In computer circles, the subject of Mac versus Windows is a hotly debated one. I thought I would take a brief look at what concerns people may have about switching to a Mac.
Although a Mac isn’t going to be perfect for everyone, I would argue that the majority of novice computer users in particular would find a Mac much more suitable as it is a safer environment and does most of what they need a computer for out of the box already.
So let’s take a look at some of the concerns I have heard people mention:
Mac’s cost more than other computers.
As with most things, you get what you pay for – I for one certainly don’t mind paying more for a higher quality system. Its not just the hardware which is superior in design and build quality, its the software which runs on it as well. And because Apple make both, they have a lot more control over the quality of their end-products.
Software isn’t as widely available for Mac.
Unfortunately this is true – the Mac market is just too small for every single software company to spend time developing Mac versions of their products.
But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t enough software available for you. Sure, there may be certain people who cannot make the transition as Mac versions of software they depend upon are just not available (such as Microsoft .Net developer tools), but I’d say the vast majority of Windows users are consumers, not professionals and don’t need such things anyway.
I count myself as a professional, having used Windows since version 3.1, and DOS before that, but I have found that the Mac satisfies my requirements for almost everything.
I have an MSN client, Microsoft Office, graphics packages, PHP/Apache support out of the box and of course the whole set of applications in the iLife suite that aren’t available in Windows at all. There is nothing I depend upon my Windows box for now, apart from Games (see next item).
My old software and especially Games won’t work.
Again this is true, your old software will require replacing with Mac versions or alternatives. Games are more of a problem, as many developers have little interest in porting their games over to the Mac platform. There are a lot of Mac versions of popular games available for the Mac, such as Civilization IV, Sim City 4 and so on.
Fortunately, with the Beta of Boot Camp you can now install Windows natively on your Mac for those occasions where you just have to use it. This feature will be included with the next release of the Mac OS once the creases have been ironed out.
What about all my files?
Well since networking is a technology that crosses platform boundaries, you can easily connect your Mac up to a PC to transfer your files. Music, Pictures, Movies, things like that are generally stored in common formats which any computer should be able to read. Of course if you are using proprietary formats, such as Windows Media Audio, you will need to convert them before you can play them, but such utilities are widely available, and the conversion only needs to be done once.
All modern Macs come with built in networking, including wired, WiFi and Bluetooth so there isn’t a shortage of methods of connecting to them. This also means you will be able to easily connect peripherals such as mobile phones and other Bluetooth enabled devices to transfer your files.
Will my Mac turn into an overpriced paper-weight as technology advances?
Again, this is always going to be a factor with any technology, however from personal experience I can say that it effects Macs much less. I had a relatively low spec iBook G4 which I had for about 14 months. Even after all that time, it was just as nippy as it had been when I got it. That’s the longest time I’ve ever gone without having to upgrade, which i used to do far more frequently with my PC. Mac’s tend to stay running smoothly over time instead of clogging up and slowing down.
So, Yes – there is always the problem with technology advancing, but I’d say the impact is felt less on a Mac. Checking Google, I find there are many people who are just as happy with older G3/G4 Macs and are using them online to do today’s tasks without a problem.
The Interface is too different.
Again, this is true, the interface is different to Windows, but it doesn’t take too much to get used to it. The Mac has a menubar which is always at the top of the screen, this means you always know which application you are currently working in. The edges of the screen can be described as “infinitely deep” – this is because you don’t have to aim for them, just throw your mouse towards the top of the screen, for example, and it won’t go any further. This is the same as with the Windows taskbar.
Mac’s also have the Expose windowing tool which allows you to find windows quickly using thumbnails of all open windows. There is also the familiar Windows ‘Alt+Tab’.
The interface is far more intuitive, for example if you want to delete something, just drag it to the Trash. If you want to remove a toolbar item just drag it off the window and it disappears in a puff of smoke. You’ll find these sorts of ease of use features all over the system.
The Mouse only has one-button.
The default Apple mouse has only one button. To perform a right-click you have to hold down the Control key before clicking. The thing is though, any standard USB mouse can be plugged into your Mac so you can quite easily use a multi-button mouse with scroll-wheel if you wish – I myself use a Microsoft IntelliMouse on my Mac.
And finally
That’s all for now, but I’m sure these aren’t the only areas of concerns people may be interested in, so I invite people to put forward their own concerns and will probably write another one of these in the near future.
It is no wonder Apple have such a good reputation when it comes to design. It is clear they think very carefully when it comes to designing their products from the actual product itself, down to the packaging it arrives in.
I’d like to share with you one of the most innovative pieces of software I’ve seen for ages – its called Delicious Library.
