I’m a PC, But I Really Want a Mac

by David Risley on Nov 12, 2008 | 25 comments

You’re not a true blood nerd if you don’t enjoy the PC versus Mac debate. The debate will go until the end of time and most of us have picked a side.

There have also been a lot of videos, many of them feeding off the whole “I’m a Mac” phenomenon that Apple has given us on the airwaves.

A good friend of mine, Ryan Wade, has produced a pretty funny parody. Ryan is an internet marketing guy and part of my “mastermind” group here in the Tampa area. He has made a rare step into the realm of nerdhood with this video, and I just had to throw him a bone here on PCMech. Here is the video:

While funny, this video also touches on what I say is a very normal feeling. You use a PC, but if you could afford a Mac, you’d buy one.

What about you? Chances are, you use a Windows powered PC. But, if you could afford one, would you buy a Mac? I’m actually rather curious. And be honest! You can respond in your comments below.

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http://wildheartsworks.net Joe Cheray
I would love to have a Mac as I hear it is much better for digital design and graphics programs. However, I will stay with the PC. I will save my pennies for the MAC.

Alan David
Interesting – most of the audio, video, design, and post production pros I know use Linux or a PC. And I know quite a few pros.

http://wildheartsworks.net Joe Cheray
Should have watched the video before I commented lol. The horror of being used as a sock dryer yikes. I hope that no PC laptops were harmed in the making of this video.
http://kkomp.com Sharron
Shouldn’t it be:
“I’m a PC and I run Windows or Linux.”
“I’m a Mac: I’m a PC running Unix with a higher price tag and a different name.”
Jointly, together:
“We’re both PCs, and we’ve been stereotyped.”

http://kkomp.com Sharron
Following on from that; if I had money to burn I’d get a Mac at the same time as I build my new PC which I’m going to use to run Windows 7 soon.
The thing is I don’t have money to burn:- (Donations gratefully accepted.)
A Mac will cost me around three times as much as it will cost me to build my own PC.
A Mac is built as Steve Jobs likes it. My custom-built PC is built as I like it.
When a Mac’s hardware goes wrong I have to take it to an Apple dealer, wait a few days, and pay a small fortune to have it fixed. When my custom-build PC goes wrong I can fix it on the spot and use it again same day. The spare parts used are probably already in stock, so in effect it costs me nothing.
As I say; if I had money to burn I’d get a Mac for the hell of it. Back in the real world I’ll be happier with my PC(s). if I get tired of one of my PCs I can always update it in any way I want when I want, and it’ll only be out of action for a day at most normally. if one of my PCs gets so old it’s not worth updating I can just use it for spares and build another one cheaply. If I want to add hardware to or remove ha4dware from any of my PCs I do just that without any issues. If I want to change the operating system (within reason) on a PC I can do that: I can dual boot with a Linux distro…
In fact I can play around with a PC forever and have it exactly as I want it always.
A Mac is a Mac: Unchanging, impersonal, static, eternal. I can only change the operating system if Steve Jobs says I can and he provides me with an upgrade. (I know that I can run Windows and Linux in a VM within the Mac os.) If I get fed up with the Mac the way it is I can sell it and lose money – That’s my only option.
A Mac costs more to buy, so I’d lose money on purchase. When I get fed up with it I lose money on the sale too.
A Mac is for Christmas: A PC is for life.

http://randanet.wordpress.com Randa
This is exactly what I’m , “I’m a PC,but I want a Mac”,
i love apple so much,even that I transformed my Windows Vista to look and act like Mac OS X Leopard.
Good job David
http://twitter.com/12_12 12Twelve
Great video…thanks for posting that. I have always preferred PC but then again never had any experience with MAC….until recently. My fiancee bought herself a MacBook and she let’s me play with it once in awhile. I love it!
Now thinking of getting one for myself to replace my aging Gateway notebook.
http://pcrestoration.blogspot.com Robert Plumer
I’m a PC. If I could afford a MAC I’d get one. Does it mean I’d throw away my PC’s? No. Along the same idea as Sharron I think they(PC’s) are more versatile and affordable. I can do what I want with a PC unlike a(what do you mean you want to open the case)MAC. I think the whole debate thing is quite humorous.
http://kkomp.com Sharron
To comment further on the above article; it appears as Mactard arrogance more than anything else:-
“Oh I’ve got a Mac so there. I bet you’d have a Mac too if you could afford one; porper!”
Why do you think that everyone wants a Mac? You want a Mac and you’ve got one. (or more) Lucky you.
Why do you say that you see it as normal to think that a Mac is the ultimate machine, coveted by the masses for lack of funds? There’s a lot of psychology going on here:
“I’ve got a Mac – you haven’t. I want you to wish you were like me; with money and a Mac.”
Is that a hint of inferiority complex that I detect?
We know you’re a success story, we know you’ve got the resources to afford to waste money on a PC running Unix; a Mac. Has Steve Jobs offered you a promotion contract by any chance?
‘See I don’t understand the objective of a post like this: Is it to say “Look at me; I’ve got money and a Mac. I bet you wish you were like me!”. Or is it to say “Successful people with any resources have a Mac: if you can afford it; maybe when you’ve saved up your pennies, you should get a Mac too. (Steve Jobs has promised me some form of commission.)”
Maybe I missed the point completely? Enlighten me.

