if you've used macs for the last 4 years do you like them or not? i've been using macs for 8 years and am more than happy. at the same time, i use a PC for work.

to me, 4 years is a good lifespan for a laptop. i kept my first ibook for that long before stepping up to a macbook pro.
i'd say check out comparable options for your price range and what you want to accomplish with them.

the mac vs pc debate is all about personal preference. if anything, i guess i'd argue this time around you may want to opt for applecare in case something happens to your machine.

I think Macs are better, but as my clientele is always sending me misc files, and lets be honest - Mac games suck - I think the Macbook Pro with Windows XP/Bootcamp is by far the best option. My Macbook Pro runs Windows really well - it's like having two systems in one! Can't do that any other way.

Get a Mac & a net book or Get a serious gaming Laptop PC & use Bootcamp.
I hope this helps, but without more info on your computing needs its hard to recommend whats the best tools for the job.

I was about to buy a Mac before I realized I can build a better PC from scratch for less then a Mac would cost. I'm currently looking at putting together a 12 gb ram, 1 tb, 24 in monitor and a bunch of other stuff together for around $1300. I like Mac computers but I'm more then happy with my Sony Vaio laptop for now which also works with my Sony Bravia XBR HDTV, Sony 5.1 surround, and PS3 :) Connectivity is where it's at for me...

Thanks for your comments. My concern isn't really mac vs. pc - it's about building a system that will work together. My computer needs are pretty standard but I want to be able to sync my PDA/cell with it, play music throughout my home wirelessly, as well as hook into my HDTV easily. I know Apple is great for this but it's really expensive. Will a PC system sync everything together smoothly?

I have an Ubuntu server where I store all my media, a MacBook Pro which I do my work on and run iTunes, an Airport Extreme which has my printer hooked up wirelessly, an Airport Express behind my TV which is hooked up to my stereo for music and the XBox 360 for internet. I can also control my music through my iPhone which acts as a touchscreen remote for iTunes.

Macs aren't perfect but if you don't mind buying all their stuff they integrate beautifully.

Mac all the way for me. I love that they have less virus control upkeep.

PC are the most versatile machine you can receive for your dollar. Virus and spyware can easily be handled by free apps that run in the background, and by exercising some common sense, so that is no real issue.

PDAs/Cell phones by and large are made to work with Windows than anything else, and it's a good time to buy as many laptop makers are giving free upgrades to Windows7, which is even better at handling portable device, not to mention having Windows Media Center to record and sync all of your content.

But yeah, Read lots of reviews, and just go and try stuff out on a free Saturday.

DONT RUSH!

I think these days, there are lots of options to do what you need to do on either side.

Any new computer would have an output that can go to HDMI for your HDTV via the correct cable. An airport Express can be hooked up to your stereo to stream music from you computer with iTunes on a Mac or Windows. Most Smartphones have software options for either platform as well. It's really going to come down to which combination of user interfaces you like/dislike the most.

I used PCs for more years than I care to admit before buying my first Mac 10 years ago. Since then we've purchased 6 Macs and all lived long productive lives except one, so I'm hoping your Powerbook issue is an isolated issue (my iBook G4 is on it's fifth year). Still I don't consider myself a Mac "fanboy" and use PCs daily at work and home. My computing needs are relatively basic and I've found the Macs allow me to take advantage of multimedia (AppleTV, Sonos, iPods, etc.) and productive (cameras, cellphones) connectivity without undue effort on my part. That being said, PCs are very attractively priced and are perhaps more flexible at the cost of greater effort on the user's part.

Evaluate your needs and do research into which system best meets your requirements at a cost/level of care and feeding balance that you can live with.

i'm a mac user all the way - but if you've had a mac for four years and it hasn't integrated as well as you want it to, then it's definitely not working for you.

i won't repeat what other solutions have been mentioned, but i've had a sony ericsson (symbian), samsung blackjack (windows mobile) and an iPhone - and none of them beat the syncability of the iPhone iTunes. with my previous experience, syncing feels like a windows box trying to do half of what the phone was meant to do, all the while using software that feels flimsy. however, i have never used a Blackberry or an Android phone. so those might be just as good as the iPhone iTunes.

for your audio needs, i know the editor notes that the Apple TV isn't cutting it, but i think you might want to check what Apple TV owners say about the product - cause it really seems like that's what you want. you open up iTunes and it sees your music. and even if you have a PC - all you need is iTunes.

everyone likes vaio but i would also recommend checking out lenovo's offerings.

