Sure, there are thousands of articles out there on “Mac versus PC” but I’m going to take it in a different direction and look at the top six reasons why your next computer should be a Mac, and why those Mac owners are just so damn happy with their computer. This won’t be a technical, benchmarking “geek” approach to this age old topic, but rather just touching the surface on some solid points that everyone can understand and I’m sure even a view PC owners will agree with.
1) Better Experience Out of The Box
When you buy a PC, 9 out of 10 times loaded with Microsoft Windows, you’re bombarded to spend more money. From anti-virus trials that only protect your computer long enough to enter your credit card number, to other offers — different Internet service, computer telephone, games, etc. While a lot of these bloated offers have to do with your computer maker (Dell, HP, etc.) you won’t find all this stuff on your Mac. Sure, you might be offered discs and download codes in the packaging but none of this “crap” is installed on your computer. I swear, the longest wait in the history of computers is waiting for your brand new PC to boot for the first time and that’s after you’ve been walked through a ton of “Free offer!” windows. I guess Windows doesn’t like protecting my computer I just spent $800 on for free and let’s not dare mention the craptastic “Windows Defender.“
2) Mac + Windows Beats Just Windows
When you buy a PC, you don’t (legally) have the option to try Mac OS X, what makes your neighbor’s beautiful MacBook Pro so cool. When you buy a Mac, you have the option to extremely easily install Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, 7, etc. on your Mac. Apple will even hold your hand during the process by making it overly simple to install the competition. Installing Windows on your Mac could possibly be the easiest thing you can do with a Microsoft product. Now you have all your native Microsoft apps on a “real” PC without ever leaving the comfort of your Safari, iChat, etc.
3) Your Software Runs Better On Mac
Microsoft Office? Yes. AOL? Yes. World of Warcraft? Yes. All of your software that you love and can’t live without on your PC runs on a Mac, and due to the internal design of Mac OS X — they run even better and faster than they do on your boggy and slow Windows Vista computer. And your Mac software is both performance topping and visually stunning. For those of you who work in an office and spend 8-12 hours a day looking at your computer, the Mac OS X experience is all around better than your budget PC that’s still chugging along with Windows XP.
4) Macs Just Plain Look Better
I’m sure you’re thinking “I don’t care what my computer looks like, I just want it to work!” If that was really the case, you wouldn’t have traded in your Ford for a Ferrari. All those blinking PC lights, inconvenient outlet placement, funky keyboard layout, etc. makes you really appreciate that MacBook Air verses your Dell Inspiron. Now PC manufacturers are cleaning up the computer design, making them more self-contained and sleek, however if you look back on history, Apple has been in the innovation business, not the duplication business.
5) Your Own Retail Store
When something happens to your computer, more times than not you’ve really been sucked into some sort of “agreement” with the retail outlet you purchased from. For example when I needed some warranty replacement for my Dell, I had to drive it to Best Buy where I bought it from and had their Geek Squad ninjas check it out. They didn’t do much before deciding to ship it to a “half facility” where Dell certified people (Read: Geek Squad ninja 2x) replace parts without voiding your warranty then they ship it back to Best Buy where Geek Squad calls you to go back to Best Buy. Phew.
Other computer makers just ship you an overnight box (HP/Compaq) and take it from there. No driving required. But what if you had your VERY OWN STORE? Enter The Apple Store. Where not only can you get enticed to buy new products and services, but it’s probably the most “Zen approved” shopping location in America. You’re treated like royalty and feel that you’re really a part of Apple. Where’s the Microsoft store? Must be stuck at a blue screen…
6) Virus And Spyware Free (Almost)
Windows is so popular, of course it’s the #1 targeted platform for evil viruses waiting to suck the life out of your computer and covert spyware sucking your bank account dry. But in all honesty it’s half Microsoft’s fault. When you reach the top there’s only one place to go: down. You’ll rarely find the likes of Norton hogging up your computer on a Mac because there is roughly 98% less viruses, spyware, malware, etc. out there that can tackle your beloved Mac.
I know this article isn’t perfect, and I’m sure you have comments that are better than my article. Or maybe you work for IBM, HP, Microsoft, etc. Feel free to strike me down dead right here but as you’re worried about Cornflaker or whatever the latest and scariest virus is out there, I’m just chillin’ — Mac OS X, baby. It’s how I roll.
June 29th, 2010 at 9:53 AM
The OS was made for the hardware (Mac). Enough said.
June 29th, 2010 at 12:58 AM
PC’s are super crappy, slow, and break constantly. I have spent more money trying to fix old PC’s and ended up having to buy new ones. This was solved by buying a mac book that has worked flawlessly for over 3 years. It really is true that you get what you pay for.
