hi guys!!
what are the differences between an ibm machine and a macintosh? (in general) thanks all of you ;-)

It depends on what exactly you're looking for, i.e. operating systems, available software, hardware specs, etc.

In an extremely general fashion, IBM-compatible systems (PC's) and Mac's are designed w/ a different mindset. When IBM first created the PC, they opened the specs to allow other people to build systems that could use the same hardware and software. Apple kept their design closed, thus (apart from a very short period a few years ago) you will never find a Mac from a company other than Apple. But this can be a good thing, because the hardware and software are designed by the same company, ensuring maximum compatibility and performance.

It's extremely difficult to build a Mac from scratch; the major components (mobo, CPU, etc.) aren't generally sold in computer stores. But you can build a PC w/ little effort since you can find the parts nearly anywhere.

True PC's use an x86 type processor, meaning it's compatible w/ Intel chips, all the way back to the 286. But you can use CPU's from other companies, like AMD, VIA, Cyrix, et al. Mac's can only use PowerPC chips, currently made by IBM.

Mac's only use the Mac OS, though other's can be used via emulation; there are some versions of Linux that run on Mac's but they aren't too popular. PC's can use a variety of OS's, from Windows to Linux, Unix, and some hobby OS's.

If you're curious as to which is better, it's a personal choice. I have both a Mac and PC at home. I think the Mac is more user friendly, and being FreeBSD-based, I feel it's more powerful than a normal Windows box. The out-of-box-experience is definently better w/ the Mac.

My next computer will be a Mac. However, I will continue to upgrade my PC because the parts are cheap; running Linux and Windows on it let's me choose my medicine for the day (usually Linux). However, Windows is the choice for PC games; Apple is trying, but still isn't quite there w/ game support.

If you have more specific ?'s, don't hesitate to ask.

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