Gapers Block has ceased publication.

Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
 Thank you for your readership and contributions. 

TODAY

Friday, March 29

Gapers Block
Search

Gapers Block on Facebook Gapers Block on Flickr Gapers Block on Twitter The Gapers Block Tumblr


Fuel

Andrew / September 29, 2006 8:51 AM

(Question suggested by Ian.)


I'm on a Mac at home, PC at work. Though hopefully work and home will be one and the same soon.

ahn / September 29, 2006 9:06 AM

mac at home, pc at work. i've only ever used macs at home so work pc machines confuse me. i don't know where they keep their brain.

Michael / September 29, 2006 9:08 AM

Mac - an aging powerbook G4 that I get along very well with. There's also that Dell Inspirion 9300 that I use for work. If I didn't use AutoCAD I would have no use for the PC.

Michael / September 29, 2006 9:09 AM

I'm seeing a patern here.

anne / September 29, 2006 9:10 AM

Mac and work, PC at home. And every time I try to do something at home I feel like an idiot. I hate going back and forth but I can't afford to buy a Mac for home use right now.

aj / September 29, 2006 9:14 AM

Both, all day... but only the PC has caused me to lose work in a crash. So my vote would be Mac.

staci / September 29, 2006 9:17 AM

Mac at work. I have to buy a pc for home b/c I can't afford a mac right now. :(

Avril2080 / September 29, 2006 9:24 AM

iMac & PC at work. PC at home.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has one of those new Macs that runs Windows. How's it working out for you?

Dave! / September 29, 2006 9:25 AM

I'm on a Mac... that runs Windows when I'm at work and OSX when I'm at home. :)

Gotta love BootCamp!

jennifer / September 29, 2006 9:27 AM

Mac at work, PC at home, though I would love a Mac at home.

michellemybelle / September 29, 2006 9:34 AM

I fall into the usual PC-work, Mac-home category. This allows to not have to choose between my love for John Hodgman and Justin Long.

leah / September 29, 2006 9:41 AM

Mac at home, PC at work.

werd.

Sarah / September 29, 2006 9:41 AM

Same here. Beautiful mac laptop at home, PC at work. I think it would also be interesting to see whether computer preferences run in families.

My family offered to buy me a computer as a graduation present and it was only after a lot of argument that I got my first mac laptop. Four years later my brother toyed with switching but ended up with a shiny new HP PC.

My dad is an old school business computer user, which I respect. He used to bring punch cards home from the office for us to color on and sent me to my first BASIC programming class at the YMCA when I was a little kid.

Annie / September 29, 2006 9:43 AM

Mac at home, PC & Mac at work. I'm the geek with 2 computers in my office.

K / September 29, 2006 9:49 AM

PC - Macs are beautiful but I can't get over not having a right click option on the mouse. It actually makes me angry when I try to use a Mac mouse - it's so completely illogical.

i forded the river and my oxen died / September 29, 2006 9:54 AM

pc @ both, but eventually id love to buy a mac. i knew nothing about them until about a year ago when i had to use one for a class and fell in LOVE with it. before that, i think the last time i used a mac was when oregon trail was in its heyday.

slant-rhyme / September 29, 2006 9:55 AM

I just invested in a new Mac laptop. I was a loyal PC user until I saw the error of my ways. Using a Mac at work made the decision a little easier.

Greg / September 29, 2006 9:56 AM

Mac at work, Mac at home.

Being told, "You can't get that game for Mac yet" for so long meant that I never got into the PC gaming crackpipe. I probably saved myself thousands of dollars. ¡Viva irrelevancy!

jen / September 29, 2006 10:01 AM

PC at work, PC at home.
as soon as macs become affordable, i'll get one.

Naz / September 29, 2006 10:06 AM

K - if you have a double button mouse, there is actually a right-click which reveals the same thing on a PC. Not sure why it isn't standard procedure but who knows.

I like keyboard shortcuts myself.

Shasta MacNasty / September 29, 2006 10:07 AM

PC at work. PC at home.

