In the past, I have said some things which have upset the users of Apple computers. I have pointed out some problems I have with Apple as a company, distinct from their machines. I have also said that I think Apple products are more expensive than PCs. The typical reactions I get from Apple users range from white hot hate to concluding I don’t know what I’m talking about. I am now in a position where I MAY give slight credence to the latter, but with some caveats. Here’s why…
I am thinking about upgrading my computer – to a Mac. Yes, I am pondering the purchase of a Mac Pro. And the intention is to replace my main work computer with said Mac. The base price for the Mac Pro is $2,499. Certainly not a cheap computer. However, the guts of that computer are nothing to sneeze at. We’re talking about two dual-core Intel Xeon processors, for a total of four processing cores. I was initially perplexed about why it came with only 1 gig of RAM, but from all indications the machine runs very well on only 1 gigabyte. I will probably add more memory, but I am sure as hell not buying it from Apple. I still maintain that they charge too much money for that stuff.
But, this got me thinking. I am a long-time PC guy and here I am thinking of buying a Mac. But, I wonder if the Apple guys have ever thought about just WHY people like myself are hesitant to use Apple products. Some of the reasons I will list I recognize may not be true, but this IS the way many Windows people see things, like it or not.
1. Lack of Flexibility
In the PC world, there are about as many different possible hardware configurations as there are stars in the sky. If you want to build your own PC, you can. You get exactly what you want, how you want it, and for the price you are willing to pay. In the Apple world, this is not the case. Apple selects what is available to it’s customers. And they keep the lid so closed on their hardware that it is pretty much impossible to build your own Mac. With a PC, you can pretty much upgrade the entire box for $400-$500. With a Mac, you have to buy a new machine. And the iMac makes it even worse because you have to buy a whole new monitor with it! The typical Apple user response might be “Why would you want to build your own PC?”. But, that’s not the point! You can if you want to! You have flexibility! Try that on a Mac.
With the PC, you have a lot of flexibility. With the Mac, users are accustomed to explaining why they don’t need that flexibility. That is just a major difference of opinion that some will never see eye to eye on.
2. Software Compatibility
Now, I recognize this one isn’t really true anymore, but many Windows users do have concerns about compatibility with work computers. Most work environments use Windows. People want to be able to work from home and they assume they need Windows products to do so. Again, I know that this is not true, and fortunately Apple is doing a better job of educating people that they can indeed work on their Office documents on either platform. BTW, thank Microsoft for that. But, even I do have some concerns about my other files. I have done a lot of work in my day using PC-based software, and I have a lot of great PC software. The last thing I want to do is fork over $2500 only to be confronted with another $1,000 on software for the thing. Let’s just say that I am depending on reliable operation of Parallels or VMWare Fusion to allow me to run much of my Windows software so that I don’t have to re-purchase a bunch of it.
3. Price
Price is indeed a big button with Windows users. Apple products are expensive, and many Windows users don’t recognize that this is because there is a wider selection of cheap parts available for PCs. Even among tech-educated people like myself, it is hard to get over the price tag of some Apple products. The Mac Pro mentioned above is a $2500 machine. You can get a LOT of PC for $2500. But, even more important, you can get a LOT of PC for much LESS than $2500. And that’s the point. While a professional level Mac is going to run you a minimum of $2500, you have MANY more perfectly viable options in the PC world for less than that. Yes, the Mac Pro is a great, blazing fast box. But, it’s not like it is the only such box out there. And at least with a PC, if something breaks you can swap out the part on your own.
Apple is doing a better job with pricing. Apple has purposely not bothered with the lower end PC market. Margins are low and the trouble is higher. So, I understand that Apple tries to target higher quality machines. But, look at it from a Windows user perspective. You have perfectly good, affordable options in the PC world where you can do almost anything you want. Or you have a seemingly expensive, albiet high quality Mac where Apple dictates what you can do with it.
4. Marketing Bullcrap
Apple marketing spends more time bashing Windows machines than promoting their own products. The entire Mac vs. PC commercial line-up, while funny, also comes across as very conceited. And some of it is outright crap. One such commercial paints Windows computers as an all business computer, good mainly for spreadsheets and pie charts. Yeah, well tell that to the gamers of the world who can’t use a Mac because of the lack of game selection. With Apple, they say the Apple is so much fun because I can play with pictures and movies and such. Well, that’s great, but I can do the same thing with my Windows box. And I don’t know about you, but looking at my photos can only entertain me for 10 minutes and I’m bored.
