The International Herald Tribune is soliciting answers from Apple enthusiasts to the "Why Buy a Mac?" question, after the author was unable to get a satisfying response from Apple.
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an argument that is so long in tooth and so immaterial as to warrant a comment. What is the best and/or most popular internet browsing software? MS Internet Explorer is available for both Mac and PC and truly cross-platform in functionality. What is the best and/or most popular word processing software? MS Word is available for both Mac and PC and truly cross-platform in functionality. What is the best or most popular image editing software? Adobe Photoshop is available for both Mac and PC and truly cross-platform in functionality. What is the best and/or most popular spreadsheet software? MS Excel is available for both Mac and PC and truly cross-platform in functionality. What is the best and/or most popular business presentation software? MS PowerPoint is available for both Mac and PC and truly cross-platform in functionality. What is the best and/or most popular illustration software? Adobe Illustrator and Macromedia Freehand are available for both Mac and PC and truly cross-platform in functionality. What is the best and/or most popular professional multimedia software? Macromedia Director is available for both Mac and PC and truly cross-platform in functionality. Database apps, scientific apps, personal organizers, email apps, networking apps… all are well represented on the Mac and in most cases are cross platform. Do the dozens of second-rate apps in any software category constitute a reason for purchasing a PC? I don’t think so. With the exception of a few “business dominant” PC only database or networking apps that might prevent a business from switching platforms, and a prodigious volume of sub-standard gaming software that makes up the majority of the PC platform’s touted software dominance, the Mac platform covers any software application that 99% of the consumer or professional user population needs. Just ask yourself how many word processing programs are enough to justify choosing one platform over another… 5, 25, 125?) The answer is obvious: 1 very good program is all you need, along with 1 or 2 hungry competitors to stimulate software advancement and innovation. The Mac has that. I’d really like to see this argument go the way of the Megahertz Myth (My 10 Ghz Intel Pentium GonadCrusher is bigger than your 5Ghz Motorola PowerPC G7!) and the “Macs are so much more expensive” whine.
Thanks for the opportunity to offer my two cents to the mix, and I do hope you’ll address some of these issues in a future article.
Sincerely,
Christopher Fenger
National Marketing Manager
Headway Corporate Staffing Services (a cross-platform business, bless their corporate hearts)
I hope everyone sends this guy their thoughts/feelings - I did.
Mr. Dembart,
"To ask the question is to answer it".
The fact that you, a self-professed Windows guy is asking this question is the key. I suspect that the questions you really want to know the answer to is not, "why buy a Mac" but rather, how is the computer industry going to advance and are there alternatives to the depressing notion of total Microsoft dominance?
In an industry locked in a 'race to the bottom' of low value-added, commodity 'beige boxes', Apple is trying something different. As Jobs likes to say, Apple is the only company that still makes the whole widget. By maintaining control over hardware, OS and key applications, they can ensure that the whole experience is user focused.
"Yes" you respond, "but PCs are faster, cheaper, more flexible blah, blah blah".
All these things may be true but for the vast majority of users, these details are practically irrelevant. At the consumer end most users just want to be connected, to write some letters, balance the chequebook, maybe process some digital photos etc. ANY computer can do this (including my original 233MHz iMac).
For the high end user doing content creation, workflow is key. Apple brings to the table some truly unique tools for handling these things. I'm sure you are familiar with Applescript, colorsync, font handling, iMovie, iDVD, final cut pro, Quicktime etc. so there is no need to get into them in detail.
The biggest point for me as a user is it all just works. Sure there are issues, crashes etc. But as a Mac user for 15 years, I have NEVER had to call Apple for support to fix anything. I have always been able to fix things myself because the system is so transparent (I am not a programmer or particularly computer savvy).