I drink the "it-takes-too-long-to-get-expansion-packs-for-The-Sims-2-for-the-Mac" kool-aid, so I won't be switching over anytime soon.

marge / September 29, 2006 10:10 AM

Well, I'm another PC at work and Mac at home.
And K, Macs work with mouses (mice?) that have the right click button. When I discovered that, I was completely sold on the Mac.

jima / September 29, 2006 10:11 AM

PC, PC, PC. Who cares why?

Phil / September 29, 2006 10:14 AM

Mac all around.

jen / September 29, 2006 10:14 AM

PC & Mac at work. and technically, both at home, too. though, the PC is mine and the Mac is the boy's.

jgs / September 29, 2006 10:23 AM

finally! a neutral topic! nobody ever argues about mac vs. pc on the internet ever. this should put an end to the needless rancor such has been plaguing this board.

Bill V / September 29, 2006 10:24 AM

PC at home and work. I would need a real reason to need a Mac.

Ramsin / September 29, 2006 10:26 AM

pc probably. i just love that somebody dropped an oregon trail reference.

nick / September 29, 2006 10:31 AM

At home and at work I have two desktop PC's, one running Windows and the other running Linux (Fedora Core 5). I love my KVM switch. I also have a PC laptop that runs Windows which I take with me between home and work. As far as I'm concerned, there is absolutely no point to spending so much money on it when I can get the core functionality I need for free with Linux.

Kevin / September 29, 2006 10:33 AM

Neither. I use a Sun solaris x86 machine. Does what I need it to...without dealing with the PC/Mac endless debate. If I need something PC then I have a coprocessor card that I open in a window on my soalris GUI.

Guess the last time I had a virus or trojan horse on my UNIX system? Never, does that work for you?

So, lets talk about something important, like the goose liver ban...lol

Kevin

nick / September 29, 2006 10:34 AM

oops, I meant to say that there is no point in spending so much money on a Mac when I can get the core functionaliity I need from Linux.

Y A J / September 29, 2006 10:36 AM

PC for me, at work and at home.

The hubby's ambidextrous, using both PC and Mac at home and at work. At home, one of each sit side by side.

matt / September 29, 2006 10:38 AM

mac @ home. pc @ work.

and re: K's contextual menus question, the more appealing route is the mighty mouse, which is two button without the buttons, but you can also hold the cmd key while clicking.

JB / September 29, 2006 10:50 AM

PC, but it don't warm my heart. I'm savin' up the pennies for a refurbished Remington Deluxe Noiseless.

Nerdy? Oh yeah.

Your Mom / September 29, 2006 10:50 AM

TANDY TRS-80 Color Computer 2 from Radio Shack.

tony / September 29, 2006 10:50 AM

Mac at home, PC at work. I embrace all OSeseseses--I use IRIX, Solaris, and Linux at work as well.

At work, however, I don't have a beautiful cinema display. So pretty...my precious...

printdude / September 29, 2006 10:54 AM

MAC + PC - Both at home and at work - I no longer care about the differences.
I wish there were more games for the MAC though. Not like I have more time to play them!

printdude / September 29, 2006 10:55 AM

My first computer, howver, was a VAX-PDP11. I had a terminal at the house before most folk even wanted a "PC"

Blagg the Axman / September 29, 2006 10:57 AM

My days as a wandering mercenary often found me with no place but a hay-pile to rest my head at night, and naught but a dingy ale-hall to call home when travel placed a village on the horizon. For men of sedentary existence, however, the view is different—likely as not the town pub is first a gambling den, fighting ring and toilet, before a place of comfort.

So it was in Grunton, where I threw open the door of Grunt’s Grappa to witness at least six of the seven most debauched acts yet dreamt by men, occurring simultaneously. I ignored the stares as I sidled up to the barkeep, seeking to wet my parched whistle, when a voice rang out that froze the cup inches from my lips.

“Well, by-your-leave, if it isn’t little Beggy.”

Slowly I turned. Sitting in the far corner, an impish smile upon his ratlike face, was Alvain MacCreedle. It had been decades since I’d last seen him, then the loutish ringleader of a gang of street toughs who preyed upon the slow-witted and unawares visitors to the capital city—as well as boys smaller and less equipped to defend themselves against “Mac’s Murks,” as they called themselves in those days. Boys such as myself.

