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I often recommend Macs instead of Windows PC's. I think you get more for your money and will have less daily annoyances. However, Mac's aren't for everyone.

Why NOT to buy a Mac

You have specific Windows applications you need to run

A lot of Windows programs have Macintosh versions or equivalents, but some absolutely do not. It's possible to run Windows "inside" your Mac, but that doesn't really make sense unless you need the Mac for some other reason.

You are a long time Windows "power user"

If you have been using Windows for years and have become very proficient, you probably do not want to learn the Mac way of doing things. Too many things will annoy you, your fingers will have to unlearn all the shortcuts you know so well; switching to Mac will be hard. It's not impossible, but you need strong motivation.

Your son-in-law is a Windows expert

The biggest problem for most casual computer users is support. I can argue that Macs are easier and will cause less problems for most people than Windows, but if you have a built in family expert or a close friend Windows guru you can call on for free help, go with Windows.

Why to buy a Mac

Vista changes things

Vista is Microsoft's latest and greatest. I think it's pretty bad: slow, clumsy and its only good point is that it is much more secure than any previous Microsoft OS. However, since it is so new and different, there is a learning curve. If you have to learn something new, you'd be smarter to learn Mac than Vista.

Less problems with viruses and malware

Many Mac users don't even run antivirus software. That's probably not smart, because Macs are starting to get more attention from the "bad guys", but right now, there's very little to worry about. The design of the Mac operating system also makes it harder for this kind of thing to attack you (but so does Windows Vista), so that helps too.

Less problems overall

Macs have a big advantage over Windows machines: Apple controls the hardware and the operating system that runs it. Windows has to run on Dell, Gateway, XYZ computers from foreign countries.. it's hard to write an operating system that has to deal with so many different kinds of hardware. Apple has a far easier job, and therefore has far less of those mysterious problems.

Less frequent patches and updates

Every Windows user knows that you get patches and updates from Microsoft every week. Often these slow down your computer while downloading and installing, and quite often require a reboot. Mac systems have far less frequent updates - usually once a month or so.

Macs are easier to use

Unless you are already a Windows "expert", of course (see above). If you aren't any kind of computer expert at all, the Mac really is easier to learn. However, keep in mind that most of your friends and family probably use Windows - you won't be able to ask them for help if you do need it (you probably won't).

You get more for your money

You get much more built in, high quality software with a Mac. There is also a tremendous amount of free and low cost software available. But right out of the box, as shipped by Apple, you get more and better software than you will get with a Windows PC.

Leopard changes everything too.

Apple's latest OS is OS X, version 10.5, known as "Leopard". It is an incredibly powerful and user friendly operating machine, but one of its nicest features (Time Machine, automatic backup on steroids) requires an additional hard drive. That's not a big deal: you can buy a monstrous USB drive for $150.00 nowadays, but it does mean that you do need to spend a little extra money to get the full use of the system.

If you do consider a Mac, Apple's web site is the place to start. The only suggestion I'd make if buying a new Mac (or a new Windows PC) is to add more RAM memory. Base models simply have the bare minimum, and you will need more. This is an inexpensive upgrade you won't regret.

And, because of Leopard (see above paragraph), you should get that extra drive also.

See Buying a new computer also.

Comments:

Author: TonyLawrence (72.74.95.127) Wed Oct 31 07:22:49 2007

PC Magazine's review of the new Mac OS ended with this

Leopard again raises the question of whether to switch from Windows to a Mac. I've found Vista to be a major disappointment that tends to look worse the more I use it. I still use Windows XP for getting serious work done. But OS X is easier to manage and maintain and I vastly prefer OS X to Windows for Web-browsing, mail, and especially for any task that involves graphics, music, or video. Leopard performs all such tasks even better than previous versions did—and Leopard is the only OS on the planet that works effortlessly and intuitively in today's world of networked computers and peripherals. Leopard is far from perfect, but it's better than any alternative, and it's getting harder and harder to find good reasons to use anything else.

( http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2207556,00.asp for full review )

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