You may think this is a trick question because most people prefer PC over Mac, right? Well, more people may use PCs, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they are preferred. For the sake of argument (and this article), when I say “people,” I am referring to college students. And though they may sometimes act like party animals, they are still, in fact, people.
The Research
In a new study of over 2,200 college students released by Jamf this week, 71% either have a Mac or wish they did. By any scale, this is a huge preference over the alternative. What makes the number look even more unbalanced is when you consider the other side of the equation: only 29% would choose PC over Mac. To break the numbers down further:
• 40% use Mac
• 31% use PC but prefer Mac
• 29% use and prefer PC
Now consider this… The largest margin of victory in a presidential election was Franklin Roosevelt’s 60.8% to Alf Landon’s 36.5% in 1936.* That’s a ridiculous margin of “it’s not even a contest” success. And Mac exceeded Roosevelt’s margin by 10%? I’m just sayin…
* Just so you history buffs don’t start flaming me… Yes, I am well aware that James Monroe captured 98.5% of the vote in 1820. But c’mon, the guy basically ran unopposed.
Why Mac Over PC?
So what gives? Well, Mac does. In fact, it’s the gift that keeps on giving.
The students were asked to select the primary reasons for choosing their platform, and here are the results:
All reasons rate higher for Mac versus PC, and the only reason rated higher for PC was price. However, it’s not exactly a news flash that people use PC because they think they’re cheaper. (I won’t go into the Total Cost of Ownership rant here – there is plenty written on that subject elsewhere.)
Employers Better Be Mac Friendly
Now granted, Jamf is an Apple Device Management company, so they do have a vested interest in touting Mac usage. In essence, they are targeting employers with this data. And for good reason.
“The next generation of job seekers wants their tech to just work so that they can focus on their job. They see Mac as more modern, intuitive and reliable – and would like to continue to use it as they launch their careers,” said Dean Hager, CEO, Jamf.
The report declares that “67% of students, regardless of what computer they own, agree they are more likely to choose and stay at an organization that offers them a choice in work computer.” That’s fairly significant. If 2/3 of fresh, young, and motivated talent would consider passing on a job if they had to work on a PC, companies better be prepared to offer a Mac alternative.
Familiarity and Value
The researchers also state that “next generation job seekers see Mac as more intuitive, more modern and more easily integrated with their other devices. This leaves them free to be more productive, creative and collaborative. Most are already familiar with Apple products, and the majority believe Mac offers the highest value.” I’m down with that.
So, would you consider passing on a job if you had to use a PC instead of a Mac or vice-versa? I have to admit, I probably would. And if you haven’t guessed it yet, “I’m a Mac.”
I wish I had the ressources.
“Like the brand”. That’s the #1 reason. The worst reason to buy something. It signifies blind allegiance. That is rich. They buy Mac because Mac right now is regarded as more stylish and cool and we’re sheep when we’re at that age. Another reason is a lot of video editors (usually low end) seem to prefer OS X video programs and YouTube/TikTok/Twitch/Instagram are extremely popular right now.
Now let’s look at what people do to actually get things done. Its a PC world. Almost never do I ever see Macs in offices and businesses. Why? Because they cost too much and business people buy on value not style. They are not sheep. They can’t afford to be sheep. Sheep are often buying with daddy’s money so price is of little concern to them. Before Apple Silicon arrived the smart people that wanted to use OS X also avoided the Apple tax by using OS X on compatible PC hardware. Ironically the high benchmark scores for OS X machines (before the new Mac Pro arrived with its insane pricing) were all on Hackintoshes (PCs running OS X or OS X86) and by a significant margin. The best temperatures were always on Hackintoshes as well.
Now that Apple Silicon has arrived and is blowing a lot of the competition away those of us that prefer Windows are hoping for the ability to combine both, much like some of us did with OS X on PC’s. Use the OS you want with the best value hardware. Linux is now able to run on Apple Silicon, hopefully its not much longer before Windows can as well but many people think it will never happen thanks to the stubbornness of big companies like Apple and Microsoft. We can only hope for some resourceful person to figure out a way. Nobody sane person would ever use virtualization.
It’s becoming less and less of a PC world by the day.
Before I retired, enterprises were converting away from the Wintel client/server model to web based apps because PCs are so hard to keep running. Linux based thin clients are the direction that enterprises are steering towards.
My 16″ MacBook Pro would probably put your Hackintosh in the ground, and it’s thermals make your Hackintosh look like a hot air cooker.
Apple has been developing its own silicon for 13 years, and the new MacBook Pros demonstrate there is nothing on the Windows side that can compete. You can buy a Windows laptop, but you can’t buy a Windows laptop with Apple Silicon.
