PC of Mac debate...heres an example as to why the Mac is my preferred choice. Yesterday my digital camera packed up. I went to Currys this morning and bought a relatively cheap Olympus point and shoot camera. It came with the usual cables (no SDHC card of course which was 'available separately'), manuals and a CD ROM. In the quick start user guide were the setup instructions. Windows: For Windows users ther was a page describing how to load the CD. Software had to be installed from the disc (mentioning that an upgrade to service pack 2 would be required for users on XP, available @ microsoft.com). Then you had to open the setup dialog>autorun>(if setup is not displayed open 'my computer' navigate hither and dither/open start menu/open launcher.exe/continue)>follow on screen instructions to install software>connect camera>options>charge battery>once battery is charged follow setup guide>install user manual>move folder to desktop. Mac: If you want to copy the manual to the computer; Insert CD>drag user manual icon to preferred location. Thats it. No software installation, no downloading from apple, no setup, no problem. This is why I prefer Mac and why theyre used in professional environments. You plug it in, it works. I havent even bothered to insert the CD as i dont need to copy the manual. My Mac is using Mountain Lion OS but i can still plug in my old USB video camera that uses digital tape and it just works. i plug in my printer..its there. no downloading, no software, no bugs... If you want an easy life and get stuck into taking photos, making music, creating stuff there is really only one option unless you like becoming a computer technician and constantly fixing stupid niggles and having to overcome the idiosyncracies of the clumsy OS. Windows is basically the same architecture that was used in the 80's..they havent moved on, but simply tried a thinly veiled attempt at copying the appearance of OS X...a new shop front with the same crap in the stock room.. and in an industry where 3-5 years is considered antique, it doesnt take long to figure why theyve got left behind in the phone OS market and basically every other market excluding the X-Box (which they dont even put their name to except for a tiny logo in the bottom corner of the packaging). Apples OS, Android, ginger Bread and every other smart phone OS has run away and the only reason why Windows is so prolific is because of its huge marketing and monopolising the market by jumping on the IBM model in the 80's when companies like Sinclair, Apricot, Amstrad and everyone else were trying to develop their own systems. The only ones who survived were Apple because they developed something better and are now (sadly in my book), the largest computer company in the world.
I use a PC and Window's for my business but my laptop and mobile are Apple - the reason is very, very simple: aesthetics. I like the aluminium shell and simplicity of my MacBook Pro and the iPhone is the same.
Last time I bought a gadget and plugged it into my pc, the pc did a search and found latest drivers, etc, don't recall having to use discs for a very long time. not a fan of either, but think the above is a weak argument. I am typing this on an iPad, have an iPhone, but have pc laptops for home and business. No favouring for the sake of it, just use what is good for the job, and decent value must play a part. yes, the mac has evolved around a specific industry, I.e. creative media, but other industries tend to favour the value option of pcs. So surely a case of horses for courses. Pete
