Should I buy a Mackbook or PC?

[KeralMTG]

I am thinking of buying a new laptop and want to know if I should buy a Macbook or PC laptop. Which one do you think is the best choice to buy right now?

I always like PC laptops but I see a lot of people who use them when they are programming and also building websites and designing them. This makes me wonder if maybe I should get a Macbook because I want to learn to do programming and design websites better. I am curious what every one thinks is best choice.

 

[starknjght]

You should buy a Mac book
1. According to my experience, Mac little hung over, little cow sudden situations like slugs, better treatment before situations where limited memory. Moreover, it boots / off faster
2. One thing is indisputable, whether it's Windows 7 operating system as secure as possible, but not Mac OS X. A Mac does not install any security software, but less likely to get a virus or malware attack compared to Windows PCs
3. Compact design, sophisticated and convenient to move
4. Apple is one of the best software vendors the world

 

[unixguru]

It depends on a number of factors.

Do you know how to use a Mac or PC?
Have you already purchased apps for your PC or Mac?
If you change from one to another are you ready to repurchase those apps?
Are the apps you want to run even available for the other format?

What's your budget?, usually Macs are a lot more expensive.

 

[ProfMike]

I tend to agree with UnixGuru. It all depends on what you are more comfortable with. They are both good platforms.

Regardless of where you go stay away from Windows 8. For some reason I am still seeing laptops sold with the Windows 8 OS and the free upgrade to Windows 10 ends in a few days. I actually have Windows 10 on a laptop and a desktop and I like it. It is stable and secure and runs relatively well.

As far as web development, they will both serve you well although there are many more tools available for the PC then the MAC. There are some really good SEO tools that are not even available for a MAC yet, but that is likely to change soon as the MAC is becoming very popular.

2. One thing is indisputable, whether it's Windows 7 operating system as secure as possible, but not Mac OS X. A Mac does not install any security software, but less likely to get a virus or malware attack compared to Windows PCs

I disagree with this completely. The MAC is becoming a target for malware and viruses just like a PC and in some instances more so because of individuals that make comments like this. The MAC has a large user base and many people do not secure them like they do PC's and as such they are subject to having a whole bunch of nasty things happen to them. When it comes to security, regardless of what computer you are using, protect it.

 

[KeralMTG]

It depends on a number of factors.

Do you know how to use a Mac or PC?
Have you already purchased apps for your PC or Mac?
If you change from one to another are you ready to repurchase those apps?
Are the apps you want to run even available for the other format?

What's your budget?, usually Macs are a lot more expensive.

I know how to use PC but I see many developers and website designer use Mac. I am wanting to buy a real good one that will last a few years and want to get what ever one will be best. Mac I would have to learn but I do not know if it is hard to learn.

 

[KeralMTG]

I tend to agree with UnixGuru. It all depends on what you are more comfortable with. They are both good platforms.

Regardless of where you go stay away from Windows 8. For some reason I am still seeing laptops sold with the Windows 8 OS and the free upgrade to Windows 10 ends in a few days. I actually have Windows 10 on a laptop and a desktop and I like it. It is stable and secure and runs relatively well.

As far as web development, they will both serve you well although there are many more tools available for the PC then the MAC. There are some really good SEO tools that are not even available for a MAC yet, but that is likely to change soon as the MAC is becoming very popular.

I am more comfortable with PC so I would have to learn how to use a Mac. I just want what ever will be the best for a few years. I want to buy a real nice one that will be good for a while. I just see so many developers using Mac and not sure if it will be better.

If I buy a PC then I want to get windows 10 and stay current with the new OS. I have seen many with windows 8 like you said that are still for sale.

One question for you. Since you teach website developing and programming does it matter if the person has a Mac or PC? I do not think it does but I am not sure. Is the programming the same on both types? Sorry if this is not a good question but I do not know these things.

 

[ProfMike]

One question for you. Since you teach website developing and programming does it matter if the person has a Mac or PC? I do not think it does but I am not sure. Is the programming the same on both types? Sorry if this is not a good question but I do not know these things.

That is a really good question and one that I get asked quite often at the beginning of my classes.

It really does not matter in the University class if they have a PC or a MAC in the web development portion of the training. We will use text editors for most of our development and as long as they have a good text editor that support numerous languages they are good.

I will say that overall it is about an 80% to 20% split in the class. 80% of the students use a PC and about 20% use a MAC.

Programming and layout is the same for both and is more dependent on the browser rendering engine than the type of laptop.

 

[Ilyas]

Don't shoot me for saying this

Although mac is a very solid platform, it is seriously overpriced. I recently switched to Linux for web development.

I run Ubuntu 16.04 on 16GB RAM and a solid processor, to run the adobe suite I run windows on VirtualBox. As long as you don't need to edit video this setup will run very smoothly.
Linux integrates perfectly with almost every tool you ever need for serious web development, from basic web design to the most advanced frameworks it has not failed me once the last three months.

The downside is that Linux can be a pain in the ass from time to time. Especially if you are not familiar with command line. Give it some time, it is not that hard

 

[ProfMike]

We never shoot you for voicing an opinion, that is the whole purpose of the forums.

In some aspects I agree with you, once you learn the Unix (Linux) command line you will have a very stable system but that is a very steep learning curve and one that many developers will not want to tackle. Learning Unix can be a challenge and learning Command Line Unix can add to that challenge.

It is funny you should mention this. A few years ago I wanted to move one of my college classes to a Unix Platform as I instructed the class. It was my thought that many web developers would benefit from learning Unix as most good web servers run on a Unix platform. I thought that if they learned the platform it would add to their market skills as they moved into the web development / engineering field. Boy did I get push back.

We had so many problems working through the class that it only lasted one semester. Their are just too many variables when working with that platform especially in a classroom environment.

