I'm getting really tired of the constant baragge of crap that is associated with owning a PC. Is the MAC less suseptible to such things ( viruses,auto download .exe files, and just generally needing to be constantly attended to.)
Honest opinions required please.

www.stuffforbikers.com

YES! Mac is far better than Windows for all those things
you have described and thousands more of reasons. Mac
OS X Panther carries the most stable operating UNIX
system in the world. It's virus free (if you can believe it,
you don't even need virus software), it rarely crashes, and
if you take care of it and keep your system clean, you
should have no problems. Plus, all the Mac computers
they make look cool. Around the cost factor, you may be
looking at something a bit more expensive then a PC, but
better quality, has a higher price. They also just came out
with a computer called the Mac Mini, which is $499, it has
a powerful processer and is aimed towards a PC user that
wants to switch, and have their PC and a Mac. The best
part is that being so cheap, it doesnt come with a display,
but it hooks into most consumer displays, so it should
hook into one that you already have. Best Of luck. I'm also
able to anwser more questions.

Yes, the Mac is less prone to security related PC problems, but isn't any less crash prone than a well maintained PC (Macs are easier to maintain, though). However, calling the G4 in the Mac mini "powerful" is quite an overstatement. It has an antiquated architecture and a very slow 167MHz bus that hampers overall performance. However, if you are a casual user, this won't matter. I'd recommend an iMac G5 if you're going the Mac route.

-MikeG

Lets put it this way. I work at a school with 300+ Computers all make running all sorts of software, files, databases etc. We have 700 users and 3 people run all of it. If they were PC's we would have to have at least 6. Mac is Smarter and there is so much more Open Source Software! I am a switcher myself and have never looked back.

See, HERE is a prime example of what I have seen all too often.

The majority of people think "PC = Windows" and that is it.

Yes, Mac is less prone to most of the bugs that Windoze gets, but there are also other alternatives out there that will run on your PC so you do not need to buy all new hardware (such as a whole new Mac) just to keep the crap off your computer.

Some people very much enjoy various Linux builds (I like Mandrake and Fedora best so far), but I find them WAY too slow to boot up.
I know people are going to look down upon this, but I VERY much prefer BeOS or the new Zeta for my on line use.
It boots up in about 12 seconds and shuts down in about 8.
Also, just like OSX, there are no viruses and not even virus software.
It is incredibally rock-solid stable, has the basic on-line software most people need, such as instant messenger clients, email, P2P file sharing, the latest & greatest Firefox browser, IRC, photo editing, M$Office compatable office suite, CD burning, DVD ripping, and too much more to list.
BUT, it is limited in what software is available, it does not work with ALL PC hardware (though new drivers are written all the time), it will not natively run Windows or Mac software (because it is not either of those OSs).
It does not get spyware, browser hihacking, or automatically installed crap.

If you still want to use Windows for games and burning and wirting documents, great, use it.
If you want to surf without worrying about viruses and security problems, use an OS that works well for that.
If you want to use a Mac, great, use one.
The right operating system for the right job. Not all OSs do everything, and some do things better than others. My home PC boots to WinXP Pro, BeOS Pro 5, Zeta, Mandrake Linux 10, Solaris 9, and Geos. Why, just because I can. :)
And yes, I own an iMac, as well.

Cliff

mac24.7.365, if it is virus free, why would this be right on the home page of www.mac.com?

http://www.mac.com/1/iTour/tour_antivirus.html

The very first thing the page says is:
"Every time you save an email attachment or download a file from the web, you're risking exposure to viruses and other types of dangerous programs. The second-most prevalent type of virus, Macro viruses, can attack both Macs and PCs."

Hey everybody has different opinions. Quoting Walt
Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal about the iMac G5,
which as you know has Mac OS X Panther on it "I'm writing
these words on the most elegant desktop computer I've
ever used, a computer that is not only uncommonly
beautiful but fast and powerful, VIRUS-FREE and
suprisingly affordable. And when I said that the Mac Mini
was powerful, I meant that it would get the job done good
for small computer that a PC user would have on the side.
Not for a standalone, use all the time computer. And as
for .Mac, I think they've come up with Virex so that .Mac
can compete with other services that provide online
sharing of your computer and keep a PC safe when
working across Mac and PC. This may also be provided to
back-up your files. I am not aware of any viruses for Mac
OS X Panther, but if im wrong, sorry I didn't know, and if
their is, I would like to hear about it. An article that also
backs up what I am saying is http://aroundcny.com/
technofile/texts/mac070203.html Cheers

yes, the Mac operating system is less susceptible, but
wether it is better for your computing needs is another
matter.

Both the Mac and the PC have their place in the world of
computing.

Regards,
Kyomii

I agree with Kyomii.

mac 24.7.365

I've been a Macintosh user for almost my
entire computing life (since 1987), and the
biggest problem I've seen has nothing to do
with the machines or OSes themselves. It's
the people who treat their choice of
computing platform like a religion, with the
same evangelical, blind-faith goosestepping
that goes along with it. I do believe,
though, that if a new user tries both
Windows and the Mac OS (especially today,
with OS X vs. Windows XP), the Mac will
triumph most of the time. As for the
virus-free (or almost so) status, let's not
fool ourselves. The only reason there are so
few Mac viruses is that the OS is has such a
minor presence in the computing world. If
major corporations and banks began switching
to Mac en masse, the life-wasting losers who
create viruses (are they all on welfare, or
what?) would devote their attention in that
direction and we'd be crippled the same way
PC users are today. So, yes, choose Mac,
tell your friends... but not too many of
them, OK? :-)

I agree 100% with Miles. Macs are definately the way to go if you don't want viruses now, but the day Apple's maket share reaches around 15%, the viruses for the OS X platform will skyrocket exponentially. This will happen no matter how "secure" UNIX/BSD is percieved to be.

-MikeG