Some of Apple’s points about Microsoft are right on, such as the bloated nature of new Windows machines one buys in the store or the amount of viruses out there for Windows. OK, I got you, but stop spreading stupid propaganda that isn’t true and we’ll have a deal. Any trip to the computer store will have you see aisles of fun stuff for the PC while you might have half a shelf of games for the Mac.
If Apple products are so great, they need to act like it and stop acting like a child who is rebelling from mommy and daddy. If Apple would talk more about what distinguishes it from PCs and less about why PCs suck, I would take it a lot more seriously and so would a majority of current Windows users.
5. Apple Users
Now that I am thinking of buying a Mac, I’ll come right out and say it. Some Apple users are frickin’ annoying. Some Apple users are just too in love with their computers. And when articles like this one come out, they take it upon themselves to call the author names, say we’re stupid, yell in ALL CAPS, etc. Or they seem to preach Mac as if it is a religious experience that I am stupid for not joining. Apple users – act like what you are. Just another computer user in the world of MILLIONS of computer users. An Apple computer is just a bunch of circuitry no different than any Windows box. A PC could run OS-X just fine if Apple didn’t cripple it and disallow it – keep that in mind. You shouldn’t sing kumbaya to your Apple any more than you should for your refrigerator.
Rich and I affectionately call these types of people “MacTards”. I realize it is not politically correct, but if I am going to write an article trying to outline to a Mac user why some have reservations about the Mac, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that one of the biggest problems is Apple users themselves. Not all of them by far – just those who take their Apple ownership way too seriously.
I will be buying a Mac Pro. Not because I am after a religious experience. But because I know that the system is a great, solid, fast computer. I want to be able to run OS-X. I also want to be able to run Windows, and truth be told, I would never in a million years consider buying a Mac if it could not run Windows. Not that I am in love with Windows (I’m not), but because I know that Windows is just better at some things. And it is.
Conclusion
I have no doubt that Apple makes great computers. And that’s why I want one. Will I be ditching my PCs? No. Will I be ditching Windows altogether? Hell no. I plan to use either Parallels or VMWare Fusion, and I hope to be able to run pretty much all of my current Windows software on the Mac Pro.
I am really hoping that I dig the Mac. I bet I will. I will, of course, document my experience as it comes forth for any other PC users who have been thinking about trying out an Apple. Unfortunately, there is no way to try one without the high price tag of buying one. So, I’ll do what I can do document my thoughts. That is as soon as I can make it happen to lose that much money for a computer. 
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in terms of price the other advantage of PC is you can upgrade as you go so you dont need to spend on a new PC so often, also you can buy piece by piece to spread the cost of expensive parts and upgrade as you go.
I especially agree with the part about Mac users.A great friend of mine right across the hall from me is one, but not the kind the article talks about. He knows the limitations of his computer, just like I know the limitations of mine. The guys I see on the internet shouting at authors are indeed Apple’s worst enemy.
And as far as the slogan “It just works”…that is quite true. But it doesn’t work the way I want it to.
But why buy a Mac now then? All of your points have been largely accurate for some years now imho.
One thing about Macs is that with most tinkering/maintenance distractions removed, you actually have to sit and face why what you produce still sucks like it does (this happens to me anyway, cant speak for others
).
Great article David.
Many Apple users are high and mighty about their hardware and OS, especially since Parallels came out. Let’s be fair though, some people are just annoying. Every OS has users who are fanatical about the software they choose. You’ll find plenty of Windows users who insult the Mac.
The true geek finds the best tool for the job and uses it. If there isn’t a great tool, build one.
Many of these thngs mentioned are true, but the price thing is a bit deceptive. The resale price of macs are phenomenal. Everytime I upgrade I am able to resale my old mac for more than the equivalent pc because PC depreciate more. I won’t get into the software cost/maintanence debate, but the resell price alone partially offsets the price difference once you are on your second mac.