Being a graphic designer would have been much more frustrating without my mac. How many people do you hear of loving to work on a PC for graphics? None.
Apple has been the most innovative due to their passion for design and functionality of their products which look and work better than PC’s. This is why they will continue to grow and flourish as a company.
Thanks Richard for post! <3 Mac <3
June 29th, 2010 at 1:34 AM
I couldn’t disagree with you more because your claims have no merit. PC’s can be built to be much more powerful than the highest level Mac, they’re not slow if you know how to take care of an OS, and they don’t break unless you’re mishandling them or buy shitty parts. If you have had PC’s that break so often, you need to invest in better PC’s. Personally, I don’t feel anyone is allowed to have an opinion on PC’s until they’ve built their own. What design programs do you use on your Mac? Photoshop? Because the exact same version of Photoshop that’s on your Mac is also on your PC. Only, it’ll run faster on your PC. Well, not the “crappy, slow, and [broken]” PC you have, but it will for the rest of us.
I too love Macs, though I can’t tolerate people mindlessly ripping on PC’s because they bought a crappy Dell or HP and have slowed it down with tons of Viruses. 99% of PC issues are caused by ignorance by the user. Go build a custom PC, and then see how slow and crappy it is.
September 13th, 2010 at 7:19 AM
I agree with Thomas here and I add:
Why you still differentiate between “Macs” and “PCs”. Since when Apple switched from PowerPC to Intel processors, Apple computers *ARE* (technically) PCs, exactly the ones you hate so much.
To put it simply Macs are PCs in an aluminium unibody garment and a doubled price tag. If you like OS X so much, there’s nothing which prevents you from installing it on a computer with specs similar to a MacBook (like the Dell Inspiron 1525).
I’ve been a Linux user for almost ten years and since things are going south with several key components (Kernel, X11), I decided to switch to a different UNIX. And here I am, Happy OS X user with my Inspiron 1525. Soon to be replaced with a Dell Vostro 3700.
I will look back only when Apple changes processors again or makes it really impossible to install OS X on non-Apple machines.
July 28th, 2009 at 6:24 AM
@corvert
1) That’s not the point. Point is Mac doesn’t bombard users with a bunch of trials that slow set up time.
2) It’s better to be legal. At least Macs support Microsoft.
3) Office? They’re the same. AOL? Lame. WoW? HA! What a joke for software. Blizzard obviously does NOT know how to create SHIT for Macs. That’s not Apples fault they have 42950843904 patches a week.
4) Apple Keyboard has a light ON the caps lock key. The Air wasn’t designed to be an all purpose computer. It was designed as an ‘ultra portable’ notebook.
5) All PCs have thousands and thousands of possibilities for different hardware configurations. Mac technicians know what’s in the computers they fix.
6) There will never, ever, be any OS or software that’s 100% secure. Hackers will hack anything. It is simply more complex to get into a Mac, where as holes in windows are found daily and patches are needed frequently.
7) Why wold you need to upgrade when you already have the best?
July 30th, 2010 at 3:39 AM
Wow, ive read this a year late, but Tim, you could not be more wrong, you will not read this and its probable that nobody else will.
But this needs to be said for all the stumblers out there that find this page. YOU ARE A MORON, People who use macs have no idea about PCs, People that have any knowlege of a PC will laugh in the face of any Mac user who claims Macs over PCs.
The top PC will smash the top mac, any day, a year old PC with no upgrades may still even beat the performance of a Mac, Macs do not run most games, you cannot change or ulter your hardware, you get a sealed box that you may not touch or replace.
They claim to have their OS compatible and based on their hardware, They didnt build their OS with the hardware, they stole it from the technology of FreeBSD, I laughed alot at some comments about PCs lately. reason being that these people are retarded, they download Gigs of porn and wonder why they have trojans, they cant operate a PC and find confidence in having a mac that is indestructable, which is wrong, Mac crash all the time, the claim that they dont get virus’s may be true, but they do lose quality at the same rate as a PC, Pc’s just start out better. I cant really express my hatreds for macs, they are terrible and are not network friendly.
September 13th, 2010 at 7:11 AM
@Richard (article’s author):
On 2nd point: Please don’t omit crucial facts. You cannot (legally) try OS X on your PC because Apple won’t let you do so (EULA says that you can install OS X only on “Apple branded computers”). To make it clear: it’s not Microsoft, HP or Dell’s fault. It’s Apple’s.
@Tim
On 2nd point: just read above.
June 20th, 2009 at 11:46 PM
1) Any software is free… the only money needed to be spent on any computer is the money for the hardware. “If its not physical its free”
2) I already said illigal software doesnt matter.
