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Seemingly unlike the writers of most of these sort of articles, I actually use both a Windows PC and a Mac and have hundreds of clients with both systems. With the increasing popularity of the Mac, many are asking what’s the right machine - and I plan on settling that today.
First, let me review the pros and cons:
Mac pros:
- Exceptionally easy to use
- Highly reliable
- No viruses or spyware
- Support from the Mac Geniuses and AppleCare are unparalleled
- The hardware is just cool and among the most reliable
- Geek friendly - UNIX core and optional virtualization to run Windows
- Really cool Mac-only software like Delicious Library, iWork, iLife, Comic Life and others.
- Macs are affordable and comparable in price to a good quality PC
Mac cons:
- Compatibility - not all software you want to run works on the Mac. Though there usually is a comparable product or you can run Parallels or Crossover to make the Windows app work on the Mac.
- No cheap hardware - though that could be a pro as well as cheap hardware is…cheap.
Windows pros:
- Its bound to work with everything
- Nearly everyone knows it
Windows cons:
- Security - Microsoft does a miserable job keeping Windows secure, there are hundreds of thousands of viruses, malware, rootkits, etc
- Reliability - Windows still gets less reliable and slower with age
- Everything is harder - Windows is just less refined and it shows on anything from installing a network printer to uninstalling a program.
If you are a residential computer user or a student, you probably should have a Mac. Chances are you don’t have anything necessitating a Windows PC and the Mac is easier, safer, and more fun.
If you’re a small business, it just depends. Some small businesses run really well on Macs - and I can tell you from experience they have need of computer consultants less often. But ultimately its a question of which platform delivers the functionality and application support your business needs.
Is It Hard To Switch?
I’ve seen many people switch both directions. The Mac to PC switch is very hard, but I’ve seen it done. The PC to Mac switch is easier, but still it helps to have a Mac person around to orient you to the basics. Everyone expects to need us for lots of Mac training, but what’s happened overwhelmingly is people figure it out on their own.
The Author: Kevin Selkowitz
About: Kevin Selkowitz is the founder and lead consultant for Selkowitz Technology, a Seattle-area small business systems consulting company. We focus on the four major technology needs of small businesses - phone systems, phone and internet service, servers/network infrastructure, and business applications.
This entry was posted by Kevin Selkowitz, on Friday, January 5th, 2007 at 11:58 pm and is filed under Phone Systems. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response on the right, or trackback from your own site.