David Risley
Yeah, you did miss the point. And here it is: IT’S FUNNY! Look, if we can’t poke fun at the Mac vs. PC thing without getting into a class warfare argument, where have we come? Seriously.
Yes, I did want a Mac. But, I don’t think I’m alone in that sentiment. If you wouldn’t want one, that’s fine. But, the idea is to find out who would.
BTW, I’m not into wasting money. My entire business is contingent on the computer I use. THAT’s why I bought a Mac. I might have plunked down a chunk of change for it, but I’ve made that chunk of change back many times over using that machine. This system is a workhorse. It never crashes. It works. The workflow is better than with Windows. And I’m in a better position to make those kinds of judgments because I am a daily user of both Windows and OS X.
But, that’s me. I’m interested in what others think.

Greg
If I could put Mac OS X on my home built computer, I would.
Sadly, I can’t.

http://www.darknet-fusion.co.cc Vertimyst
Mm, you can, sort of, with a little work. It wouldn’t work that great, though. Not to mention the legal ramifications of it; just look at Psystar.

http://www.darknet-fusion.co.cc Vertimyst
And as for myself – yes, I’m a PC (dual-booting Windows XP and various Linux distros), and I really want a Mac.
Part of that stems from the fact that I’ve caught the Mac bug from David.
Another part is that I’m curious about them, and I want to try using something that isn’t a built-for-windows machine.
And another part is that Macs are, IMO, awesome, and the OS is based on UNIX, which I have some experience with.
Of course, the price tag is the only thing keeping me from getting one. I have to choose between a new PC (I’m going to need one for college, as the course I’m looking at focuses on mostly Windows programming, plus I’m a gamer and like PCs for that), and a Mac – both in the same price range, too.
I figure I’ll just build a PC and then save some more money up to get myself a MacBook – PC for necessity, Mac as a gift to myself. (at least that’s what I’d be telling myself to justify the purchase )
http://ryanwade.com Ryan Wade
Nice dude… thanks for posting!
I love your comment … “He has made a rare step into the realm of nerdhood with this video, and I just had to throw him a bone here on PCMech.”
Talk with you soon!
-Ryan
Chalupa
No I would not buy a MAC, especially since Windows 7 will be coming along in the fairly near future… I just prefer my non-mac freedom. Sure if I could afford it I might just to have it around as an extra toy, but I cant so I wont. So far my experience with apple has been their iPods and iTunes both of which I was so displeased with I gave them away and bought a Sony brand mp3 player.
Allyn Rountree
The last Apple computer I used was the Macintosh in the early 90′s. Macs are good for multimedia and graphic design type of apps and I’m not a designer. I wouldn’t mind trying one out though.
Lynn Brock
Lets see, would I buy a Mac? Actually I have a Mac, a 24″ Imac. Truth is I also have 7 PC’s of various vintage. I still spend 99% of all my computer time on a PC. The Imac is using Boot Camp to boot to WinXP, so yes I would buy a Mac, but it would have to run Windows to be in my home. I do use the Mac and the Leopard operating system some of the time. It is supburb doing its thing in Leopard, but it is awesome running WinXP also. I would definitely buy another Mac, more than likely the top of line laptop when the prices come down some. I really must wait though until my two existing Dell laptops go bonkers to even consider buying one so it may be a while.
Jason Faulkner
I use Windows and my wife uses a Mac.
From my experience Mac doesn’t realistically offer anything over Windows other than a different user interface (which I could easily duplicate with a Windows theme if I wanted to).
Mac is _way_ to big brother for me. Just look at what they are doing with the iPhone ‘kill switch’. In my opinion, it is only a matter of time before they incorporate this into their OS. Paranoia? Well, Apple already forces you buy Apple hardware to run their OS which is only one step away from them dictating what software you are able to run on your (their) machine… but this is a subject for another day.
I’m very happy with Windows and have no desire to use a Mac. If Windows no longer works for me I’ll go back to Linux.
Saverio
Let’s face it. What is a Mac today? It’s a glorified PC: The CPU’s the same, its hardware in general is the same, same graphic cards, same sound system, etc. When we say PC what we really mean is a personal computer running MS Windows. In today’s world, you also have the options, like a Linux distro, Solaris or Free BSD. So, am I a Mac, a PC or a linux box? That should be the real question today.
Well… The three have the same hardware architecture, so why bother? Let’s see… Macs are much more expensive PCs which run a Unix-based system, OS-X, they look fancy and are very good for showing off when I sip my Starbucks’ latte at Borders. Hmm.. That’s good. I like that.
Or I can save some money, buy a computer with virtually identical hardware and again, with a Unix-based system like Linux Mint (just an example). Or perhaps just stick to our favorite dinosaur OS, Windows. What? I can’t show off at Starbucks? Just another guy with a “PC”? Now I know what that extra money buys when I purchase a Mac. Oh boy…!