For the future, Apple has a clear strategy and they are following it closely. For me, the 'Digital Hub' has become a reality, particularly in the past year. I use a Palm and sync with machines at home and at work. I have a digital camera and I regularly download, process pictures and place them on websites,
www.pbase.com/doingdifferent/2001
I listen to digital music and burn cds for backup and for music. I'm sure many pc users do these things as well and hopefully, many of them experience no issues, but in my experience, on Macs, these things all just work, and work really well.
I have also recently started using MacOSX and I am very impresssed with its features. In my experience so far, it has been absolutely rock solid, my old 'classic' apps all work, and having the unix layer is way cool (I installed xfree86 and gnu tools and GIMP using fink in an afternoon with no problems whatsover - I am NOT a unix guy by any means).
I am not a fanatic. I have no particular animosity towards Microsoft - in fact I use their excellent Mac software every day (although I am concerned with their seemingly limitless d
I am not a fanatic. I have no particular animosity towards Microsoft - in fact I use their excellent Mac software every day (although I am concerned with their seemingly limitless desire to control it all). But I am a very satisfied Apple customer, I love using their hardware and software, and I like where they are going.
So the question really isn't, " Why buy a Mac?" but rather "Why not try the computer solution that addresses user needs so elegantly, smoothly and effectively?"
Happy computing.
Someone needs to be reprimanded at the marketing dept.
when i 1st saw this article im like u have to be shitting me. some buckwheat on the peecee doesnt get s*** so he wants me to take my time and lay it out for him? he doesnt do his homework on the mac he doesnt know jak about it and hes probably just trying to get hits out of boredom. its a weird question why mac. for myself that is easy to answer but to one in the other camp its changes the question entirely. u must address all issues and needs. so heres my response in all it mispelled glory.
"You'll get no argument from me about any of that, but the fact remains that Apple has less than 5 percent of the market."
-berserk- as explained to me by a mac user in these forums its tco (total cost ownership) vs low cost entry. if something is cheaper and no one does their homework and is advertised to under false pretenses aka our software does what thiers does until you get home and realize your screwed. the consumer simply buys whats cheaper and pays more for it in repairs and upgrades additional software etc. while apples prices are high compared to peecees i still scrape and save to keep getting macs because theres no way in h*** im going to get a peecee and have it act like it does act work cept ill have no one to repair mine. and speaking of repairs have you ever had to install something in a gateway. i was bleeding. just to get to the ziip drive i had to unscrew both side panels, had a h*** of a time taking off the front face plate only to find that i needed a special s**** driver to get at the zip without moving the hardrive and cdrom. so after unscrewing the hard drive and cdrom i did a balancing act with the s**** driver and finally got the zip. after doing all this i had several cuts from the unsanded metal edges inside. but if i want to install something in my mac i pull a lever the guts splosh out and almost everything is presented to me very easy. now i picture my poor mom having to do something inside that gateway by herself just to install a drive and she would have to go have it done at a store. she would have had a tough time with the gateways front plate strength wise and would have had alot of fun with the s**** driver. oh yeah make shure you have your GRAND 20 piece computer toolkit before trenching in your peecee. my peecee friend has a 100 piece kit. it looks very impressive and hes so proud of it. so once you get by the flashy rebates the c*** free printers and software what you have for a peecee is a good internet browser that will dodgedly s**** you with a onslought of microsoft .net agendas, virus nests, a ugly grey box with a red face plate, a monitor that came with it with a low as h*** dot pitch and c*** hz rate (Emachine anyone!?). i think if you just bought a peecee to surf and type some stuff you would be just fine. headaches abound however when you start installs and the wizard gives you c*** and then you have drivers missing then you have prompted software updates you have to have to use your ne
headaches abound however when you start installs and the wizard gives you c*** and then you have drivers missing then you have prompted software updates you have to have to use your new software then the updates are freaked to h*** then your like fukit, ill stick to browsing.
