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Why Macintosh?

Many people ask my WHY I use a Mac, and I was really enthusiastic about my answers the first few dozen times. Now, however, I don't really have the energy to give the question the attention it deserves.

I figure if I answer it once, maybe I can simply give people a URL and not have to go through the whole discussion.

By now, many PC users have learned that Macs aren't *just* for graphics/music/movie professionals.  I wasn't very fond of Apple's Switch campaign, but I have to admit that it did open a good deal of people's eyes.  I usually try to explain that Macs can do just about anything a PC can do, and in many cases, do it better. 

When I ask people what they use their computers for, they'll typically answer "email, web surfing blah blah blah".  I toss Microsoft Office v.X their way (the OS X-based Office version), X11, fink, blah blah blah.  Add in Virtual PC, and there's really not much left you can't do.  Prove it for yourself here.

The one shortcoming is in the sheer number of games available.  If you're going to buy a gaming rig, do yourself a favor and get either a console, or a Wintel-based PC.  Macs, with their smaller market share, just don't get the same attention from publishers that PCs do.  If you look at the silver lining, however, you might realize that about 70% of the games published on PCs actually suck.  I like to think of this as a nice filtering effect, and with a few notable exceptions, most of the big-name games come to Macs, anyway (often much later than the PC versions, but they show up).  My favorite Mac-based gaming site is Inside Mac Games.

The next point I usually make is through the use of an automotive-based analogy.  I love using car-based analogies because most people know cars well enough to be able to relate to them in all kinds of different ways, but that's a topic for another day, I suppose.

Ford Taurus
2003 Ford Taurus -- MSRP $24k

 

Mercedes-Benz E500
Mercedes Benz E500 -- MSRP $55k

 

Above, you'll see two cars:  one costs more than twice as much as the other.  They both have four wheels, a steering wheel and each seats five passengers.  If you're the type of person who feels that spending twice as much money on a car that functions exactly the same as the more affordable car, then Macs probably aren't for you.  You see, a Mercedes brings certain intangibles to the table that Ford will likely never bother with.  The quality of leather in a Mercedes is higher, the interior sound levels are much quieter, the doors close w/ a solid *chunk* that tells you that you've bought a solid piece of German Engineering.

I'd be lying if I tried to tell you that prestige and pride weren't a part of the equation, but look at that 'Benz:  it's a thing of beauty.  I tried to keep the comparisons reasonable, so you won't see a Yugo vs. Ferrari comparison, but you get the idea. 

I might add more later, I might not.... we'll see.