Mac or Windows?

Okay, this is just my opinion, but Mac is overpriced. Basically, the only differences are cosmetic ones; which look you like better. I have heard many people say that Mac is more secure than Windows; is that true? Nope, and in fact, over half a million Macs were infected with a variation of the classic Trojan virus in early 2011. There are just a LOT more Windows computers in the world, so hackers target the majority, Windows. So, what it comes down to is how the computer looks.

On Mac's side, the interface looks WAY cooler than Windows. That's about it.

On Windows' side, there are infinitely more compatible programs with it. There many programs that simply can't function on a Mac. However, most major video games and programs work with Mac, except all Microsoft programs like Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc. Another plus is how the Windows OS can be loaded onto any computer, where the only way you can legally get the a Mac OS is by purchasing a system that has the Mac OS pre-loaded, meaning that not only do you have to buy Apple's OS, you also have to buy their extremely overpriced hardware with it. All the other features of Windows and Mac copy each other almost verbatim.


Once again the deciding argument comes down to money. If you have plenty of cash and you like Macintosh better, then by all means, buy it. BUT, Windows is much more affordable for those who don't have a $1500+ budget.

Best programming language?

The truth is; there is no perfect programming language. All are good for their certain reason. For example, Java might be a better choice for a less demanding program, while C++ may be a componet of huge AAA games, such as Call of Duty or Halo. But before we go into that, you must first understand what a programming lanugauage is.

Computers can, yes, communicate with people. But they can't communicate in our language. Computers communicate in a language called binary. As you may already know, binary is a language that consists of only 0s and 1s. There is more structure to binary than that, but that is not important for now. Anyways, what is important is that computers communicate using binary. However, it may be hard to program a game using only 0s and 1s, although it is possible. It would just take billions of binary strings. SO! That's why programming languages are here. Using a language that is somewhere between English and nonsense is how you do it. That programming language is then fed into a compiler, and from there the language is interpreted to binary code, which the computer executes. You can do ANYTHING with programming. Like the real world, there are many different lanuguages. Java, C++, C, C#, Ruby, Python, Lua, and many, many others. I am NOT going to get into web languages such as HTML or JavaScript.

Java is a object-oriented, low-level programming language. It was used to program the popular game Minecraft. It is relatively weak, so small, less-demanding games like Minecraft are perfect for it.

C++ is great when combined with other languages and scripts to make a big, processor-destroying program like Battlefield 3 or Diablo.

Python is an outcast. It is a multimedia language that usually isn't very useful...

So, there really is a language that suits your needs perfectly for anything you could possibly imagine.




And, a fun little program.
This program, when executed (through Microsoft C++ Visual Express, the free compiler/editor of choice), will bring up a black console box (type CMD in the Windows search bar if you want to see what the box looks like) that will simply display "Hello World".





// Made by: ME!

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;


int main();
{
cout<<"Hello World!"<<endl;
return 0;
}

AMD vs. Intel: Is Intel Worth the Money?

For a long time, Intel processors have been the most powerful CPUs around. They still are. With a speed of up to 3.9 GHz on their high-end processors, they are capable of running anything you'd care to mention. But the question is; Are they really worth the money? Some of these products are over $300! That is over the price of the computer itself, in some cases. However, there are ways around this and this post will be exploring those.



Fisrt off, Intel is brand name. You will always pay more for an Intel product. However, you can buy products that essentially do the same thing for MUCH less. The name doesn't matter. What matters is the power inside the CPU.

AMD is a lesser known (but still well known!) company that sells computer parts for much less than Intel. If you take a look at the statistics below, you will see that the Intel product is more powerful, but AMD's CPU/GPU is more affordable.



Intel CPU (Intel I7 3770K)-Processing Speed on Turbo: 3.9 GHz- L3 Cache w/ 8MB
Price on Newegg.com: $320

   
AMD Equivalent(AMD A8-5600K)- Processing Speed on Turbo: 3.9 GHz- L2 Cache w/ 4MB
Price on Newegg.com: $109

So, if you have money to burn, by all means, go with Intel. But if you're just a tad bit low on dough, then AMD is a great choice.