grimreaper423 0 Report post Posted July 2, 2006 why buy a PC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer A personal computer (PC) is usually a microcomputer whose price, size, and capabilities make it suitable for personal usage. The term was popularized by Apple Computer with the Apple II in the late-1970s and early-1980s, and afterwards by IBM with the IBM PC. HistoryBefore their advent in the late-1970s to the early-1980s, the only computers possibly available, if the user was privileged, were "computer-terminal based" architectures owned by large institutions. In these, the technology was called "computer time share systems", and used minicomputers and mainframe computers. These central computer systems frequently required large rooms — roughly, a handball-court-sized room could hold two to three small minicomputers and its associated peripherals, each housed in cabinets much the size of three refrigerators side by side (with blinking lights and tape drives). In that era, mainframe computers occupied whole floors; a big hard disk was a mere 10–20 Megabytes mounted on a cabinet the size of a small chest-type freezer. Earlier PCs were generally called desktop computers. The first generations of personal microcomputers were usually sold as kits or merely instructions, and required a somewhat skilled person to assemble and operate them. These were usually called microcomputers, but the name "personal computer" was also used. Later generations were sometimes interchangeably called by the names "home computer" and "personal computer." By the mid-1980s, "home computer" was becoming a less common label in favor of "personal computer." These computers were pre-assembled and required little technical knowledge to operate. In today's common usage, personal computer and PC usually indicate an IBM PC compatible. Due to this association, some manufacturers of personal computers that are not IBM PCs avoid explicitly using the terms to describe their products. Mostly, the term PC is used to describe personal computers that use Microsoft Windows operating systems. One early use of "personal computer" appeared in a November 3, 1962 New York Times article reporting John W. Mauchly's vision of future computing as detailed at a recent meeting of the American Institute of Industrial Engineers. Mauchly stated, "There is no reason to suppose the average boy or girl cannot be master of a personal computer. Some of the first computers that might be called "personal" were early minicomputers such as the LINC and PDP-8. By today's standards they were very large (about the size of a refrigerator) and cost prohibitive (typically tens of thousands of US dollars), and thus were rarely purchased by an individual. However, they were much smaller, less expensive, and generally simpler to operate than many of the mainframe computers of the time. Therefore, they were accessible for individual laboratories and research projects. Minicomputers largely freed these organizations from the batch processing and bureaucracy of a commercial or university computing center. In addition, minicomputers were relatively interactive and soon had their own operating systems. Eventually, the minicomputer included VAX and larger minicomputers from Data General, Prime, and others. The minicomputer era largely was a precursor to personal computer usage and an intermediary step from mainframes. Development of the single-chip microprocessor was an enormous catalyst to the popularization of cheap, easy to use, and truly personal computers. Arguably the first true "personal computer" was the Altair 8800, which brought affordable computing to an admittedly select market in the 1970s. However, it was arguably this computer that spawned the development of both Apple Computer as well as Microsoft, spawning the Altair BASIC programming language interpreter, Microsoft's first product.[MORE on the site] Uses Personal computers are normally operated by one user at a time to perform such general purpose tasks as word processing, internet browsing, internet faxing, e-mail and other digital messaging, multimedia playback, video game play, computer programming, etc. Other more specific functions usually performed with the help of a PC include working, teleworking, learning, researching, printing, online banking, online shopping and dealing online with public sector institutions and services. The user of a modern personal computer may have significant knowledge of the operating environment and application programs, but is not necessarily interested in programming nor even able to write programs for the computer. Therefore, most software written primarily for personal computers tends to be designed with simplicity of use, or "user-friendliness" in mind. However, the software industry continuously provide a wide range of new products for use in personal computers, targeted at both the expert and the non-expert user. why buy a MAC/AppleMac OS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS Mac OS, which stands for Macintosh Operating System, is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Computer for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Mac OS is often credited with popularizing the graphical user interface. It was first introduced in 1984 with the original Macintosh 128K. Apple deliberately played down the existence of the operating system in the early years of the Macintosh to help make the machine appear more user-friendly and to distance it from other operating systems such as MS-DOS, which were portrayed as arcane and technically challenging. Apple wanted Macintosh to be portrayed as a computer "for the rest of us". The term "Mac OS" didn't really exist until it was officially used during the mid-1990s. The term has since been applied to all versions of the Mac system software as a handy way to refer to it when discussing it in context with other operating systems. Earlier versions of the Mac OS were compatible only with Motorola 68000-based Macintoshes, while later versions were also compatible with the PowerPC (PPC) architecture. Most recently, Mac OS X has become compatible with Intel's x86 architecture. Versionshe early Macintosh operating system initially consisted of two pieces of software, called "System" and "Finder", each with its own version number. System 7.5.1 was the first to include the Mac OS logo (a variation on the original "Happy Mac" smiley face Finder startup icon), and Mac OS 7.6 was the first to be named "Mac OS" (to ensure that users would still identify it with Apple, even when used in "clones" from other companies). Until the advent of the later PowerPC G3-based systems, significant parts of the system were stored in physical ROM on the motherboard. The initial purpose of this was to avoid using up the limited storage of floppy disks on system support, given that the early Macs had no hard disk. (Only one model of Mac was ever actually bootable using the ROM alone, the 1991 Mac Classic model.) This architecture also helped to ensure that only Apple computers (and later licensed clones with the copyright-protected ROMs) could run Mac OS. The Mac OS can be divided into two families of operating systems: "Classic" Mac OS, the system which shipped with the first Macintosh in 1984 and its descendants, culminating with Mac OS 9. The newer Mac OS X (the "X" refers to the Roman