Apple Mac: simplicity & security?

[Shin Gouki]

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[BillytheImpaler]

How are the macs compared to a PC when it comes to security?

They're darn good. There aren't really any viruses for the platform, due to both the relative scarcity of Mac OS users and its Unix-style permissions.

How easy is it to keep these things secure and up to date?

CLick on blue apple in left corner, click on Check for Updates, Click install. That's pretty much it. That takes care of the OS and all the built-in software. Unlike Linux it does not update programs you've installed.

Also, whats it like for a long time Pc user to fire up a mac for the first time, and how easy is it to adjut to the mac's style?

It's not that different, really. Most of the things you know how to do will still apply. There are a few differences but you'll get over it.

How is browsing compared to browsing on a pc? Do you have problems surfing certain sites?

There's no ActiveX but I consider that a good thing since ActiveX sucks anyway and was a HUGE security problem. Beyond that it's pretty much the same. Most people use Firefox which is the same across all the platforms it supports.

How is the mac at encoding DVD's to xvid/divx AVI format and is it easy to create xvid/divx AVI's that play perfectly on windows based PC's and stand alone players? (I can live without this and use my PC instead tbh but it would be a nice feature)

I use Handbrake to encode DVDs and it's a great little program. It's fast and easy and it is multithreaded. There are a variety of others as well though I don't know much about them.
If it comes down to it, it's a good-looking x86 computer. If you discover that you can't handle the Mac OS then you can always switch to Windows or Linux.

 

[Shin Gouki]

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