I’m getting a new laptop.
You would not believe how many things go into this decision process. (I mean, actually you probably would believe it, you are reading this on some kind of technical apparatus but… go with it, I needed that writing device right there.) There’s screen size: do I want something small and sassy and portable or something big enough that I can watch movies on it if it’s on my desk and I’m on my bed. There’s harddrive size: I’m too lazy to have an external, so you have to ask, how much music will I have in a year? Two years? Will this hold it all? What about RAM, am I a high performance user? How the hell am I supposed to know if this processor is better than that processor? Do I need a “gaming capable” laptop if my definition of gaming is getting re-obsessed with The Sims for a week every six months? Is there a chart somewhere that will tell me which audio, video and wireless cards suck or don’t suck? Is Toshiba better than Asus? IS ANYTHING BETTER THAN ANYTHING?!
Ultimately, you end up transforming into an unnecessary stress monster who constantly has like eight windows of CNet reviews open and of course, sometimes that stress bubbles over and it all spills out. And when that happens, the recipient of said spilling will almost always reply “Why don’t you get a Mac? If I had the money and needed a new computer, I would get a Mac.” When I say I’m not getting a Mac because I don’t want a Mac, I am invariably on the receiving end of an “Oh poor, uneducated you” look.
Look, Mac people: I get it. Macs are sexy. I mean, I still kind of balk at the way people love to describe computers as sexy – even my mom does it now, yikes – but Macs were kind of made to be described like that. All of them. I am not immune to their charms. When I was twelve, my dad, always ahead of the tech curve, got us our first Mac. It was this giant, shiny, silver laptop and I loved it. My best friend and I used it to make like eight music videos of ourselves lip syncing to Michelle Branch songs (just kidding, I’m pretty sure we only made three) and of course in the process I learned that iMovie is eons ahead of Windows Movie Maker and probably always will be. Macs also really don’t get viruses, which, as someone who has done the whole exhausting three-hour virus-eradicating procedure all by herself twice, I can totally appreciate. I feel like if my grandparents all had Macs I would spend a lot less time on the phone, explaining to them how to put music on their phones or open video files or set up their network connections because that stuff kind of just happens. It’s been awhile since I used iPhoto but I bet there’s a button you can press that will just automatically zip it off to Facebook. Macs are the very definition of user-friendly. They are the perfect machines for a lot of people. I am completely unsurprised they are so popular.
But maybe I don’t like user-friendly. I’m a control freak! I don’t want to zip my photo off to the internet before I stare at it for fifteen minutes, wonder if maybe it wouldn’t look a little better if the color hadn’t come out so blue, zoom in on it so I can crop it down to the specific pixel I want it to be cropped to. (This is all of course totally still possible on a Mac, just not on iPhoto.) I like to arrange my various folders for pictures and photos and everything very carefully, by myself, and I don’t appreciate the way Macs just kind of assume I want it all done for me, zipping around and putting stuff in weird folders and making me constantly have to use the search function.
Macs are so willing and happy to do stuff for you that it always ends up feeling like you are a guest on someone else’s computer. And I don’t get this stuff about Macs not ever freezing or crashing or breaking. Have people who said that ever used a Mac? Because they are clearly unfamiliar with that obnoxious, friendly little twirling rainbow spiral. And clearly they have not suffered from the indignity of having to take a Mac laptop to the genius bar because something’s wrong with it and then having the “genius” guy say he’s done all the diagnostics and he’s pretty sure there’s something wrong with it! Those geniuses are the worst of the smug Mac people: I will never forget the time my mom went to them for help removing a keylogger and the guy told her, without looking at her computer, that macs don’t get those. I am sure it is super tiresome to be a tech person because you are constantly dealing with people who don’t know anything but at the same time, sometimes people know what’s going on with their machines and sometimes listening to them will help you in your noble quest to fix things! Come on.
Ultimately, it is probably true that if you, like, took eight PCs and eight macs and gave them to people and diligently recorded when they crashed and froze, the macs would probably do it less overall. They probably really do break less, too. I mean, you have to realize “PC” is a much more arbitrary category than “Mac”: all Macs are built by the same company, with the same level of quality control going into them. But anyone can buy some parts and put together a PC for themselves, given the tech-savvy. More than twenty different companies put together and sell PCs. There’s just no way to set a bar for quality there. Of course they’re going to break. Sometimes I think Macs tend to break more thoroughly: one of the reasons I am such a stolid PC person is that when my computer breaks, it’s usually a small enough deal that I can Google my specific problem and find a specific solution (either that or it’s my fault: ask me about the time I smashed the screen of my laptop because I was late to pick up my friend at the airport and hastily smashed it in a car door) and delete some file or open it up and clean the fan or install a new keyboard or whatever and voilà! Fixed. It makes me feel cool, like a computer Macgyver. I inherited it from my dad, who is weirdly still a PC-fixing whiz, even though he has completed his transmogrification into smug Mac person and now gets all his computer maintenance done at the Apple store, like all normal, well-adjusted people.
