Mac vs PC an update (part 2)

The value of blogging

Yes, for a short time at least, I was second only to Apple in this great debate... for this keyword... in my location.  I read the article today as a result of this search and the stats I was getting, and was moved to make an update for those interested.

Back to the debate

Issues with the Macs

Apple isn't perfect!  Over the past 18 months I have had 2 power supply failures (for the MBPs), a total motherboard failure (for the MBP) a time machine hard drive crash (again, the MBP), a keyboard failure.  The Mac Pro however has been faultless since the moment I switched it on, and considering it's ram and hard drive I purchased and installed myself for budget reasons, it has been absolutely incredible.  This sounds like a lot, but please understand these machines get used every day, and carted all over the place.  Apple support has always been good when push has come to shove - read into that VERY GOOD for a pushy customer, terrible for passive ones!

Update on my predictions from pt1

I feel I can't really comment on Windows 7 at this time because I have not got to any grips with it being far too busy, but it appears that Vista remaining the 'dog' as predicted in my last write up was certainly born out.  The interesting twist is that the upcoming google system looks to be the one that bears out my other prediction - that a Linux based PC OS with a proper brand and support should take up the opposing role to the Macs' onslaught.  I can't wait.  Google Chrome in my view is a real gem; an utterly beautiful bit of software that deserved better uptake.  The idea of making it the core to the OS is revolutionary and very sensible in my humble and unresearched opinion.

Mac Facilities

Over the past year, Mobile Me sorted out their time difference issues in the calendar, and the iphone seems to work seamlessly with ical, mobile me online etc.  For the freelancing individual, mobile me is another gem.  It's not perfect, but works well. Time machine seems to not 'clog' or totally fry the processors as it has done until recent-ish updates. Anything Microsoft on the mac however continues to be a pain.  Office crashes with alarming regularity and is enough to keep the PC in business, while open office doesn't seem to get the acceptance 'tipping point' that would make it a real alternative.  Macs are still macs.  Great for creative professionals, but for regular office stuff I must admit they are still a little slow and uncomfortable with dealing with words and numbers (and comparatively expensive of course).  iWork though is just gorgeous.  I had to give a presentation to a small group to tutor flash, and I automatically reached for powerpoint; but even when it loads on a mac, it feels like stepping back 10 years.  I gave keynote a go, and... wow.

Mac vs PC

When I started using the mac nearly 2 years ago, it took me a few months to get to the point where it equalled the PC in terms of what I could do in a given time.  In the time since then I have obviously got the 'knack' of the mac, and my work is on a completely different level.  I could definitely be described as an XP 'power user', and I can categorically state that there is no comparison.  The Leopard system is greatly more capable in terms of User interaction and capability. There are very few things where the PC is naturally better (they are there if you look for them though - but you have to look hard!).  And now I am in a situation where I have taken a new track, and the PC is becoming less and less familiar and comfortable.  Using XP or Vista it feels like the possibilities that are presented day to day on a mac easily are closed, and much of one's time is spent working out how to solve mundane issues like changing file permissions on network shares, or going through endless dialogs to renew an IP address.  It's not that it can't do things, but that to achieve them you have to think really wierdly, and be very patient.  In the effort to cover up complexity, vista makes things more complex because you can't really see what is going on.  Enough of the rant.. Vista is a mess, the big view without vision.

The future

I really hope that the Windows 7 system readdresses the basic question 'What am I'?  An operating system needs to know what it is.  In the effort to add features and 'wow', Vista lost the plot in my view. I genuinely hope that Windows 7 gives users the right choices to achieve real world goals.  I suspect though that the marketing pressures and 'one upmanship' will mean that it won't.  Google's system though is truly exciting.  The thought of 'bare bones' and 'back to basics' coupled with an 'online' mentality is really really cool.  Frankly I can't wait.  I won't be persuaded off the Mac easily now, and I suspect that the future is a much more co-operative thing.  With the google system and Leopard working off the same foundation, the future is really problem free (potentially).

Of course, the Microsoft cash cow will continue for some time (...before the forces of the market and gradual ageing of marketed software erode the value of the organisation to the point where it will really have to do something interesting to win back enthusiasm from Customers).

The hardware

The hardware has taken a really interesting twist.  I admire the way that Apple relentlessly charge huge sums of money for what is essentially a very well specified and designed and presented 'PC' (in that most of the components are the same at chip level).  The R&D really pays dividends.  Although I have had problems, I feel like I have had more value from the Macs in my life than from any PC.  My perception is that when I use it, it feels good, and there are no rattly fans, clacky keys etc.  PCs try to offer more for less of course, but these days any computer can do more or less anything.  Design and feel has become much more important than it used to be, and 'what it can do' is now less important than how a computer looks, feels and makes the User feel.

My Bias after 2 years of Mac

I am now clearly as biased against PCs as I was against Macs 2 years ago, and this is the real damage that Vista has done.  I am like a smoker who quit, who is now repulsed by cigarettes much more than a life time abstainee.  I will look into the new PC systems, but not as a priority.  The people around me have never been more reluctant to upgrade and potentially upset their work and lives.

I do hope for a good future for the PC, and I also really hope that Microsoft picks itself up by the scruff of the neck and does something exciting and pragmatic to win back some excitement.  It may not happen soon, but I may happen some time in the future.  They have done it in the past, and will do it again... you watch.  I just hope I am around at the bottom to buy shares!