I think Apple did a very smart thing to allow Windows onto their Macs because now it allows PC users like me to consider using one. I now have the option to try out OS-X and see what all the hype is about while still maintaining my familiarity with Windows and be able to use all the software and future softare I may purchase in the future. Aesthetically speaking, the mac wins hands down, but I do find it funny how mac users can talk about how great their OS is but only has roughly 10% of 3rd party software available to it compared to PCs.
The point about mac resale value being better, well that’s not really a point, you paid 1.2x the money to get a mac and you get the difference back when you sell it. With that being said, when you get that money back, that alone wont cover your new mac, OH NO, there goes another.. what ? $1000, $1500
to cover the difference of your new Mac.
Intel mac being able to install windows now…
Think this through logically and you’ll find a stupid flaw in that. 50% if not more of the new 64bit inte/amd processors that come out now have the requirements to fully install Mac OS on your PC, yes that’s right, what now mac ? you just made a fatal flaw when you switched out from using PPC processors.
Mac computers come equiped with nice hardware indeed.
Yea, so can PC’s and at a cheaper price.
Mac users don’t need to worry about viruses, it was based on the sturdy foundation of unix. Wake up and smell the coffee, PC + Linux = “no viruses” and cheaper.
Mac OS is ready to go as a server operating system.
Linux is ready to go as a server operating system and it runs on both machines. Not to mention running it on a PC will cost you less, or even a U-rackmount server will still cost you less than it would for a mac.
“It just works”, my pc does more than work, I can play all the latest games, run every software mac can, oh wait that’s because all the software available for mac was made for pc and/or linux first. I dare you mac users to install Lineage2 on Mac OS, go ahead, try it. I dare you mac users to setup a LAMP configuration, have fun with the mac OS command prompt because that’s the only way you’ll get access to the directories you’ll need to configure everything. Does Mac still just work ?
As an early joke on IBM’s when mac came out, “Don’t trust a pc any farther than you can throw it”, well, we’ll see how far you can throw your mac =)
Mac gaining ground on application compatability…
I think they are mistaken, Mac isn’t gaining ground, PC is winning over mac because Mac moved out of their stupid PPC world and into, yes that’s right “PC” hardware, now they gloat about being able to us Microsoft products. Sorry Mac, we’ve been able to do that since the early IBM days =)
Being a user of all 3 operating systems, my rant about mac’s isn’t out of hate for macs, nor a love for windows.
I’ve used Mac’s at work, I use a PC at home, I will NEVER purchase a Mac unless they can match the prices of PC’s, match all software compatibility, I can buy it from my local computer store, and build my own.
Does Mac have it’s upsides ?
imo, no. Every point I’ve ever heard from Apple, Mac users, and my own experience with Mac’s and Mac OS, Mac has nothing on PC’s as far as I can see.
One more challenge for Mac users, Uninstall something. Go on, “It just works” right ?, so uninstall something. Better yet, how about a PC user and a Mac user install 2000 pieces of software and then uninstall them and see how bloated each machine is.
Sorry mac, but as far as I know, you can’t actually “Uninstall” software on a mac, you can only delete it’s files manually. Have fun finding all the files that are left on your Mac after you delete the applications folder.
Wait a second !, does mac even have 2000 pieces of software they can install ?
While I would agree that Mac Minis are waaaay overpriced, Mac Pros are actually a pretty good value. Compare the cost of a Mac Pro to a Dell or HP or Boxx workstation that’s configured as closely as possible, it will be at least 90-95% of the price. It may even cost more. These are premium workstations, they cost a premium price no matter who you get them from.
Also, it’s fairly easy to add or change a hard drive in a Mac Pro. It’s no more difficult to add memory or PCIe cards than in any other computer in a decent case. Of course with a Mac Mini or iMac, you’ll need a can opener or maybe a cutting torch to make any upgrades.
Well, I was a PC enthusiast like many of you are, spent ages building computer systems, tinkering with windows 95, 98 then 2000 & XP. My fondest memories of PCs are with games, no doubt about it. But then I got fed up with all the BS of windows: occasional random crashes, a few BSODs, slow downs, and many reinstalls over the years. I suddenly realised that (1) I hate tweaking computer systems to get them to work (2) I didn’t want to know anymore about the ins and outs of pc configs, the latest mobos, ram timings, graphics cards etc – a complete waste of time learning and reading about this stuff, use this time to chase down your dreams imho!