So, is it just me? Would everyone really rather have a Mac? Am I just a PC person out of contrariness? Is price point the only real reason to get a Windows machine? Maybe. But here is the thing, Mac people: I respect your life choices. If you are happiest with your Apple computers, that is what you should always have! I support you! I have zero interest in imposing any of my weird tech values on you. But it is exhausting to be told that I must be an uncreative, conservative, unstylish stick-in-the-mud simply because of my choice in technology. I mean, John Hodgman may not be anywhere near as cute as Justin Long but he guests on stuff like This American Life and Battlestar Galatica. Who knows what inner value us PCs might inherently have? So maybe next time we say something ridiculous about preferring Windows, you could refrain from rolling your eyes until we can’t see you anymore.
Seriously! What an attention operator that submit is actually in my situation. A lot loved, saved as a favorite, I await way more!
No one is a Mac or PC. We should chose based on rational, well thought out choice and not what a marketing company tells us. I used macs since I was 08 and now have a PC because it was cheaper power.
Although, the funniest thing happened at the genius bar. I brought in my laptop and told the guy, I think a fan busted because of a noise I heard. I asked him if he could open it up and put a new fan in. He got all smug with me and said, well will wait to see what the diagnostic has to say and then we can go from there. He goes to the back and comes back later with a sheepish look and says well looks like the diagnostic tells us a fan is broken. I give him a snicker and asked him when I should come back fro the laptop.
I like having my PC now, I can just fix it myself.
i am with you on some things (hating iphoto and it’s libraries – they are even worse now as they do not store the images in folders ANYWHERE, so if your library file crashes – *poof* no picture data)….however I am a recent mac convert mainly due to the new Windows systems. I LOVED XP…..i am also a control freak and I could control everything and fix things and everything MADE SENSE. My husband has a Windows 7 machine and I can’t figure out crap – everything is hidden and it does things cause it thinks that’s what i want…..just like MACs used to. I agree with the other commenter who stated that Mac and PCs are moving closer together, however i think Windows is taking all the annoying things of Macs years ago….while Mac has gotten rid of some of that stuff and is adding the things that i used to like about my PC. Thanks for writing a good discussion causing article!
Actually, iPhoto still stores your photos in a folder like before. You just have to right-click and choose “Show Package Contents” to access the folders that iPhoto organizes everything into.
I am a PC. I have so many friends who love Macs, and I mean yes, I would probably drop dead if anything ever happened to my iPhone, but I like how personal PCs are. I’ve had one since I was like 11 and at this point a Mac would stump me but I’ve done my own software re-install for my PC like 15 times.
That doesn’t really help my case, but you get the point.
I’m a PC. I used Macs in college, because I studied a creative field and I had more photography and design classes than anything else, so I had to use the college computers in class. And I still prefer PC’s. I love my PC.
I love my Mac. It does everything for me, until I really start looking at it and then I mess up all of it’s hard work and then it’s just a weird mess and I’ve somehow deleted this awesome picture of my cat. I love that Apple has the same interface on all of its products and I’d love to be able to afford to have that uniformity across my technology entourage. Yesterday my dad’s Dell caught on fire inside the hard drive, somehow. Also yesterday my dad bought me an HDMI cable and adapter that didn’t work. So this morning, my dad was on the phone with Dell and chatting online with Apple at the same time and he brought up a really good point about Apple, even though I hate to recognize any negative aspects about it. Not everyone wants the uniformity that I do. Apple wants me to buy Apple TV, that’s why the adapter for HDMI is so complicated. So, yes, my computer is a control freak, but it’s okay with me because I’m technologically illiterate.
Always been a PC and always will…Cheers!
I’ve always had PCs so when I went to pick a laptop I never really even considered a Mac. My sister has a Mac now and loves it. I’ve used it a few times and it’s fine, but for now I think I’ll stick with my PC!
I’m totally with you Alex!
I love my PC and always will. I think it might be because I’m contrary, but I’m okay with that
I think the Mac v PC debate needs to come to a close, honestly. Some people love Macs, some people love PCs — and that’s okay. Just get a computer that is perfect for you and makes you excited to bring it home (am I the only one who just loves picking the perfect windows color scheme to go with my wallpaper? — I’m a dork..).