He had himself given me the nickname “Beggy” all those long years ago, and it still served to quicken my pulse and set me on edge.

“So long ago, yet so little has changed,” he simpered as he approached. “Still filthy, still clad in rags. I tell you, Beggy. As soon as you lick the final drop of rainwater from this cup, I shall be the first to drop a copper piece into it. For old time’s sake.”

I was on him before the last word left his lips, raining down blows as we crashed to the ale-sodden floorboards. It took eight men to pull my hands from his pulped face, which had begun to resemble a shriveled apple.

“Take this,” I snarled, casting a few doubloons upon the bloodied floor, “and take him to the town healer.” The appalled patrons made wide berth as I moved toward the exit.

“But sir,” the barkeep stammered. “He was the healer.”

Grunton had to find a new one.

Carlos Garza / September 29, 2006 11:20 AM

PC at home and work. I'm used to them and I haven't had a crash in over 2 years. I can't see myself spending so much money for a computer that looks nice but does the same exact thing as one at a fraction of the price.

But then again, I haven't purchased a new computer in over 2 years so I guess the price point is irrelevant.

As they say..."if it ain't broke, don't fix it"...

Hal / September 29, 2006 11:21 AM

PC at home and work. Used to run both PC and Mac at work to keep current in both environments I had to support, but strongly prefer PC. Was a very early user of Macs, but switched when I left school, due to work requirements. I found within a month that I understood the PC better, for some unknown reason.

roderick / September 29, 2006 11:29 AM

PC, PC. Although I do covert a mac and feel like quite the adulterer when I go to the Apple store and lovingly caress the iMacs.

mac, I'll leave the PC for you someday, I promise.

ABF / September 29, 2006 11:51 AM

iMac with OS X at home.
Retired eMac in storage.
Slightly beat-up G5 at work.

On very rare occasion, I've had to grudgingly use a PC at work.
MS-DOS...CPUs....B drive...so foreign.

Chris / September 29, 2006 11:57 AM

Mac at home PC at work.

Ah Axeman, I have missed your narratives.

paul / September 29, 2006 12:00 PM

This is the first question I would have asked Blagg, if I ever ran into him at the alehouse.

I have both at work, and both at home, but the PCs are for testing only, they don't have have any apps besides browsers on them.

It's really time for a new machine that can run bootcamp.

mo / September 29, 2006 12:04 PM

Mac at home, PC at work. I converted to Mac when my sis bought one. The only things I don't like about Macs are that newer and better equipment comes out all the time, and it's not easily upgraded, and also there's still lots of software not compatible with Macs yet. But overall, I still find them a superior machine to PC's. I think I am pretty computer savvy for a non-IT person, but I still find the simplicity of Macs refreshing. I'm always having to patch software and find installation files that my work PC decided to put in random places. And my Mac freezes far less frequently than my PC, AND I love the iPhoto, iMovie software. And my Mac is just so dang pretty! I find the investment is still worth it.

mo / September 29, 2006 12:06 PM

Oh, and I always died of diphtheria on the Trail.

carrie / September 29, 2006 12:07 PM

PC at work and nada at home. I'm stuck in the 1800s- no computer, no cable.

Oh well wait, I do have a PC sitting in my storage room that is going to be recycled.

Steve / September 29, 2006 12:12 PM

We're a split household -- the wife and live-in mother-in-law both have Macs; I have a pair of PCs. As a thrift-oriented individual with few high-end graphical needs, I'm good with my situation.

Next topic: incandescent lightbulbs or compact fluorescents? That's the main topic of debate in our household...

eep / September 29, 2006 12:44 PM

Mac at home, PC at work. Wish I could have a Mac at both, because my home computer is infinitely faster. Plus, then I could access my work network online and work from home like a bunch of my coworkers do. Lucky jerks.

