I'm going to have to say PC.
I tested macs to use as a computer for my school (we're 100% online, except we still have to you know, show up in person) and I have to say, not very user friendly. Really the only good I can say about them is they're visually pleasing (nice design, good graphics etc.) But, if we had gone with the macs we would have to reconfigure our entire school, because most software is more PC (you know windows...) friendly than Mac friendly. Oh, I got the mac to tell me jokes though (through voice command), and that was fun, but I have a terrible southern drawl so I had to sit there for hours shouting TELL ME A JOKE!!! Before it finally recognized my voice, I'm sure I looked like a crazy person.... Did that on my presentation too..... Anyways, if your looking for a pretty computer that you probably won't use very much I'd go Mac, if you're in school and you plan on using your computer alot I'd go pc. Oh and Macs really are easier to hac, we had a school competition (bunch of nerds....)
oh I'm just dying for this, though! http://www.apple.com/ipad/

Quote from ktmeunier

mac:
well as an actual computer teck (well an intern for now) I always go with and recomend windows's. while i admit that macs are nice for some things (almost all of which pc can do better) i dont like to pay more for less power. the two bid advantages to pc's are that 1: microsoft only sells the operating system and not all the hardware (as in the actual computer parts not the software) so that means you can look around (or build your own which if you can is always the best and thats why me and ever other teck i work with has windows and a costom build computer) and find much better deals than mac, which only allows there os to be sold with there hardware too. And 2: macs dont allow users to make there own programs; in other words if you want to write a program for mac you have to buy there 1000$ program building software, then you have to write the program, then you have to send it in to them and pray that they think you program is worthy (which they never do, thats why they have only about 30 programs). with a windows you can just write it then run it (thats why there are thousands of windows programs).
so windows are cheaper (built a nice gaming computer for around 500$) and they have way more software then mac not to mention more functions.
linex:
and linex is good for some stuff but there are more for ether bussneses (better secuity because its so rarely used and because its usually costomly programed, thats why banks almost always use linex) or you just really want to program your own/ stick it to the man.

note: oh and pcs are personal computers which include mac's, you ment to say windows 😀

Disconsidering the poor english, since not everyone here(myself included) is a native english speaker, you failed to write Linux correctly not once but three times! Hence I seriously doubt your affirmation of being a Computer Tech. That or you seriously need to study because that's a very big fail for a computer tech.

I could further discuss your post, but I already hogged this topic too much with discussions.

Quote from Pedro Boh

the PC in PowerPC is NOT Personal Computer, it means Performance Computing, otherwise I believe Rob1988's post covers everything.

You're right on that part (I just checked).
When I'm back home, I'll check if I still have some of the old Apple brochures/ads.... I'm pretty sure one of them contained the phrases "our personal computers are" and "redefine the way you view personal computing" ..... or something like that.

Point & Squirt

Windows 98 for the win.

I'm using Vista now though, since my modern computer lacks the Floppy drive necessary to re-install 98. I dont' see why there's so much hate for Vista. It's a bit annoying but it's easy enough to get used to and with an admin account you can just push through most of the changes.(Besides the lack of DOS. I have too many DOS things and it pisses me off, but I haven't got a floppy drive anyways so it doesn't really matter) I hate Wondows 7 though. I just can't see why it seems to be getting so much love. It broke things even more than Vista did.

As for Mac. I don't like them. No justification

Quote from Pedro Boh

Quote from ktmeunier

mac:
well as an actual computer teck (well an intern for now) I always go with and recomend windows's. while i admit that macs are nice for some things (almost all of which pc can do better) i dont like to pay more for less power. the two bid advantages to pc's are that 1: microsoft only sells the operating system and not all the hardware (as in the actual computer parts not the software) so that means you can look around (or build your own which if you can is always the best and thats why me and ever other teck i work with has windows and a costom build computer) and find much better deals than mac, which only allows there os to be sold with there hardware too. And 2: macs dont allow users to make there own programs; in other words if you want to write a program for mac you have to buy there 1000$ program building software, then you have to write the program, then you have to send it in to them and pray that they think you program is worthy (which they never do, thats why they have only about 30 programs). with a windows you can just write it then run it (thats why there are thousands of windows programs).
so windows are cheaper (built a nice gaming computer for around 500$) and they have way more software then mac not to mention more functions.
linex:
and linex is good for some stuff but there are more for ether bussneses (better secuity because its so rarely used and because its usually costomly programed, thats why banks almost always use linex) or you just really want to program your own/ stick it to the man.

note: oh and pcs are personal computers which include mac's, you ment to say windows 😀

Disconsidering the poor english, since not everyone here(myself included) is a native english speaker, you failed to write Linux correctly not once but three times! Hence I seriously doubt your affirmation of being a Computer Tech. That or you seriously need to study because that's a very big fail for a computer tech.