And it’s kind of funny but when I was on a PC I never got these “condescending looks from Mac users”… Actually, it was just the opposite for me. When I was even in the market for a Mac (not having purchased one yet) all of my PC-using friends were putting me down for my choice and some new friends became acquaintances instead because I was so offended by their personal attacks on me about a friggin computer. I say, to each their own. Who cares what someone else chooses for a computer? It doesn’t affect anyone but them…
I got my mac a few months ago, and iPhoto actually can do those things. I dunno if this is a new development or not, but I’ve played with color and cropping. Just saying…
The difference between Macs and PCs isn’t so much about having multiple manufacturers, it’s about Macs and Mac OS being being made by the same company and designed exactly for each other to work properly. PCs are built by manufactuers with the HOPE that they will still be compatible with the next Windows update.
THANK YOU! This needed to be said! I thank you on behalf of all PC users that are victims for condescending looks from Mac users.
I have a similar story as you — my family had Macs for awhile growing up, but ever since I could buy my own laptops, I’ve always chosen PCs
PPS – Sorry I didn’t better proof read my reply. It’s bound to happen, but at least the typos were minor.
Look, I get it. You’re picky, think Macs are overpriced, proprietary, and wasteful. You can do it yourself, so why shouldn’t you? I’ve been there & used to agree full heatedly. It’s similar to being a self-repairing at-home mechanic. Mechanics charge insane rates & you can do it all yourself with enough time & research / practice. Kudos to you for wanting that control, knowledge, and skill set. I used to too (I even upgrade all the hardware on my Macs myself still).
But, you yourself have spent over 12 hours dealing with small viruses or Trojans. What of it had been more significant? At what time threshold does it become worth it to get a Mac over a PC? I had a similar experience recently, I chose to buy a cheap (<$200) server for my closet that I built from scratch. It's tiny, and perfect for its spot; however, it runs Linux (Windows would be way too slow & sucks as a web server). Linux is an awesome alternative over Windows. Especially for us control freaks. It was built for customizing. But, it took me close to twenty hours to get this server setup. There is no CD drive, and getting an install of Ubuntu onto a thumb drive was a pain in the butt. Plus there were rare hardware incompatibilities with Linux & this server. Half a week later (over several months) I finally got it all working. When it was said and done I distinctly remember saying to myself, "I wish I'd just gotten a Mac mini."
You have to ask yourself, how much do you value your time? How much are you worth to yourself? If you think you're broke & you can't afford a Mac I ask you to consider how many hours you'll spend fixing viruses, bugs, setting up your new PC, etc. you'll do it all over again in 2 years when you get your next PC. I upgrade Macs only every four years (or longer). Macs also have awesome migration tools that really just work. Letting you get up & running on any new system easily.
Macs do make a lot of choices (by default) for you. But they're just Linux. If you don't like the defaults you can override *anything* easily. It doesn't hide your photos unless you use iPhoto / Aperture. Use the camera import tool / Lightroom instead. Heck, use plain old Photoshop to edit your files & organize them how you see fit. Macs provide convention over configuration, but that doesn't mean you can't customize them easily. I do it all the time.
For someone as controlling as us I pray you're backing up your files regularly. If not, TimeMachine is worth getting a Mac alone. What if one of those viruses destroyed everything on your computer? Photos, documents, whatever is digitally important to you – gone. TumeMachine is free, backs up everything, and is worth the price of the Mac alone.
Also, operating system upgrade price is a huge plus. Windows has 5-7 types of Operating Systems running from $100ish to $300ish (if I recall correctly). Macs have been $30-35 to upgrade for the last 3 operating systems. And there's only one version of the OS.
I still understand if you don't want a Mac, but don't complain later when you're wasting hours upon hours trying to figure out how to recover that video your 3 year old accidentally deleted or your worried about how to get everything from your old laptop to your new one. I really do understand not liking Apple, I just don't understand not valuing yourself. Until something comes along that provides the features a Mac provides an *just works* for such basic essentials I'll continue to be a Mac.
Best of luck,
Steven
PS – This comment was entirely typed from my iPhone in bed. I love Apple. I could never imagine this lengthy of a reply from any other smartphone.
Mia,
Allow me to reply to your comments inline.
> This may come of as offensive, but it’s not my intention. In all honesty, though, you seem to have the
> “smug” feelings that the author mentioned in her post. iPhones and Macs are separate technology,
> for one thing, so the snide comment at the end about the iPhone seems a little superfluous to me.
> I am a Mac convert, but up until just recently I used Windows and PCs. And I agree with her, the
> price difference on its own is ridiculous.
