8 Button mouse, 47 special keys keyboard. True, sadly my keyboard only has 12 special keys, and even then the manufacturer doesn’t bother to develop a driver for Mac. Even not if the keyboard costed $300 when released.
Mouse? The same. And we don’t speak of any special nerdy gizmo brand. No Logitech and its top of the range keyboards and mice. Do I invest $140 in a mouse when I don’t know how to use the buttons? Dream on.
Would I invest the same amount if only 3 buttons work because there is no driver for the OS?
No, I wouldn’t install that operating system.

A propos usability and software. What must the easy lover do when there’s an operating system problem? Learn su, I’d rather advice Joe Average to use some tool to fix the registry. Btw, uptime 45 days on my notebook. When did your MacBook randomly shut down last time?

Constantly fixing bugs?
True, re-read. Alpha tester for MS (and Acrobat), former webmaster of a leading German Windows Community, rewarded by MS.
And today one of the people responsible to make sure that the system with your credit card details is secure.
Or do you want to tell me you have no Titanium/Black credit card. At least a green one I hope? No? Bah.

And yes, the company I work for provides me my hardware. Er, actually I choose the hardware we use in our team.

Because of the record companies? Oh yeah? Why is eMusic no illegal shop in that case?

Fanboy!
Go watch the results of the Bug Fix month, especially the amount of discovered bugs and return to the jard.

Fisher Price or … Duplo?

*Leaving the discussion, because Mac boys will never be open to a decent conversation, but the fun is too nice*

And you mention proprietery, like iTunes and the iPod?
Did you realize that many others do the same thing?
Did you know that Microsoft also has a Music Store? They do, and they to are proprietery. Doesnt run on any platform, only Windows. Doesnt run with any MP3 Player, only 4 select ones that they themselves chose (Including the proprietery Zune).
And is that because the maker chose to do that?
No. Its because of the record companies. But then, yu’re another jealous individual who can’t make time from all your bug fixes in Windows to actually research arguments.

Great post Duncan. ;-)

PC’s have not been cheaper since the 20th century. Yes, you can buy a bunch of no-name pieces from OEM stores and build a cheaper PC, but the age old saying alays proves true – You get what you pay for.
With the Macbook, the entry level iMac and the MacMini, you end up with quality hardware at a price that far outweights what the top PC manufacturers are offering.

2: Operating System: yes, some may laugh, but with a PC you’ve got choices…

Those would be the same choices that many others have already listed. You can run any OS in virtual mode using either parallels or VirtualPC, or you can run them native in Boot Camp. either way, it allows the ease of use of any OS and Application ever made, to be run on a Macintosh.

3: Software: The is a huge smorgesboard of software available for PC’s…

See Number 2 – Use of either parallels or boot camp elliminates that argument right there.
Add to the fact that the important software that most home users and professionals need is available for the Macintosh already.
Office Suite, Adobe Creative Suite, The entire former Macromedia suite of software.
Add to that the number 1 Video Editing software used by the top professionals in the world, Final Cut pro HD, is mac only. The top DVD authoring software, the top Photography Software (Apeture), also available for Mac only.
Show me one thing you can do on a PC that I cannot do in half the time on a Macintosh? Not going to happen.

4: Gaming: Want to make a Mac user cringe? ask them if they’ve played the last in game yet?..

Why would I want to bother playing a game on a 24″ monitor? I much prefer playing games in High Definition on my console gaming system, on a 52″ television, while sitting on my couch comfortably. Mac’s have never been big for gaming – But then, look at half the games that come out for the PC itself, and the quality they lack. With the PS3, the Wii, and the Xbox 360, you’ll see less and less games being made for the PC that have the custome shelling out their money.

5: Servicability: something gone wrong with your Mac?

Any store that sells Apple will recognize your Apple Warranty. Thats a fact, not fiction. If they are licensed to sell, then they can honour it. But you didnt do your research so you wouldnt know that would you?
Now try getting that OEM no-name dual-layer DVD burner of yours serviced. Wont happen.

6: Parts/ Upgrading: see in part point 5. Mac users will tell you they don’t need to upgrade

I have owned Macintosh only since they were first introduced. I have upgraded them easilly. In the earlier days, I was able to upgrade the processor, whenever one was available or needed.
RAM has always been upgradeable. What else do you need to upgrade? Hard Drives? IDE Hard Drives, from any store, work instandly, internal or external.
And Graphics? Well, Every Apple computer has always come pre-configured with the top of the line graphics cards already, so no need there.
If Hollywood can edit on the fly, using Apple, with no worries, why can’t I? Oh, wait, I do, on my Macintosh. CGI, titling, 3D composition, skinning. All on my mac with my un-upgradeable graphics card.
WOAH!!!!