3) MS office? sorry PC runs it faster. AOL? i dont use so i cant say :P World of Warcraft? … ok lees pause there for a second. I am a huge WoW fan and constantly have to install patches (both mac and PC does this) and everytime i read the pathc notes they have an entire section of things they had to fix JUST for Macs. sorry Richard your wrong about macs and WoW.
4)Annyoing blinking lights? What? I know PC has alot of lights but how are they annoying? Ther tiny leds that have a useful function. Id rather see that my caplock is on by a little light rather than to type the entire document in caps because i didnt see that the cap lock was on. funky keyboard layout? Pcs have the most common keyboard layout. Seeing as macs keyboard is not as common wouldnt it make their keyboard “funkry”? macbook air… really? the macbook air was a comlpeat failure. it had ONE usb port. What are u going to use that one usb port for? the macbook air was a fail lets leave it at that.
5) yes ill admit microsoft doesnt have its own store and geek squad and i know from expreence that dell has the worst service i have ever used (when i bought my old computer they sent the wrong one >.>) but really peopel should be useing custom builds anyways.
6) viruses are so easy to get rid of its not even funny. but “it’s half Microsoft’s fault”? What? no. The only reason that PCs ahve viruses are because they are the leading platform. If Mac was bigger they their would be more mac viruses. it is no way microsofts fault. Anything can be hacked so really you cant blame them. also for the people thinkign that macs can not be hacked: Iphone&ipod jailbreaks, Kalyway, iAtkos, ideneb. All hack macs. if peopel really wanted to they could hack a mac.
Also you cant really say windows is slow if your useign a DELL. dells are aweful computers. make a custom build better (and cheaper) than a mac and u can run vista (or xp) on it with impressive speed. Macs number one flaw is customiztion. You cant buy upgraded parts u gotta buy a whole new computer and have to wait for it to come out. custom builds i can upgrade my computer every time a new part comes out without being held back by mac. By the way im useign a custom build with Vista ultimate (free), Mac OSX Lepoard (free), and Ubuntu as my Operating systems. vista for priamry, osx for Iphoen SDK, Ubuntu just looks pretty :D.
May 31st, 2009 at 5:37 PM
i know all versions of windows use the registry system but vista just is too buggy, slow and performance isnt very good. i just prefer xp because of less interruptions, less over-protecteness and the speed. and i never would have though that a dell would be faster than a mac book, specifically designed to run leopard. makes you think though….why are we spending all that extra money on a mac when another standard laptop will be faster.
May 24th, 2009 at 5:18 PM
Well Scott, before you start hating on Vista, remember that all versions of Windows use the registry. Also, OS X running on our hardware is actually faster than running it on a Macbook (Macbook Pro’s are a different story).
May 24th, 2009 at 4:55 PM
i’d love a macbook pro but they are just sooo exspensive, for now i make do with leopard on my dell inspiron 1525. mac is a lot faster, more reliable, looks better, and so much easier to use. mac all the way!!! forget vista with all of its useless services and its huge registry. thats why macs better
September 12th, 2010 at 1:50 PM
“Expensive” is not the right word to use. “Overpriced” is. E.g.: A Dell Vostro 3700 costs ~900 EUR (VAT included) while the 17″ MacBook Pro (same specs — except for monitor resolution and hard drive size) costs 2249 EUR (VAT included). Wow, that’s 2.5x more than the market price for similar hardware!
With that said, I thank Apple every day. Without them the various Dell, HPs out there would be still making not-so-good-looking laptops. Without them we wouldn’t have _widespread_ touchscreen cellphones (and these things are nothing new since touch-screens existed since the ’80s).
But I will be always glad to let others with lots of money to waste buy their products.
Speaking by myself, I think my next portable computer is going to be a Vostro 3700.
And it will run a retail Snow Leopard bought from an Apple Store, of course.
(P.S.: I’m not an Apple-hater. I would buy their products if they aren’t 2 time the price of the competition. I am willing to pay a little bit more for a refined product but not more than twice).
May 17th, 2009 at 11:17 AM
I’m totally agree with this Macs rules that’s why after using hackintosh for over an 6 months I decided to get an MacBook Pro this autumn after my summer job. I’ll support Apple by getting an iPhone, MacBook Pro and maybe a TimeCapsule. Thanks to all people who helped me to get Mac on my Dell, you guys rocks keep it up!!
May 14th, 2009 at 7:47 PM
yep man , u are absolutely right,mac just kicks asses,all there products are well-manufactured with magnificent look, the only thing is that it is more expensive ( which i can’t afford it now cuz i am just a student ) but i am gonna buy one 4 sure in the future.
Steve jobs is so much talent than the weirdo bill gates
i believe that apple will be the number one company in the world
thnx dude 4 ur awesome post & Once u Go mac, u never go back lol