As someone who has personally owned both a Mac and a PC, the choice is clear.

On average, a new laptop of equivalent parts (Processor, Hard Drive, RAM, even the screen) will have a range of (more than) $600.

Don't believe me? Customize any Dell laptop to the same parts as a Macbook. You will smack yourself for even considering the notion of getting a Mac. It's just plainly a bad idea.

Not only are PC's cheaper and smarter, they're more efficient. And fully upgradable. Macs? Not so much. In a macbook, it's standard to solder the processor to the motherboard. Good going, Apple.

Apple makes it's money off of the selling point that they're different than a PC. PC clock is on the bottom right/ Apple's is on the top right. PC icons are vertical, Apple's are horizontal.

People have realized how much better a PC is to a Mac, and the people at Apple have realized it, too. Hence, why now Bootcamp can run Windows -- it's a smarter choice.

There is no Apple software out there that PC does not have an equivalent for.

Apple talks about being better for movies, music, and multimedia, but honestly - no difference.

Right now, the best software products for BOTH operating systems is ADOBE software (Photoshop, Premiere, Acrobat, etc.) which Apple and PC can use.

And finally, a PC is the clear choice for any gaming and rendering you may do. Microsoft has realized how much they have cornered the market on games, and now have Games for Windows, because MACS ARE USELESS FOR GAMING! Despite their, "Multimedia capabilities".

In conclusion - you get a Mac, and you're wasting $600+ on a crappy product.

Get a PC.

For those of you who seem to say Microsoft has the edge over Apple let me talk about one major problem. The Windows operating system runs off a disorganized array of clunky dll files. These dlls are open doors for all sorts of viruses and worms, hence the reason there is a new security update for Windows every fews weeks or so.
While the new Leopard operating system is organized and virtually impenetrable. Plus who wants to keep seeing "There has been an unexpected error and program must close"...."Would you like to send an error report?"
Not to mention the fact that DOS is still the backbone of Windows Vista. Watch, for a split second you will see a small black box that when frozen says DOS operating Windows Vista (whatever version number, considering there are always a plethora there is no telling).
While Apple's terminal system has been stable for years only updating every year or so, and now with the integration of Intel chip sets (replacing the old Motorola sets) users now have a reason for a switch, because now they are just as easily upgraded as a windows PC.
It is only a matter of time before Macs dominate the PC world. With EA signing a huge multi-million dollar contract with Apple to include Mac titles amongst their PC releases. More and more software companies are making the switch. So PC world watch out Windows has Apple right at its heels.
Oh and for Kyle... PC stands for "Personal Computer", and does not signify it is a Windows machine. In fact Apple invented the term PC, check Wiki or something before posting, I mean really.

I have an imac running both Mac OS X and Windows through Bootcamp and sometimes use it to play games but apart from that there is absolutely nothing I can do on windows;

I have the Media Centre Edition yet it cannot play ANY dvds (need to buy software for that), can't play 95% of video files and music is too much of a hassle.

Surfing the internet brings viruses which slows down my computer even with the best antivirus program (which needs to be payed for) which already slows down my computer.

Oh I can use word on Windows, but I already have that on Mac (iwork 08 is better by far though), so all I have Windows for is the games, but they aren't made by Microsoft are they?

If this were darwinian evolution Microsoft would have died long ago.

it is ridiculous to suggest that a pc can now realistcally compete with high performance apple products
i used pc's for years but for practical use and pro results apple just smashes the hll out of microsoft
micrsosoft had their hey day but apple is the tortoise in this race

What makes Microsoft better? Slow OS? Or how about unreliable bundled programming? Oh I know, cheap parts that require drivers that malfunction on a regular basis that requires you to download updates that again, bog down your computer.

Oh and Apple is evil because it charges you for the services it provides and the immense about of support it gives you along with the design and fluid functionality of both hardware and software working together without any issues. I forgot. Apple is also evil because it makes you purchase songs online for the same price of the stores, forcing you to obey the law. How dare they make you obey the law.

Oh yeah! And how dare they say no to viruses and spyware! Don't they know that's what we want on our computer? How else do they expect us to complain about privacy issues? But that's another post.

People take things too seriously. Normal users could do well with both. If you don't know what you are up against (or if you are a noob), then go for Microsoft. It supports most of the software out there on the net. If you are pro, you could do anything you want :D

In the end, Microsoft wins, like it or not.

Microsoft wins whether we like it or not?

Leopard is a faster, easier OS than Vista.

Vista has been found to run BEST on an iMac, an Apple computer.