With Microsoft doing everything it can to insure new computer buyers need a new machine, more and more eyes will be on the AS computers and will be seeing its price/performance/efficiency advantages. Shortly after its introduction, the M1 Mac Mini became the most popular PC in Japan.
x86 is at a definite disadvantage because of its variable length instruction set, so its single core speed is limited by the CPU width which can be designed for the architecture. The Firestorm cores in the M1/A14 are probably the most sophisticated processors in the world, with a 690 instruction execution queue, a massive reorder buffer, and an out-of-order execution unit capable of running eight instructions in parallel.
This is an awfully strange time for you to be tooting the horn for the Wintel homogeny – I leave you with a video comparing a desktop Alder Lake computer to the latest MacBook Pro:
https://youtu.be/-2uJuIS3oHs
I grew up as a PC person but was required to get a Mac when I entered architecture school, and I will never go back. Yes, they’re expensive, but they are so much better in every other way. I have a PC (SurfacePro) for work because it runs engineering programs and Mac doesn’t, but I would never a PC as a personal computer. I’m not a big fan of the Surface. Yeah, it’s a touch screen, but never have reason to use that feature, I just find it annoying when I accidentally touch it and things move so I disabled the touch screen.
Admittedly, I haven’t done the math but for the cost-of-ownership favoring Windows PCs, do you add in the cost of Windows software (beyond that which comes on the PC)? Apple upgrades the OS about yearly at no extra cost. Windows is …
I had been a PC user since MS-DOS but in about 2007 I got so fed up with Windows-related issues that I sprung for a MacBook Pro. Having used Macs since then (and running Windows in Parallels for work-related needs), generally I find that the Macs network together more smoothly than Windows computers (I have set up Windows and Mac networks at home and at my office and MacOS usually has fewer glitches). Macs and MacOS are not perfect and have some hiccups now and then. When I used to take my PC to a venue to give a lecture, connecting to the projector was often problematic. Most of the time my MacBook Pro would identify the hardware and connect.
I have found Windows 7 less troublesome than XP (more than half the time powering down XP froze, requiring forcing powering off) and 10 less troublesome than 7 (seems to be a very stable OS). But, as a user since Windows began, how long did it take MS to get there?
I agree that each type of hardware and OS has strengths and weaknesses and people need to evaluate for themselves, consult resources and other people, and consider the applications they expect to use, and make choices accordingly. Accessories for Mac, such as RAM and internal HDD/SSD are overpriced from Apple and I wish users could upgrade more. Apple seems to be slowly removing items which I’d like to see remain, at least a while longer. Tech support for Apple is head and shoulders above anything I ever had with a PC product – good luck getting support for Windows.
Sorry, but this is at least misleading. Officially Mac has 5% of marketshare. Officially. Unofficially there is 90% of East Europe, Russia, China, India, Africa, South East Asia who uses home built or small shops build computers with WINDOWS and never pay for a Licence so they cannot be tracked down. If u take into consideration from the top of the Empire state to the last village in the jungle that has a computer or laptop, Apple has less de 1% marketshare.
Given you’re in the business to sell Apple products, I expected your results to be what they are. Me, buying a Mac was one of my worst mistakes as an adult.
I feel that articles like this do a disservice to young people who take things like this at face value and overspend for a mac product that is essentially worthless when it comes to things like spreadsheets, and productivity programs, and business-driven applications/programs.
It is great for creative-driven industries, but since the majority of most degrees right now are not in creatives and deal with either business and/or computer science making it seem like Mac is a better product is basically lying to them and manipulating them into a product that they will regret, and have to replace with a PC regardless in order to get a degree and a job worth anything.
Organizations have built out an IT regime around the Windows domain over decades. Apple’s stronghold has always been with creative professionals, most of them lone wolves or work in smaller organizations. It is very hard to convince large enterprises to change by the employee preference argument alone when the tried-and-proven Windows networking formula cannot be easily grafted to Macs in its full glory. It is not that they don’t care about employee preference but manageability overrides that concern. A better persuasion to employers would be better security. You can still get Trojan horses, but it would be exceedingly hard to spread viruses on Macs (with up-to-date security patches).
It’s interesting that 64 percent of college students like the brand of Apple more than PC. I’m trying to figure out if I should get a Mac for Christmas since my current laptop is almost dead. Thanks for the tips and I’ll look up the prices for different Macs.
I AGREE
I work with both Windows and Apple. Yes I prefer the Apple with my iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and HomePods. For entertainment Apple’s great. Yet at my work, i decided to donate my Windows computer the the owner of the company and I’d do my work on my own MacBook Pro. Well after a few weeks I was searching for a Windows notebook to replace my MacBook Pro at work. My Mac was worthless working primarily in Explorer, Microsoft Word, Excel and editing photos. I have an old 32-bit photo editing program that works great for my uses. It was nearly impossible for me to work effectively on my Mac. My desk I have my windows computer running dual monitors and i’m happy with the performance. I use AVG free anti-virus and don’t have any virus issues. I don’t use any email on my windows computer. I save that for my Outlook for Mac. I like Mac but I feel they’re leaving us in the cold. Memory max of 16GB, Small SSD Hard drives. It’s nearly impossible to upgrade the newer MacBook Pro Models. I like to keep my system quick with upgrades, Keep the system running efficiently.
