Maccast Members #173 - Once a Mac User…

Opening

• David Morgenstern over at ZDNet wrote this piece pointing to this post on ReadWriteWeb from a former Apple executive who has moved to Windows
• Needless to say Mac-fans have responded in droves with varied reactions, but many with flaming fanboi outrage.
• This isn’t a new thing and i wish I could say the reaction wasn’t common.
• The question I have is, aren’t we past this yet?

The arguments against

• David Sobotta, once a director of Federal Sales at Apple wrote the piece
• He moved into a Windows dominated business world outside Apple.
  • Some will argue for virtualization and/or dual boot with Bootcamp, those solutions work in a pinch, but they just never fully match the “native” experience.
  • Bootcamp can, but it’s not always convinient.
• Integration with corporate IT systems
  • Often have to fight battles you just don’t want to fight
  • Sometimes solutions just don’t exist or the workarounds are just too cumbersome.
• Two Macs suffered pre-mature hardware failure
  • This is a scenario in my mind that happens more now then it used to
  • I’m not sure what the reasons, but one may be that we have more “off-the-shelf” PC hardware?
  • Errodes the argument of Apple “quality”
• The entry price points are just cheaper
  • Notice I won’t say feature for feature Windows PCs are cheaper.
  • Fact is, most users can find a nicely decked out modern Core i5 or i7 based Intel PC Notebook for less than an entry level Mac (under $1,000 USD).
• The Windows of today, is not your Dad’s Windows
  • Yes, there are still more viruses and maleware, but if you use the available tools and precautions that can be managed.
  • Windows 7 is a pretty robust OS and a lot of the old integration and stability issues are things of the past. Blue screens still happen, but probably not any more frequently than a kernel panic in OS X
    • We can argue the design and functional decisions of Windows 8 and the “please don’t call it Metro” interface, but it’s still stable (at least in my experience).
• Open experience
  • Meaning if I want to swap out components, like CPUs, GPUs, etc. then the PC is my choice.
  • Mac repairs can to be more expensive. Sometimes due to components, but also beacuse of repair methods and complexity.

The arguments for

• Photo, video, graphics
  • Apple’s has always excelled in these areas in my opinion and contiune to do so.
  • That said, a higher end PC with comparable specs to what Apple offers can perform these taks well too.
• Avoiding the software jungle
  • I still feel having more app choices is not always better
  • For the Photo, video, graphics and in a few other areas I think the percentage of quality apps is much higher in the Mac.
  • There are areas though, like Office, some Adobe Apps, and many higher end games where the Mac can be a second class citizen.
• Apple makes high-quality products
  • The quality of Apple hardware and experience I think still can’t be matched. Fit and finish.
  • There are PC makers who try and occassionally succeed, but often at a more expensive price.
• The “walled-garden” can be an Eden
  • I personally like the tight integration that comes with a single hardware vendor/os ecosystem.
  • Consistency of experience is comforting
    • And also discomforting (maybe to a bigger degree) when change comes, cough iOS 7.
  • Apple has the best ability to have stuff that “just works”, if you only buy their stuff. Many of us are happy to do so.
    • Case in point, me givin up on my Linksys routers.
  • It’s not a perfect panacea though. Things sometime breakdown inside the walls too.
• Support experience
  • I still think the service you get from Apple is better than say that from a Dell or Microsoft.
  • The author had a different experience
  • Apple isn’t perfect and these days if you don’t live near a Genius Bar your milage might vary. There are also fewer and fewer local Apple Authorized Repair centers. The US oldest Macintosh Reseller announcing just last week that they were closing down.

The Verdict

• Nothing has really changed. As always it’s really personal needs and experiences that will likely dictate the computing plaform you choose.
• Some of us will be die hard Apple or Windows, others will be content “sliders”.
  • Let’s not rule out the Unix geeks and the Post-PC only crowd either.
• We live in an amazing time where there doesn’t have to be losers to have winners.
• There are more choices than ever and many of them are the right choices for a specific user or experience.
• Integration is better than ever too. You can have your Android Smartphone, exist with your Windows notebook, and your Apple iPad if that’s what works best for you.

Closing

• What do you think? Send me feedback.
  • Are you a die hard, switcher (either way), slider?