7: Peripherals: see in part 6 because the same rule applies…

What rule is that?
The rule that any brand name peripheral is plug and play out of the box with Apple?
Then yes, that rule does apply.
Unlike Windows, I dont even need to pre-format a new hard drive. I simply plug it in, and I have a new terrabyte of storage space.
A printer? Well, I have many going – From photo printers (Epson), to grey scale laser printers (HP) to poster printers (Canon). Each was plugged right into the Mac and worked from day 1, and the only thing they ever needed was to have the paper replaced or new ink cartridges.
I dont have to spend days, weeks looking to make it work with the drivers that Windows so often hates.
My LaCie Dual-Layer DVD Burner wouldnt even mount on Windows XP or Vista, on my IBM Thinkpad. Considering the laptop doesnt even come with Firewire standard, which is the number one data communication port for any peripheral today that requires high rates of transfer (Hard Drives, burners, scanners to name a few).
I never bother installing the software for any item I buy, because I dont need it.
Even my latest Belkin router ran instantly on my Mac, with my built in wireless card on my Mac. Tried that with the Windows machine, and spent two hours configuring it. With the Mac, I was on my network and working within 3 minutes.
So lost time configuring versus higher productivity rate?
Ill stick with Apple.

8: Better Peripherals: more choice and no stupid 1 button mouse…

Name one peripheral that I cant have?
I have multi-button mice, various graphic tablets for drawing, 2 scanners, 6 printers, multiple monitors, more than 4 terrabytes of external hard drives, an internal DVD burner, an external Dual Layer burner, and external singla layer burner, an external DVD reader, a DVD Duplicator, A router, a high speed modem, a joystick for when I play MAME videogames, a webcam, 3 different video camera’s (All professional Canon XL2’s), speakers, 2 professional Canon Rebel camera’s, and a BETACam deck for braodcast video editing.
Each connected to my Mac.
Each worked right out of the box, with no drivers needed.
Again, I say to you, try again, because youre wrong with your information.

9: Usability: for the average person who doesn’t live in Silicon Valley, PC’s are actually more usable..

Again, thats wrong. The average person whats to get their computer home, unpack it, plug it in, and start surfing the net, import their photos, or work on their home movie, without having to call Nerds-R-Us to help them get it configured.
Most, if not all, Windows based computers do not come pre-configured out of the box.
And if they do, they’re not set-up to work with all your preripherals out of the box.
You need to modify network settings and software to connect to your network or router. You need to update all the OS service packs, virus protection to get running.
With my Mac, out of the box, within 5 minutes, I was working on a 30 000$ video project, with no loss to work time, and no headaches. The average user spends more time researching how to fix things, upgrade their system or on the phone with tech support than any Macintosh user does in a lifetime.

Get your facts straight.
You just made yourself look like the world’s biggest sucker

1. Cost. They look at the least expensive white box PC and compare it to the most expensive Mac, or remember prices from 10 or 15 years ago and think about how much more expensive a Mac is, based upon their recollections and hearsay. A PC can always be upgraded later, even though it will cost more, require downtime to do the upgrade and possibly introduce incompatabilities and software upgrades, but you saved $20.00 from when you first bought it. Wheee!

There are differences in cars too. You can buy the cheapest car which will do the same thing as a car that costs ten times more. However, the more expensive car will get you there in style and comfort whereas the cheaper car will simply get you there. Buy what suits you, what you can afford. Buying a car when you need a truck though, is simply stupid, even if you can only afford the car.

2. O/S. PC’s come with an Operating System and MOST people never go beyond the minor upgrades, some NEVER upgrade. It becomes a Mantra of “I can run this or that or some other OS”, but only the techies ever do, so they can show how manly they are, how knowledgable they are and how superior their nerdiness makes them cause they know trivia about an OS that is not used by most people. When do normal people get a new O/S? When they buy a new computer.

There are exceptions of course. Some Windows people buy a new OS, install it on their old computer, find it runs so slowly it would drive them mad and then trash it and go back, or simply go and buy a new computer.

Mac users sometimes buy an upgrade to add to the functionality of their Mac. I’ve got older systems that have the original OS, some have been upgraded to newer versions. Depends on what I want to do with the computer and whether the upgrade can be justified based upon cost, hardware requirements and time to install and maintain the upgrade.

