What are your thoughts Windows vs. the Apple Macintosh?

Overall, my advice is don't get religious about computers, particularly operating systems ("OSs"). Choose the computer and OS that makes the most sense for you. I don't know any Windows user who is blindly loyal to Windows, but I do know several Macintosh users who get emotional about this issue and are blindly loyal to the Macintosh.

For me, the most important factor in choosing an OS is the availability of application software packages for that OS. On that score, it's no contest — Windows wins. There are thousands of specialized packages that only run on Windows. True, I will never use 99.9 percent of these packages, but 0.1 percent still means there are a few dozen packages I will use, and that factor alone is enough to make me choose Windows.

Purchasing a Macintosh can make sense if you have basic needs — the standard version of Office (which does not include Microsoft Access (a development tool used to design database information systems); Access is only available in the Professional edition of Office), e-mail, surfing the Web, and so on. If you know you will not need specialized packages, then purchasing a Mac could make your life a lot easier.

First, although there is no reason why a virus could not be written for the Mac OS, virus writers go where the market share is, and that is Windows. If you're a virus writer looking to make an impact, writing a virus for Windows is how you will spend your time, rather than targeting an OS with 3 percent market share. Thus, if you have a Macintosh, the odds of being infected by a virus are vastly less than if you have Windows, if only because virus writers rarely target the Macintosh.

Second, the Mac is in many ways much easier to use. Its design is outstanding (Apple has always been an outstanding design company).

If you're a graphic artist, then in almost all cases you'll want to use a Mac. Even though almost all of the Adobe and Macromedia software packages are available for Windows, graphics packages simply work better on a Mac. (Windows, for example, has never had a good color model, while Mac has had a good color model from the beginning.)

If you purchase a Mac, expect to pay more than you would for an equivalent computer with equivalent horsepower. The ruthless competition that exists in the Windows PC industry means you can acquire a very powerful PC for little money. Apple, on the other hand, has a monopoly in manufacturing Mac computers. Thus, for the same power, you'll pay 25 to 33 percent more.

One thing that particularly bugs me about Mac computers is that they use a one-button mouse. Windows PCs use a two-button mouse. The right button is quite useful. In almost all cases, if you click the right button, you can view the properties of the selected object.

The current version of the new Mac OS is based on Free BSD, an open source variant of Unix, which means one will enjoy Unix-level stability (i.e., high stability). Apple has done a good job of hiding the complexities and user-unfriendliness of Unix by writing a very good graphic user interface ("GUI") which sits on top of BSD. My impression is that Apple has done an outstanding job with its current new OS.

A very good review of the advantages and disadvantages of switch to the Macintosh, see "While Switching to Mac Will Improve Security, It Isn't for Everyone" by Walter S. Mossberg, The Wall Street Journal, February 17, 2005, p. B1.

Read James' essay on Some Advice on Computers.

July 10, 2003, version 1.0   |    List of other essays written by James Mitchell    |    Copyright notice

Cite as “The Apple Macintosh” by James Mitchell. July 10, 2003, version 1.0.
www.BostonConvivium.com/jm_essays/apple_macintosh.