I could further discuss your post, but I already hogged this topic too much with discussions.

I wouldn't say techs pride themselves on their english, or are even that smart (I know plenty of really stupid techs). I also wouldn't say that native English speakers actually have good grammar (or in this case spelling...). When you know a language really well, you take more liberties with it than one that is not natural to you. I wouldn't dismiss what ktmeunier is saying so easily.

Quote from Tsubaki21

Quote from Pedro Boh

Quote from ktmeunier

mac:
well as an actual computer teck (well an intern for now) I always go with and recomend windows's. while i admit that macs are nice for some things (almost all of which pc can do better) i dont like to pay more for less power. the two bid advantages to pc's are that 1: microsoft only sells the operating system and not all the hardware (as in the actual computer parts not the software) so that means you can look around (or build your own which if you can is always the best and thats why me and ever other teck i work with has windows and a costom build computer) and find much better deals than mac, which only allows there os to be sold with there hardware too. And 2: macs dont allow users to make there own programs; in other words if you want to write a program for mac you have to buy there 1000$ program building software, then you have to write the program, then you have to send it in to them and pray that they think you program is worthy (which they never do, thats why they have only about 30 programs). with a windows you can just write it then run it (thats why there are thousands of windows programs).
so windows are cheaper (built a nice gaming computer for around 500$) and they have way more software then mac not to mention more functions.
linex:
and linex is good for some stuff but there are more for ether bussneses (better secuity because its so rarely used and because its usually costomly programed, thats why banks almost always use linex) or you just really want to program your own/ stick it to the man.

note: oh and pcs are personal computers which include mac's, you ment to say windows 😀

Disconsidering the poor english, since not everyone here(myself included) is a native english speaker, you failed to write Linux correctly not once but three times! Hence I seriously doubt your affirmation of being a Computer Tech. That or you seriously need to study because that's a very big fail for a computer tech.

I could further discuss your post, but I already hogged this topic too much with discussions.

I wouldn't say techs pride themselves on their english, or are even that smart (I know plenty of really stupid techs). I also wouldn't say that native English speakers actually have good grammar (or in this case spelling...). When you know a language really well, you take more liberties with it than one that is not natural to you. I wouldn't dismiss what ktmeunier is saying so easily.

He mispelled Linux. Three times. It's written correctly on the poll. I rest my case.

I'm a computer science student and hence I (should) know what I'm talking about. Most of what ktmeunier said is utter bullshit.

PC's have mouse wheels by default now, Macs @ my school do not (only Mac experience). Go PC.

Quote from ktmeunier

in other words if you want to write a program for mac you have to buy there 1000$ program building software

I think you're confusing the iphone SDK with the apple SDK with some other wonkyness, but for the record Microsoft enterprise dev tools (basically required for major .net development) aren't any cheaper. Visual Studio express is fine for small projects/student stuff, but it collapses under sufficiently large projects. And far as I can tell, most of the apple SDKs are also free.

then you have to write the program, then you have to send it in to them and pray that they think you program is worthy

Well, you always have to code everything, ever, but I've never heard of any formal approval process on apples end for anything except iphone apps (and even that's just to publish the app on the appstore.) There are more windows programs simply 'cause there are more windows users; on the flip side, the iphone is currently one of the strongest development platforms 'cause of it's large audience. Supply & demand.

hats why banks almost always use linex

Bank (and most companies that deal with insane amounts of financial transactions) almost always use mainframes, which have their own operating systems. At least that's for the big bad crazy math. Their employees use an assortment of OSes.

I'm a computer science student and hence I (should) know what I'm talking about. Most of what ktmeunier said is utter bullshit.

While I agree with you that ktmeunier's statements range from off to wrong, I have little faith in CS kids computer tech skills. Most CS people seem to fall into two catagories: %20 techies, %80 not. I've dealt with classmates afraid of learning new languages or trying different OSes, and met quite a few phD students slightly scared of linux.

My current philosophy is that if I can ssh and scp, I'm good.