I apologize if I came off smug, that wasn’t my intent at all. My intent was to raise awareness to things that are taken for granted (or even not even known about) by Mac owners that make the operating system so amazing. I think you may be misinterpreting my happiness and contentedness as being smug, which honestly is fine by me. I’d rather be accused of being smug and have peace of mind than have to worry about all the issues I did back when I ran Windows (or Linux) as my operating system.
> And you’re not going to stop encountering problems just because you have a Mac. You may have less,
> but it’s not going to be so significant that you need to start measuring your time to see what you’re
> wasting. The amount of viruses on a computer also has to do with the user.
I 100% disagree on this. You’ll have a learning curve with the transition, but that happens with any kind of change in life. What you will have is a *significant* and *quantifiable* change in the amount of time spent debugging, removing “crapware”, malware, viruses, or trojans. Are Macs immune to all of them, no, but they are based on FreeBSD and therefore drastically less likely to get them. The amount of viruses on a computer does have to do with the activities of the users and the gullibility of the users; however, the risk of getting any of them on a Mac is a minute fraction of what PC owners have to worry about.
> PS, although I am a Mac I agree with every point she made. I especially agree with the PCs from
> different makers point. I always mention this to my friends (probably too often) that PC actually
> only means “Personal Computer” so from that definition…Macs are PCs, too. It’s so easy to take
> a look at Macs and think they’re greater overall because they’re so uniform. But there are so many
> other brands of “PC”s, they just don’t happen to be as big in the market overall–because they are
> all so much more similar.
You’re absolutely right, PC does stand for “Personal computer”; however, Apple has intentionally differentiated itself from the crowd by pitting itself against the average no-name “PC” with it’s “I’m a Mac, and I’m a PC” ads. Just because the broad definition of the word is technically correct doesn’t mean that it makes sense to apply it in all contexts, nor that it’s legally correct. Linux systems qualify as PCs as well, but you rarely hear of Linux users advertising themselves as being “PCs”. PCs are commonly referenced and intended to mean Windows computers created by any manufacturer. This is by far the most common use of the word amongst those who build, maintain, and write software for computers tend to use it in my experience.
Sorry if this came off a bit smug, I just felt your comment failed to actually address any of the points / benefits of the OS X operating system that I provided and focused instead on my emotional state only. It kind of pushed me into my old debate mode to explain where I was coming from and make my personal opinions / positions clear. This isn’t meant to be smug, just a statement of my opinion. How you interpret it is obviously up to you.
Lastly, I hope your Mac treats you as well as mine have treated me over the past five years!
Mia, I believe his “snide” comment, wasn’t so much about the iPhone or being a Mac, I’m pretty sure it was more about the second sentence, “(He) loves Apple.” Apple, not just Mac. I’m sure there’s people out there that love Microsoft, not just Windows, and have their Xbox, Zune, Windows Phone, and PC.
This may come of as offensive, but it’s not my intention. In all honesty, though, you seem to have the “smug” feelings that the author mentioned in her post. iPhones and Macs are separate technology, for one thing, so the snide comment at the end about the iPhone seems a little superfluous to me. I am a Mac convert, but up until just recently I used Windows and PCs. And I agree with her, the price difference on its own is ridiculous. And you’re not going to stop encountering problems just because you have a Mac. You may have less, but it’s not going to be so significant that you need to start measuring your time to see what you’re wasting. The amount of viruses on a computer also has to do with the user.
PS, although I am a Mac I agree with every point she made. I especially agree with the PCs from different makers point. I always mention this to my friends (probably too often) that PC actually only means “Personal Computer” so from that definition…Macs are PCs, too. It’s so easy to take a look at Macs and think they’re greater overall because they’re so uniform. But there are so many other brands of “PC”s, they just don’t happen to be as big in the market overall–because they are all so much more similar.
Be happy you have an Apple Store. I lived in New Zealand until recently, and for three years, if something went weird, you had to either do a lot of Googling (I took that option) or pay to get it looked at (or in my case, have the hard drive completely replaced when it died from me having to run Windows on it all the time). I was so excited when I saw my first Apple Store when I moved to the UK!
You’re actually asking Windows or Mac. When I switched from Windows XP to Mac Tiger/Leopard in 2007, the interface was eons ahead. (Let’s just not talk about Windows Vista). When I had to use XP for things, it was painful. But I bought my mother a new computer last year, and bought her a beautiful desktop running Windows 7. For most punters, it’s just as good as a Mac OS, and a heck of a lot cheaper.
I’m a definite Mac convert: but I’m an extreme user as well (I’m a web designer and developer). These days, the difference between Windows and Mac is far less than it used to be.