NSH / September 29, 2006 1:12 PM

lightbulbs or flourescents? I'm a lightbulb guy all the way

CD or vinyl is the question for the ages

Shhhjooom! / September 29, 2006 1:16 PM

Pretty, shiny, impossible to keep clean but infinitely blessed Mac at home. Graphics card of a nine-year-old, constantly talking down to me, but really nice in black P.C. at work.

I had trouble explaining to the people at work that there was more than one browser out there, and they're still not quite convinced, so I don't see this situation changing anytime soon.

mike / September 29, 2006 1:23 PM

Mac at work; Mac at home.

Lody / September 29, 2006 1:28 PM

Mac G5 at work
Mac G4 cube at home

Ken / September 29, 2006 1:34 PM

Macs rule!!!!!! However, the devil forces me to use both all day.

K - Stop whining and push the control key while you click the mouse or get a double-button mouse, more proof that the Mac is more intuitive than the PC. The PC only understands one way.

Andy / September 29, 2006 1:57 PM

PC at home and at work. I build my own computers, so PCs are the way to go. I like the Mac operating system, but the hardware is overpriced and not worth the cool factor that everyone seems to associate with it.

cliff / September 29, 2006 2:11 PM

(Through clenched teeth) "Can not resist..."

I want to do both PC and Mac at the same time...

Ooohhh that felt good...

Brandy / September 29, 2006 3:14 PM

PCs. Happily. I've worked on both, and when it came to buying my own computers, it came down to 2 things:
1. Both Macs and PC crash, and I could understand why a PC would crash, Macs were a mystery.
2. Didn't want to join the iCult.

Nadia / September 29, 2006 3:33 PM

PC at work, PC at home. (But I use mozilla - does that count for any cool points?)

I'll admit macs are cuter and that I share those covetous feelings when I'm at the apple store, but I know how to use my pc, so...haven't had a need to switch yet.

jason / September 29, 2006 3:42 PM

God, Apple marketers are geniuses. They should open Apple Marketing University.

mrs. / September 29, 2006 4:00 PM

count me in among the mac @ home / pc @ work crowd....

Matt / September 29, 2006 4:41 PM

Mac with Parallels running XP.

Matt / September 29, 2006 4:47 PM

To all the right-click lovers,
I was once told that Apple likes the one-click to keep things simple. It forces developers not to hide a bunch of options in the right-click pop-up menu. I can respect that, but I loves me some right-clicking. I just use a Mighty Mouse.
Your pal,
Matt

christian / September 29, 2006 6:40 PM

PC at work and a PC connected to a WOPR at home. The voice controls can be a little wonky, but it sure does play a mean game of Global Thermonuclear War, oh yeah and tic-tac-toe.

Emerson Dameron / September 29, 2006 6:48 PM

Mac at home, either/or at my many fleeting temp assignments. For my purposes, a Mac is a better match. What Mac marketers have done is create a "cult brand," much like Harley Davidson, with a bizarre hierarchy of fan-customers. (Douglas Rushkoff's book Coercion makes some explosive observations on cult brands - I recommend it to anyone interested in marketing.) What they've failed to do is convert the enormous majority of computer users who use PCs, with the easy accessibility of software, spyware and viruses their dominance entails.

esskaycee / September 29, 2006 7:19 PM

All together now ...
Mac at home, PC at work

Brian / September 29, 2006 9:25 PM

PC at home, PC at work, and wishing for a nice Core 2 Duo Mac so I can dual boot.

cory / September 29, 2006 10:05 PM

My only thought on this subject is that I am so sick of this subject that I could puke on my keyboard.

Vana / September 30, 2006 8:24 AM

Dual boot PC running linux and Windows, both at home and at work. If I didn't need Windows at home for gaming, I'd switch to linux completely.

Leelah / September 30, 2006 10:46 AM

PC at work, iBook at home. Guess what, though? My less than two years old iBook hard drive DIED last Sunday. If I hadn't bought AppleCare (which is covering the cost of a new one and shipping it back to me), I would have been seriously fucked. As it stands, I have lost a LOT of stuff that I hadn't backed up... I can't find my Microsoft Office for Mac disks, so I may have to buy that again, and I'm not pleased about it.

dave / September 30, 2006 11:22 AM

My primary computer is a Mac: a PowerBook G4. Yes, yes, I prefer it to PCs. That said, I regularly use my Dell D600 as well as a hand-built AMD-based Windows machine. The ridiculous thing is that I have a half dozen computer carcasses in my house.