Mac OS does not receive viruses.

Mac OS is far more stable than Windows.

Apple computers feature more hardware than Windows computers for a lesser price.

And on the mobile front, iPhone beats Windows smartphones hands down in every review.

You are right, Windows does so obviously win.

A lot of you argue that Macs are resistant to viruses and malware, that's simply not true. It's because no one would waste their time writing malwares to attack Macs, why? Becuase Macs hold a smaller market share. Windows, on the other hand, are more prone to attacks because they are more "popular", and since large businesses and coporations use Windows for their servers/systems, hackers/crackers tends to write malware design for Windows (thus Macs are not affected).

If Apple become more dominant company, the rate of viral attacks will increase, and we (the mass comsumers) will start to realize that Macs are not designed "securely", it just because no one cares to attack them.

As for Microsoft's "unreliable programming", there's also an explaination for that (no, not becuase Microsoft "sucks"). There are so many 3rd party software and also hardware flowing around the market for Windows, there's bound to be incompatibility to some degree. Apple do not experience instability because most of their software is written by themselves, and hardware built by themselves for their machines (but they started to integrate Intel CPUs and graphics cards from other companies), of course they'll run more smoothly.

However, with that said. I personally don't care who wins this battle, nor do I take any sides (even though I sound like I'm leaning towards Windows). I just want a usable computer.

personally i think mac is better in design than Microsoft, on the other hand, i find it stupid to pay 1000 pounds more to get the same pc with the same specification. i rather get my pc, install pirated xp, install the other programs that r ONLY compatible with windows, and enjoy the rest. Besides pcs are far better for playing intensive games. therefore, my chioce is going to be Microsoft unless i get enough money to spare, and afford other ppl reaping me off!
oh last word, vista was a flop LOL!

I agree with what Kev said. Apple holds a much smaller market share than windows (it is growing of course) and no one would waste their time writing malware and spyware for those computers.

And as for what the person above him said, Apple computer DOES NOT feature more harware than windows. The thing with windows is that it has so much MORE 3rd party hardware (and software) that it is bound to have more compatibility issues.

Like him i don't chose sides. If I had the money I would buy a mac simply because of the dedicated hardware. However dedicated hardware also means a higher price.

This whole blind hyping of Apple is really annoying. People think that apple is immune and they regurgitate what the apple commercials tell them back without really knowing what they are talking about.

I personally use Microsoft for it's compatibility with a wide variety of products so that I don't get locked into just one brand for all my needs. Not saying apple is bad, they do good work and are needed for both sides to improve and benefit the customer in the long run. The company responsible for the infamous GUI that microsoft "stole" from apple then both are culprits of the same crime. In fact XEROX in research Park in Palo Alto, CA developed the computer mouse and the first GUI, it just happend that the board at the time did not see the market needed to spend the money in investing more into that technology. Steve Jobs and his top software developers were granted 3 days or so to use and see how the technology worked and in that short time pretty much stole the technology and incorporated it into the apple Lisa. So Microsoft pretty much did the same to apple and then were smart enough to buy the rights from Xerox so Apple cannot claim ownership of a technology that came from a different company. Yes apple spurred the computer revolution and Microsoft brought a way of delivering computing technology to the masses by just liscensing it's software. To create an operating system and not design hardware specifically for it put manufacturer's to the task of writing their own drivers and that might explain why people would spend a lot of money on certain company's PC compared to others. When it comes down to everything, apple only has a 90 day warranty on their precious and beloved products and you have to invest $190 or so to buy the apple care plan, The TCO on any product depends on what it's uses are and also who the end user is. If you click on any link you find on the web then you may just be subject to get a virus or malicious addware on your pc, but there are many vulnerabilities in OSX, it just does not make sense to buy a MAC unless you are ready to be submerged in a world of one company, which if all you need is a laptop, or desktop and you don't care to much for anything else, then buy what suits you. For now I stick with Microsoft until I can be assured that Apple will continue using processors with the defacto standard in processing chips.

People who thinks Mac's are better than Microsoft they probably haven't even used Microsoft and Mac just sucks so just give up Microsoft is better and you know it

I am Microsoft qualified and work with Microsoft Windows on a day-to-day basis. So which is best?
Without a doubt Apple are best. I use Windows Vista and OSX Leopard at home and the Mac is the most reliable, easy to use out of the two. I have not worked for a company yet that will roll-out Vista to the work force because it's rubbish.
The people who say that virus writers only target Windows because they hold the largest Market share are talking rubbish! Windows has a clunky registry and those dll's as previously mentioned are all just asking to be exploited. User Access Control in Vista was a good idea but most people turn it off because no one wants to be prompted 3 times to confirm an action.
Mac's just work, live with it.

