brad's Experience - Mac vs PC, 2009
Jan 24 '09 (Updated Feb 19 '09)
The Bottom Line A comparison of Mac computers against Windows computers (as well as Linux) can be a complex argument. This is an effort to make sense of it.
This is my third installment in the Mac vs. PC series. In the past, I have tried to identify the differences between Macs and “PCs,” but in particular, the difference between using Mac OS X and Microsoft’s Windows operating system.
I have been reluctant to write another essay in this series, primarily because I have not extensively used Windows Vista. In fact, I have barely used it at all. I have only experimented with Vista on friends’ PCs and while doing that, only minutes at a time, usually out of necessity in some manner of convenience.
But the jury is in on Windows Vista, which was released in early 2006. It has failed miserably, and despite claims by Microsoft, will be bypassed by most Windows users. Windows Vista will go down as one of Microsoft’s largest failures.*
Much was expected of Windows Vista. After all, Microsoft used over five years of development on Windows after much hype and hoopla. The long code-named “Longhorn” – as it turns out – never came to be. Essentially what Vista is, is an attempt by Microsoft to enhance Windows XP. That could have been done with a service pack release to XP.
On the other hand, there are alternatives. And not just Mac OS X. Linux is a viable desktop alternative as of today, in 2009. Pre-loaded Linux PCs are readily available from reputable PC retailers. And by market estimates and growth estimates, it is being seriously considered by consumers and in one particular niche, actually rather popular – the “netbook.”
But for the average consumer, there should be some characteristics to an operating system to make it worth using. Usability trumps everything. Functionality is a close second, but also closely related. Security is probably third.
For the average consumer, Mac OS X is the best operating system for his or her purposes. It is easiest to use, has immense functionality, and is also the most secure of the three operating systems.
In my past writings comparing Windows and Mac OS X (“OS X”), I suggested some disadvantages to the Mac platform. Primarily, these were related to – at the core – Apple’s market share in the business. Third-party hardware and software vendors were reluctant to commit the necessary resources to really crank out products that fully took advantage of the Mac platform and put it on par with a Windows experience. Certain software titles such as Adobe’s Creative Suite or the former Macromedia suite or even Microsoft Office itself. Also, hardware vendors and supporting drivers and compatibility with a hybrid network of Windows PCs communicating with Macintosh computers.
Enough people have bought – literally – into my arguments and the arguments of many other reviewers that Apple’s domestic market share is now near 10%. That’s one out of ten computers sold today is in the hands of your peers. If you work in a legacy enterprise, that number is significantly lower and you may be reluctant to buy a Mac. But if you are a student or work in a small business or educational setting, chances are good that there are lots of Macs around.
So it is no longer a matter of using your favorite applications and crossing your fingers as to whether or not they A) are available for Mac and B) work as well or better than their Windows counterparts. If there is a major software title out there, it runs natively on Mac OS X.
OS X was greatly underestimated. And if you know Apple’s history, as do I, you understand why. Until OS X came along, Macs ran truly second-class software. Or rather, the operating system just wasn’t in the same league as a modern operating system such as Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP. For a long time, and for good reasons, people avoided Macs. And it wasn’t just about software, either. For a long time, Apple insisted on using processor chips that were inferior to the x86 architecture, probably better known to many of you as the Pentiums or the Athlons of the world.
That’s history. In 2001, Apple launched OS X and with subsequent major releases, has easily toppled Microsoft’s best efforts as the king of the most robust and functional operating system. To top it off, in 2006 Apple switched to Intel processors and now includes the fastest chips on the planet in its line of computers. There simply is no reason anymore to discount a Mac.
Macs don’t get malware. Why not? I’m not sure you want me to explain the technical reasons that a Mac is far less likely to contract malware, but I will concede that one of the reasons is that it still has only 10% of the market share, whereas Windows commands 85%. Somebody looking to do a lot of damage still has better opportunity by attacking Windows. Nevertheless, the fundamental design of OS X, its Unix underpinnings and Aqua shell have proved nearly bulletproof. Windows still relies on programming code that leaves it incredibly vulnerable to attacks that unfortunately, Microsoft can do little about, except release constant band-aids as temporary fixes. The bottom line is that if you use a Mac, you don’t need anti-virus software, you don’t need anti-spyware software, and you need far less parental supervision to keep your children from downloading software that will inhibit the performance of your machine.
Installing and using computer programs is much easier on OS X. Every installation requires administrator approval with a super password. Microsoft has tried to implement this to some degree with Vista, but its protections are a lame attempt at the security inherent in OS X. In most cases, an installation disc mounts an image of the program you want to install and asks you to drag the image to the “Applications” folder. Want to uninstall the program? Drag the image back from the Applications folder and to the Trash. Simple enough? No more “add/removing” in the control panel in Windows or using a specific application’s “uninstall” feature. There’s one route and it is straightforward. “Straightforward” is a concept that a new Mac user will get used to.