Quote from story645

I think you're confusing the iphone SDK with the apple SDK with some other wonkyness, but for the record Microsoft enterprise dev tools (basically required for major .net development) aren't any cheaper. Visual Studio express is fine for small projects/student stuff, but it collapses under sufficiently large projects. And far as I can tell, most of the apple SDKs are also free.

on this you are proboly right, i have heard otherwise so thats why i said it, but i apologize for not checking my facts on this one

Well, you always have to code everything, ever, but I've never heard of any formal approval process on apples end for anything except iphone apps (and even that's just to publish the app on the appstore.) There are more windows programs simply 'cause there are more windows users; on the flip side, the iphone is currently one of the strongest development platforms 'cause of it's large audience. Supply & demand.

you are right about the codeing (im not a programmer so i dont know everything) but you might want to check about the "formal approval process" for the mac (i dont know about the iphone but thats different) because on this one i pretty sure im right.

Bank (and most companies that deal with insane amounts of financial transactions) almost always use mainframes, which have their own operating systems. At least that's for the big bad crazy math. Their employees use an assortment of OSes. again on this one im not 100% but im still pretty sure im right because thats what i have always learned (linux has by far the best security and could be the base of there mainfrain because they can change it however they want sence linux is destributed under the GNU lisense.

oh and as far as the spelling go's, im a terrible speller (though i am a native english speaker) and im sorry though i dont really see that as the only representation of my intelligence. and my original two points (amount of programs and price) are still true and i dont think ether of you have a problem with those.

and while i was trying to check my facts on google i found this and found it funny
[url]http://i.imgur.com/YRoqC.jpg[/url]

Irish+French= Drunken painter?

[quote=ktmeunier]

Quote from story645

Bank (and most companies that deal with insane amounts of financial transactions) almost always use mainframes, which have their own operating systems. At least that's for the big bad crazy math. Their employees use an assortment of OSes. again on this one im not 100% but im still pretty sure im right because thats what i have always learned (linux has by far the best security and could be the base of there mainfrain because they can change it however they want sence linux is destributed under the GNU lisense.

Many financial institutions do you the Linux (SE Linux, to be precise) kernel when designing their own OS, some use BSD, some use stuff designed by external contractors (Cisco, for example) which may or may not be based on Linux, and some use a completely bespoke, built from scratch environment.... horses for courses.
I'm not really a security expert, just repeating what I've read here and there.

With regards to the dev tools available for Win vs Macs, they both can be just as expensive.

Point & Squirt

Quote from ktmeunier

but you might want to check about the "formal approval process" for the mac (i dont know about the iphone but thats different) because on this one i pretty sure im right

The mac dev site says nothing about an approval process, so please provide a link. Looking at what they offer, the selection and prices are comparable to MS.

but im still pretty sure im right because thats what i have always learned (linux has by far the best security and could be the base of there mainfrain because they can change it however they want sence linux is destributed under the GNU lisense

My mom codes COBOL for an institution that does large financial transactions. They pour money into trying to switch from mainframes, which generally don't use linux based OSes 'cause mainframes have their own architecture. A lot of banks use linux on the servers that talk to the mainframes and on their backends, but that's a different ballgame. Linux can have great security, lousy security, or somewhere in between-it all depends on the specific distro. SElinux is very locked down, ubuntu not at all.

some use stuff designed by external contractors (Cisco, for example)

Cisco is a networking company; they design software for network security, maintenance, stability, etc. That's different from the core business process OSes.

I have a friend who's working for a financial company, and he said internally they use every operating system under the sun. But those systems all push data back onto servers (linux or windows-one of the big global stock exchanges uses windows) that then push jobs onto mainframes. There are hardware and software stacks.

I'd have to say PC. It's all personal preference though.

Lalala~

Quote from story645

some use stuff designed by external contractors (Cisco, for example)

Cisco is a networking company; they design software for network security, maintenance, stability, etc. That's different from the core business process OSes.

I have a friend who's working for a financial company, and he said internally they use every operating system under the sun. But those systems all push data back onto servers (linux or windows-one of the big global stock exchanges uses windows) that then push jobs onto mainframes. There are hardware and software stacks.

You're probably right there, but I've seen newspaper articles where banks talk about the work they do with Cisco, so .....

(o_o)/

Point & Squirt

Quote from G-17

You're probably right there, but I've seen newspaper articles where banks talk about the work they do with Cisco, so .....

On the networking side, 'cause that's a major security threat for most companies, as it's the easiest way to get into the system without being physically in the building. A good bit of hacking is getting around network security (which includes things like firewalls.) Most big companies also have really complex networking infrastructures, as they've got their internal net (intranet), the internet, various secure connections to remote locations, and multiple servers for everything from email to routing to doing backups.

^^ Thanks for the info, story 645
Like I said, I know nothing about corporate mumbo-jumbo and security (outside securing my own system/network, that is)....I'm just a hobbyist code monkey -__-;;

Point & Squirt