Flynn / September 30, 2006 11:24 AM

To be all pedantic, the question should be asked more precisely in terms of hardware (Apple vs. non-Apple) or software (Mac vs. Windows vs. other). I mean, I could be running a Mac with Yellow Dog Linux, or now I could be running a hacked PC with OS-X.

However, the question as asked merely reveals the Mac bias that obviously exists in the sample pool.

Justin / September 30, 2006 11:48 AM

Minus eight impoverished post-collegiate months editing web sites on a PC for an ad agency (compounded pain), I've used Macs exclusively at home and work since 1994. My iBook runs XP via VirtualPC. When Adobe releases native Mac/Intel versions of Photoshop and InDesign I'll buy a new Mac desktop and dual- or triple-boot. (Mac, XP, Ubuntu? We'll see.)

I am biased and unapologetic -- Apple makes great machines. Still hoping for an Apple PDA. Oh, Newton...

That said, I would like a (paid) reason to dig into UNIX. For that matter I'd like cause to use Rails.

Anyone want a slot-loading iMac?

kate / September 30, 2006 12:27 PM

PC (as old and useless as a Commodore 64) at home, PC at work.

I like Macs. If I can convince myself to save money (instead of drinking it all away), I will probably buy a Mac next.

Steve / September 30, 2006 2:37 PM

LeeLAH -- on the positive side, at least you get that Educator's discount on Office!

The wife is taking my laptop away to NYC for two weeks -- anyone know of a service that rents laptops so I can still do the mobile thing?

Allan / September 30, 2006 7:14 PM

I am glad somebody is finally addressing this issue because I am sick and tired of every black turtleneck wearing, latte drinking, iPod toting Mac user telling me my PC is a piece of shit and that I would be better off with a Mac. Eat shit.

Naz / September 30, 2006 9:00 PM

Black turtlenecks? Holy shite Allan, did you see Steve Jobs?

Allan / September 30, 2006 9:41 PM

Can someone just tell me why a Mac would be any different from any other f@#$! computer. Will it wipe my fat ass for me. I don't go around telling people their Wrangler jeans are shitty and that they would be better off with some Levi's. They are both pants, they both keep your enormous member stowed away but Mac users are always like "You should get a Mac" or "Don't you want to be cool". PC users never do that kind of crap.

Sarah / October 1, 2006 8:17 AM

Leelah, the same thing happened to me, AND to my friend. Both of our iBooks died b/c of sudden hard drive failure at the 2 or 3 year mark.

Eamon / October 1, 2006 10:37 AM

PC at home, PC at work.

atul / October 1, 2006 12:04 PM

This post pretty much explains why I recommend Macs to my parents and a number of other people I know. Aside from the "coolness factor", it's pretty much what distinguishes one from the other in my mind.

As for myself, I use a PC at home, a PC at work, and have no reason to "switch".

SR / October 1, 2006 12:28 PM

Mac!

24" Imac. It's a fantastic computer. I upgraded my home computer -- a G4 Imac (2002) -- a few weeks ago and feel great.

(I have a dell on my desk at work.)

nocomment / October 1, 2006 3:54 PM

mac it up, baby!

lara / October 1, 2006 4:39 PM

mac at home, pc at work. pcs suck, macs rock. never met a passionate pc user. if they have a defense of pcs, it's usually the cost or some small functionality quirk. but, i never have heard anyone adoringly proclaim 'i just love my new gateway/dell/fillinboringpcnamehere."

coinicidence? i don't think so.

amyc / October 1, 2006 5:05 PM

Why would anybody need a two-button mouse?

BillGates / October 1, 2006 9:44 PM

All Your Base Are Belong To Us!

Steve / October 1, 2006 10:46 PM

I just love love love my three and a half year old Sony Vaio and my year and a half old Dell Inspiron! Love 'em, love 'em, love 'em! They both do everything I need to do with them, and quite possibly even more!