I ramble. I think there’s pros and cons to both Windows and Mac’s. They each have their pros and cons. I’d like to see the day where I can upgrade my RAM over 16GB. Intel states their chipsets can take 32GB RAM, yet macOS Mojave 10.14.5 states Memory Max 16GB. The front side bus speed is fast enough so where’s the choke point. The ram.
It the words of Rodney King, “Can’t we all get along?” They’re all good for their uses.
I feel like this article is too baiting to not respond. In my experience of utilizing and having to troubleshoot computers, Macs still dominate the experience. I personally grew up using Apple computers, but my experience started on system 7.5, not the earlier models. I have to say my love for system 9 was a bit weird, but I loved the culture that was bred into the classic OS. It seemed a subscription to MacAddict was necessary to fully feel the experience of utilities and apps before the modern app store. In any case, I had owned 2 Windows OS computers in the following years. One was a built system using the most cost-effective parts possible, and the other was a Gateway brand computer. Both suffered terribly because of bad hardware choices. The built unit was cheap, so it was understandable. The Gateway was not cheap but suffered due to Gateway deciding to remove the fan from the video card and allow system fans to do the job of cooling the unit. It failed horribly. After those experiences, I swore off WIndows for the rest of my foreseeable future, and although Apple has made dumb decisions, the OS still doesn’t snag up like a fishing line in a creek the way Windows OS does. As I transitioned between my jobs, I was fortunate to be able to use Macs and never even dealt with PCs until my most recent job where I was asked to step in as an interim IT guy. I wish it had been more temporary, but I ended up filling the role for too long. Although the offices mostly had Windows computers, I just cannot recall a time where I had to stop my work to fix a Mac. The same cannot be said of the Windows computers in the office, even though they all ran some form of antivirus AND Windows Defender. I remember getting stumped on one specific troublespot with a Windows machine thinking the Windows Defender was working. No matter what I tried, I could not get the computer to work right, so I decided to download a free version of antivirus from our ISP. It ended up finding and removing the virus that caused the issue. Three hours of my day were lost to a stupid virus that Windows Defender didn’t catch. So we know there are viruses and a subscription to Nod 32 is absolutely necessary on WIndblows machines. That is not new, but what surprised me the most was the lack of user intelligence on a machine that allowed vastly damaging options available to the common user. I had one user who was vehemently against using a Mac, because they “knew” how to use WIndows PC. However, I was then called over to her desk a short time later to fix a document that would not open in the right app. I soon realized that knowing how to use an OS just means they are more familiar with seeing the Windows desktop. It doesn’t mean they know how to use it. In any case, there are boatloads of articles out there which detail how Macs are superior in every way to Windows machines in fluid operation and lack of clutter. The only thing the Windows community has to defend is exactly what the graph shows – price. As long as people love their money over their experience, they will always use Windows. Those of us that want a tool to do what we actually love will always love a Mac. It simply gets out of the way.
Kevin, with all due respect, NONSENSE-RHETORIC-BALONEY. The stories you are recylcing sound as old as system 7.5 which you nostalgically bring up. I use both platforms and I still run Windows 7 from Boot Camp (not virtual in Parallels, etc.) and it is on and off networks and I can’t remember ever having a virus or issue with it in several years.
Frankly, while I have a Windows 10 office computer when I’m in the office, I think Windows 7 was completely trouble free. Yes, Windows 10 has had some hiccups, but, I have never seen the blue screen of death and I don’t have issues with it and neither do the people I support and fix their computers as a hybrid person who is not full-time IT and works in many areas.
You simply do not state facts that are relative to 2019 experiences. Even one of the other writers of this thread points out that his creative Adobe software runs slow and like crap on MAC OS. Remember when Apple started fighting with Adobe and tried to shut them out for awhile so they could dominate the software on MAC with their own? Yes, MS Office on the MAC is not the same experience on Windows. But, it was created for Windows.
Everything you state belongs in the archives and does not reflect current reality and too many people in this thread that love MAC and out there reading and writing Apple related copy and magazines, etc. are just overloading on KOOL-Aid and buying into a campaign of brainwashing. It’s almost become like a cult.
Of all the people that praise the MAC/Apple with the kind of baloney I hear so much, ask them the last time they used Windows? Chances are, they just dropped a lot of money on an Apple and need to convince themselves of what a great investment it was. Ever know somebody who bought a new car and keeps praising it even when it shows characteristics of a “lemon?” They’ll never admit it to anyone. Some will stubbornly keep buying it for the status and prestige that they are part of an elite club, also, and want to convince themselves how smart they were in making the right decison.
