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Crazy Mac Switchin' |
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 I've run into a lot of people who know a lot about technology and like Macs a lot from afar, but for whatever reason are leery about purchasing an Apple Computer. In this article I'll spell out what I think the biggest reasons are that people don't want to take the plunge, as well as some "solutions" for this. If you're thinking about switching to a Mac, perhaps this article will help you. If you're a Mac Evangelist, maybe you'll pick up a pointer or two to help sway someone from the Dark Side. If nothing else, you get free Cheesy Bread if you read all the way to the bottom!
First off, a little background to give some credence to what I have to say about switching from Windows or Linux/UNIX. I'm very familiar with all Windows OSes, having once been the Administrator of a mainly Windows network, as well as a Tech Support guy (man, that was fun...pfft). On the UNIX side, I took a few years of Computer Science at Canisius College in Buffalo spending much time on UNIX workstations. I soon realized that the 'UNIX way' at the time, was not the way for me. I couldn't understand why everything had to be so difficult, as it was so easy to do many of the same things on my Macintosh. And now with OS X, you can do all of those things on a Mac and do it much easier than on a Linux box.
Now we'll start comparing Apples to oranges, or Apples to other Operating Systems.
Mac OS X vs. Windows Machines
Almost everyone uses Windows. Some Windows users don't know there are other ways to do things and are blindly plodding along and yeah, for the most part they get what they need to get done. But with a hell of a lot more headaches, and spending a hell of a lot more time getting said stuff done. Also, most uninformed computer buyers just look at the initial price tag of a computer, without looking at features, performance, quality, software, and many other factors. They don't understand that it's very much like buying a car. If you want to buy a Pinto for less money up front, you'll most likely be paying more later for repairs and maintenance. Plus it really sucks because you have to deal with little stuff happening, like the window handle falling off, or the thing not starting on a cold morning.
I will ascede that Windows XP is a pretty solid Operating System as far as not crashing goes. (The fact that it's a hacker's dream goes unnoticed by most of the populace, but hey, you can't win them all!) However, the user-friendliness in Windows just is not there. You have to reboot for inane things like changing network settings or installing a piece of software of hardware (admittedly, Windows XP has gotten better at this than it's predecessors, but curse of the Reboot still rears its ugly head now and again). Many times, doing something as simple as attaching a scanner is a nightmare, and I've wasted many a day scouring the Internet for software drivers for something that was supposed to be Plug and Play.
Not so with a Mac. Everything just works.
Mac OS X vs. Linux/UNIX boxes
Linux is great. You can buy a cheap PC and toss a Linux OS on it for under $200 and have a server that does, say, Web Hosting. However, there's no way the average user is going to be able to use Linux, even with the recent attempts by companies such as RedHat to make it more user-friendly.
Now for true "geeks" that's fine. But I've dwelt in the Linux world long enough to know how painful it is to do something as simple as install a piece of software. First you have to find the right one for your distribution. Then you make and compile it. If you don't have the required libraries for the program (i.e. GTK for Gimp) then you have to back up and repeat the process for the library. Granted, there are some shortcuts to this for various distributions of Linux, but I'm just trying to get a point across: using Linux is not very much fun unless you're some type of sadomasochist. If you want to actually get stuff done, get a Mac.
Now let's look at Mac OS X. I bought a Mouse online that said expressly that it did not work with Macintosh. I heedlessly bought it, plugged it in, and it worked. No software needed to be installed, nuthin. Even the right-click and scroll button worked. Does that happen with Linux? More often that not, the answer is no.
Pretty much anything Linux can do, OS X can do better. With Apple's recent X11 release you can download, install, and run pretty much ANY Linux program on your Mac. These applications can run side-by-side with your OS X-native apps. As mentioned before, all of that UNIX-y goodness is available on OS X. Apache comes built-in, as does PHP (albeit a stripped down version). You can install Tomcat, or any number of relational databases, such as MySQL. And of course, the cool thing is that all that UNIX stuff is hidden under the hood. Not so in Linux. It's there in all it's ugliness to scare the pants off the average user.
Some holdouts
Being an Apple "evangelist" for quite a while now, I've realized that there are a few groups of people that are hardest to sway from the Dark Side of the Force. One of these is hardcore gamers, the other are severe Linux-heads. Many of these people fall into both groups.
However, getting into this will make this article just huge, so I'll leave that for another time and another article.
Final Thoughts
I hope I don't come across as some sort of totalitarian dictator saying "YOU SHALL OWN A MAC!". That's not the way I want to be perceived, but sometimes that's what people think because they don't understand the Mac user's strong affinity for their computer of choice. I know the options that are out there, and I truly believe with my heart that, not only will you save yourself time and money, but you will actually derive joy from owning and using a Mac. Sounds a bit wierd, but it's true!
Also, I haven't really gotten into all the good stuff that Macs have - I just briefly glossed over a few things, so if you're a non-Mac user itching to learn more, dig around the web. Go to Apple's web site and check out all the great hardware and software that's available.
This article was just one huge rant, and if you've read this far, I thank you. I hope that this will help at least one person to ditch his/her old way of doing things and make the leap to buy a Mac. If you do, you won't be sorry.
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P.S. - If you're 'on the brink' of purchasing a Mac and have questions, we're here for you. The Mac Community is a pretty tight knit one and will help you out along every step of the way.
If you think we should write more of this sort of stuff, please let us know.
And oh yeah the Free Cheesy Bread! e-Mail me with a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) and you'll receive a package with 4-24 weeks*.
*Offer does not apply in Cleveland, Boise or Pantsville. Free Cheesy Bread is not actual Cheesy Bread at all, but is a highly mutated alien life form that has a voracious appetite for human flesh and likes to sing Karaoke. Enjoy! |
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March 4 2003, 9:33 AM EDT, by
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