i-rant

Recently a friend asked Apple or IBM; in other words Mac or Windows?

This is pretty much like saying do you love your son or your daughter. My answer is "yes".

Our house has three Macs and three PC’s and for good reason. All run on the same network and most via a wireless connection to one of three routers in the house. We have a DSL connection that all share. We have a networked printer all share. Which do I prefer – My Mac. Why – that’s the hard part. For me it was based on several things, emotion being one of them. Apple is damn good at marketing and design, but that’s not the reason I switched. The reason I switched was because I felt it would be easier, more reliable and more useful to me in the long run. I’m a gadget guy and love tinkering with my old Intel PC’s – I know people value my expertise – but that’s the point, are you that kind of person?

If you want to hook up to a router then look for two things. 1. an ethernet connection – that is the cable connection way. 2. A WiFi card – or in Apple Mac terms – an Airport. ALL macs today come with an ethernet port so no problem there. Most PC’s do too. Most Apple notebooks do too. The iBook is a great consumer product – with everything you need for basic computing, including wireless if you are sure to specify an Airport. I use a PowerBook for that added, well “power” and the size and style of a quality piece of hardware.
But enough about me, for now…

How should you choose?

In my opinion it comes down to 5 steps:
1. Write down everything you do and want to do with the computer.
2. Prioritize those things and allocate time and importance to them
3. Find software and hardware accessories (scanners, pens, cameras, etc.) to achieve those goals.
4. Consider how you use the computer as a tool, what you worry about and how
you work.
5. Find the platform (Mac OS X or Windows XP) that runs those programs.

I’ll get to my story in a few paragraphs but for now think about these steps and then do your own research. Google Mac OSX and Windows XP. You will find news groups, discussion boards, developers, evangelists. You will find websites and magazines and all kinds of applications for both. Apple knows it is a Windows world so they have a whole Switch Website: Apple Switch under the OS X Tiger Webpage. Another good source of information is the people who research this stuff. There are many out there but one of the most practical guys is Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal. He has his Personal Technology column and has often reviewed the question we are discussing. I don’t know if you can read his column online without a subscription but I believe he is syndicated so you can find him in many places. In fact, click on that link and go to his Mossberg Report (for November) it is titled “Tempted by the Apple.” Here are a few other articles:

Buyer’s Guide – Fall 2006 Mossberg focuses on buying a Windows PC, specifically planning for Microsoft’s next generation OS called Vista. That is something to conside – Windows, though it is XP it is several years old and its due for an upgrade So personally, this is a consideration.
Microsoft hasn’t published final hardware requirements for Vista yet, but I have been talking to the company about them, and feel comfortable that the specs I am recommending below will allow you to upgrade to Vista with confidence. Although this is a desktop guide, most of these recommendations apply to laptops, too.
If you don’t care about Vista, and plan to stay with Windows XP for the life of your next computer, follow my last desktop buyer’s guide, which ran in April and is still valid for XP.
You also won’t have to worry about Vista if you buy one of Apple Computer’s Macintosh computers, which don’t run Windows. Every mainstream consumer doing typical tasks should consider the Mac. Its operating system, called Tiger, is better and much more secure than Windows XP, and already contains most of the key features promised for Vista.

A New Gold Standard for PCs
At the same time, Apple Computer also introduced a new software program called Front Row — embedded in the improved iMac — that, like Microsoft’s Windows Media Center, allows users to play music and to view photos, videos and DVDs from across a room, using an included remote control.
We’ve been testing this new iMac, and our verdict is that it’s the gold standard of desktop PCs. To put it simply: No desktop offered by Dell or Hewlett-Packard or Sony or Gateway can match the new iMac G5’s combination of power, elegance, simplicity, ease of use, built-in software, stability and security. From setup to performing the most intense tasks, it’s a pleasure to use. And, contrary to common misconceptions, this Mac is competitively priced, when compared with comparably equipped midrange Windows PCs; and it handles all common Windows files, as well as the Internet and email, with aplomb.

Spring Buyer’s Guide:
PC Prices Get Cheaper, But Complexity Grows
Windows or Mac: Because they are beautifully designed and so far haven’t attracted viruses or spyware, Apple Computer’s Macintosh models are getting more consideration than they have in years from Windows users. You can now buy a full-fledged, decently equipped Mac, called the Mac Mini, for just $499. It doesn’t include a keyboard, mouse or monitor, but it can use the ones you already have on your old Windows machine. Doubling the memory adds $75.

Tiger Leaps Out In Front
Tiger is a beautiful and powerful operating system that advances personal computing. It is a big gain for Mac users right out of the box.