Viruses? Well, yeah, if I was a hacker and I wanted to infect computers, why would I not choose Windows vs. MAC. It has less users. But, most of this is common sense and education. Don’t open phishing emails, for example, and don’t go to the dark web to view content on websites that put you in danger. If you explain that to someone, you will not get a lot of virus issues very often. I may be more savvy than the average user, but, once I fix a virus for someone and explain this to them and what to look for, I usually don’t have a repeat problem. Of course, if you are addicted to bad URLs, bad things will happen and if you engage with a lot of strangers sending email attachments, what do you expect?
Is the MAC a little easier? Gee, this is 2019, not 1986. Even senior citizens are computer literate and if people are challenged, then, they can buy touch screen IPADS using simple software. I still know people today that don’t know everything about Excel, but, they get around in it to read spreadsheets and do what they have to do using it every day, but, still cannot create calculations, etc. If it is important to your business or personal use, you make the time to learn it.
I have a friend that was using a very old LOGIC version that he stubbornly didn’t want to upgrade because all his files/audio templates were in the old format and he did daily commercial production for radio stations. He didn’t want to make the time to learn Adobe Audition or upgrade to a newer Logic version which would have meant using a newer OS, converting over tons of old files/templates of audio, etc. It wasn’t the money to buy a newer computer, etc. It was the time to learn. Well, finally, it took a crash and the realization that he was running out of options to find old refurbished 15-year old hardware that still worked with this ancient version of Logic and ran an older OS. He sat with someone for 2-weeks and learned Adobe Audition, loves it, and as a footnote, he has the Adobe Audition on a PC because one of the radio stations he does voicetracking for and he uploads his audio files to, works more seamlessly through the PC they gave him. This person was a MAC guy almost 20-years. He now loves the new software and he is very happy with his PC. As a footnote, I use Sound Forge for audio, not Adobe Audition and find it simpler and just as capable with my Izotope plug-ins. But, if/when I have to use Adobe Audition in a situation, I can and do.
I’m talking to professional people here, whether it is business software or creative software, not to a 70-year old who never used a computer before looking for a new hobby to buy a MAC and learn how to use a computer and if it is a youngster, well, they are capable of learning anything. All this old dated rhetoric about Windows being hard to learn is just that old rhetoric. If you handed someone a 2019 MAC/Apple laptop and put it side by side with a Windows 10 TOUCH-SCREEN LAPTOP, they would be up and running in comparable time. In the old days, you clicked right one way to get an action on a MAC vs. Windows and so much was not intuitive. Today, we are up to the 12th version of (a) software and the bugs and the way it works have been streamlined, made easier and are much more intuitive, in most cases. Is anyone drinking the kool-aid going to tell me that using an Apple laptop “Touch Bar” is better/easier than just having a touch screen on your laptop?
I hope someone who is on the cusp of making a decision on what to buy, etc. is reading this instead of just asking a friend who has an IPhone or an Apple laptop, etc. for an opinion. If someone just spent almost $1500 for a top tier loaded I-Phone or a top tier Apple laptop, what do you think they are going to say if you ask them how they like it? People form habits and they don’t like change.
If the office has a contract for Xerox copiers and the lease is coming up, it’s just easier to renew the lease with Xerox again, then it is to go review Sharp or Toshiba or Canon, etc. and their features, etc. Some companies go out to bid on contracts, but, the process is a headache. Sort of, like people hate buying a new car. It’s like something they have to do every few years, if they lease. But, few people enjoy the process of buying or leasing a car. If you’ve been in an Apple environment for 10-years, like some people, you just continue to recycle the same old same old and you are convinced that you are right. It takes time and it is gradual for people to become enlightened or fed up and make a change. Apple still has some time, but, it is not trending in the right direction.
Maybe the answer is what one person on this thread said. SELL the computer/laptops division and just become a services company. Sony made some great VAIO computers and sold it. IBM sold out to Lenovo. The status quo cannot continue without something shaking out whether it is Apple losing market share or something and the sad part is that it is all Apple’s fault. It is arrogance in not listening to their customers.
You need to build what customers need and want with their input. Unless you are continuing to put out innovation all the time like when Steve Jobs was there, you cannot operate on the culture of arrogance that your customers should adapt to what you want to sell and on your outrageous terms and pricing, etc. That is backwards.
When Apple was inventing the IPOD (actually refining and streamlining the mp3 experience and not inventing it) or you are introducing the first Apple I-Phone that was a game changer in design, etc.from anyone else, for example, you cannot dictate to your customers to always accept your agenda in design, replacement, etc. It should be a partnership and Apple does not operate that way. They are not doing studies on what people want, getting feedback, listening to their customers, especially the ones that are unhappy.
