Looking at Macs from a PC user's perspective


Okay. I am a PC user :) I am seriously considering using Macs, at
least for those projects that Macs are better suited for.

I have heard all the arguments on both sides of the street, and frankly
a lot of those arguments don't hold water.

1) Security -
Granted, Windows XP is a lot less secure than OS X, however
knowledgable Window's users can hide behind good firewalls so that the
admittedly more vulnerable OS can't be reached.

2) Video, Multimedia, etc. -
If Macs are indeed superior in video as is often claimed, how do you
explain the fact that there are 139 PC multimedia NGs, and not _one_
Mac multimedia NG. If I used Macs, it would worry me that I had no NG
to turn to if I had Mac-specific problems with multimedia.

3) Unix "integration" in the Mac -
Is Unix integration all it is cracked up to be? Are there
_substantial_ benefits to be had with the Mac/Unix combination, versus
just running a seperate Unix/Linux partition on a PC?

4) Overall cost for doing _any_ specific bunch of projects -
This is the biggest bone of contention, PC users claim the Mac is way
overpriced, Mac users claim the higher prices are justified by several
things, namely longer useful life of the Mac hardware, often more
hardware options included with the base Mac. Hidden non-obvious
"benefits" of Macs like ease-of-use seem to be way overblown IMO, given
the complex modern Mac OS X.

5) More "productive" and "easier to use" for the Mac -
Supposedly "more-productive" usage for the Mac, "proved" by 5 year old
studies when the Mac was using the admittedly easier operating systems
they had in years past. The _modern_ Mac OSX is every bit as
difficult to use as Windows ever was, so 'ease of use' is no longer a
valid issue, at least in my view. Now "more productive" may indeed be
true for the Mac, due to the tight integration of Unix, which _can_
result in enhanced productivity, _provided_ the help supplied by Unix
is substantial, rather than trivial.
The downside is that learning all the "Unix tricks" could take
forever. Unix geeks typically have 20/30 years of "experience" behind
them.



Okay guys, convince me that I am looking at this all wrong ;-)

I wanna justify talking all my PC friends into using Macs, or at least
_trying_ Macs for a reasonable period of time, say 6 months or so,
just to see what they are missing by sticking to PCs only.

I myself have been considering buying a dual G5 :)

Mark-
.

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