Right now. Apple IS the leader over microsoft. No doubt about it. You guys complain about apple stealing code from ms? And microsoft didnt steal anything from windows? My ass. Apple was the first computer to have graphics. That computer was made in a garage practically. Oh and now look. Ms has graphics. So dont give apple users a whole load of how they stold from windows. Look at microsoft now. There a sitting duck. While apples quarterly earnings are sky rocketing. And microsofts are about staying even and morely drop. Oh and customer satisfaction? 54% of dell users are unsatisfied with there computer. While 83% of apple owners are happy and would buy another mac. Maby 2 or 3 years ago microsoft was the leader. But in 2-3 years... alot happens. Especially in technology figures. I used to be a microsoft Nazi. But I moved to apple. ANd once you go mac. You never go back

I think we are missing the point here.

There is so much more to our world then simply Microsoft or Apple.
We live in an age where we can take a photo on a phone in ridiculously high quality and send it, almost instantaneously, to our cousin who lives on the other side of the world. We live in an age where we can detect life-threatening diseases in relative infancy and eliminate them with no external or internal damage to the host. We live in an age where we can detect a small chunk of rock floating thousands of kilometres away in space and calculate its trajectory.
This is all thanks to computers.
The debate here is not whether Apple or Microsoft is better, the truth is we need them both.

We have seen exponential progression with computers over the past 20 years, hell, over the past 6 months. Microsoft and Apple need each other to force each other into innovation, into new ideas, for the benefit of not only the consumer, but mankind.

Sure, Microsoft systems are buggy and vulnerable, but this is simply because it own 90% of the market - hackers looking for passwords have more of a chance succeeding with a Windows then with Mackintosh.
Furthermore, up until a few years ago (the success of the iPod), Microsoft had no competition and nearly 100% market - why would they drastically change their operating system (getting rid of DLLs etc.) when it was obviously working for them? They would have to be insane and I would have done exactly the same thing.

Apple on the other hand is indeed the tortoise in this race. They can thank their comeback on the [lucky] success of their iPod are undoubtedly industry standards when it comes to MP3 players. With that, they now have recaptured some of MS's market and although they are still at low market-share, they work this for them. Everyone loves an underdog.
Sure, no one writes viruses for them, but is it really because no one wants to? No, it's because Mackintosh is truthfully more stable and harder to infiltrate.

But which computer am I writing this on?
My shiny new Macbook Pro of course :)

Apple is a speed boat- Microsoft is a trawler

"There is endless debate on whether Gates and company stole designs from Apple, but that's another post."

The "stole designs" argument is historical whitewashing. A subtle shift in the argument that allows for inconvenient details to be forgotten.

Microsoft stole code. They got caught twice.

The first time they did it was during the development of Word for Macintosh (which itself led to the development of Windows). After Steve Jobs' ousting, Microsoft got retroactive permission to the code before the trial was over and won. Apple tried to countersue on "look and feel" grounds and not only lost the case, but forever changed the subject from stolen code to stolen design ideas.

The second time they were caught was during the early development of Quicktime. MS got caught shipping unchanged Apple code in Video for Windows 1.0. They lost that one and had to strip out all the stolen code.

The tech press acts like it never happened.

(Source: roughlydrafted.com)

Yeah,
all know that Microsoft sucks but its just the laziness of ppeople that Apple is not getting popular that much.
http://theblogwhichsaysall.blogspot.com/

If you are honestly going to sit here and say that Apple is better than Microsoft, then you must be OUT OF OUR DAMN MIND!!! Microsoft wins, hands down, as always. Sure some of the features may be closely related, but Microsoft is still WAY better. Besides, doesn't everyone use Microsoft Word nowadays? Anyways, for someone more tech-savvy, using an Apple is like driving an old Ford model... IT JUST DOEN'T CUT IT!!!

The best way to compare the 2: Apple is a BMW while the PC or Microsoft Based Computers are Chevy's. Sure most of the world drives Chevy's over the BMW. They're a lot cheaper. BUT which vehicle is a lot better? That's a no-brainer.As for the disparity in the amount sold of each, it's a lot easier to come up with $400 as opposed to $1000. But Macs are superior in every way. Especially it's reknown "Ease of Use. Just compare the installation directions on CD's that operate on both. The Mac direction is 1 or 2 lines. Directions for the PC is 5 lines minimum.