One last thought, I was listening to Kim Komando’s comment on a podcast last week. She hates Facebook. That aside and put into perspective, she brought up older similar sites that were very popular and vanished very quickly. Friendfinder, My Space, etc. Facebook has lost customers this year and is very slowly declining or in more fairness, let’s just say they are trending toward a loss in customers and no growth. When you are arrogant and don’t listen, you can disappear or become irrelevant in a slow burn.
If Apple made a new 17-inch Macbook Pro, I’d probably buy it. But, then, I don’t know. I want a touch screen. I also hear rumblings that new Apples will soon ditch Intel and may not be compatible to run Boot Camp. Again, another example of why I would not buy a new Apple Macbook Pro. I have to run Windows, too, and if I’m dropping $4000 on a laptop, I want to run both operating systems on it.
Not sure what all that was about, but it’s obvious you’ve never worked in enterprise support.
Win PCs – especially Win7 – are a real pain and are constantly suffering from infections of one from or another simply because it’s so difficult to insure that maintenance is pushed out to every PC, and there is constantly malware and ransomware going out and encrypting file shares.
BTW, Apple just introduced the MacBook Pro 16 inch which is a real powerhouse, and proves Apple listens to their customers by combining the best features of the scissor switch and butterfly keyboards to the laptop, and much greater value in its stock configurations (not to mention the best audio in a laptop). Configurations are available up to 2.4ghz core i9, 64 GB RAM, and 8 TB NVMe SSD.
I’ve been using a Mac since my first one — a Mac Plus — in 1986, so you won’t get any argument from me over the Mac-vs.-PC debate. However, I do feel compelled to correct you about your Presidential election history. The largest share of the popular vote by a US Presidential candidate in the modern era was racked up by Lyndon Johnson in 1964, who received 61.1% of the vote to Barry Goldwater’s 38.5%. Perhaps only someone old enough to have owned a Mac Plus would know that, but those are the correct statistics.
You are correct about Johnson winning the largest share of the popular vote, but Roosevelt/Landon had the largest margin of victory – 24.3% for FDR as opposed to 22.6% for LBJ. I actually had to look it up because I almost went with the 1964 election as well!
Okay… I just looked it up again (as I am wont to do) and it appears we both are wrong – Harding/Cox had a 26.17% margin. At least the error doesn’t necessarily invalidate the point I was making regardless. :-)
And though I am not old enough to remember any of these elections, my first dance with Apple came in 1981 by learning basic coding principles and playing Castle Wolfenstein on an Apple II Plus. Ahhhh – those were good times indeed!
In terms of margins, you’re absolutely right — for both 1920 and 1936. I was thinking only about the winning percentage of the vote, nite the margin, and I obviously read your original post too quickly (if you’ll notice the time of my earlier comment, it was made at 3:13 AM, so that’s my excuse for overlooking some of the details!).
It’s not like I haven’t done that before – no casting stones here!
The answer is simple: Getting around in Windows is a total pain (I was going to use stronger language). Mac’s OS is so much more intuitive – simple drag and drop functionality… easy to locate files… constant potential virus issues. We have PCs and Macs here, and I HATE when I have to use the PC.
I love apple, expensive but well worth it. Pc’s are so 1990. Why drive a Ford when you could drive a Tesla.
Really :), try to get some files from a network shared usb drive conected to a multifunction printer. Mac is horrendous to use in any network that is not only mac. Mac is really really poor as an OS, 75% of the world does not build software for Mac. In my country there is not one accounting software on mac, u cannot conect a mac to a billing machine because the state does not develop any tools for mac and happens in entire continents not just some countries. U people think that if Macs are a fancy trend in US or UK the whole world thinks and does the same. It doesnt.
Oh – you got me with the old “Mac vs. PC” Bait.
I’ll chime in. First of all, I’ve been “all-in” when it comes to the Apple eco-system. I have been drinking the Kool-aide for about 10 years. The product is sexy, very well thought out, works nearly 100% of the time and clearly costs more.
Perhaps that’s why it’s so desirable. Not everyone can afford or wants to pay for a premium-brand experience. People will always want what they don’t have or can’t currently afford.
I’ve been able to justify the apple premium ($) with the fact that I have the discretionary income, enjoy the interaction (experience) and have excellent support options available between AppleCare, or rolling my own with OWC. Not everyone can say that.
Apple has become somewhat of a status symbol. They clearly have their pros and cons. Given some of my most recent Apple purchases, I am not so certain that I will be so brand loyal on my next round of technology purchases. In fact, I’m not so certain that Apple will enjoy the next 10 years as they have the last. The competition has woken up. There are clearly unhappy Apple users (Just check Youtube).
Windows has gotten better. I run Windows 10 and Office 365 on my MacBook Air (Boot Camp) for work. I can tell you that Word, Excel and PPT perform so much better than on my MacOS (Mojave).
