Why is it so hard for people to admit both Windows PCs and Macs have there merits?
I am a recent switcher to Macs after owning PCs for 26 years (My first PC was an IBM PC with PC DOS 1.1). There have been some really good Microsoft Systems - MS DOS 3 and Windows 2000/NT are the ones that worked the best for me. However, my recent experience with Microsoft and Dell computers finally made me switch. My last two laptops from Dell got to the point where it was actually PAINFUL to use them. Every time I would turn them on it would take forever for the system to boot up, and then it would want to load some update from Microsoft or some other drive that it needed and run a virus scan. Every time I would try to hook up any peripheral there would be the pain of hunting down drivers, multiple restarts and then hopefully the item would work (I have an HP scanner that never worked as advertised). We also bought a peripheral for our PCs that was designed to be used for our 1 year old twins. For some reason, I could never get it to work on the Windows Vista laptop, but would work on the XP laptop.
The final straw for me was that I had received an email from a client that they wanted me to review something urgently. I logged into my computer and after two restarts due to downloads of updates and it being so slow I could not open up firefox due to a virus scan, I gave up. Total time wasted was 45 minutes. At this point I drove back to work and reviewed the document there.
I bought my MBP shortly thereafter. What I came to realize is that, like most people, I really just need a computer that works. That is, when I turn it on I can use it quickly. And it doesn't crash or stop working. I don't need a computer that is the fastest or is able to play the most sophisticated games (the only game I play is chess and wow). What I came to realize is that Apple does this by tightly controlling what hardware it allows to be used in its computers and optimizing the OS to work with that hardware. In addition, it doesn't allow you to do every single thing in 15 different ways. It just picks one or two and that is all you get. I have found a few of those things kind of frustrating but generally, they usually pick a pretty intuitive way of doing it. As a result of this engineering (both software and hardware), I have found a much better user experience. When I have bought peripherals for my Macs, if they are Mac compatible, they just work.
Where MS seems to have fallen down in my view is that they have decided to become an OS that is supposed to be all things to all people with all hardware configurations. Because of this flexibility, they really don't do anything that well anymore.
However, Apple could certainly learn a few things from MS and Dell. For example, the Dell extended warranty (I can't remember what it is called now), makes Applecare seem like an expensive joke. I used the Dell warranty three times. The first time was because my wife spilled a coke into the computer. The second time was a short circut (faulty) and the third my 1 year old picked 6 of the keys off the keyboard when I wasn't looking. In all cases, the problem was resolved at no cost to me. Only the second one was really Dell's fault and this was in 6 total years owning the two Dell laptops. Apple would have dealt with the second issue. If the first or the third issue happened to my Apple, it would have cost me a fair bit to replace.
I realize I am paying more to own an Apple, but in my mind it is worth it for the experience I get. And I really think that is what most of the people that are being called "fanboys" around here are saying. No one in there right mind would by an Apple and then wipe the disk and install Windows on it as it would be a complete waste of cash. When you buy an Apple computer you are paying for more than just the computer (i.e., the software, which matters to me, and the image, which doesn't but I still understand that it is part of the cost). What people seem to really be arguing about is how much of the Apple tax is user experience and how much is image. As utility is measured differently for every user, it is a debate no one can win.
