cater the all-in-one crowd and have a niche market price tag to go with it.
- Laptop version: not really upgradable (on some you can add RAM, change HDD and... little else), more expensive than a desktop. Several brands from where to choose, meaning that it's available to more people's wallets.
- OS:
windows » still the one with the most games available
linux » If you don't do games, this free open-source OS is the perfect choice!
MAC
- Desktop version: all-in-one, large high-def screen with a price tag above a similar PC, but the specs are never on par.
- laptop version: pretty box... for the hardware inside, you can find similar specced laptop from another brand for a nicer price.
- OS: MacOS » a unix port. had the merit of being one of the first to offer a windowed environment and did great graphics processing... nowadays, it's a fool-proof OS that even your grandmother can use... given a bit of training and no prior habit on another OS. This makes it a bit harder to have control over the HDD usage, partitioning, etc...
As it is with everything, humans get used to something and find it a bit hard to shift that habit to something else. I've always used windows... since 3.0 and before... DOS 3.11. Windows has changed a bit with time, but win95 was the one great interface change.
So, whenever I have to do something on a friend's mac, I feel a bit awkward, not knowing where anything is... which leaves me a bit frustrated at that OS.... I assume the same happens to someone who is used to MAC and has to use windows on occasion.
For most people who are starting to use computers, either would work... although... if you're budget conscious, you'd do better going for a PC running linux...
