When asked about Apple MAC's

Time for a topic change, lets get back to tech.

In an email today that a friend sent (in response to comments of mine about an Apple Mac being a good computer for home video editing).

He said :

“love the new version with Leopard O/S, but was told recently that they are impossible to get serviced......only Apple authorised dealers and there are not enough. Also, great if graphics are required, but the more used Word & Excel equivalents aren't a patch on Microsoft.Cost seems outrageous for the desktop equivalent. Please explain! “

I'm happy to explain that further here.

Firstly, on the whole Apple Macs need less servicing. Most “Servicing” problems in the PC world are derived from problems with Microsoft Windows or glitchy drivers, spyware, viruses etc. Allot of the time people need to take their computer in to the PC shop, its to re-install the operating system, or recover data. Mac OS X is built on the most stable operating system there is (used on servers) called UNIX. I'm sure if someone were to complete a study on how often Mac OS X suffered from software based problems compared to its counter part (windows) you would find there is a lot less need for experts to rescue the system.

Also one part of this point that people need to understand, is that Macs use the same architecture as PC's (nowadays), so if you hard drive fails, you can take it in to a PC shop and they should be replace it with the same type, no problem. Yes, apart from the operating system, and Apple Mac is a PC (which after all just stand for Personal Computer).

One last think I would like to add, is that PC's do nothing “out of the box” to help you protect the most valuable part of your computer.: your data. In fact most people never backup their data. But Mac OS X Leopard has a feature called “time Machine” which not only backs up everything (including your data, operating system changes, and software installation), it does it in the most user friendly manor. If you were to accidentally delete (or most commonly and often irreversible – save over a good file with a bad one), click on time Machine and you can go back in time, simply scroll back in time to a day when the file was there, of the file was good, click on it and you can restore. It will even do this for data, from within your programs, accidentally deleted a contact from your address book? Open the address book, search for the name you want and then go back in time to find the person you deleted and restore it. It's all done graphically and effortlessly.

The last part to that comment is that my friend who lives on the coast of Australia may not indeed have “enough” authorized Mac dealers, but the truth is you probably only need one. The people who sell Apple computers are normally a different breed. Knowledgeable, friendly and professional, this leads to high customer satisfaction. One of the reason the staff are good is because they loeve Mac's and wouldn't want to work with anything else. In the PC world, with high staff turnover and fly by nighters, you're less likely to return to the same shop twice.

So Apple Mac's are far from impossible to get serviced (if you actually need to), and in the event you do need service, you can be happy you data is safely backed up.

Now, on with the next part....

To be realistic, Apple Mac's aren't better if graphics are required, because most of the industry standard graphics applications are available for both. The reason Apple Mac is so strong in the graphics industry is twofold. Designers (and sound engineers) want to take care of business not fix their computers constantly, they also surround themselves in good design. The is no question that an Apple Mac is better both aesthetically and practically.

As for Microsoft Word and Excel. These are programs. Microsoft windows is an operating system from Microsoft. You can get some programs Word, Excel etc which run on Microsoft windows, but hey you can also get Microsoft Office for the Mac operating system, and, wait for it, Microsoft Office is better on a Mac (this is because of integration with system wide services etc).

Check it out at Microsoft's site (ctrl-click to open it in a new tab and continue reading)

http://www.Macoffice2008.com/

*note it has a different icon because the normal word and excel icons would never be accepted by sophisticated Mac users, but its the same (only better) program.

Also Apple have their own suit of application call iWork. Not only do some consider iWork to be better than Office (because it has all the features you need, an none that you don't, in a clean easier to use interface and for a fraction of the price), but its fully compatible with Microsoft products.

Still on the same point, Apple Mac's run Windows. Yes, you can install windows on any new Apple Mac and you can choose to reboot between operating systems, or run you programs right in the Mac OS like they would run in windows.

Still with me? Good.

Now lets tackle the biggest issue most people have. “Cost seems outrageous for the desktop equivalent. Please explain!” :- I will.