numeral, ten). Mac OS X incorporates elements of OpenStep (thus also BSD Unix and Mach) and Mac OS 9. Its low-level BSD-based foundation, Darwin, is free software/open source software. Thats all for now PC information here Mac information here i would buy a mac but i have got windows Notice from serverph: quote tags fixed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alexius 0 Report post Posted July 2, 2006 I own both a PC and Mac. I think that both of the latest operating systems, Windows XP and Mac OS X, have their pros and cons. The fact that with my school work, sometimes Windows applications are required, the PC is sometimes needed for that regard. On the other hand, my Mac is an amazing resource of organization of documents, has an amazing GUI that is very ergonomical, and of course has a very large amount of pre-loaded applications that serve any need. With the additional purchase of Microsoft Office for the Mac, my Mac and PC serve me side-by-side, and because of their easy ability to be networked together, a simple click can allow me to share documents for my work and my schoolwork.I suggest both operating systems for the average person.-Alex Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grimreaper423 0 Report post Posted July 2, 2006 well i really want a Mac dunno why proberly there cool interface Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tetraca 0 Report post Posted July 2, 2006 If you can't kill the GUI and go to a sh or bash UNIX shell then it sucks to me. I've never seen uglier interfaces than Mac OS X and Windows XP since Windows 1.0 came out in the 80s. Fluxbox is all I need - nice and clean. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grimreaper423 0 Report post Posted July 2, 2006 nice where can i get fluxboxany one who does not know what is its In Unix computing, Fluxbox is a window manager for the X Window System based on Blackbox 0.61.1.It aims to be lightweight and highly customizable, with only minimal support for graphical icons, and only basic interface style capabilities. The basic interface has only a taskbar and a menu accessible by right-clicking on the desktop. Fluxbox also supports user-created keyboard shortcuts.In accordance with Fluxbox's goal of simplicity, the main menu, the keyboard shortcuts and the basic configuration are all controlled by simple text files, though there are also graphical tools such as Fluxconf available to change settings.Colors, gradients, borders, and several other basic appearance attributes can be specified; recent versions of fluxbox support rounded corners and graphical elements. Fluxbox also has several features Blackbox lacks, including tabbed windows, a feature familiar from PWM, and a configurable titlebar.Fluxbox's themes used to be 100% compatible with Blackbox, but Blackbox 0.70 has added new style features.TAKEN FROMhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluxbox Notice from serverph: quote tags added Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tuddy 0 Report post Posted July 2, 2006 Look at the spec of usein context, If your trying to teach someone how to use a computer, PC is one of the best platroom for this, if your looking for alittle change and know alittle about computers MAC is the best platform for varity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tetraca 0 Report post Posted July 3, 2006 http://fluxbox.org/The configuration files are not that bad to edit, so if you need to add another thing to the Fluxbox menu it isn't that hard to do so, though it could be much better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grimmy 0 Report post Posted July 3, 2006 macs are sooo nice though and windows vista is soo cool Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Plenoptic 0 Report post Posted July 3, 2006 I do think that MAC has very nice resources and is easy to use but I am sticking with PC. I think it is because it seems more things are made for PC and aren't all compatible on a MAC like some games and what not. Of course I am not really an expert but that is just my point of view. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seastien 0 Report post Posted July 3, 2006 after a lot of advices i think buy a mac! and thanks to wikipedia for infos lol ;-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
solo321 0 Report post Posted July 13, 2006 Thnks for the info. I own 2 Pcs, Im thinkin of buying A MAC but I dont know anything abt that till you tell me. Thks again Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alexius 0 Report post Posted July 31, 2006 (edited) I do think that MAC has very nice resources and is easy to use but I am sticking with PC. I think it is because it seems more things are made for PC and aren't all compatible on a MAC like some games and what not. Of course I am not really an expert but that is just my point of view.I happen to disagree. I actually think that most programs that can run in PC either have a higher-end FREEWARE version that was created with the same quality as the Mac OS was created with on the Mac, or the same program is available for that operating system. I was in the same mindset you were in when I first went to buy a Mac, but now I've learned that there is really no difference between both OSs in regards to compatibility.I run Microsoft Office, MSN Messenger, VLC Media Player, Adobe Photoshop, and much other Multi-OS programs on my Mac as it is. In regards to games: almost any game you see for PC is available for Mac.Check it out for yourselves:http://www.apple.com/search/gamesFor more information about why you should Switch:http://www.apple.com/mac/ Edited July 31, 2006 by Alexius (see edit history) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tdktank59 0 Report post Posted July 31, 2006 Macs are good for music recording, picture editing and stuff...while pcs are better for gamingbut also look at some of the pros and cons...macs = no virusespcs (windows) = lots of viruses...imo i would rather be running some sort of linux os like suse cause its just better... but w/e Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mtvoyagers 0 Report post Posted August 1, 2006 Macs are good for music recording, picture editing and stuff...while pcs are better for gamingbut also look at some of the pros and cons...macs = no virusespcs (windows) = lots of viruses...imo i would rather be running some sort of linux os like suse cause its just better... but w/e Just so you know I have a mac, and it got a virus. It wasnt hard to find or get rid of though.As far as the decision between the two OSs I pic both. When I saw both I mean buy a mac, when mac os x leopard comes out, and then get a copy of Vista, when it comes out too (I suggest Vista Ultimate) and run then together with what is currently know as Boot Camp, it will come installed on Leopard when it is out of the beta stage. This way you can run both of them together and have the best of both great worlds.The only thing that holds me back from a mac is the price, sure a mini is fine and it is a good price, but I really dont want just a mini, I would like an iMac, but those are about $2000-$3000 if custamise them, and I'd perfer customized, but I dont have that money sitting around. |All in all I really like Vista and Mac, and both of those worlds would be great. Windows -- >< -- Mac Share this post Link to post Share on other sites