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Sunday, July 13, 2008

Computer Decisions

I have decided to buy a new computer. Mine crashes at the drop of a hat. Chris says it's getting old, doesn't have enough memory and that I should buy a Mac. Jon has been advocating Mac for years. Trouble is, I've been using PCs for years and am quite comfortable. Can I switch back and forth between work and home? Can they really teach this old dog new tricks? Apparently they get way fewer viruses and just don't do the crash thing so often - no black or blue screen of death - or at least rarely. So, my new poll - please feel free to give me input. Should I buy a Mac or a new PC? I use the computer many hours every day between home and work; not just an occasional surfer.

2 comments:

  1. Okay, let's get a few things straight here:

    1) Macs have NO viruses. NONE. Compare that to tens of thousands EVERY YEAR for Windows. Countless competitions have been held for someone to create a Mac virus and only one person has ever sort of succeeded this past April, but it wasn't a virus, it was a web script that required cooperation from the user. Could have been exploited as a real threat except that it was patched within days. (Compared to NEVER for most Windows exploits.)

    2. You don't really use the operating system. You mostly use applications. Firefox, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and every other program you use on a daily basis is available for a Mac. Most have superior Mac alternatives (like Pages, Numbers, and Keynote instead of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), and there are countless programs that are only available for the Mac.

    Most people are concerned about the learning curve but figure it out within a day or so. Then they hate to go back to work and use Windows because it's so backward. (Vista copied numerous features from a version of Mac OS that was already 5 or 6 years old. XP has none of those features.)

    3. You already have a Mac right there in your office. I set it up for Jenn months ago and she's never used it. It's old enough to not be fully featured but it's plenty to learn how to use a Mac. Just don't judge it by it's speed.

    4. In my 4 years since I switched I have had only a few complete crashes. Two of them were many months apart, each time after I dropped my laptop. Physical connectors came undone. Not many operating systems can survive that. The others were on my newer PowerMac after plugging in a 3rd party card that needed an update before use in the latest operating system. It controls addon hard drives and it would crash the whole system when I tried to access the drive. Once I updated the card the crashes stopped and haven't returned even more than 6 months later. Show me a Windows computer that will go 6 months without a crash.

    I think you should get a 20" iMac with my educational discount and give me the free iPod. :) (Deal going on right now.)

    Two quotes from my photographer friend, Aronda, after she switched:

    "I have become the Mac geek I always hated."
    "Once you go Mac you'll never go back."
    (This is particularly funny because she's black, and you've probably heard the original saying that she adapted.)


    - Jon

    P.S. Remind me to find you a link to the videos of Bill Gates having temper tantrums when people pointed out that Vista, which was years overdue and feature stripped to get it shipped, had features copied from ancient versions of Mac OS. Very funny stuff. He is the least emotionally secure billionaire I've ever seen.

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  2. I much prefer the Mac. It's actually much easier to use a Mac. they are way beyond more user friendly. I only started using a PC at home a couple of years ago because we had to buy a new computer, couldn't afford a Mac and thought Abby needed to learn a PC for school. But I will tell you that I switch daily between PC and Mac (use Mac at work) and don't have a problem. Especially if you have Jon to help you if you find yourself in trouble, you can't go wrong. I do disagree with one thing: I think you should give *ME* the free ipod.

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