Macs used to be expensive, or should I say, they used to cost more. I once paid AUS$4,000 more for a Mac than a PC (the PC cost AUS$4,000 and the Mac cost AUS$8,000).

But that was a long time ago. Now its a whole different story.

Apple Mac's cost no more (in general) then other well know brands for the same item, with the same specifications (promotions and special offers aside).

Sure you can buy a no name PC with lower specifications (Apple tends to only make well equipped Machines), without a webcam, lower ram etc, but it's no different than buying a car without electric windows. Sure it cost less but you also get less. Also, relatively speaking, you don't pay that much more.

Note: The reason that an iMac cost a little more, is that you pay for the miniaturisation which allows them to have the computer built in to the flat screen monitor (they use some laptop parts) – compare this with the Sony VAIO VGC-LA38G an you will see, if you find the same product in the PC world it can cost even more!:

Sony VAIO VGC-LA38G - AU$2799.00

http://www.cnet.com.au/laptops/laptops/0,239035653,339273651,00.htm

Better Specification iMac – AU$1,199.00

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=7B723680&node=home/shop_Mac/family/iMac

But theres more to the cost argument. Its called “Total cost of ownership”. With a PC you need:

Antivirus

Antispyware

Firewall (although windows XP and Vista have this built in)

Trojan dectector/elimination

Registry cleaning and repair software

How much is all that software going to cost you? Also, how much does it cost you in time (studies have shown that people get more done on Mac's)? I presume you value yourself/your time don't you. How much extra will you have to pay for servicing a PC because it breaks down more often. Surely one would consider this when comparing the purchase price? People just don't seem to consider these factors.

Also, Mac's come will amazingly well made and easy to use full version software for photo cataloging/editing, video editing, audio sequencing, DVD making, address book, not to mention the absolutely Unequaled iWeb for making web sites easily (the only product in existence for any computer which makes web site building easy in my opinion).

How much extra do you have to pay after you buy your PC to get this software. And Apple make great software. They are among the few who understand that software should be easy to use, that making something hard to use, doesn't necessarily make it better.

To sum it all up:

Apple Mac's are just as easy to service, but have (in general less problems).

Apple Mac's run Microsoft Office better than PC's and can ALSO run windows.

Apple Mac's cost relatively the same amount as PC's. In fact PC's of a similar desing to Mac cost more. It's like getting a Lexus for the same cost as a Mazda. Mazda owners would argue they can get everything that a Lexus owner has for less and with more power. Lexus owners know better.

To learn a little bit more, take a look at these helpful videos from Apple.

http://www.apple.com/findouthow/macosx/#basics-anatomy

http://www.apple.com/findouthow/macosx/#basics-windows

http://www.apple.com/findouthow/macosx/#basics-move

Did the computer company you bought your PC off provide you with instruction videos?

Don't cry for Microsoft (the truth is, it never loved you)

Microsoft's history can be simply summarised. It made billions on the back of software that was in fact years behind the competition. What it did right, was to license the software for anyone who used a standard Intel architecture. This made it instantly poplar and useful for a lot of people. Others simply followed suit.

But Microsoft either always failed to make a great product for its time or never bothered. My money is on the latter. So many unpaid programmers making Linux the great operating system it is today must testify to that end.

It's easy to think that if Microsoft really wanted to, it has the resources to make the mother of all operating systems: small (comparatively), fast, stable, secure, bug free, easy to use, good to look at and pack full of useful features. Instead they came up with Vista.

It seams like Microsoft never really cared about its users more than it cared about planned obsolescence. I mean, making a product thats just good enough to keep your customer using it and still in need of the next upgrade may be Microsoft's only true skill.

But theres hope. You've heard of Linux. Maybe you've tried it, maybe you haven't. Linux is a derivative of Unix one of the oldest operating systems there is. But being old doesn't make Unix bad (unlike windows). Unix and Linux just keep getting more and more stable and nicer to use.