You don’t have to use the programs that are bundled with a Mac, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find better ones made by anybody else. If you want to manage your photos, the Mac comes with iPhoto. If you want to manage your music, it comes with iTunes. And if you want to manage home video, it comes with iMovie and iDVD. Sure, there are competitors to these applications and you are welcome to spend money buying them, but for any novice computer user, these programs combine usability and functionality that software titles costing hundreds of dollars cannot match.
Search. How do you search for a file on Windows? I use Windows Explorer most of the time, because I put things into folders. I put things in folders on my Mac, too, but I don’t always want to go digging around for them. I have several hundred word processor documents on my hard drive, over 3,000 music tracks, and countless other types of files including photos, videos, PDFs, and lots of other things. I’d rather have an interface that allows me to find the file I’m looking for just by typing in possible file names or embedded information that will identify the file. Well, there is such a feature in OS X and it’s called “Spotlight.” It works like a charm and it works about as fast as a Google search. Google thought so much of Spotlight that it copied the concept and released it as a desktop application for Windows. Lots of people have it on their Windows machines. But it is not part of the operating system and requires a lot of resources, which degrades the performance of the machine overall. Spotlight is just part of the whole system.
The other way to find things on a Mac is to use the “Finder.” The Finder is somewhat similar to Windows Explorer, except far more powerful. For starters, it is more intuitive. Your resources are in a left pane and your options are on a toolbar atop the window. I will stop there because I don’t want to drown this essay with details, but I find the Finder much easier to use and much more efficient than any file browser in Windows.
The user interface in OS X is a much cleaner and straightforward design. It utilizes graphical user interface concepts that are much more intuitive and easier to use than its counterparts in Windows. In general, it is easier to perform routine tasks in OS X than it is in Windows. Instead of digging through several menus in a maze of windows, you’ll find common executions completed in far fewer mouse clicks.
Is this a biased review? Yes. I started using Max OS X in 2002 and exclusively in 2003 for personal use. However, I have been using Windows 95, NT, 98, 2000, and XP for personal use – until 2003 – and full-time at my day job since I went off to college in 1996. I am also a self-trained computer technician with the skills to maintain most Windows configurations. I have been paid to do so and currently administer my family’s business network, which includes two PCs and two Macs.
I prefer working on Macs. For me, it so much easier to get things done. And for the exact reasons I stated above. It’s a matter of usability and functionality. It’s just plain easier to do things, to find things, and to use these computers.
Apple consistently, year-in, year-out, tops PC Magazine’s charts for customer satisfaction. It isn’t even close. This includes those who own their computers for longer periods of time and those who experience lemons. In general, Apple users are more satisfied with their purchases and their experiences than PC seller counterparts.
A big part of the reason that Apple’s Macs are more reliable than PCs is because Apple controls the entire experience. Microsoft develops Windows as software. Microsoft doesn’t manufacture the computers. There is the inherent disconnect involved when resellers apply Windows to their hardware configurations. Apple doesn’t have this problem because it manufactures every Mac that exists. It knows every single component or compatible component that is installed in its machines. As a result, there are not the hardware compatibility problems, driver issues, or quirks that are common with the PC experience.
Will you pay more for a Mac than a PC? In general, yes. That’s an answer to a close-ended question. But there’s more to it. There is total ownership cost and the relative comparison of what you get when you buy certain PC configurations and what you get when you buy a Mac.
If you buy a PC, you need to spend money on anti-malware software. You likely need to spend money on maintenance software.
What’s inside that PC you bought for $300, $400, and $500? Certainly not the quality or performance of components that are in any contemporary Macs. From a purely hardware perspective, you’ll get a lesser performing machine because the hardware specifications don’t come close to what Apple puts in its Macs. And with software constantly evolving, you need the necessary horsepower to run today’s computer programs and the operating system.
I used to argue in favor of Windows PCs because for a lot of people, it made sense if they used them for work and only certain enterprise-class applications were available for Windows. This is still true to some extent, but every month and every year, major software developers adopt the Mac platform. And even if you must use a Windows-exclusive application, you can always run it on a Mac in emulation by using a program such as “Parallels” or “Fusion.” In fact, if you really want, you can even boot to Windows on your Mac and do your business and then reboot and go back to using your Mac, all on one computer. So I will not even argue for Windows in this respect any longer.
I sort of feel sorry for Windows and for Windows users. They have been using the same system with the same basic functionality since 1995. Things that Microsoft has added are mostly basic evolutionary features that any modern computer needs, such as USB ports back in Windows 98, wireless networking with Windows XP, support for Firewire, and more stringent security support with a bare-bones software firewall in XP and security settings that should have been there in the first place.
