Macs Saved My Life
Okay, well, perhaps not so dramatically as THAT, but maybe they have just revolutionized the way I work. I know that some people like to accuse Mac users of being “elitist” because the hardware is basically the equivalent of “eye-candy” while PCs are the “hard-working” users’ choice, but part of me just doesn’t understand how people who are happy about their computers can be labeled “elitist.” I owned several Dells back in the day, and every single one has been relegated to the environmentally-friendly-recycled-trash-heap. I’ve also owned several Macs, and while I currently run 3 of them in my house the older ones have all found homes at friends’ and relatives’ houses, and they all still work like the day I opened the box.
I’ve heard all the arguments before: “Macs won’t run my software.” Well, now you can run Windows XP on a Mac, whether dual-booting or right in a little window on your screen. Plus just about every piece of software on a PC has a Mac equivalent. “Macs can’t share my files.” I run MS Office and have all the same programs, and I find it easier to discover other PCs and Macs on my network than I ever did with Windows. “Macs don’t have the power and management tools that PCs do.” Actually, I find Macs to be more powerful since they are built on Unix which is what runs most large corporations, datacenters, etc.
The one that always gets me is “Macs are just overpriced.” This one I just have to laugh at, especially when I can say for sure that Macs have saved my wallet. Macs may cost more than PCs, but that doesn’t mean that they are overpriced. When you take into account the ease-of-use, low maintenance, bundled software, and shelf life of the average Mac, I consider them a bargain. Here we don’t need an IT department because there’s no need. My Mac has been up and running and aside from a restart maybe once every few weeks (only because I feel like I should) it just plain works. No viruses. No unexplained crashes with unintelligible outputs. Maybe I’ve just had it too easy? I put the systems through the wringer on a daily basis, too. Right now I have Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, QuarkXPress, Fetch, FireFox, Mail, Flash, Acrobat, DreamWeaver, iTunes, and Windows XP running in Virtual PC all at once, and not even a blip.
If you are the type of person who is open to new things, all I ask is that you try a Mac at some point. Maybe it will be for you, maybe not. All I know is that I am not the type of person to get excited about using a computer, but somehow I did. I think it was because it was the first time I was completely satisfied with a purchase. If I ever get that from a Dell, I’ll be happy to switch back.