Reese Hyde
Actually, I have a PC… but with Leopard. It’s a great alternative if you know how to go about doing it. And you couldn’t care less about Apple’s License Agreements
Sean Haleem
WARNING: Long-winded comment ahead. Read at your own peril…
I have a PC and a Mac. I like both. I work on both and I play games on both. I surf the internet on both. I will probably have one of each as long as I use a computer.
I think Macs are cool for three main reasons: (1) the OS, (2) the Mac software, and (3) the design. Say what you wish about Steve Jobs. His OS is cool. Not necessarily better than Windows, but just cool. Windows lacks coolness (though Microsoft is addressing this issue). Mac’s software is cool. Take Logic, for example. For the audio buffs out there, there is also a prevailing Logic versus Pro Tools/Cubase/DP argument (which is actually another PC vs. Mac argument, just task-specific). Logic is a cool, fairly user-friendly, all-in-one audio solution that has made huge strides in the past couple of years. Pro Tools is cool, too, but it is only one piece of the audio production puzzle and has a fairly steep learning curve. (Did I mention that for $100 you can get daily training for a year on how to get the most out of Logic? Not a bad deal…) Another example: compare Apple’s Pages to Microsoft Word. Pages does everything Word and Microsoft Publisher can do in one neat package at a lower price. If you haven’t tried creating a document in Pages, you don’t know what you’re missing. Final Cut Pro is also a fantastic video editing/production package. Macs are cool and efficient when it comes to a smooth, productive workflow.
Is this enough to justify a Mac purchase? No way. In fact, I think that unless you absolutely need to easily create fantastic documents and/or work with audio and video files, a well-maintained PC is perfectly fine. I can actually have some fun with my PC. Mac gaming can’t hold a candle to PC gaming. Here, it’s a question of variety. Fallout3 on a Mac? Bioshock? Wake up. Yeah sure, you can run Parallels or Fusion or some such thing and run Windows. Beware, though. You won’t get any support from Apple if you have a software or hardware issue…
Oh, and then there’s the issue of file sharing/distribution. Do you need to distribute a spreadsheet or a presentation to your colleagues? Better use Excel. Mac’s Numbers and Keynote are cool, but the point is to share the information, not coolness. Apple has a long struggle ahead of them to gain market share, yet they shoot themselves in the foot with their available system configurations. The hardware available for a PC is just better all around, unless voiding Apple’s warranty and support is high on one’s agenda. The one thing Apple does have going for them is a desktop with two 4 core processors. Oh yeah, no hot game titles. No Blu-Ray. Sigh…
To bring things into perspective, the whole Mac versus PC argument is sort of like the BMW or Mercedes Benz argument. We users should be thankful that we have the knowledge and technical infrastructure to support our Geek jones. Let’s remember that there are an awful lot of people who still don’t even own a computer, much less know how to use one. I’m happy to point out a few potential benefits and liabilities of either platform, but I always remember to be thankful that I can do a decent job of supporting my Geek jones and also that I can help people make informed choices for themselves along the way.
Mac versus PC? Whatever. I’ll take both!
BTW, thanks to Dave R. for the site. I like that most people who post comments are pretty down-to-earth. Great, clear videos. Keep the info flowin’. Peace to all.
Walter
Mac OS X 10.5.6 Update Crashing Users’ Systems!
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2337045,00.asp
Elizabeth Mathiason
I agree. I like both as well. I would definitely by a Mac if I could afford one, but there are a lot of good PC’s out there that you can build and personalize to run just as well and if not better than a Mac.
http://www.zodiggs.blogspot.com zorana
ahhh.. i’m sorry but it’s totally true!!
for several years i have been a hardcore pc enthusiast and HATED i mean hated macs!! but that was back then when it was easy to hate macs.. i’d goto my friends house and have to use their mac when i wanted to check something online and it used to make me a little dead inside after having to use their oh so unfamiliar user interface that used to just wreak of UGLY!
but damn it right now i want a mac so bad and its just so hard not being able to have one because i can’t afford it AT ALL. and to think just last year i hashed out 600 for a brand new acer desktop that i was thrilled about then, but because of VISTA it’s a complete nightmare and i could care less about having it.. and as for my laptop pc which i take with me everywhere else, it might as well be all those things in the video… for the last time i will deal with the stupid software issues.. i am ready to throw it away because its crashed on me AGAIN and it;s a sony vaio, a name i used to respect, but i am sorry PC has tainted its one true value…
call me a traitor.. call me insane, but i think i love you mac and i haven’t even owned you yet.
Asdfsadf
If I had the money for a Mac, I’d buy an Alienware PC.