During this time, Apple built a revolutionary operating system with OS X that again, debuted in 2001. It took five or six years before people started taking Macs seriously again, because Apple’s market share footprint was so small. But you wouldn’t be here reading this if you hadn’t heard the buzz. And it’s much easier to hear the buzz when a company has a 10% market share compared to a 2% market share, which it had in 2001. That’s the difference of 1 in 50 compared to 1 in 10 now.
Obviously, I advocate the Mac platform. I have managed to convince every member of my family to purchase Macs. I have a couple of them left who still have PCs, but they have vowed to purchase Macs as soon as their PCs die or become technologically irrelevant. Over the years, I have had countless inquiries in response to these essays from people asking me specific questions about converting to Macs. From the sample I’ve seen, more and more people are considering Macs all the time, despite the higher initial cost and the learning curve.
And what about the learning curve?
As with any new software, there is a learning curve. But it is not as drastic as you may think. Heck, if my Grandma, who is in her 80s, can convert from Windows to Mac, you can, too.
You’ll find that most of the applications you use on Windows are the same ones you’ll use in your Mac environment. I use Firefox as my Web browser, use MS Office as my productivity suite, use iTunes to manage my music and my iPod, and access the same types of files in the same manner on my Mac as I did on my PC, including viewing of photos, images, PDFs, and any common file types.
* per above reference. By “most users,” I am referring to businesses. Businesses are by far Microsoft’s largest Windows customer. Most business are not converting to Vista from XP. Most businesses took a “wait and see” approach to Vista and continued to purchase new PCs pre-loaded with Windows XP. Microsoft has repeatedly extended the deadline for OEM (original equipment manufacturer) selling of XP licenses. I work for one of the largest educational institutions in the world and the college that I work for has a policy of not supporting Windows Vista. All of our new PCs come imaged (packaged/pre-loaded) with Windows XP. Our PC contractor is Dell. At this point, even Microsoft appears prepared to abandon Windows Vista in favor of its next major release, which as of this writing is referred to publicly as “Windows 7.” Microsoft has even released a beta version of Windows 7 to testers as of this writing. I know a number of IT managers and the consensus is that people who manage networks prefer to use Windows XP and if they plan to make a switch, will wait until Windows 7, if they switch even when that happens.
Comments about Linux…
I appreciate the Linux “community.” They are a unique group of individuals. Linux has some great things going for it, chiefly among them that their software is free of charge. Anybody can install Linux on any computer that runs x86 processors. The best of the Linux distributions have evolved to a point that I think is acceptable for the average consumer to use. The learning curve is much steeper compared with changing to the Mac platform, but it’s absolutely doable.
The problem is that Linux still retains its “geek” origins. Sure, an Ubuntu installation is relatively straightforward that mostly requires only a bunch of mouse clicks and input of basic information (such as, what time zone are you in?). But once a user starts trying to use applications, inevitably there are still roadblocks that appear and require technical skill to resolve. The interface is simply not enough polished for the average user without coming away frustrated. And when I refer to these installations, I am talking about a full installation, fully featured. Some of the distributions installed on the popular “netbook” class of notebook computers are stripped down enough so that tasks are very basic. Maintenance is almost a non-issue on most of these Linux netbooks.
If there are people reading this who have PCs that are older and not used much, I encourage you to try Linux. If you don’t necessarily care about the particular machine and don’t have future plans for it, go ahead and download free copies of Ubuntu or OpenSuse and see what you think. If it works for you and the experience is what you need, you’re not out any money.
I hope every person finds the computing experience best suited for him or her. That’s why I wrote this essay. I happen to think the Mac platform and Macintosh computers are the best computers available. I tried to tell you why in this piece. Apple Stores are common in most metropolitan areas, so I encourage you to go to these stores and play around with the machines there. Ask the salespeople questions. If you have friends who own Macs, ask them questions. Ask them if you can try some basic tasks on their computers. I think the more exposure you get to Mac computers, the more impressed you will be and the more convinced you will be that they are worth the investment, both in money and time.
Apple’s line of computers includes desktops and notebooks. Its desktop lineup begins with the “Mini,” which starts at $599, the iMac, which starts at $1,199, and the Mac Pro, which starts at $2,799. Its notebook lineup begins with the Macbook, which starts at $999, the MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,999, and the MacBook Air, which starts at $1,799. Educational discounts knock anywhere from 5-15% off these prices.
I’ve seen PC configurations from reputable manufacturers that begin as low as $299.
Lifetime, I have owned or still own a PowerMac G3, an iMac G4, iMac G5, iMac Intel, eMac G4, iBook G3, and Powerbook G4.
Good luck with your decision.
Yours, brad.
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Member: Brad Engelmann
Location: Helen Township, MN
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brad@engelmann.us (email address)
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