To add insult to injury, my Adobe products (LightRoom and Photoshop) ran so slow, I almost returned my ($2,500) iMac for a refund.
This race isn’t over yet and I don’t believe that your stat’s accurately portray the current sentiment that I have been experiencing.
My last job was with a newspaper (a cheapskate company that at the time was part the New Zealand Herald) but even they let me use a Mac. All the operators used Macs (as all newspapers and publishers should). If I was still working I wouldn’t go with an employer who wouldn’t let me have a Mac. Having to work for a living is enough of a pain without being forced to use equipment you don’t want a bar of!
You will get more bang for the buck with a Dell Windows XPS fully loaded compared to paying through the roof for a Mac. The latest Dells XPS have swing out hard drive doors for easy access to upgrades. They include i7 6 core as standard and 16GB ram latest version and video cards from AMD Radeon or Invidia that are made for video. SSD for made drive and lots of bays for second drives or BluRay burner. Add Windows 10 Professional or Windows 7 Pro if you can get it and this is a great system for photo and video editing and easily upgradeable for ram, harddrives, video card for a do itself, unlike Mac which ask you to use a Mac store to do upgrades and pay a premium. Love the Mac OIS but you certainly pay a lot for the priviledge to use it.
But the question is, how many of those Dells will you have to buy before you finally get a new Mac, let me give you a hint 3 – 4. Let me give you one more clue, how long does it take you to find the drivers and other stuff when you try to add something to your PC?
I have used every single Apple computer since MacIntosh, but I am appalled by Apple’s tepid (almost frozen) support to computer users. In their way to make more money and entice new generations, now toys supersede tools instead of the other way around. Just an example: the only Apple I can use for work in a plane –unless I am in business class– is a Macbook air 11. That model was eliminated from the lineup, so users can switch to the Ipad, which is useless to me if I want to run serious applications or exchange files in a physical setting (not the cloud).
It would be more honest for Apple to sell their computer line, so us, old loyal sunsetting folks, to follow those supporting this line of electronic connection to the world.
And most importantly, what Percent of People USE each operating system worldwide? Windows is about 90%.
Having said that, the key Mac feature is its intuitive and easy to use interface (GUI). Second to none. Windows is awkward and malware-filled. Linux is even more complicated to use with its text command interface.
If 20% of people used Mac, Windows would become history in six months. How to accomplish that? Slashing Mac prices 50% (ye Apple can do it and even increase profit) and allowing Mac clones (to have more options like more headless Macs).
Agreed, for Windows they make the operating system so anyone without much education can use it. That said, it would be great if there was an option to convert it to graphics or photo mode, so it was setup properly for those types of users. Turning on file extensions is one thing I do first to reset default, so I know file is jpeg, psd or gif etc. Also if they could set the date of file to date modified not date created by default that would be very useful. Lots of other examples. Fortunately these things can be configured from the default settings. Would be nice if the planners know more about photography and graphic design when designing the interface. Mac is a bit better in interface.
Pleeeeease… the old “windows is 90% of the market so people must like it” is tired and ridiculous. People who buy their own computers and software are more likely to want a Mac. Corporations buy the vast majority of Windows computers because they bought into it way back during the NT days (rather than go with Novell), and have vast investments in IT staffs who insist on continuing to buy it despite being raped by Micro$oft for licensing… all because they have poured their own money into getting certifications to use Micro$oft products and don’t want to be out of a job for telling the boss he’s been wasting his money for a few decades. Most of the people who actually buy Windows PCs for their home only use a browser and Outlook Express. If they own any software, it’s MS Office pirated from work so they can justify “working at home.”
Talk about over the top spin! Please! Are you campaigning for a job at Apple? Article is such baloney. I can do a poll and get any results I want. Same thing with taking a lie detector test. You can be found guilty or innocent depending on who gives the test. I have 2-Apple Macbook Pros and I will never buy a MAC again.I still have the units and an IPAD and I’m on your email list, but, I HATE APPLE! It’s about drinking the koolaid now. NO VALUE – NO INNOVATION – WAY OVERPRICED – DON’T CARE ABOUT CUSTOMERS ESPECIALLY LAPTOP CUSTOMERS. So many examples. I do video editing. Discontinued Final Cut Pro abruptly with no support for pros, a few years ago. Stopped offering a 17-incher to save money because 15-inch screens are cheaper and cookie cutter. Again, abruptly.Ignored updating Mac Pros and when they finally did, they priced them out of the galaxy. Made it impossible to upgrade ram and drives in laptops by putting memory on the board. Stubbornly refuse to make touch screen laptops probably they think it will hurt their IPAD business. Outrageous that there is no touch screen laptops! And they created that stupid dumb row where the FKeys go as if it is a premium innovation when they could do a touch screen. They stop supporting older IPADS, IPhones, etc. too quickly to force you to buy new ones because it stops updating the OS and we all know of the problems with slowing down older units, etc. I have an older IPAD and now I can’t even use it to update I-Tunes files on my computer because it stops updating OS and other issues.Apple support wanted me to go back to a 3-year old version of I-Tunes and install it on my computer so I could update songs with an older IPAD I have. Innovation? A $300+ speaker in 2019 that only plays music! IPhones with tons less features than the Samsung Note and it is more expensive with less RAM. Where’s the innovation in features and other stuff in the I-Phone? Where’s the new features, etc. that nobody else has?? What’s coming later this year?? Any foldable phones? Any stylus pencils with remote like the Note has? How much longer with the Apple SE model be able to update and be supported? But, you keep drinking the kool aid! It’s really annoying to pick up a Macworld or Maclife or other magazine and get nothing but articles like this one. NEVER A CRITICAL WORD ABOUT APPLE. Well, keep drinking the kool aid. I found your article condescending and insulting to anyone with intelligence.