A friend of mine bought a macmini in 2006, I told him he was f***ing nuts! Overpriced, overhyped, incompatible garbage! He bought a MacBook in late 2006 and showed me the basics of OSX. It was a true revelation.
I bought a black macbook in 2007 and the obligatory copy of Parallels and WinXP. I went back and forth between my windows gaming rig and the mac for about 3 weeks. Then I firesale’d my PC and all the associated peripheral clutter, bought an apple wireless keyboard and mouse and a tasty 22″ lcd and everything has been fantastic. I find myself transformed as a user, every time I use the mac, it makes me grin. So easy to use, so nice to look at, and I am very productive on it – more so than with windows. I don’t use Windows at all, not even parallels – hell I’m grinning now
To address some points by the author, macs definitely cost more. But for the pleasure of using OSX and using nicely designed hardware, its easily worth the premium. Its also been my experience that most 3rd party software for OSX is very, very good and worth your money, whereas I found it more of a mixed bag with WinXP.
The Apple hype machine is definitely over the top and frankly unnecessary. I think the products speak for themselves, and the over-advertising is, well, unnecessary.
Its true that hardware customisation is far more limited with Apple – but the act of tinkering, that hardware-centric, spec-geek mentality (like I had) is actually a product of the Wintel experience. When the platform is no longer the limiting factor and you never need to worry about viruses, bugs in software, slowdowns etc, all you are left with is to use your time in creative, productive ways, which of course, is very satisfying.
The next decade will belong to Apple, I think the young people get it (generally speaking). Its really about how you use your time, what you want to achieve when you sit in front the computer, not the tweaking and geeking with it. Get on it, achieve what you want and get off and do something else – I think Macs will allow more people to do this and with greater ease. The new-found popularity of macs will inevitably increase the number of games and all types of software for the platform, and hardware will get better and better – these Core 2 Duo processors are amazing already, so the futures of cpu/gpu and chipset features are going to be great.
Finally, I don’t think its good for any one company to hold a monopoly (Microsoft is of course infamous for this). I have no doubt that Apple will take every opportunity to corner every market in which it competes, so I hope that Microsoft can learn something and get past the abortive mess of Vista to present a strong alternative. Linux variants will never succeed as an alternative OS for the masses unless they can deliver an OSX-like experience in every sense -> and that is probably not possible without controlling hardware configuration also. Computers are just tools to achieve your ends. LIfe for me has been better since getting a Mac, precisely because I spend less time using and working on computers! Peace.
last paragraph and first 2 lines looks like a conflict of words if you corner a market done it not eventually become a monopoly its what they all do as Iv been using my EVGA780i,Core2Quad,with 8 G of DDR2 1066MHz memory dualboot Windows XP/7 and a few of my friends have macs Im very happy just where I an and in a few years I will build me a power house i7 based gaming rig with out worry if the hardware of software will work with it and with what I have and will save I think I will think the wife to redlobster tonight and every night the in 2010
The PC was around a lot longer before the Mac came around. Sure, Mac has innovative design and software, but they don’t have the right price tag to back it all up. Now i’m pretty sure that Windows 7 will be a right b-tch to get when it’s released. I would think along the lines of £200 to get the CD on it’s own. But it would still be better than OSX. Because, from what i’ve heard, it would blow OSX away.
I’ve used the PC for years, i’ve never gotten bored of it. I love it new that i have my new computer. But i hate the fact that all the “MacTards”, as you’ve rightly said, are just annoying as hell. My friend has been bugging me to get one, but i’m not going to…. it’s way too expensive IMO.
I believe this: first, Mac OS is a lot more stable than Windows, because it has no registry system that builds up without any chance for us to completely cleaning it, not even with registry softwares, that it will eventually bogs the system down to it’s knee (especially if you like to try install/uninstall a lot of softwares). Second, Windows is much more preferred by software vendors, ironically because it has the registry system to put something without any concern from the average users, which is to prevent further, say, piracy, or to spy the user or something like that (just imagine you as a software vendor, what would you put in there…?).