"In fact, unless a computer user has a particular need for high-end graphics - which Macs are very good at - I've never quite understood why people buy Apples. Why saddle yourself with a computer that is a cult favorite, to be sure, but for which there is vastly less software available than is available for Windows? Isn't life hard enough?"
can you tell me why the mac is good at high end graphics? thought so. its just something you heard and you take for gospel. like you stating less software for the mac. again, something you just "heard" right? from your friendly IT guy i bet. well everything i want to do and have done i have found the best software for.
i use
graphics - photoshop, illustrator, painter. of course there are tons of others and extremely cheap ones just like on the peecee but a windoze user such as yourself wouldnt know that unless you were on a mac checking news sites for new apps.
html web - bbedit, dreamweaver
data - appleworks, i wont use microsuck s*** but its there for people like you
3d - lightwave, maya, cinema 4d (my favourite)
games - enough to satisfy a onceinawhile to medium core gamer. i do recomend hardcore gamers get a peecee. anything less than hardcore gamer get a mac.
of course thats just some of the stuff i use or have used and theres tonsa of apps everywhere from server to development to ftp etc. its all there, just because u open a mac mall mag and dont see it means nothing. mac mags simply carry what is latest and greatest from the biggest companies and that is quite small to the number of apps i see released EVERY day. you want it on the mac theres a program for it unless its some obscure unix thing for osx or some latest open source c*** codec.
"Isn't life hard enough?"
why do you think im on a mac? from tons of key commands to let me fly through my interface to unique features to better support to a less bugged out OS to a s*** easy to use quick easy to upgrade machine to software for every one of my anal retentive needs and quips to games when im in a road rage mood to online news, forums, reviews, windoze bashing sites, gui artworks interface hacks desktops tightly knit communities and free for all fun. i work on a peecee at work trust me life is hard enough!
basically i can do anything you do yet i get there in style with less swear words. want proof?
how bout consumer affairs? please look at this page and the category "Complaints - Major Brands & Retailers" did u buy a computer from one of these companies? whoops! whos under the good guy list? apple and hitachi. wow how many of yo
wow how many of you have a peecee made by hitachi? how many by apple? whoa 50 million users hands x 2 in da air! wave it like u dont care! link to page - http://consumeraffairs.com/computers/computers.htm
now i direct you to http://consumeraffairs.com/rogues.htm where customers are so pissed they take the time to put up horror stories of the companies that have screwed them. now what do you know i see DELL even though there commercials state LEGENDARY customer support. i also know aol states great speed and uptime but we all know the truth huh? what do you know all major peecee manufactuers dell compaq gateway hp are all there. where is apple? now microsoft isnt there BUT THEY DONT MAKE COMPUTERS! apple does both controlling the whole widget and smokes them all. pay for the QUALITY and reap the benifets. do you buy a $20 dollar watch? or do you get one from a good compay with many features that might come in handy, and is backed by QUALIty with a beautifull design. and what do you know while writing this article on my work peecee im informed by windoze i cannot have a file with any of the following characters /:*?"|. why? could it be windoze is based off a anal as h*** older than h*** system? now while this may be a win 98 thing only i havnt been able to check any other versions of windoze simply because the IT guys who smak the mac say the new operating systems are slower with bigger requirements and more of a headache to deal with. my peecee friend thought about upgrading from windows 98se till he read a forum with problems in windows 2000 and xpee. microsoft doesnt have to deal with problems because no one is buying the archaic OS. im not saying there arent bugs and issues and faulty hardware on macs. what i am saying is theres a h*** of alot less with more though put in my box.
also if windoze is so great why did mac osx beat out xpee in a cnet slugfest just recently then they changed the outcome because they thought u could legally install OSX on as many machines as u want which is h*** funny because software for years has allowed a 1 program purchase on one computer only for how many years? so cnet a major computer news site with roughly a 95% windoze base said apple who has 5% of the new market makes thier own machines software OS everything beat out a company that caters to at least 80% of the peecee world in its operating system?
"Isn't life hard enough?" why would such a big company like microsoft suck so bad?
