Why I Jumped The PC Ship Over To Mac
A long, long time ago, I used to work on a Mac. When I entered the business world, I switched over to Windows-based computers because that was what the company I worked for was using and for the past 20 years, I have stuck with Windows. This past week, I returned to the Mac and I am so happy that I did. In typical five best fashion, here are the reasons I like the Mac better.
The Operating System is much better.
The easiest way to describe this is to imagine the ease of Facebook as your operating system. Everything is customizable to what you want to do. It’s fast, easy, and everything is at your fingertips. On the PC, I’ve worked with everything from DOS to Windows 7 and there is no comparison between the two. When you are done with a project, you throw it away. When you want to find something, it is a one click answer. Also, if you don’t want to get that far away from the PC, the Mac also runs Windows – faster than Windows-based computers. This article is a bit old, but according to PC Magazine, the fastest Window’s Vista notebook they tested was a Mac. You can’t run Mac software on the Window’s systems.
You Almost Never Have To Reboot The Mac
Can you even say this about Windows? With the Mac, all you have to do is close the cover and move your laptop from the office to your living room. It opens up quickly and efficiently. If you do that with a PC, it is like you cut an arm off as the machine goes through spasms trying to figure out what the hell just happened. The only real need to reboot your Mac is when you have to upgrade software.
If You Have Any Doubts, Look At The Fans
A lot of people – my wife, included – joke about how pretentious Mac users can be – and I used to agree with the PC people, too. However, it isn’t that. They have a smaller fan base and their fans are very loyal. It is hard to explain this because Mac users are such a small percentage of the computing world, but I will give you something interesting to think about – people who use a PC do so because they have to. People that use Macs do so because they want to. When a PC user switches to the Mac – like I did – it is a conscious choice. Mac users don’t switch to PCs unless the job they do forces them to do so. That isn’t an elitist statement, it is just the truth.
My PC Was Always Under The Weather
I have gone through almost 20 PCs in as many years. This isn’t to say I needed a new PC every year, but between personal computers and work computers, it just worked out that way. In that time, I had to buy anti-virus software every year (about $60/year per PC) – which equates to roughly $1200 in that time, assuming I only had one PC at a time (which I didn’t). During that, I lost precious work time with the infected viruses, trips to the computer stores to clean my system, updates, defragmentations, running of new anti-virus software and downtime. From a business standpoint; if time is money, then the PCs cost me plenty of cash. From what I hear from Mac users, viruses, spyware, and adware is not something you need to worry about. That isn’t because no one has ever made a virus for Macs, but it is because it doesn’t happen very often and they have been lucky to get away virus-free. For me, I am happy if I don’t have to spend 3-4 days uploading new software every year or so.
Macs Are Cheaper Than PCs
What? Are you kidding me? I can buy a PC for a third of the price as that Mac! Yes, this is true, you can. Of course, you aren’t comparing “Apples” to oranges, either. The last PC laptop that I bought for work was from Dell, two years ago. The PC cost me roughly $1300 for what I needed to run my graphics programs. In the two years that I’ve had it, I’ve replaced two hard drives (about $400), had to have the computer “cleaned” of viruses one time ($75), backed up ($75), purchased three versions of anti-virus software ($180), and I use the thing so much, I’ve literally worn the letters off of the keyboard. Total cost = $2030.00 That was in two years! My Mac friends tell me they have Macs that are 5 years old or more. If you go by that, I would have more than doubled my costs in PCs before I bought a new Mac. Granted, I am hard on computers because I use them so much, but the initial cost can really be justified if it lives up to its potential.
This being said, I am still a PC user, as well as a Mac. In the PC’s favor, there are definitely more options with the PC. If you want to buy a cheap PC, then you can find one in your price range, while the Macs start at about twice the price of the cheapest PC. However, you can also purchase PCs that are much more expensive than the choices available for the Mac. By pricing out similar models, you will find that both are comparable in price. When it comes down to it, you have to be comfortable with the machine you are working on. The Mac isn’t a perfect machine, by any sense of the word, but it is runs smoothly and has a lot more design aesthetics than the PC.
Note: If you are a gamer, the Mac might not be for you. While there are more and more games moving over to Mac support, they are behind the “game” in that category.
This article was originally posted by the author on April 20, 2010 on the web site www.myfivebest.com.