J / October 2, 2006 9:01 AM

PC.

I'll take the $3,000 + I saved and do many many other things.


You are not your computer.

MC High Life / October 2, 2006 9:27 AM

My family had a Mac when I was in high school and I had one in college. Once I graduated, I went PC, pretty much for the program availability and the build-your-own ease. My parents still use Mac at home.

Anyone who claims one is infinitely superior to the other is living in a fantasy world. Like Allan said, a computer is a computer and as long as you can do what you need to do on it, who cares what it is, penis size not withstanding? And what the hell does this have to do with Indian Summer?

Andy / October 2, 2006 9:51 AM

@lara: I love my PC! I picked out every part myself, from the case to the motherboard to the harddrives. Everything has at least a 3 year manufacturer warranty (not that I've ever had to use them-- I've never had a serious computer crash of any kind). I have a dual core processor, a 19inch monitor and a video card that plays most any game I can throw at it. The best part-- all this cost me less than 600 dollars. Which means I can spend that extra $1000 that I would have spent on a comparable APPLE machine on something I REALLY need, like a new camera or a printer.

As I said in a previous post, Apple makes nice software. They're operating system is top notch. But on a hardware level, I just don't think it's worth the extra money you're paying. They're using basically the same components that are used in PC's and have just as much chance of failing as the components used in PCs. It's a crap shoot either way.

lara / October 2, 2006 10:20 AM

yet again, i stand corrected. thanks for the passion, boys.

Brandy / October 2, 2006 10:28 AM

I loved my first Dell. I used that beauty from '98 to '04 and it was still chugging along. I replaced it with another Dell who's harddrive fried 4 months in. Made me really sad to have a bad experience with my 2nd Dell. And my refurbished '00 HP Omnibook is still a total champ.

But, amen J, you are not your computer! Tell me what you're accomplishing with your computer.

Devyn / October 2, 2006 12:21 PM

PC at work, and recently went to Mac at home with the purchase of a MacBook Pro.

It has been a learning curve making the PC to Mac switch, but I don't regret the decision.

Virginia / October 2, 2006 12:53 PM

Macs at home, PCs at work (I've got no choice on this matter at work).

The extra $$ for a Mac isn't spent on any single component, either on the hardware or the software side. The extra cash we spent on our Macs went to the creation of near-idiot-proof boxes that integrates well-designed hardware with well-designed software that do pretty much what we want it to do and rarely, if ever, crash/break/drive us nuts.

My partner is in IT and can handle a huge variety of PC problems, but just doesn't want to deal with computer administration at home. That's why we dropped Windows and Linux -- in two years, no one in our three-person household has encountered any significant problems with our Macs. The time spent maintaining our machines went down to almost nil.

That, IMO, is practically priceless.

charlene / October 2, 2006 9:27 PM

I use a Mac at home and a PC at work, though at times it can be the opposite. It depends on the task really. I suggest following Mark Hurst's guidelines as laid out on page 7 of his 2006 Gift Guide and Almanac: http://www.goodexperience.com/unclemark/

Sydney / October 4, 2006 10:16 PM

I'm PC all the way!!

Jo Anne Lindberg / October 5, 2006 6:48 PM

I will never - I repeat never go PC unless at gun point or Macs cease to exist. I have been a Mac person since 1990 when I started to sell them to the schools. Intuitive is what it is. I've had to work on both platforms - pity to you folks who have to go there. My son, even though he cut his teeth on Mac defected when he went to college. Where did I go wrong?

GB store

Recently on Fuel

Urban Ethos [26]
What is Chicago's "urban ethos"?

Cool Glass of... [16]
What're you drinking?

Supreme Decision [22]
What's your reaction to the Supreme Court's decision on the Affordable Care Act?

Taking it to the Streets [20]
Chicago Street Fairs: Revolting or Awesome?

I Can Be Cruel [9]
Be real: what is the meanest thing you've ever done?

View the complete archive

GB Store

GB Buttons $1.50

GB T-Shirt $12

I ✶ Chi T-Shirts $15