3. Software. Most normal people buy the specific pieces of software for a computer that they need and never buy anything again until they need something specific that they can’t get their nerdy tech friends to pirate for them. Or they go through the computer section of their electronics store, and see something that catches their eye that they buy, try and then shelve because it’s mostly a piece of junk. This applies mostly to Windows but also to Mac’s. Linux users are conditioned to “It’s free” so there is such a minimal amount of commercial Linux software available, you will likely never see it for sale, other than the install disks themselves for people to try installing it.

Software is THE reason for having a computer. Software includes games, BTW, so another point that should be combined. Find the software that works for you, then buy the computer that will run it. Your life will be simpler, easier and less frustrating for you if you do this. The problem comes in when you buy the computer and then expect it to run everything out there.

4. Gaming. Games are available on ALL platforms, including the gaming consoles. Not all games are available on all platforms because it costs money to write for all the different platforms. Unless the author can recoup their costs and make a profit, why write for every platform out there? With the proper tools, it might be possible to port a game to more than one platform, and this is happening more, but people get used to a particular language and it only runs on one platform so the time and costs to port it to another platform become too high and it stays only on the one platform, usually Windows.

5. Servicability. Cheap computers break more often than higher priced quality computers. Most computers are made in the same factories in China, Singapore, Taiwan from the same components and everything has pretty much become a commodity item. It is the glue of software (O/S, firmware, drivers, BIOS, etc) that holds it all together and creates the computer experience that makes the difference in a lot of cases.

6. Parts/Upgrading. Most people upgrade their computer by buying a new one. The most common upgrade is more memory, followed by a bigger hard drive in my experience. Most normal people never upgrade anything else unless something breaks, or they want a bigger monitor (or they’ve put a brick through the monitor because its turned into a problem computer).

7. Peripherals. How many peripherals are needed? A printer for output, a monitor to see what is going on, a keyboard and mouse to control things and a cable to connect to the phone line or high speed internet. External hard drives are useful. Cameras and video cameras. Most everything connects to USB, higher end stuff connects via firewire and anything that was serial or parallel is being phased out in favour of USB. USB was created by Intel but languished until Apple made it the default connection method for the original iMac and then everyone was putting USB into stuff. Apple made it so that USB was popular and that it just worked.

8. Better peripherals? PC mice are not made of rubber? Obviously you can’t UPGRADE a mouse with one you like, that might work better. So if you are unable to upgrade a mouse, how the heck can you make comments about anything else? See above about peripherals. This one belongs there, so your list is really only 8 things in my opinion.

9. Usability. Actually, Mac’s are more usable for people that use them and have been trained on them. Anyone who is immersed in Windows who tries the Mac has difficulty because there ARE differences. The same applies to someone from the Mac who tries Windows. Same thing. If you switch back and forth between the two, it sometimes takes a moment to remember which control does what, but it is not that hard. Ask a truck driver if they have to look at how to use a car when they go from one vehicle to another. “Where the heck did they put the windshield wiper?” Yeah, usability is a big issue, but any tool takes a bit of training time to learn. If you are not able to learn, please don’t touch power tools (including computers) for you will likely hurt yourself.

I’m a FORMER computer tech who has worked on Apple product from the late 1970’s (First computer was an Apple ][+ with a four digit serial number), Commodore systems, PC-DOS 1.0 to MS-DOS 6, Windows 3.x, 95/98, XP, a bit of Unix in the 80’s, a bit of Linux in the mid-90’s and I have some Linux stuff I will be doing this year. I do my own work and that of a few friends and family but gave up on computer service work cause it changes so fast I can’t be bothered to keep up with all the costs and certifications and other crud and the fustrations of working the damn things.

I prefer the Apple way of doing things but I use the tool that works for me. I have a number of Macs here as well as a DOS computer and a few Windows machines. Each does what they need to do. I don’t have one tool that I expect to do everything. I have in my toolbox, hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers and lots of other stuff. I use a hammer when I need a hammer, a sledgehammer when I need a big hammer and whatever other tool that will do the job. That is what professionals do, use the right tool for the job. Amatuers, wannabes and those that are super cheap expect that a single tool will do everything. Of course it also shows in the work they do.

Have a day. Your seven reasons are completely off-base in my opinion, but then your seven reasons are simply your opinion anyway.

Take care.

Reginald W
Canada