One could compose an equally negative list for Windows. Not that you would try to do that, you know, to be as even handed as you accuse the author of not being. Yes, Apple has its problems, abandoning software being among them. And making laptops that you can’t upgrade being another. And Genius bars that are not even semi-literate. But try buying a cheap PC without crapware. Or even an expensive one. Windows 8, is, thankfully, mostly dirty water under the bridge. But how long do you suppose it will be before Microsoft mucks up Windows 10?
Frankly there are many reasons to love and to hate both platforms. Sadly, we have few other choices, though Chromebooks are coming along. And the Chrome Web browser has obliterated Internet Explorer and Edge on Windows. It’s less dominant on the Mac. So pick your poison. Sadly you may not have a choice in the business world. That is until the current generation of Mac lovers moves into the marketplace. Or Chromebooks make it in the enterprise. Which is unlikely to happen until you have a Chrome compatible version of Office, which still works fine on a Mac, by the way. And, if you must live in both worlds, as remarked above, you can run Windows in virtualization on a Mac, quite transparently if you wish, as both VMWare Fusion and Parallels Desktop offer a “Coherence” mode that works without the Windows desktop.
At the same time, I disagree with MaX. A 20% Mac marketshare would in no wise doom Windows. 20% is hardly critical mass. Fanboys are as bad as trolls. Their enthusiasm undermines their credibility. Sadly they are equally oblivious.
B. Jefferson responded eloquently and “got it.” I trust our author Mark did, as well. I blew up because it hit a nerve.
Not to be redundant from what I wrote and my frustration with the way Apple continues to trend its behavior and direction, there is room for both environments and arguably, at this point a need for both. I do a lot of video editing and prefer Final Cut, but, I’m watching closely how Sony’s new software develops, Catalyst for the PC because it would be a game changer for me in dropping MAC completely. I also have to use business applications and I prefer the way they run to MAC options, as well as, the need to be compatible with others in business and on a business PC platform.
But, the real nerve is how there is such little criticism of Apple. You pick up or should I say you read in digital form any major pubication and nobody will say anthing negative about Apple. Nobody will call them to task or challenge them on what they do. Politically, it’s easier to be critical in a PC pubication of one of a multiple number of manufacturers and beat up on Windows, but, I think some of the Apple writers are afraid of being closed out of the loop by Apple because they exert so much control over apps getting in the APP Store and so many things. And, would it be good business sense to be critical of Apple selling a one company magazine? You’ll never find a John Dvorak type article in any Apple/MAC magazine. They are not journalists. If you critiqued an Apple laptop, you’d be driving away readers, alienating Apple, the company and probably affecting Apple and Apple related products that spend money on advertising to reach Apple readers on the platform. Bad reviews could even influence someone to think of buying another brand which would mean a PC. I was surprised my post wasn’t moderated out for being negative in this thread.
No clones also means less innovation and Apple can keep their pricing out of the universe. It’s Apple’s way or the highway. The Microsoft Surface is a nice product, but, MIcrosoft isn’t going to stop DELL from making a better model or something with different features, etc. Microsoft doesn’t make the best PC gaming laptops, either. With Apple there’s no alternative. Again, as a person with 2-Macbook Pros, and IPAD, etc. when I put the emotion aside from what I feel is a lack of listening to my needs, it is becoming harder and harder to justify continuing the relationship.
I don’t want to walk away from more than a decade long relationship, but, I feel more and more reality that, like what I said in critique in my first post, I feel like I’m kidding and lying to myself that this is a healthy relationship. You pay more money for a premium product that is better, but, the offerings are no longer satisfying. In the real world, there is no justification to pay lots more money for a lower processor, smaller SSD drive and the list goes on and on. IPhones that are falling behind in new features and innovation and yet charging more than anyone else for their product. I feel like I’m getting ripped off, missing features I want like a touch screen laptop, a generous hard drive without paying an extra $1000 for it or something and so on.
