hi does anyone use apple mac how do they compare to windows

Oh, dear, here we go again... see this (http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=430024) and especially this (http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=378070). As you can see the Windows camp is largely vehemently against Apple (mostly nutcase gamers it seems) but in brief Mac systems are fine if you don't want to do-it-yourself on the hardware front and spend time defending yourself from malware. Of course like any computer it depends what you want to do but if you're not a mental gamer or a tetchy photographer then you'll probably find that a Mac can do all you need. There is an argument that Mac computers are unjustifiably expensive and whilst the initial outlay for the hardware is higher than an equivalent specification Windows box you gain in the long run by having one main point of contact for support - i.e. Apple - and the systems come with the rather nice "home user" suite iLife (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ILife). (You are especially well off if you live close enough to an Apple Store as you can get at least fifteen minutes free help from a so-called Genius there - a session you must book online or in advance at the shop - and this support can be with virtually all Apple hardware software of any age.) To see this point just take a look at the number of issues raised on this forum which relate to Windows boxes - anything and everything from systems being infected with malware to failing to boot - the latter, of course, affecting Mac computers but if my fiancee's four-year-old iBook and my two slightly more recent Mac minis are anything to go by then they are once in a blue moon affairs. Another positive with the current Mac operating system is that it has an automatic backup facility (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Machine_(Apple_software)) - one, of course, which requires an external drive - something no end of Windows users appear to wish they had when their systems go tits up. (It beggars belief how many people don't back up their systems and lose their data - even a friend of mine who works in IT having lost three months' family tree data because he was idiot enough not to back it up for so long.) Finally, if you are tempted by a Mac then wait until Tuesday night - Wednesday in the Apple Stores - when new products will be released.

P.S. Don't touch Linux with a barge-pole unless you want to become a geek as the support for such - not least from ISPs - is extremely hard to come by.

thanks for replyim interested

I'm pleased to hear it - though, again, make sure it does what you want it to - and if you decide to get a new Mac then buy the base model with the least memory and add more later - the same with the hard drive if the model you buy allows easy replacement. (Under no circumstances buy memory from Apple as they commit daylight robbery in this respect - places like Crucial always being a good place to get it from.) Right, it's almost nine o'clock Sunday morning (despite what the system clock may say) so let's sit back and wait for the gamers to wake up from their bed of pizza cases and cola cans and embark on another pointless battle.

thanks harry may have a look in apple at murderhell

What do you want to use it for? For day to day use (websurfing, email, document writing et al) there's really very little between windows, OSX and Linux IMO. I personally run all three. I have a windows box as I occasionally need to write things in real WORD format for submissions to journals, I have a linux box as that's my preferred environment for software and web development and I have an OSX laptop as it pretty much allows me to do *nix work (it's kernal is NetBSD) while having access to microsoft office in case I need to tart up a submission when away from my desktop. Really you pays your money and takes your choice - unless you are a hardcore gamer in which case stick with windows.

no no gaming just surfing mostly

In that case you probably won't really notice any difference! If that's all your planning to do I would stick with windows as without a good reason (beyond religious or aesthetic considerations!) an apple probably isn't worth the outlay. If you are swayed by the lack-o-virus argument and aren't a complete computer neophile then download and install a copy of linux (currently I like ubuntu) which these days is as easy to get running as any other OS.

as EDN says, Ubuntu is a user friendly Linux installation which will have you browsing and emailing out of the box, but all three platforms are much of a muchness in this respect.

The benefit of a minority platform, such as mac, is less viruses and nasties. The drawback is that you have to wait longer for things like BBC iPLayer. New technologies will often be released on windows long before mac & linux,.

If you like the look of Mac OS X (and iLife which comes with it) but can't quite let go of Windows XP or Vista - or even fancy trying Linux - then you could always install them on a Mac. One or the other can be booted into instead of Mac OS X whilst still having OS X available to boot into. Windows can also be run within Mac OS X via a virtualisation package such as Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac or VMware Fusion. They will set you back between £35 and £50 - the native boot option mentioned above being cost-free but lacking the advantage of having both up at once - virtualisation's disadvantage being that it runs less fast.

Linux doesn't always work "out of the box" as this (http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=438834) and this (http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=438546) illustrate.

It was a long wait for the downloading (not streaming) version of the iPlayer - almost a year - but it's with us now.

Unless you have a specific reason to go Windows or Mac then I would seriously consider Linux.

I also use all three Linux, Mac & Windows each has its place. Going the Mac route is expensive unless you have a specific reason for doing so.

Linux I would say is better than Windows for the vast majority of casual computer users, you get the benefits of a *nix like base operating system, without the virus issues associated with Windows, but without the costs associated with buying a Mac.