The Switch
As I have had a Macbook Pro for over a year now I have learned some extraordinary differences from PC. Even though I am infatuated with Macbooks (not necessarily Apple), I have also seen some drawbacks. First, Skype has not updated Mac OS skype nearly as far as they have Microsoft's. This is obviously a skype issue, but it is still annoying when your PC skype friends can do things like play board games with each other and you can't. Come on Skype; I would venture to guess that there are just as many if not more mac users using skype than PC.
I used to be more than competent at using a PC, but now when I switch back it is like watching a Mac noob trying to figure out how to use the trackpad when they have never used a mac. It's embarrassing.
I had better learn to adapt to both if I plan on working for a business because I will need to be able to use a PC. Despite how amazing Macs are, they still lack the business dimension. For me, it's not just the security, I honestly like using Microsoft Office on PC better than OS, despite already admitting that you have to use Microsoft Office on OS. Apple's versions of Microsoft office are just impractical.
Another downside to a Macbook Pro is the price. I can't blame Apple for this one though. It's economics. They have the perfect price set to achieve optimal profits. I would do the same thing. So from a business standpoint it is a success, while from a consumer standpoint it really sucks to dish out a couple k for a high end mac.
The worst difference between Macs and PC's are the people. You are either far left or far right. Obviously from all these graphics, it is easy to glean that some very enthusiastic geeks are out to prove a point. PC snobs talk down to Mac users saying they are simple and confined while Mac snobs talk down to PC users saying Windows is a failure of a system. They both have points. I started using iMovie last year to explore movie making possibilities. It was great. I had fun and was able to become a master at iMovie. The problem is that I became a master. When I started trying to do new things and get things exactly how I wanted, I realized I couldn't. iMovie is limited to a short range of tasks, but sometimes it's the simpler pleasures that make the difference...
One of the more surprising things to me when I got a Mac was iTunes. I had iTunes on my PC, but it's a different story now. iTunes was made for mac (like Microsoft Office was made for Windows). It runs bug free and MUCH faster now. It syncs with my iPod better (which is also made for Mac). This has saved me countless time and frustration. Even though Mac does have it's glitchy moments (the rainbow wheel of death), it is much better than the glitches you receive from Windows. Less viruses yada yada yada...some old song people have been singing, but it's true. iMovie (and similar applications) does have it's limitations, but I would have never created movies without the simplicity it first presented. The operating system of OS is much smoother running for the majority of a college student's purposes.
If I weigh the pros and cons, for me, Apple has me for computers, but I recognize the many uses you would want for having a PC. It just comes down to that Venn Diagram towards the top. What do you need/want a computer for?
I totally disagree with you on this one. Mac was made for video and image editing and most high end professionals dealing with either use mac. IMovie is meant to be a simple program, you wouldn't use it if you were serious about film. Just my opinion. Also don't think mac and windows are nearly as comparable in the userfriendly department as you proposed.
ReplyDeleteI agree for the most part Mac is more user friendly. My point about iMovie is that it's not what it's cut out to be. If you install a third party movie editor on OS, yes it will be great, but for the stock iLife programs it has limitations.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest problem with macs are the price. They are way overpriced (thus overrated). The people in the marketing department deserve big bonuses. They've basically made the Apple brand something people are willing to pay for, despite many technical problems and outsourcing of their production. When the new imacs came out, there were so many problems with the monitors...definitely not worth the price. And don't forget about the iphone. People like to think Apple is this little down to earth, all American company. But they're not. They've outsourced all their production, which should make their products cheaper, but they're not. They micromanage and limit the creativity on software/apps for their products. I just read a story about their denial of someone's app for the iphone, until he won a pulitzer prize. Then, the app was accepted.
ReplyDeleteI think they are condescending to their customers, disguised as "user-friendly." I don't have a problem with all these things necessarily, but I just don't think people ought to think of them as anything other than what they really are: "The Man." People should know that they are overpaying for this product.