Mac vs. PC
by Derek Kandt
4/18/2007

With the approaching end of our lease on the Apple iBooks, the Apple/PC debate has reached new heights. This debate has ragged on for several years now and has become surprisingly personal to many involved.

Many arguments are being made for each side, but in an industry that drastically changes every 18 months, I hope this Article can bring some of you up to date, and enlighten others to some of the aspects of this controversy that you may not have considered.

Let’s start by talking about Apple, since our student body seems to side with it. We might as well begin by looking at Apple’s new and quite successful Operating System (OS X). This is one of the aspects of the Mac where Apple has really stepped it up to reenter the mainstream in recent years.

OS X is Apple’s GUI (graphical user interface). It what allows the user to interact with the OS in a visual and simple manner; as opposed to a command prompt method (although, contrary to popular belief, Apple does have the ability to accept command line code). OS X actually sits on top of the real brain of the computer, which is a bunch of Unix code underneath OS X. This is really great for advanced users who appreciate being able to manipulate their OS at its most basic levels.

Beginners love OS X because they can take their Mac straight out of the box, plug it in and go. When you first boot up OS X it has everything set up to start working, or more likely playing, immediately. There are already programs in the dock, and there are a ton of professional grade programs that came with your Mac. The entire iLife series was made from professional programs that Apple made easy for the average user to work with. Plus you get all of Mac’s other standard programs (which are extensive).

But the derivation of iLife from professional programs is no accident. Apple has been run the professional design world since Steve Jobs firs wandered into a Calligraphy class after he dropped out of collage, and developed interchangeable fonts. Apple is widely acclaimed for their use in professional design, print, video, and audio work.

Many industry alums simply refuse to work with anything else (you can see how this gets personal). And Apple has taken steps to stay in the lead and bring the technology to the common man.

Apple Inc., as it is now called, has recently purchased several leading software companies, including those that produced industry favorites such as: Final Cut, DVD Studio, Effects Act, and others. Apple has already taken many aspects of these programs and integrated them into their iLife series. Which is a huge advantage to the armature movie, music, or publication producer.

The age-old PC claim to versatility is also in jeopardy with the release of the new Intel based Apple computers. Not only can Apple now run OS X and Linux, they can also run Widows. Apple can now run virtually any program you want it to, traditional PCs can make no such claim.

PC’s claim to the business world is in jeopardy as well. Macs tend to play better with other computers, operating systems, and other networks when they are on a network. Mac has run Microsoft Office for several years now. In addition Macs tend to exhibit a very plug and go method of interfacing with peripherals such as: jump drives, digital cameras, external hard drives, etc… PCs require a lot of third-party software to interact with other devices.

PC’s lasting claims are only for familiarity and cost. Even though PC’s are usually quite noticeably cheaper Apple is starting to pick up the ball with competitively priced desktops that start at $599.

Apple was also fortunate (in a way) to experience a lull in sales during the large influx of computer viruses during the last 10 years. Now, as Apple experiences a ride in sales, it has a head start to protect their computers at the most basic levels.

Apple has always been known for quality construction and durability. Now It’s hard to compare them to PCs in this respect for the simple reason that the only PC durability studies I found were conducted by the companies themselves and didn’t compare them to Macintosh anyways, plus they were studies conducted right out of the box.

However, one independent and quite comprehensive survey of Apple computers showed the new MacBook to be the most durable product to ever come out of Apple. The study showed that 96 percent of MacBook Pros and 93 percent of Matchbooks required no repairs in their first year of operation.

And, hey, lets face it, they just plain look good.

I found it difficult to find places were PCs really outstripped Mac, but they are definitely some.  The biggest is their price. PCs can save you hundreds of dollars, however you want to make sure your getting what you think your getting, plus extra costs of virus protection and software can add up.

However a lot can be said for the familiarity factor. Millions of people have worked on Windows their entire life and don’t want to learn a new OS. PCs do still have somewhat of  a physical edge in that they certain companies feature a tablet PC, and a laptop with a docking port.

In the end, it really is what you like to work with, what you are willing to pay, and what you want to do with it. However, the way things are going, it is very important that computer users become proficient in both.