For starters I don't recall ever using a mac and I haven't tried vista yet so yea I'm clueless. But I need a notebook thats got it all so why not explore all the options. The dell XPS series has been on my list for a long time as well as the hp pavilion. The problem I have with windows is that everything seems connected and if I try to disable one program the whole system goes crazy. Oh and I hate IE with a passion. Macs I'm unfamiliar with but I hear they have better/more multimedia features and don't crash like windows. Dunno if theres still compatibility issues though. So yea, what are the pros and cons? Suggestions and links to helpful articles would be greatly appreciated. Oh and my budget is ± 2g

 

I got a Dell Inspiron for 600.00, 2 g's of RAM and an 80 gig HD, a couple of months ago. Works fine for what i use it for. No major bells or whistles. Thus far I'm happy with it.

 

personally mac is for people who don't know how to use computers. vista is a bit different than xp but it's quite a bit better. the main good difference that you'll need to get used to is your start menu is searchable. yes it's true that mac doesn't crash but vista doesn't really do it either. if you want multimedia, get a multimedia computer with vista. as for the compatibility issue, i've never really had that except for really old programs. that's because vista is 64 bit and xp is 32 so you would have to find 64 bit software but 32 software still works, just not as fast as 64 bit. one thing you'll want is ample amounts of ram. yes i hate IE with a passion, that's why i use firefox. the dell xps is a great computer. i have an inspiron and i hate it. always having hardware problems. hp notebooks usually have better multimedia options than most computers though.

 

ive used both and macs kick *** threre screens destroy any pc screen i dont know why,
there programs are superior by far ,
ther faster and eiser to use in most cases and they layout is plain old more interactive.

i have a brand new hp entertainment pc with vista and its okay but,
you have to deal with the OS all the time its always asking permision to do dumb stuff,
like just goin to my ipod no matter how many times i tell it its okay it still asks me

im a full blown pc fan but macs kick some serious ***
but my hp is pretty fast 2 gigs of ram and a 120gig harddrive

 

I'm done with PC's! I've always used a pc..... Dell's/HP's and at first they run great, but eventually they start to slow down noticably. I've noticed that lately programs are ending them selves more and more and that stupid "were sorry but theres been a problem with.....,would you like to send an error report" message, and the applications closes.....I hate that ****! So this will be the last PC for me. I used a buddy's MAC notebook for the first time a couple of weeks ago, that thing is sick! I hate Microsoft's sh!tty @$$ OS's and Game platforms "forgot to mention my 360 got the ring of death.....twice" seems that Microsoft couldn't fix it right the first time, so they sent me a brand new 360 and the new one crashed in 2 months....WTF! So now I will get a PS3!

 

Interesting. I'm still doing my homework before I make decision. The more I read the more it seems like most people are pc or mac loyalists. I just want a reliable notebook with all the bells and whistles and super fast speeds while running multiple programs. The problem I have with a pc is out of the box it comes with a crap load of useless programs that a nontechy person like myself can't really turn off without messing up the OS.

 

^ Actually you can remove the program from the hard drive without messing something up, but you are right, there is alot of useless proprietary nonsence intalled when you buy one!

 

basically, both systems are pretty good...

mac = entertainment and windows = more on the business/school side...

however, you obviously can still do work on a mac and entertainment on a windows, but one does one better than the other

 

^ Your a smart cookie...LOL

 

its just to generalize operating systems though... not everyone is all that concerned with what computers REALLY can do, such as write programs on windows and what not