Unix based OS's like Linux (and Mac OS X and FreeBSD) are set to steal market share from windows. I foresee a future when only a few scared people won't move away from windows. This is because windows isn't getting really any better, but the others are. Even Mac OS actually seems to be getting better (arguably the best OS for those who want to use programs, rather than play with the OS) despite already being better than windows.

This is the catch up age. Making revolutionary improvements may now be relegated to changes in hardware not software (new touch screen input devices for example). Both Windows Vista and Mac OS 10.5 (leopard) have been called “evolutionary not revolutionary” and Linux is catching up fast.

I would say it's already there. Regarding Linux I have only one niggle left, which is not so much about Linux,more about the community for Unix derivatives. Those **nix (Unix type operating system) experts need to give help advice in both terminal commands AND gui (graphic user interface). Many new comers to Linux, don't ever want to open a terminal window. I have used terminal and know its nothing to be afraid of, but we the masses (and I include myself in the group) only want to use the user interface, we don't want to use terminal.

Linux will beat Windows only when community starts embracing the 'gui only' newbies. Better interest in Linux is good for all parties. What I couldn't say, is how long this will take.

Meantime those who want an alternative operating system to windows now, here imho (in my humble opinion) are the ones to choose. Mac OS, if you can afford it, Linux.

Quite simply, if your about to buy a new computer, or just have a little more then there is no question that Apple Mac OS X Leopard is the best OS at time of writing (and considering all the free, full version, easy to use professionally programmed software, they're better value than PC's).

If an Apple Mac is not viable, and you want to start (or take another look) at Linux these are my favorite distributions:

Ubuntu is the world leader Linux distro (distribution) because its backed by people with money and a large community. It's slick and nice to use.

Download the CD image, burn it and boot from it, your computer will not be change in anyway and you can try it out, all free, all legal:

http://www.ubuntu.com/

If you want nicer still, very fast and well optimised, try the latest version PCLinuxOS its achieved what Ubuntu has without the cash backing (kudos). If you want the 'up and coming” distro, try it, it recently shot to #1 at http://www.distrowatch.com/:

Download the CD image, burn it and boot from it, your computer will not be changed in anyway and you can try it out, all free, all legal:

http://www.pclinuxos.com/

Maybe you'd prefer a Linux distro with a long history of great accomplishments and a large professional user base. In that case Fedora, Red Hat or Open Suse might be for you. I would say, if they were the right ones for you, chances are you'd probably know that already. New to Linux users would be better to try Ubuntu or PClinuxOS.

Last but not least an option close to Linux but not. Pure Unix, the mother of all these advancements has (as I crudely understand it) one cool advantage over Linux. It truly separates the OS from the program layer, offering improved protection against the all too common 'shelf life' which makes the system suffer (most notably speed and stability) after too many programs have been installed and uninstalled. We'll now there's a rather windows like, user friendly version of Unix (FreeBSD) it's called PCBSD and its really worth a look:

Once again you can download the CD free and legal here:

http://www.pcbsd.org/

MAC vs PC: Software Availability

There is only one consideration to make as far a software availability goes.

Do you count the fact that due to their Intel architecture, you can install Windows Vista on an Apple MAC?

If you do, then obviously a MAC has more software available to it.

In fact the MAC has three ways you can run windows software on it.

1. With a dual boot, so you can shutdown the MAC OS and boot into windows.

2. Parallels visualisation software allows you to create a virtual machine into which you can install windows and it will run within a window not 'knowing' it's not the only operating system running. This gives one near equivalent speed (theoretically) but without the need to reboot and with some MAC OS integration.

3. Crossover is a program by codeweavers which allows one to install a Windows program directly 'onto' the MAC OS, allowing the program to execute as though it were running in Windows. The advantage is that you don't need a Windows license to run it. It also mean tighter MAC OS integration, but at the expense of speed and stability. Only a certain number (growing all the time) of Windows programs have been tested and are know to work with Crossover.

With all of these options the MAC does windows software well, and would be the clear winner if not for one thing. Games.