While Switching to Mac Will Improve Security,
It Isn’t for Everybody
Over the past year, I have advised readers who are fed up with the plague of viruses and spyware on Windows PCs that one way out of the mess is to switch to Apple Computer’s Macintosh. There has yet to be a report of a successful, real-world virus for the Mac’s current operating system, and there is little or no known spyware for the Mac. I stand by that advice, and also by my positive reviews of recent Mac models, especially the impressive iMac G5. But, as I have noted in the past, switching to the Mac has downsides, and it isn’t the best course for some groups of Windows users.
In general, the best candidates for a switch to the Mac are those who use their computers overwhelmingly for common, mainstream consumer tasks. These include e-mail, instant messaging and Web browsing; word processing, spreadsheets and presentations; working with photos, home videos and digital music; and playing and creating CDs and DVDs.
The Mac is as good as Windows at these core tasks, and in many cases better. Still, you certainly shouldn’t consider switching to the Mac if you are happy with Windows and you aren’t much affected by viruses and spyware.
Even if you aren’t happy with Windows, don’t consider switching to the Mac if you are resistant to learning new ways of doing things. The Mac and Windows are close cousins, but there is a learning curve that comes with switching……

From the Source:

Apple’s Switch Website
Microsoft Windows Website

And here is an iteresting site called X vs XP that does a direct feature comparison and rates them giving a final score of ????(click the link and scroll down). Its a very technical site – as are many of the comparisons out there. That’s why I like Walt’s stuff, above.

My Story:
I use personal computers almost every day both at work and at home. I embraced them at their genesis way back in 1983 as a Freshman in college. I learned on an Apple IIe and experimented with basic and graphics learning the basics. But the thing that hooked me was WORDPROCESSING. I was constantly "sweet talking" girls in my dorm to type up papers for me. I’m a terrible speller and back then, typing mistakes involved things like white out and correction tape. When I saw the Bank Street Writer and the ability to cursor all over the page, backspace, insert and make changes without retyping the whole thing – I was hooked. Eventually it lead me to take classes and learn Cobol, Fortran, etc. till I eventually minored in the subject. Always, though it was a tool for me. Eventually learning the Mac when our fraternity advisor got one and then the PC when I transferred to UMD and the sea of PC’s in the library.

I switched to DOS at work almost immediately and used my own cash to buy a PC for my first job – I still have it, a T1000 4.77 MHZ clamshell computer with a 40 character, 40 line LCD screen in the attic. It worked though – it was a tool to run ACT! 1.0, track sales activity, write letters and manage information. When Windows came out I cheered because it was finally getting back to Mac. But it wasn’t. It was still unstable, forced and un intuitive. The key for me though was the software I needed was Windows/DOS and the software my company ran was Window/DOS. And that is why Apple eventually went from 15% marketshare to almost 5%. Its back though still at a low % but it has its niches and iPods are pulling consumers in. Back to my story:

That is the way with computers in the workplace. Eventually there is always "the guy" in the office who knows the stuff. Who can come over and figure out what’s wrong and help you get productive again. There are I.T. guys now in the office but in small companies they are hard to come by, in large ones you have to wait on a list. So I was that "guy" people would say – "Jim, what the heck happened, help!" and it was always some obscure Windows thing like the config.sys file, the registry, drivers, etc. Stuff you shouldn’t have to worry about. Stuff that is there because IBM and now DELL make the hardware and Microsoft makes the operating system. Stuff that just isn’t as much of an issue with Mac OS X because they consider it critical that it be intuitive and that it works like a toaster or microwave. It is a tool not the main thing. When you are making a new bookshelf, the saw and hammer aren’t the main thing to work on – its the bookshelf! What if you spent so much time on the hammer and saw as you do on that Windows PC?

And that is why I picked Macintosh. Because there shouldn’t be "a guy" to go to. When I started my consulting business I had the chance to work and play on my own terms. It carried over to FFI because they were a Sybase company and enough people used Mac’s that I kept right on using my PowerBook while my IBM PC collected dust till i had to do stuff like expenses that required company issues software. Today at D.I. I use my PC and that is life. I ‘m typing this on my Mac though, its what I prefer.

When I plug a new toy or device in, my Mac usually knows what it is and how to use it. When I load a software package it works the same way as other applications – sharing the top menu bar, using similar conventions, integrating with the OS in an elegant manner. It runs multiple programs at the same time, protected so if one crashes the rest are fine.

Networking is easy too. Apple was the first to embrace Ethernet and then WiFi. We have a cool little device called an Airport Express that is a print-server, WiFi router and its plugged into the Family room Amp so we can play iTunes music from any Mac on the network.

Yes there are times when I want to run a software program and it doesn’t run on Mac OS X. Like the Lego’s Mindstorm robot program Daniel just got. But that is why we have both in our house. And once he gets the hang of programming he can hack in with cool Mac OSX software for Mindstorms other people have built by using the API. It is worth it to me to have both and given the choice I’ll always pick a Mac. It has built in applications that are way cool and have changed the way I do things. I take more digital pictures, manage email better, make digital movies, burn CD’s, manage all my music on my iPod and Mac. I have Microsoft Office for OS X so Word, Excel, and Powerpoint are there (and I think they are better on a Mac). Its great for me.

So follow my steps above, do your research on the web and make your own decision. Then always remember its a tool not the main thing. Its what you get out of it that counts.