As time goes by, I'm becoming increasingly annoyed at the number of people who seem to have become enamored with the Macintosh operating system. I say this not because I have anything against the notions of free choice or people having their own opinions.
I say it because most of the arguments that I hear about why Macs can thrash any Intel machine out there are based on an almost complete lack of knowledge about how computers actually work.
The debate runs something like this: On the Mac side there are the Windows users who encountered one Blue Screen of Death too many and switched, and those who have been convinced into believing that Macs are the simpler yet more powerful cousins to the Intel market.
Many of them think having a Mac is downright cool.
Then, there are those who believe a Macintosh is the true PC, handed down from the heavens by God himself in order to lead us all out of PC slavery.
I just don't buy this argument.
First off, Mac users will tell you that the interface of their operating system is simpler and easier, and it is. But that's the problem.
Remember being a kid and playing with kitchen sets or tiny cities made by Fischer Price? That's what a Mac interface is like -- simplicity at the cost of functionality.
I realize Apple is trying to be more user friendly, but a Mac's interface overshoots that target by about a thousand yards.
PC users can indulge in customization, meddling and fiddling to an extent that would shock a Mac user's socks off.
Mac folks also try to tell you again and again that Macs have better functionality, offer better creative outlets, and are better artistic machines than Intel based PCs. What people don't quite seem to understand is that these are questions of software, not the operating system. Software is software.
Security is the final argument offered by Mac supporters, who will claim, without a doubt, that their system is completely secure and virus proof. This argument needs a reality check. Just because you don't get viruses, doesn't mean that nobody can write one. It's not an impossibility by any means.
So, after all of this, do I hate Macs? Not really, no. But they have a very specific set of uses for a very specific niche of users - namely people who aren't really comfortable with computers and want things to be as simple and easy as possible without having to go find appropriate software for themselves.
What Mac users gain in convenience, however, they lose in the degree of customization, and that's the rub. The Mac is not for the power user, but that's fine. If you represent the target demographic, then go ahead with the Mac. But don't turn to a Mac just because you've heard Windows is horrible.
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