Macs don't get viruses or infected with spy-ware as easily, so that's their major benefit. As has been mentioned, the major drawback is the availability of hardware & software, but that is changing. I use both.

Those new Mac commercials are very effective advertisements.

Yes, I'm sure they are. They are pretty clever and entertaining. PC advertisements are always so terrible--like that "Dude, you're getting a Dell" fiasco.

im a mac user, but pcs are solid with the right hardware and i always used linux over windoze, but ran pc as dual boot. mac osx can be made to run on an xbox if a cheap computer is needed

I don't like things with a lot of propietary technology. PCs > Macs.

DUDE! microsoft is like the definition of propietary.

i was thinking about making this thread but decieded against it, but now thats its here ill chime in.

each has its own value. macs have far superior hardware which makes it optimized for multimedia intensive applications. the problem with games is not a problem with macs its a problem with game developers, macs could run games just as good if not better than XP, but just as programmers arent going to break their back writing viruses for 5% of the market they arent going to make a game. macs may seem more expensive but they LAST, for instance, im going to be buying a G3 laptop soon. thats right a G3, the laptops that were introduced in 1999, 1999! imagine a PC from 1999, thats ancient but these G3s can give G4 towers a run for their money, running tiger seemlessly with 500Mhz speed. a PC from 1999 is better off as a paper weight.

before i even get to windows as a piece of software, i cant help but to loath microsoft. their shotty buisness tactics alone breath malice into my eyes. acually i was gonna write a pro and con of both but i can really think of many pros for XP. the biggest thing windows has over macs is customization, optimization and general tweakability which is what i look for in an OS.

which brings me to the best part (where i really get to toot my horn)

LINUX!
been using linux for a little less than a year now, and ive never looked back! i just am at a loss for words.
whats beautiful, linux on a mac.

as far as hardware and software goes for mac i have had no problems what so ever getting what i needed for my mac including pro studio software and hardware, with far less debugging than i could have ever dreamed of on a pc

PC all the way.

Whatev.

I'm ill-equipped to vote, as I have exactly nil experience of macs. But I know that my charming laptop does everything I need it to.

I use both platforms because it's handy, but mac is by far better.
Jobs > Gates

okay, first of all, it depends on what you are doing with your computer.. if you're an idle computer user, just surfing the net, typing letters and checking your e-mail, a PC is sufficient and cheap, and a mac is more costly, but again sufficient..

if you like to play games, you have to go with a pc, and a state of the art graphics card..


if you want to edit movies, design large graphics et cetera, you are better off with a mac..

overall, mac is a secure and costly work machine..
pcs are basically more troublesome and more fun..

i hate macs, why do they only have one fucking mouse button? why can't you maximize things to fill the whole screen, why isn't there an equivalent to the bar at the bottom of the screen on windows where you can flick between all the different things you've got running. also, apple adverts are dreadful.

har har. the hispano-suiza was a beautiful car. look at how many of them are on the road right now.

--
ps tom, you can get a mac w/ 2 button mouse, but it will cost you $200 extra :D

I own a PC, but I've many times that Macs are considerabally better, more powerful, etc.

over the past year i've owned a pc and a mac and i can honestly say that i prefer the mac over the pc. the pc was slow and clunky and didn't do anything that i really wanted it to do. i could never get max/msp to work right, and trying to record anything on the pc was a total nightmare. on my mac, max/msp runs super smooth, and i've found a ton of programs that let me create sound shapes, edit and record sound. for me, that was the deciding factor for getting a mac. macs are good for doing art, sound, film and all that good stuff. pc's are good for checking email and making calendar plans.

well, thats a bit of a cliche. you can't compare "any mac" to "any pc"-- like a $2K mac vs. an old $500 compaq-- that's just an unfair comparison, as if i was trying to compare my newly built video editing workstation with an old g3. you have to go maybe on a dollar-by-dollar comparison and see where you get most for your money. when you compare top of the line PCs with top of the line Macs the differences are not so obvious-- you can do anything you want in a good pc just like you can do on a mac. the thing is there are no "cheap" macs to compare to cheap PCs, and in that case the macs will win. but take that headless imac (do they still make it) & compare to what you get for $500 in the pc world. both are crap for sure but w/ the pc at least you get a mouse :D

It's a long discussion, I think, and now I'm not so into anymore. There are good things for both. so I think there are 3 different combinations about hardware and software: PC/windows, PC/Linux, Mac/OsX. Some years ago I installed even linux on a powerbook or emulators for windows and OS and everything, I had 8 os on a pc and others on others more but this wasnt useful for me :).Now I'm ok with 1 winXP on an old PC and a G4 powerbook .I think Mac is definitely something that works for user-desktop and for work too. Linux is good for services and Window$ is perfect to make money. About PC hardware, I was involved into conferences till some years ago and I'm for AMD, not for Intel that now looks it's devastating the new powerbooks.

hahaha, Mac (aka "my first PC") one day you mac users might graduate to big kid computers!

i think ultiamtely macs are better. they are designed much better and are much nicer looking, fuck up less, are quicker and are not prone to viruses. pc's look like they were just cobbled together and no thought went into them at all.

for $499 the MiniMacs give you a bang, and could probaly oust a PC of the equivelent price.

intel macs are gay.