Swain is a junior marketing and writing double major and can be contacted at eryn.swain@drake.edu
I want to stir up some thought on the Apple Mac vs. Windows PC issue. I am a firm believer in the PC. Here are my top eight reasons why I chose a PC.
Mac users. When I ask people why they chose a Mac, they say, “It is just…better.” Oh, how convincing. I don’t even think Mac users know why they have Mac computers. Until I hear a valid argument for a Mac, I am sticking to my PC.
It’s a fad. I honestly do not see all the fuss. People claim that Macs run faster and run multiple programs better. I have yet to see this. I think it is just like bell-bottom jeans and scrunchies: just a fad. Most people choose it for the appearance.
Assurance. I believe people buying Macs are paying more for the name and “innovation” than anything else. I can’t justify a reason to switch from something I trust to something totally new.
Choices. I have so many brands, processor speeds, colors, sizes and capabilities in PCs I will never see on Mac computers.
User-friendly. I have to say that I think NOTHING about a Mac is user-friendly. No right click. The spinning wheel of death. No taskbar. I can go on forever.
Comfort. I honestly thought Mac computers were electronic devices of the past until I came to Drake. All I had ever used was a PC until college. I am more comfortable using a PC because my town of 548 people didn’t have enough funding for the schools to have anything but Windows XP computers.
Compatibility. Almost every piece of software created is compatible with a PC. I seldom see a program only available on a Mac, while I know of dozens that work on a PC and not a Mac.
Price. This is the most obvious reason. For a broke college student, I bought what I could afford. Therefore, a Mac computer didn’t even cross my mind. I don’t think I will ever afford a Mac unless I sell a kidney on the black market.
Great article.
I am personally a PC user but I have and will continue to say that Macs are just as competitive and good as a PC. If I could afford a Mac for a price of a PC (around 400-500 for a laptop), I would buy it. The user-friendliness not only comes with the computer itself, but if you have hardware problems and what not, as you can just take it into an Apple store and usually get things fixed.
I’ve used both a Mac and PC for years, and I think both have their high and low points.
The problem I have with this article is that there isn’t much research behind it. You obviously did not survey many people or look into many different situations. It comes across as lazy, especially when some of the facts aren’t quite correct. Macs DO have a right click, There are several Mac-only programs. They DO have a taskbar. PCs have a spinning wheel of death.
Macs are right for some people, and PCs for others. The price thing is all a matter of opinion. My PC was much cheaper, but it has a variety of hardware and software problems. My Mac took two years to pay off, but I’ve never had a problem.
My PC is best for some jobs, and my Mac for others. I believe I’d stick with the Mac if I had to choose, just because it is better suited for my music and communications career choice and I prefer its interface.
It’s all a matter of opinion, but they need to be based on facts. Your argument comes across as, “Macs aren’t the best product because they aren’t PCs.” It’s almost laughable, especially because you made a point to talk about the “It’s just better” argument. You purposely talked to people who would give that response. There are many Mac users who would give you specific reasons.
It just comes down to lazy journalism. Do your research next time.
Mac vs. PC: The case for a Mac.
Macs are easier to maintain than PC. Got a problem? Take it to the store. No customer service calls routed to India.
Macs last longer than PC. If your hard drive doesn’t crash this year, wait for it to crash next year.
There is a right click on a Mac, you just have to learn how to use it. The user interface is so easy to use, a caveman could do it.
The graphics on Macs are great.
PC does have so many more choices considering color, etc, but when you try to get the next greatest thing when it comes to PC, it gets back ordered way too many times for way too many reasons.
So, no, I don’t have a Mac because it’s a fad or I thought it was cool. I have a Mac because it does what I want it to do when I need it to.
No Blue Screen of Death on the Mac! That is worth a ton.
I don’t even know where to begin. Why would people choose a Apple computer over a PC it’s really a simple answer. The build quality is one of the industries best. Apple computer are made to last and not to mention have one of the best warranties. When my MacBook Air had problems apple just replaced my computer no questions. So, my question to you is have you ever seen Dell or Sony doing this? Moving on you say it’s a fad and that people claim Macs run faster and run multiple programs better. This is true because apple writes all the code for their operating systems to specifically fit each hardware option they offer. So the Mac OSX that runs on a MacBook Pro is going to have some internal things different from the version of Mac OSX running on a MacBook Air. This is why apple gets maximum performance out of their hardware. Next you talk about user-friendly of the mac operating system. You say that there is no right click, are you really that ignorant to believe that there is not a right click? There is a right click on all macs but the schools take away the right click because it makes it easy for kids to mess with things like changing the background. If you didn’t even know that there wasn’t a right click on mac you obviously haven’t done your research.