I have a lot to say so this post is rather long... but I think you would find it useful if you read all of it.
I only speak for OS X, NOT 9. I converted to Mac (Ti Powerbook) soon after 10.1 was out, and never paid any attention to OS 9. Before I saw OS X (or even a new Mac other than the old iMac), I thought Macs were unpopular and incompatible (in other words... I thought they sucked... no offense)... until I saw a Cube... and later an iBook running at a Circuit City in Connecticut (the sales guy said you're better off with a Sony... but I did more research on Apple). So I found out I could do just as much as I could w/ a Mac, and even more:
The advantages of the Mac are ease of use (and not defined by how similar or different it is to Windows). What I mean by ease of use is through the way you work with the system. The Dock is one example. You choose what apps go on the dock... they have a visual representation and when you move the cursor over them. You have options like hiding the dock and magnifying the part of the dock where the cursor is at. You can look at minimized windows in the dock... which I find far more useful than Window's text-based taskbar.
Another advantage is the legendary Apple set of iApps. They work like a charm. The Mac opened up a world of possiblities for me. Even though you can use dumbed down versions of the iApps on Windows XP, the iApps are easier to use and have more features. On Windows I was never able to succesfully to make movies, or not to the extent that I was able to on my Ti Powerbook. No complications... it just worked. I plugged in my JVC digital camcorder and it worked perfectly... I was shocked! Doing this in Windows can get pretty messy. Windows XP's copy of iMovie has few features... it's very basic. You definitely have to pay more on Windows to get these features... and it still won't work as well. I also made a wedding photo ablum with iPhoto and my mom's friend's Olympus digicam... I couldn't believe that either. It's really amazing... it took me like half an hour make the book... nitpicking (like what photos should go first). NO directions... nothing. I just used it.. I can't describe the smoothness. Like I never wondered what to do next... it was so simple. Then it came in three days later... it costs like $35... you can't do all of this on Windows, especially not without hassles that will make most consumers give up or not even try! iTunes is a godsend for me! So will iCal and iSync and Sherlock 3. It's so ingenious. Apple is an amazing company... I'm really proud to be a customer. This Apple digital hub strategy is awesome.
Macs and PCs aren't really that incompatible. They can share files and read Office documents, for example (in case you didn't know MS Office is sold for Mac too). With Jaguar, connectivity between PC's and Macs will be even better.
Oh and an even bigger advantage to Mac is Jaguar (Mac OS X v 10.2)... there is so much to talk about Jaguar... I'll have to give you the site in case you didn't look at it. Jaguar puts Apple even further ahead of Microsoft/Windows. I think they should have named it 10.5 with all the features that Jaguar has. blank>http://www.apple.com/macosx/
Another big advantage is that Apple listens to its customers. There are many examples of this, including eMac for consumers, expanded features on the iPod, Xserve, OS X and Jaguar features, and so forth.
Yes, the software for Mac is very good, like the iApps. MS Office for OS X is better than Windows (but since I don't have it I can't tell you how it is better on OS X). On OS X, you tend to get the best software that is out on Windows, not 5 versions of it. I haven't found a lack in software that I would want or need. The software on OS X tends to better developed (such as with drag and drop features and the use of the OS X Quartz engine). There may be a little software unavailable for the Mac here and there, but overall your needs will be met. And if not, there is VirtualPC: blank>www.connectix.com
I find that Macs work just as good on the net, albeit a little slower than Windows when it comes to using IE (but that's more of a software issue). It will get even better once Jaguar is available. On top of that there is Sherlock 3 (a Jaguar feature) and .Mac. Both provide invaluable internet services (you may not find .Mac suits your bill, but it's worth checking out... Apple is going to continually adding more functionality to .Mac).
OS X performance is not as snappy as Windows XP, but that will change with Jaguar and Quartz Extreme (you'll really like that). The G4 processor is more efficient... Intel has to pump up the mhz due to the longer pipelines in order to get more performance. I'm no expert on it, so I'm sure some other Mac user could better explain it. For consumer needs, Apple performance is perfectly adequate. For professionals, it's arguable. There isn't DDR for Macs (EXCEPT FOR THE XSERVE. which has some hybrid DDR features), and some people say the G4 processor may be starved of data when doing intensive tasks (it's not being used at full potential, in other words). But of course the Xserve has some interesting features that will overcome the perceived performance lag in technology. Other than that, the G4 is a great chip. But this will probably change with the intro of new PowerMacs on August 13. Firewire 2 (twice as fast as USB 2.0) will debut sometime (most likely w/ the new PowerMacs). I heard that Apple has a scheduled event soon at which it will unveil these technologies (and possibly USB 2.0). If you need compatibility with USB 2.0, there are solutions... I read it off of Maccentral. I will look for it and post a reply about this.
Of important notice is the fact that Apple is on the HyperTransport Consortium. Basically, this is some kind of super bus (high speed I/O point to point link system). Expect to see some interesting performance breakthroughs with Apple.
Games run pretty well with Macs, however Intel and AMD processors outperform the Motorola G chips in gaming. But an interesting thing happens when the intensity of the game increases... Mac performance does not decrease as much as w/ Intel processors. This is shown by some tests at Xceler8yourmac.com (spelling?). When graphics options are increased (such as a higher resolution), the percentage decrease in frame rates is lower on the Mac than on a Wintel machine. Most of the top games in the Wintel world are ported. There are plenty of the latest games to choose from, including Shadowbane, Max Payne, and Warcraft III (which was available for Mac at the same time as Windows). If you're a hardcore gamer then you may have second thoughts about getting a Mac alone, but there is always the choice of a rather cheap Xbox, PS2, or Gamecube for games that you would like but are not on Mac. Gaming has never been better than ever for the Mac. blank>http://www.apple.com/games/macosx/ blank>www.apple.com/games
OS X is definitely more stable than Windows XP! All those security holes and viruses for Windows...
I don't have experience w/ VPC, as I have no need for it. I heard it's rather slow. I wonder how much Jaguar and Quartz Extreme would speed it up.
I saw a friend setup Airport (Apple's wireless internet/... which was the first of its kind ever) in minutes... I was shocked. My mom's office has a wireless network, and it took a few days to get it running on 2 comps.
Having a Mac is definitely worth the price. But I don't think it's much steeper. For example the flat panel iMac is a better value than other flat panel computers. To get in vicinity of the same features, PopSci had to compare a $3k Sony computer. the 17" iMac comes w/ a GeForce4MX... amazing. Buying the Mac has been the best decision I've made for computing. I'm not a Mac loyalist (well not originally anyways... I think I may be one now though images/icons/cool.gif )... I'm a "Switcher" (for better use of a word) and I'm glad I did it....
Good luck with making a choice. I hope my really long post helps you out. Feel free to ask more questions!
[ 07-20-2002: Message edited by: Prius ]
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