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technology@nabili.com
OK, so before you dismiss this article as another Mac vs. PC debate, let me assure you that it won’t be. In fact, we’ll talk about how the way we use home computers these days makes it irrelevant which machine or operating system you use.
The Debate
So let’s get the obvious points out of the way. The classic debates about Mac and PC have been mostly around price and software. Yes, PC hardware tends to run less expensive to start with. The Mac camp argues that you’re paying for all the integrated features (which are not always done as well on a PC), and the cool Apple design. And yes, there are orders of magnitude more software available for Windows than for Mac. No argument there.
But these classic debates become somewhat irrelevant, or not as important, because of a few significant changes that have taken place in the past few years. One is how we use our computers compared to a few years ago, and the other is Apple’s switch to Intel processors.
Usage Model
To begin with, the way we use computers has changed significantly in the past few years. Before the Internet became prevalent, you’d buy a computer and the operating system, and then load it with different software that suited your needs. For most people that meant things like word processing, games and personal finance applications.
As the Internet became common place and the Web matured, we’re spending the majority of our time on the computer using the web for various things like e-mail, news, and many other web-related activities not possible before. Another new usage of our computers has become managing our photo, audio, and video libraries, which were virtually non-existent a few years ago. And of course, we still occasionally write documents, play games, or do personal finances on our computers.
You Can Do It All
It turns out that you can do all that we talked about just as well on either a Mac or a PC these days.
To start with, the vast majority of web applications today don’t care what type of hardware, operating system, or web browser you use. Whether you use a PC or a Mac, or use Internet Explorer, Safari, or Firefox, you can read your favorite blogs, watch videos, and listen to music or radio just the same. Especially recently, most sites ensure they work with the most popular browsers, which means you can use any computer and get the same experience.
When it comes to organizing and editing pictures and managing audio files, both Mac and PC offer powerful options. But following the Apple tradition, Macs do a much better job of integrating audio, photo, and video applications with the operating system. That gives the user a much smoother experience when engaging in these types of multimedia activities.
What’s more is that a new generation of applications is being offered on the Web that replaces traditional computer applications. For example, Google has been offering an online version of Office, where you can create, edit, and save Word and Excel documents right on the Web, without having to have those applications installed on your computer. That means you can do away with buying a copy of Microsoft Office to only use it occasionally. Intuit also recently announced Quicken Online, allowing you to manage all your finances online rather than buying the application. And the list goes on.
Your Favorite Applications
Admittedly, there will always be certain PC applications that people use which won’t be available on a Mac. In those cases, the fact that Apple now uses Intel processors in their computers across the board works to your benefit. Using Apple’s Boot Camp software, any Mac can be turned into a PC and can run Windows. Although you can’t use Windows and Mac OS at the same time in this case, you can still run your favorite Windows applications if you really need to.
There is also Parallels, a software that allows you to run Windows and Mac OS simultaneously, by emulating a Windows environment on the Mac OS. The disadvantage with Parallels is that it doesn’t run as fast as Boot Camp because of its emulation approach.
Why a Mac?
So if you can do the same things on both machines, why choose one over the other? The answer is simple, especially if you’re not technically oriented and want things to just work: Because Apple has always done an excellent job of giving the users a complete solution. All the applications you need to manage your photos, audio, and videos libraries come built into the operating system, and work well with the hardware. The Safari Web browser is now supported on all major sites, and most popular Internet based applications like Skype, Yahoo! Messenger, and others offer special Mac versions.
So if you’re due for buying a new computer for your home, seriously consider a Mac. I know I will.
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