In my post I'm going out on a limb.Although Apple provides drivers for Window XP, I am generally talking about Vista here because its the latest release. Further more, Apple states that it does not support Windows on it machines (fair enough since Windows is more or less the competition). This means that none of the three options could be said to run Windows Vista optimally. That my friends, means everything to gamers.

The only way to get you OS at peak performance is to have the latest high performance support files (drivers for PC's, kext for MAC OS) and to have the OS unhindered (by running in a virtual machine – Parallels, or with api emulation - the way Crossover fools widows programs and the MAC OS into thinking they were made for each other).

With Apple not supporting Windows on a MAC we have to say that for most people its not going to run as well for games.

There is also the confusion that if you install Windows on a MAC, you'll need one copy (license) for that machine. Forgive me for the blatantly obvious but that makes it a MAC that is also a PC. The argument here is MAC or PC. Incidentally the term P.C. Originally meant 'Personal Computer', now it generally describes (as in these posts) 'machines which run Windows or Linux'.

So if we talk about an Apple MAC of the current line up, it can run windows programs and run them well, but I say it's still not the platform most used, and most trusted for games. And the are thousands of games out there.

There have been good speed tests of MAC's running Windows Vista but those normally have Vista installed and tweaked by experts.

Gamers need Windows unhindered, therefore software availability still goes to PC's.

MAC vs PC: Ease of use (or; Along came Vista)

The MAC OS ease of use is legendary. If you’ve ever used one for any length of time you’ll know what I mean.

In my experience, the only people who have ever argued the point are those who have actually never used it or are the type of person my friend Jesus is. He is a “computer guy” (FYI so am I). He claims to be able to fix any and all PC problems (FYI so can I). If you visit his house you would see the panels of every PC and when you ask him, all his computers have some kind of problem that he's “working on”. You see that’s what he want his computer for, to fix/upgrade/tweak. He doesn’t want to run programs or actually do things, he wants to fix his computer and is perpetually doing so. Defrag this, re-install windows that. Thats why the MAC OS doesn't suit him less thing that need attention (FYI my PC works just dandy, and I spend time doing stuff rater than tweaking).

I not really his fault, Windows has always been famous for having to be re-installed after some months the keep it running smoothly (because it simply becoms slugish and problimatic over time). Not to mention unstable. Can you say “blue screen of death”? The problem was then, that you have to be the type of user who can deal with that. Most users aren't.

However with the introduction of Wndows XP, the Microsoft OS offering was finally becoming acceptably stable with a longer install life span.

Theres no question that the Windows family was heading towards user friendliness. On the other hand, MAC OS X has gotten a bit more complicated. No real fault of Apples though, MAC OS has been getting more complicated just as the computing world itself has been getting more complicated. The better the processors become,the more we can do with out computers.

Was it now too complicated? I once wanted to change my OS X so it would auto log on, allowing it to boot without user intervention. So I asked my brother to do it. He had hardly ever used a MAC before and had never used OS X. It only took him about 4 minutes (we timed it) to find the setting and change it (and two of those were me just showing him some non task related MAC things). Yes it would seem that the learning curve on an Apple MAC is still palpable for noobs.

What about Vista, can it claim the same? When I installed Vista I was immediately impressed with its sleek new look. After about five minutes I was shocked to discover the looks are about the only things that have changed for the better. So much had changed that one had to reacquaint oneself with where to do common tasks. Had this been an improvement I would have had no gripe, but burying programs under new topic names is not intuitive. After playing for 10 minutes I was even less impressed, these changes where going to make things harder for a lot of people.

One of the big problems with Windows is that it gives one the impression it was designed for geeks, by geeks. Vista I'm sad to say is not an exception. If anything it the OS that proves the rule. I shuddered to think of all the 'non computer' people who in this world will have to use Vista because they don't know any better.