1. they dont care about you. apple while being a very big company has a somewhat special connection to its public. thats why theres hundreds of people braving all weather to be out a apple store up to 6 hours ahead of its opening so they can score a t-shirt and see the glory of a all aple store. when a gateway store opens some people stroll in, how many minutes after it opened just to walk back out thinking nothing new nothing exciting nothing DIFFERENT. when your on a mac you can
when your on a mac you can choose to be part of this insane in the brain group of maccaddicts or just a user.
2. you dont care. being on a peecee you dont care about anything. or at least you dont do anything about it. microsoft makes bigger badder more incompatible software with painfull upgrades. whatever. forces you to cough up info on yourself and browsing habits. whatever. has holes bigger than my fist with security issues all over and thier programmers putting secret back doors in thier software. whatever. gee thats a community im proud to be a part of. ill hang out with ma pacee friends and talk the shiznit in the comp usa fixit line.
"Isn't life hard enough?" yes but for some reason you did not do your homework, listen to rumours, and are cheap to boot so apparently you like life hard. im on a computer all the time. i want the best experience possible doing what i want not what my os tells me i can and cannot do. and if i was a casual browser and instant message junkie id still want something solid, that i could grow into maybe, and something that wouldnt rot over time and look like c*** to boot.
i mac. i chose the road less travelled by and that has made ALL the difference since.
B E R S E R K
berserkintosh at yahoo.com
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2000
Why buy a Mac?
Man... this is a fun question to respond to. Hope everyone will provide Mr. Lembart with thoughtful replies. Thought I'd share my response here as well.
I began using Macs after years of PC/DOS experience because they offered a level empowerment in the area of graphic design that was not available on the PC side. I have come to believe they offer a “best in class” computing experience and would never willingly adopt the PC platform over Apple’s offerings for the following three reasons:
1. Elegance of design is important to me. Given a choice between owning and using two computers, both of which offer equivalent access to, for example, Microsoft Office or Photoshop, I will choose the computer whose design aesthetic (including hardware AND software integration) is superior. Apple’s offerings have always been “best in class” in this regard.
2. True plug and play is important to me. While other companies market this feature (and have begun only recently to approach it), only a company that controls the development of both the hardware and operating software can offer the real deal. Apple’s legendary ease of use applies not only to its operating system (where ease of use really has been a misnomer for some years…ask anyone new to computing how easy it is to learn ANY modern operating system, OSX included), but to the fact that, from the moment you open the box to the point at which you connect your last or latest piece of ancillary hardware (printer, scanner, video camera, MP3 player, disk array, etc.), the process on an Apple system is always simple, seamless and successful.
3. Innovation is important to me. You’ve already alluded to it, but it bears repeating. Let me do that now with a chronological list of Apple Hardware and software firsts and add that I prefer not to wait for innovation to trickle down to my desktop in a form that often diminished or second rate. I’d rather go with a company that others choose to follow or emulate.
Graphical User Interface (still want DOS?)
Built-in graphics & sound (prefer to buy an add-on card?)
Laserprinter (dot-matrix anyone?)
Plug & Play (Hmm. Maybe if I just change the drivers?)
QuickTime (Ain’t RealPlayer cool?)
Firewire (Isn't USB2 coming soon?)
iMac (My God, no floppy!!!)
G4 "tower" design (Where's the toolkit so I can add some memory?)
FinalCutPro (Hey, an AVID video editing station will only set you back...)
IMovie: Best in class, by a mile
iTunes: best in class by a mile
iDVD: best in class by a mile
TiBook: best in class by a mile
iBook: best in class by a mile
OSX: best in class (quarter-mile?)
iPod: best in class by a mile
Failures? Even Apple’s Failed beauties, Newton & Cube, were ahead of the curve and in a class of their own.
I'd like to add here a final statement. It’s not a reason why I use a Mac over a PC, but it is an a