As others have said, it's all down to personal preference. I'm still using my iBook G3 from 2002 for my mobile machine and it's performed flawlessly for me. I have an upgraded (1.8Ghz) Power Mac G4 at home, and a Pentium 4 PC that does my seti@home and folding@home crunching. The only real difference these days is the OS. Do you prefer OS X to Windows, or vise (or is it visa) versa? If you really like OS X, I'd go with a new Macbook, as you can also run Windows via Bootcamp. If the OS doesn't matter as much, pick up a PC laptop, but spend a little more for a better quality and higher spec machine, as the cheaper PC laptops tend to take a dump after a couple of years. As another poster mentioned, there are a number of free antivirus/anti-spyware applications out there to help protect your Windows installation.

And above all, ignore any of the marketing hoobaloo from both Apple and Microsoft, and any of the zealots out there. Try a number of machines from Apple and PC companies and make your own decision. Good luck!

If you have to ask about how complicated it is, then do yourself a favor and make it easy. I'd go with the mac. The "mac is more expensive" argument is pretty much moot when you consider cost of ownership over time. Add in the cost of anti-virus subscriptions, decent media software, etc. and you're not looking at a lot of difference. While I understand you're Apple experience has not been stellar so far, assume you're in the minority, as Apple has the highest satisfaction rates among most independent surveys. Best of luck!

"the Apple TV isn't cutting it."

I'm not a gamer, so the Apple TV works terrifically for me. I'm not sure what you expect to get out of it b/c it does exactly what it was made to do.

Now, after 4 years it's dying a weird slow death.

That's about the lifespan of a laptop, any laptop. At work they're lucky to get 3 years out of the Dell laptops. Mac laptops in my experience tend to last 4-6 years. So they cost more but look better, tend to come with nicer features and are generally easier to setup and use.

My current PC is a PC I built myself a couple of years ago, and it was fairly high-end at the time (including a 1TB RAID array). But I've had a couple of nasty virus attacks I picked up just from visiting random, non-threatening web pages (not porn or file sharing or whatever). I don't run the PC in Administrator mode (which makes it a bitch to install software or change system settings), and I'm running anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Even thru all of that, hackers manage to compromise Windows systems.

Fortunately, I'm techie enough to combat incidents like that, but I'm tired of having to deal with Windows and its seemingly endless security vulnerabilities and configuration issues. Yeah the Macs aren't perfect, but they're better and the price difference these days between a Mac and a PC is a trivial amount, especially when spread over 4-6 years. So my next computer will likely be a Mac laptop.

Sorry, Microsoft. Maybe you should have spent more time and effort refining your core product, and less chasing after totally unrelated fields like video games and online services.

I used to build my own PC's a few years ago and while it is educational if you want to learn how a PC is put together, I realised that a lot of people will spend less on a Windows PC but end up replacing it sooner or upgrading parts over time.

A Mac on the other hand, you spend more upfront for sure but the machine will be great from day one and last a lot longer.

I just hope the person who wrote the email realises that no computer is perfect, Apple have a great reputation for the build quality of their machines and won't sacrifice anything for the user experience. that doesn't mean you will never have a problem though.

Also, understand that if you have used windows for 20 years a Mac is going to be strange, a lot of people when they get a Mac just do the same stuff they have always done with a computer. which is a shame if technology advances and you still do what you were doing 10 years ago. you have to be prepared to get stuck in, thats why Apple offer training in their stores & online. You've got a great bit of kit if you know how to use it!

So I would say if you are doing the same old stuff just on a new PC go Windows, if you want to do a little more and try different stuff out go Mac.

It really depends on what you want it to do. if you are a power user or use your computer for work, I'd go with a PC. If it is just for home use, Mac.

It all depends on the following:
- What are you doing on your laptop right now?
- What do you wish you could be doing on your laptop?
- What can you give up?

I'll even make it simpler for you. If your phone is an iPhone, and you use iTunes exclusively for all your music... and your collection is large... then stick with a Mac. Lets face it, iTunes for PC is pretty much a joke when compared to the Mac version.

If all your going to be doing is listening to music, browsing the internet, etc... then a Mac would probably be in your best interest because its good at doing the basics and you'll save time having to rework your music collection.