One of the arguments people like this have always used is that they don't want a MAC because they don't want to have to learn a new OS. “Learning 'computer stuff' was already harder than it should be” (I agree). It always stuck my as a funny kind of argument “I'm not moving to something easy to use and learn because I've gotten used to something difficult”.

For anyone with XP thinking of going to Vista, Believe me, going from Windows XP to MAC OS X would be easier than moving to Vista.

MAC OS X is definitely easier to use.

MAC vs PC Part one: Value for money.

Value for money in my opinion is just about the only consideration PC owner’s appear to have and the area that MAC owners seem less concerned with. Indeed the PC I am using now I built for €400 and at the time price was my only concern.

When comparing the cost of both machines I’m going to take into account software (some comparisons are hardware only). Oddly enough some people just don’t seem to think this is important when buying a new computer. I see huge amounts of friends who buy a new PC and then don’t really get much use out of it because it doesn’t have much software. They buy Microsoft Office, use Internet Explorer to connect to the net, and of course play solitaire. That’s about it. Happens all the time.

But without software, the computer is nothing. Just a big bunch of components. Both MAC and Vista PC’s come with bundled software and are usable right out of the box, but MAC shines in this area for having the superior quantity and quality software.

MAC’s come preinstalled with a suit of lifestyle programs (for photos/videos music etc) that are integrated with each other and the OS. The PC has some of these built in. Vista is better than any of its predecessors for allowing you to edit and keep track of photos for example and Windows Movie Maker is not bad. For other things, most PC’s simply come with bundled demo programs which lack the complete feature set or are crippled in some way.

One of the things that annoys me on the internet with these type of comparisons is that nobody seems to take into account software piracy when comparing machines. I see post and comments on forums about people who obviously don’t give any value the software that comes with a MAC. That’s because a lot of them simply get their software without paying for it (i.e. they pirate it). For the sake of those legitimate software users its worth pointing out the added value given to the MAC OS because of it great bundled software. The MAC is plainly better value software-wise ‘out of the box’.

As far as valuation purposes go, the actual operating systems MAC OS X and Windows Vista are no longer far enough apart to warrant any difference in value (bundled applications aside). I actually think that the MAC OS is still somehow better. I say somehow because it’s hard to put your finger on it. It’s just a better ‘user’ experience that you’d never understand until you used one (for a reasonable enough time to get to know it). This to me actually holds almost all the value because it is the software we all use everyday and I would end the argument right there except this ‘magical’ ease of use is difficult to quantify or appraise. For the sake of this blog, the operating systems of MAC OS X and Windows Vista have a similar enough feature set (something measurable enough) to give them more or less the same ‘on paper’ value (imho).

So, I’ll move right on to the hardware:

People are always comparing MACs to Dell. I think it’s really only fair to do this with the MAC Pro line and the Macbooks. Unless you intentionally want to give more points to MACs. You see the iMAC’s and the MAC mini’s don’t have many PC equivalents. Recently I read a brochure from Media Markt a Europe wide computer/homeware/cd-dvd superstore which advertised a PC the same size as a MAC mini. It had pretty much the same specs except it was black and had Windows XP installed (this was six months ago. It cost about €100 more than the MAC mini). Likewise I’m still looking for a real competitor to the iMAC in terms of miniaturisation. The only one that comes close it the Sony Vaio VGC-LS1. (http://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/PCOM/PCV-W101/feat3.html). I found the Sony at a web discounter for $1695, when configured with the same RAM, the closest iMAC has a 1” bigger monitor (20” unlike 19” for the Sony) and a far superior graphics card. It sells for $1674 from Apple).

I had an argument once with my brother about the iMAC coming with a corded mouse and how that takes up desktop space. Somewhere in amongst our debate, I asked him where is computer was. As it turned out he had the standard PC mini-tower sitting on top of his desk. Enough said. Credit must be given to the Macs in this are if you want to make a direct comparison.

If your were to compare computers of the same spec then adjust their prices based on miniaturisation then the iMAC and MAC mini come out clear winners.

