Thanks to devices like the iPad and continued success of the iPhone, Apple’s popularity seems to be skyrocketing these days, at least in a transient way. Their ever-present marketing continues to convince people that their products are the end-all, be-all, who then give little regard for potentially better, often cheaper devices. Sure their mobile devices are pretty cool, but there are other options out there. Especially in the personal computer world, if you want an easy, minimized computing experience, Apple is certainly not the only solution, nor are they automatically better than everything else by any means.
Some time ago while waiting for a humanities class to begin, a student initiated a conversation about purchasing computers. I bit my tongue so I could hear the unblemished outcome. Sure enough, a Mac user piped up and proceeded to give the usual speech about how he/she never has viruses and just loves his/her Macbook Pro more than anything, especially evil Windows computers. The funny thing is, all this person seems to do is play flash games (yes, kind of ironic given the battle between Apple and Adobe), check e-mail and use Microsoft Word. Um, I’m pretty sure you don’t need a $2,000+ computer to do that. A $400-500 HP aluminum body laptop would be just as good for that. Oh yeah, and the HP has an easily-removable battery and can play Blu-Ray movies if you opt to upgrade the optical drive. Utilizing common web-sense while surfing, I don’t remember having a virus or blue-screen on my PC in the last few years.
My university recently renovated its computer store. Upon completion, I found that for some reason it had simply been turned into half of an Apple store (you know, lots of room for like three items, strong white lighting THX-1138 style, etc.). Eh, they better have either received a ton of money from Apple to do that, because if not it is just a hopeless display of Apple-tardedness, *sigh*. Some people make the generic excuse that Apples are better for graphics and stuff. Nope, Adobe Suite works just as well on PC, AVID is great like Final Cut Pro, and my laptop’s GPU “pwns” the one used in any current Apple computer.
Points that further communicate my rant:
- Apple moved to Intel-based (read: PC) hardware a few years ago… the only difference is the OS and subsequent hardware restriction, and Linux (free) beats them all for secure, general usage anyway.
- Apples cannot play Blu-Rays because Steve Jobs apparently doesn’t like them.
- Apple users are constantly at the mercy of Steve Jobs and his desire for excessive control and restriction.
- Spending money on any number of PC manufacturers will often get you worlds more hardware for the buck than the same amount spent on an Apple computer, and they’ll occasionally throw in an extended warranty without robbing your wallet for additional cash.
- Try building your own computer for use with MacOS. Sure it can be done taking painful measures and possibly putting up with limited functionality, but if Steve Jobs had his way it would explode in your face and you’d be thrown in bottomless pit.
- Try installing a ton of great PC-only programs out there on MacOS without using virtualization (especially those useful in the IT world).
- I shouldn’t even need to mention trying to play real games on MacOS.
In conclusion, I [sort of] apologize for going off on a PC fan-boy rant. All I want to communicate to everyone is that Apple products are not better than everything just because it is Apple. I think the following video summarizes my frustration at people who want everything that Steve Jobs says is awesome. If you like Apple, fine. Just like it for the right reasons and don’t just spout off what you’ve been programmed to say.
I have never owned a MacBook, or any Mac computer. I have an iPhone and an iPad. I think they are genius products.
Additionally, I’ve been saying for a while that the next computer that I buy will be an Apple. The reason is that I really only plan on using it for video and photo stuff for family projects. The software that comes with the Apple computer, to me, justifies the higher cost, If I were to buy quality software to do video and photo on a PC, the difference could add up to the cost of a Mac computer.
Your thoughts?
Though I understand your logic, it does not exactly apply in that way. Macs come with iMovie and Windows PCs come with the ability to install Windows Movie Maker (both are free). As far as the world of A/V editing goes, they are both basic though fundamentally capable products. For audio, you get Garage Band with Macs or a host of free software like Audacity for Windows (also Mac or Linux compatible).
With this in mind, the software suite does not necessarily make up for the extraordinary markup of Macs vs. PCs of similar hardware. My latest computer purchase was a performance Sager 15.6″ laptop with Windows 7 Ultimate x64. I shelled out $2,200 for a great set of amazing hardware (and it’s a bit cheaper now for even newer hardware). When I configured a Macbook Pro to [try and] resemble the same specs, the total was around $3,000, and it didn’t even come close to matching some of my computer’s specs (i.e. GeForce 460M graphics card, Blu-ray burner, etc.).
On a PC, the cost of upgrading to more capable A/V software would still be less the cost of a Mac. Final Cut Express 4.0 cost $199 retail, whereas Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10 (the most premium home consumer version) for example is only $125, with similarly-capable lesser versions for dozens of dollars less.