Debunking the Myths

Mac Myths Debunked:

* Macs are More Expensive: There are a few reasons Apples are perceived as more expensive than PCs.
o The first is because there are a limited number of models of Macs available at any time. If you actually compare a PC with the identical hardware as that of the Mac you are looking at instead of comparing a Mac Pro with some bottom of the line eMachine you will see the actual price difference isn't nearly as severe as you thought.
o Apples do not come preloaded with trial software from 3rd parties. A PC will come loaded with a trail of some ant-virus a trial of MS Office, a trial of some DVD making software, etc. Each 3rd party who wants their software on the computer pays a little to the maker of it and that helps subsidies the cost of your computer.
o Apple spends a lot more time on the design of their product than a PC so in most cases you will have a much cleaner looking computer.
o Apple includes more full versions of software than the typical PC (iPhoto, iMovie, iTunes, etc.) this is not to say you can't get similar software for free on a PC, but they don't usually come preloaded. (although some do)
* You can't find good business software for a Mac:
o This is outdated. Not only are there great business apps available on the Mac of, but with things like Parallels, Bootcamp, and Virtual PC you can run Windows on your Mac, which means if its on your PC...its on your Mac.
* Macs can't get viruses:
o This is false. Although the Mac OS has no viruses that I'm aware of, the software that is running on your Mac can still be exploited.
o It is true that there are a lot less viruses for the Mac. The most common argument is that the reason for this is because Mac has way less users, now while this is true, it is not the complete reason. Part of the reason is not the number of people who use the product, but the target audience of the product. Microsoft has the business world locked into their products (for now). Many viruses are made to target businesses, so that's the software you want to exploit. Also Microsoft Windows is less secure out of the box than the Apple OS, it can be secured very well, but most people don't know how to do it, and because of that, they are more vulnerable. So yes, there are more viruses.

PC Myths Debunked:

* You can't do audio/video/photo editing on a PC:
o This is not true. There is professional grade software for the PC is ready available.
o No, this software will not run well on that 400 dollar PC you just picked up, but if you buy a good machine, they will run very well.
* PCs are not secure:
o This is false. PCs are only insecure if you do not take the time to patch/update and secure them. A good windows administrator can make his Windows server just as secure as a Good *nix admin and a good Mac admin.
o There are TONS of software available to assist with this if you aren't capable of doing it yourself, and Microsoft includes some of it for free (windows defenders helps with ad ware...although its definitely not the greatest. Windows Firewall does a decent job) and there is a lot of free software that is even better than that. The problem is the average user does not take the time to learn this, so PCs are perceived as more insecure because out of the box they are and its rare that a user will make the appropriate fixes.

So which computer is "better"? The answer is which ever fits your need. Do you feel more comfortable using the windows operating system than you do Mac OS? Do you really need all the power that is included in even the bottom of the line iMac? In reality, if all you are doing and all you are planning on doing is writing word documents and checking your email, than any computer you buy (or have bought in the last 5 years) is powerful enough. But if you want to do photo editing, or movie editing, even if just for fun, then you need to look for something that fits that need.

PCs are great if you are looking for something cheap, if your budget is around 600 dollars then yea, you can definitely find a computer for that much, but it will include a bunch of demo software that you will need to remove. If you want something that takes up a little space, looks good, and runs well and will take little upkeep, buy an iMac. There is a reason stores have these all on display, it's so you can look at and play with the different features of them. Use the tool you are comfortable with, not the one that you read was better for reason xyz..

Me? I use Windows primarily. It fits my needs perfectly, I am very familiar with them and because of that, I can secure and control a network full of them. I also have a desktop running Ubuntu on it so I can get even move familiar with the *nix operating systems, the more I use it the more I love it, its great, but I still haven't been able to say that I am confident in my ability to secure it, and then deploy 100 of them and manage and secure them properly. I have used Macs in the past and they are great. Their interface is clean; they come with great user friendly software. The hardware is good and high quality. But for me, they aren't the right fit. I like to build my own computer; I can't do that with an Apple, not yet anyway. And at the end of the day, I just can't justify spending the money on one since it doesn't fill any specific need for me. Do I recommend Apples to other people? Of course, if they are a good fit for that person. But not because of the Myths mentioned above.




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