Mac and Windows

            Especially with the explosive growth of Apple, one of the world’s largest consumer electronics company, more Apple products are cropping up from schools to the workplace. One of Apple’s biggest products, the Mac family of computers, is a direct challenger to every desktop that supports the Windows operating system. Combining clever marketing with innovative products, Apple has proved a strong competitor to Microsoft.

            However, computers that run Windows are much better than Apple Macs. The 17” Mac Book Pro starts at $2,499 – more expensive than 6 Dell laptops running Windows. The Mac Book is even more expensive than Alien ware’s lineup of high-tech gaming computers. One can buy the best processor, the best graphics card, etc. and still build a computer that would cost much less than a Mac Book.

            Consumers are drawn in by the MacBook’s pure white exterior, luring in the consumer with attractive, smooth corners and brushed keys. The consumer is guided by his eyes instead of his brain – he is already hooked on the Mac before he or she sees the extremely high price tag and the sub-par specifications. Mac commercials grab consumers with airbrushed, Photoshopped images of the Mac. Sadly, the design of the Mac is the only part of the Mac that is better than Windows computers.

            Microsoft’s more open approach with Windows makes Windows a better operating system. Microsoft allows many different computer companies to use Windows, whereas Apple only allows its own computers to use the OSX operating system. As a result, Windows computers are more customizable and can be tailored to fit an individual’s needs or a groups’ needs, rather than a shiny and flashy computer that tries to appeal to the entire audience. The consumer gets leeway in what sort of specifications a Windows computer has, but a Mac user is locked into whatever specifications Apple decides. For example, you can pick and chose amongst Windows computers how much hard drive space you want, what kind of processor you want, and much more while with Apple computers, Apple decides how much memory and what processor the Mac uses. A Dell computer running Windows may have 500 GB of hard drive space, a Compaq computer may have 400 GB of hard drive space, and an IBM computer have 700 GB of hard drive space – and a buyer can decide which computer he wants to buy. Microsoft gives its users the right to chose and pick what they want.

            Mac’s incompatibility with many programs is also a massive drawback. Many programs that work on Windows will not work on the Mac, leading to problems and frustration. This contradicts with Mac’s image of a high-end business computer that is also available for common users.

            Before you buy a Mac, use your brain and not your eyes.