On your other point on the Mac being overpriced. I agree it is a little pricey out of the box but the added stability of the system and the very low cost if any cost of keeping the OS's up to date make it worth the additional up front costs. I use both in my development and training and find that the Mac is easier to work with, has less issues with external devices and is very stable in a development platform. So much is your aggravation worth. It is the old adage, you get what you pay for.

Good response and it definitely added to the conversation because a Unix (Linux) machine should be a consideration. It is an option and if you are ever moving into web engineering and web server development it should seriously be considered.

 

[Thanhnguyentrieu]

I always choose Laptop Window. Although Mac is good at security, there are not many software programmed for it.

 

[ProfMike]

In the web development area, there is just as much good software for the MAC as there is for a Windows laptop. Now in shear numbers of selections you are correct, there is much more PC software than MAC software.

But when you talk about good applications that can be used for web development / engineering there are many good selections for the MAC and in fact many application developers are now developing their application platforms for both hardware platforms.

 

[KeralMTG]

That is a really good question and one that I get asked quite often at the beginning of my classes.

It really does not matter in the University class if they have a PC or a MAC in the web development portion of the training. We will use text editors for most of our development and as long as they have a good text editor that support numerous languages they are good.

I will say that overall it is about an 80% to 20% split in the class. 80% of the students use a PC and about 20% use a MAC.

Programming and layout is the same for both and is more dependent on the browser rendering engine than the type of laptop.

Thank you for your help. I just do not want to buy one then only to find that I needed the other one or the other was better. I did not know if that was a common query or not and since I see many people talking about using a Mac I was not sure if it was better or not.

I always use PC computers so I am familiar with them and would probably prefer to use it unless the Mac computers are better for this.

Thank you for your help.

 

[ProfMike]

No problem at all. It is really up to you they are both good platforms for web development and are well supported in that arena.

Good luck with you new laptop.

 

[KeralMTG]

No problem at all. It is really up to you they are both good platforms for web development and are well supported in that arena.

Thank you again. I think then I will just buy a PC since I am familiar with it. I can also get more RAM, bigger hard drive, bigger display and more specs for the same money spent if I buy a PC instead of a Mac.

Since you say it really doesn't matter then I do not think I need to waste extra money because it is an apple brand.

 

[ProfMike]

Sounds like a good plan, I hope you enjoy your new PC.

 

[KeralMTG]

Sounds like a good plan, I hope you enjoy your new PC.

I was just checking laptops a little while ago and found some with real good specs that I like. They are lenovo brand which I saw used to be IBM laptops till they bought it so they should be good. They have some real good deals with a lot better specs than the macs and are cheaper. I might go with 1 of these if they are good.

 

[Dean]

I was just checking laptops a little while ago and found some with real good specs that I like. They are lenovo brand which I saw used to be IBM laptops till they bought it so they should be good. They have some real good deals with a lot better specs than the macs and are cheaper. I might go with 1 of these if they are good.

I have a few Lenovo PC's and they have always ran great and never once gave me any issues. One thing that I like about the Lenovo laptops is that they are a lot stronger in the hinge area than a lot of the other brands out there. I always seem to have trouble with that area of the laptop in other brands but my Lenovo laptops have never given me any issues at all.

They do tend to have real good specs in comparison to most other brands for the same price range. If you find one you like and it's a good deal then go for it. I am sure that you will be happy with it.

Asus are also another real good brand to look at besides Lenovo as well.

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Dean.

 

[KeralMTG]

I have a few Lenovo PC's and they have always ran great and never once gave me any issues. One thing that I like about the Lenovo laptops is that they are a lot stronger in the hinge area than a lot of the other brands out there. I always seem to have trouble with that area of the laptop in other brands but my Lenovo laptops have never given me any issues at all.

They do tend to have real good specs in comparison to most other brands for the same price range. If you find one you like and it's a good deal then go for it. I am sure that you will be happy with it.

Asus are also another real good brand to look at besides Lenovo as well.

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Dean.

Thank you Dean.

I had a toshiba that broke and always had hinge problems and I hate that. It is good to know these are strong there because I do not want to go through that again with a new laptop.

I did notice that the lenovo computers gave good specs for the price so I wanted to know how good they are. I saw some asus but I am not very familiar with that brand so I did not check them too much.

I will check some more and post back again. Thank you for the help.

 

[Dean]

Thank you Dean.

I had a toshiba that broke and always had hinge problems and I hate that. It is good to know these are strong there because I do not want to go through that again with a new laptop.

I did notice that the lenovo computers gave good specs for the price so I wanted to know how good they are. I saw some asus but I am not very familiar with that brand so I did not check them too much.

I will check some more and post back again. Thank you for the help.

Glad I could help.

I have actually had a couple of Toshibas that I had that problem with. They were my favorite brand for quite a while but then they started to go cheap or not do enough testing to see where the weak parts of their designs were. That made me start looking at other brands more closely.

If you get a Lenovo, I doubt that problem will ever arise unless there is some kind of very rough handling.

Cheers, Dean

 

[ulterios]

I was just checking laptops a little while ago and found some with real good specs that I like. They are lenovo brand which I saw used to be IBM laptops till they bought it so they should be good. They have some real good deals with a lot better specs than the macs and are cheaper. I might go with 1 of these if they are good.

My main laptop is a Lenovo. I had used a couple of other brands before buying it and was a little unsure how well it would turn out being. I was pleasantly pleased that it turned out to be much better than I thought. I have bought some since then for my children and another for a friend and they have all been great.

I think that you will be happy with a Lenovo. There are other good brands as well, but if you can get a good deal on a Lenovo, I would say get it and you'll be happy with it.

Cheers!