By now (if you’re still with me) you probably think I’m a bit MAC biased and are screeming for the notebook and MAC Pro comparisons. I’m getting to those….

In my opinion the MAC line of notebooks is a bit lacking. They are great machines (as are many branded PC laptops HP, Dell, Sony Vaio for example), but I agree with my brother in that the MAC laptop entry level is not low enough.

My sister in law recently bought a laptop PC and I’m sure she would have bought a MAC if it was for those two factors: Cheap entry level (at the expense of processor power, but it is more than fast enough for her) and a big screen.

One thing is funny though; many people criticise the MACbooks for having smaller screens, but in case you haven’t noticed, laptop sizes are dictated by their screens. Give a laptop a bigger screen and the whole thing gets bigger. Sometimes a smaller screen (and therefore a smaller computer) is what you want, especially in a Laptop.

I personally prefer laptop with as large a screen as practical and therefore side with the PC’s on this.

One other thing common to laptops, is that Apple includes components into every machine that not everybody needs. Wifi, Webcame, Firewire etc. While I agree it would be nice to be able to buy the same machine for less without components that you deem unnecessary, because they’re already installed and the hardware is supplied by the operating system manufacturer, components tend to work better and require less user intervention.

Basically with MAC’s and good brand name PC’s, when the specs are similar you pay about the same, but the bottom line is, you can buy lower spec PC’s (or ‘no name’ PC’s with good specs) at far more affordable prices. Kudos PC’s.

My same criticism for MAC’s go to the MAC Pro line. I would like to see a far better entry level here. Instead Apple concentrated on other end of the market. 8 core machines. These computers have 4 processors with 2 processor cores in each. It’s pretty much 8 processors. But how many people are going to be able to use them? Most our processors are idle most of the time. As I type this, my AMD 64 3000 is hardly working above ‘idle’. To make use of 8 processors you need to have software that was written to utilise them, running on an operating system that was designed for them. Your computer will benefit from having a couple of processors running (dual core). It will mean you can run multiple apps and those in the background won’t have to take away power from you foreground applications. Unless your using specialist software (eg 3D rendering) you not really going to benefit that much. One would do better to buy more RAM (you can never get enough).

MAC pros have therefore the same problem that MACbooks have. No cheaper entry level. Some argue that if you want a cheaper machine, go for an iMAC or a MAC mini. But what if you want as much power as you can afford and I already have a screen? This is very common and it’s no less than shocking that there isn’t a better MAC Pro entry level.

I generally buy my screen at a different time to my computer. At the moment I’m ready to upgrade my machine so what MAC do I buy? A mini? No, too underpowered. An iMAC, and throw away my good monitor? A MAC Pro and pay more for power I don’t need and can’t really afford? There is a product missing from apples lineup. An entry level power machine (yes does sound a bit like a contradiction in terms) for those who already have a monitor.

For Laptops and Towers, I’m going to hand it to the PC’s for making things affordable to those who need it.

One last thing which affects the value is that Apple MAC’s are now Intel based. This means that a MAC can run Windows too. Apple also makes it easy to do so, with “boot camp” which automatically sets up a dual boot for Windows XP and writes Windows XP drivers for the MAC machine. There are other options too. “Parallels” is a virtualisation program which allows you to make a virtual machine in the MAC OS and run windows inside it. Or one could adopt “Crossover”, a product which emulates the Windows api inside the MAC OS (or if you prefer, tricks programs into thinking they are running in Windows allowing them to be installed on the MAC).

This is a versatility the PC doesn’t (barring running a hacked version of MAC OS X on a normal PC).

When it comes down to overall value. The MAC’s have it. No question. Why?:

1) Great bundled software.

2) Miniaturisation on the desktop for a better price.

3) Versatility (MAC’s run windows too – if you want)

Where the PC’s shine:

1) Lower entry level (all platforms).

2) Bigger laptop screens.

The only reason you might have to disagree was if either copy software (or already have a lot invest in PC software) or have never used a MAC for long enough (or both).

Coming up next: Ease of use…….