One final dig about the screen. The arrogance is really what I feel. People who bought 17″inchers paid a premium for it and loved it and were willing to pay for it. To this day they are classics and in demand. I was talking about it with a tech at one of the ExperiMAC stores. They are very much in demand. My 17-incher was around $3900, as I recollect and the other one about $3500. I was happy to pay an extra few hundred for the larger screen to offset any costs for poor Apple that couldn’t afford to support a smaller group of customers that wanted them. It’s like there is no regard or care. Even the way they discontinued them. They kept people guessing. I may have gone out and bought another one in a panic before they stopped making them. Same thing with the IPAD Nano. Basically just vanished overnight without a major announcement. I would have snapped up 1 or 2 more. Saw one on EBAY for over $2000. It’s not like a discontinued item with leftover stock winds up at Target or Walmart 6-months later. For the most part, Apple just shuts it down pretty quickly with little or no warning. You don’t see discontinued brand new product 6-months later at Mac Mall very often.
It’s like Apple just doesn’t care what their customers think. It’s arrogantly up to their customers to simply adapt to what Apple wants to do. Invest in a cable and now a year or two later, they are going to the more universal USB-C after ripping people off with an overpriced lightning cable and lapstations. All up to me, the customer, to accept it and like it and get used to it. They never respond to how customers may feel. Staying and continuing in this relationship much longer makes me ask myself if I’m insane or a masochist.
Hmmm … you a troll? If you walk like a duck and talk like a duck you should just assume that everyone will just treat you like a duck (or a minion of the Android Army).
(Oh, and good luck with that economical $2K foldable phone. MTBF of a week or two and no software that takes advantage of the form factor. Hell of a buy.)
I bought a 17″ 2010 MBP (CTO) with a 2.66GHz Core i7, a 500 GB HD, 4GB 1066MH DDR for $2324 from the Apple Store – the 2011 I bought in 2012 to get the quad core 2.5ghz Core i7, with a 750 GB drive, 4GB, and Radeon 6770M from MacMall for $2299.99. To my knowledge that was the last of the 17″ MacBook Pros.
(Anyone who pays Apple’s price for RAM deserves what they get.)
I’ve never heard of a IPAD Nano, and am not sure what a lapstation is. (I did have a PowerBook Duo 2300c which had a docking station though.)
I really think that Apple’s RAM and mSATA drive prices are excessive, and since the 17″ MBP disappeared I’ve been buying 5K iMacs (which are RAM upgradable and represent a better value in price vs. performance). I got work to buy me a 27″ iMac (a couple of years before I retired) with 32 GB so I could put Win7 under VMWare Fusion and remote in with my 5K iMac.
I thought of going WINTEL for my personal stuff but being as I’ve actually USED PCs at work, I got tired the the annual system reimage and the accumulating glitchiness of a Windows system. Since I didn’t game at work, I found restoring a backup of the .vmdk actually saved me tons of time over the system reimage and subsequent software reinstallations.
In many cases Mac vs PC is driven by User needs such as better visual comprehension than verbal (one typical ADD trait) and little details like naming a storage volume with a meaningful name instead of a letter.
The latter little detail has a wide effect on device and system management including installation, backup, and restoration. “There can be only one” boot drive in windows. macOS, like many predecessor operating systems, allows many connected bootable drives and,T2 chip aside, allows booting from any of them which contains an OS bootable on the hardware.
Living in both of Winter and Apple environments has given me much appreciation for the ability to re-install OS X or macOS without having to reinstall applications. The time I have not spent restoring applications has made up for any perceived Wintel price advantage.
For continuing in both worlds, my favorite Winter machine is virtual inside a macOS host.
autocorrect got me
“Winter” should be “Winter”
“Winter” should be “Winter”
WINTEL!!!!!!!!
I don’t even have Windows on my iMac. I’ve never had the need to put it on.
I started programming with Hollerith Cards and IBM Mainframes and Apple II Computers with cassette tape drives in graduate school.
The first computer I bought was an Atari, because the original Apple II computers did not do lower case.
By the time I retired from the Air Force, Atari was out of business and the choice was Windows 3.1 or Mac.
Around the turn of the Century, I built my first Wintel machine from spare parts and a new motherboard and processor.
By 2005 I was working at a school with iMacs and MacBooks.
In 2007, my wife and I needed new computers and we chose a pair fo MacBooks., because “they just work” and I could spend more time doing useful things rather than maintaining and updating them.
In 2008 I got a new job supporting Wintel machines. Since then when anyone asked what kind of computer I had at home, I’d say “Windows keeps me employed, but I have a Mac at home!”
In 2012 a Mac Mini became my main home computer.
I retired in 2015.
I want a new Mac Mini, so tomorrow I start a new job doing warranty repairs for Dell, Lenovo, and HP, so I can afford a new Mac Mini (or maybe even a Mac Pro)!