Windows expert to Redmond: Buh-bye

[aryayush]

Windows expert to Redmond: Buh-bye
Scot Finnie says "sayonara" to Windows, but his search for Mac software continues

Scot Finnie


February 07, 2007 (Computerworld) -- Editor's Note: This is the third installment of a series in which longtime Windows expert Scot Finnie gives the Mac a three-month trial as his primary machine for work and home use. Be sure not to miss Part 1 and Part 2 of the series.

Bye-bye Windows! My three-month Macintosh trial has ended, but my permanent gig with the Mac is just getting started. Apple's MacBook Pro and Mac OS X are now my computer and operating system of choice.

If you give the Mac three months, as I did, you won't go back either. The hardest part is paying for it -- everything after that gets easier and easier. Perhaps fittingly, it took me the full three-month trial period to pay off my expensive MacBook Pro. But the darn thing is worth every penny.

What About Windows?

After hundreds of hours testing Windows Vista during its extensive beta cycle, I found myself wondering last year if it would turn out to be the best operating system choice for most people. That's when I decided to give Mac OS X a fair shake. In early November, I began a total-immersion trial of the Macintosh.

I started by making a brand new Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro 17 my primary computer. For a month before the trial officially started in November, and during the two weeks that followed, I worked on selecting products, converting data and setting up corporate software systems for my company, as well as finding solutions for personal use. Prior to my adoption of the Mac, I had one Windows computer for both business and home, so the Mac had to handle both sets of tasks too.

After living with the Mac for three months and comparing it with my Vista experiences, the choice is crystal clear. I've struggled to sort out my gut feeling about Windows Vista (see "The Trouble with Vista"), but the value and advantage of the Mac and OS X are difficult to miss. While I continue to work with Windows XP and Vista on a number of other machines, I am now recommending the Macintosh for business and home users.

Microsoft's marketing materials for a past version of Windows used the phrase, "It just works." But the only computer that tagline honestly describes is the Macintosh. Don't translate that in your mind as, "Yeah, so what, the Mac is easy to use." Any new computing environment takes some getting used to. The easy-to-use aspect is nice, but not all that significant. When Mac users say, "It just works," what they mean is that you spend more time on your work, and a lot less time working on your computer.

Note that my Mac runs Windows in the Parallels virtual-machine software, which I use frequently for a handful of specific tasks. The version of Windows I use there, and that I am currently recommending, is Windows XP. If you read "The Trouble with Vista," you'll see why I currently recommend XP over Vista. That recommendation may change at some later date.

I know that many readers will move to Vista anyway (as I have done on my main Windows PC). That's OK, as long as you go into it with your eyes open.
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If you are a die-hard believer in either side of the story, you are free to read the piece and form your own opinions, but please do not pollute this thread with idealistic posts bordering on zealotry. If you feel the need to debate, please do so in this thread.
On a similar note, I would like to post a disclaimer that the purpose of this thread is to spotlight an interesting piece of news and not to spark off yet another flame war.

The sentences boldened in the snippet above are facts that I wished to emphasize on.

 

[Arsenal_Gunners]

LOL you are careful as heck with that disclaimer and all
Nice info.

 

[aryayush]

Well, I do not want to be blamed for yet another flame war in the 'Technology News' section.

 

[Arsenal_Gunners]

I didn't get it in the first place why you two were banned.I for one do not blame you

 

[rajasekharan]

thats a nice piece of article . thanks mate .

 

[Pathik]

hey awesome artice arya.. U hav made a grand re entry with this one.. .. Really nice

 

[aryayush]

I think any person who reads Computerworld articles can attest to the fact that Scot Finnie, until now, had been a die-hard Windows supporter.

I didn't get it in the first place why you two were banned.I for one do not blame you

Thanks, buddy! The vote of confidence is highly appreciated.

 

[aryayush]

Ding! Mac vs. PC cost analysis, Round II

Ding! Mac vs. PC cost analysis, Round II
Whose software, reliability are better? Our findings might surprise you. Plus: Figuring in the Mac's fun factor.

Scot Finnie


August 09, 2007 (Computerworld) -- There's no question about it. My Mac vs. PC cost analysis column, which focused on the relative costs of Mac and Windows hardware, struck a chord. I was praised and lambasted around the Internet for it when it appeared in June.

It seemed to me that people who criticized this story missed the key points I was trying to get across:

1. This was a pure, hardware-based, speeds-and-feeds kind of comparison. I was comparing the hardware goods only, including CPU, chip set, RAM, video, display, hard-drive capacity and specs, ports and upgradeability, dimensions and weight, and so on.

In other words, I was attempting to make an objective comparison that did not inject any evaluation of the hardware, anything at all about the software, or anything about my personal experience with the operating systems and hardware involved. It was an on-paper comparison.

I did that purposely to lay the groundwork for further analysis about the value of Macs vs. Windows PCs. I started with the objective measures.

2. The main point I was trying to make is that when you compare Macs with comparably equipped Windows PCs, sometimes Macs beat Windows PCs in the price/performance comparison. Sometimes Windows PCs beat Macs. Overall, there's relative parity.

There is a time component to this kind of analysis. The Windows PC makers lagged behind Apple for a while on the CPU front, but with the release of the Santa Rosa platform (Intel's marketing name is Centrino Pro), many are catching up again. The value meter may be tipping a bit toward Windows PCs now as a result. But this ebb and flow is a natural part of computer valuations. It never rests. Pricing is always in flux.

It's definitely true that Apple Mac pricing has not always approached parity. I've made this comparison before. Macs have clearly been more expensive than Windows PCs in the distant past. But if you're talking about name-brand Windows PCs from reputable manufacturers like Dell, HP, Toshiba, Acer, Gateway, Lenovo and others, right now, the out-the-door pricing is more or less on par.

Important point: For a direct comparison to be made, there has to be a Mac SKU that directly equates to the exact set of features you want. And that's where we enter into a completely subjective realm and get away from intrinsic value.

Just because you don't want this or that small feature that the Mac offers doesn't mean that everyone else doesn't want it. And vice versa. So if you desire a specific set of features that falls between specific Mac SKUs and the way those machines can be configured, then some Windows PC somewhere may, in fact, be a better value -- for you.

This point isn't unique to computer sales. Buy a Honda automobile, for example, and you'll find there are three or four models for any car type, and the only options are dealer installable. Like Honda, Apple has smartly positioned its specific models.

There's also a corresponding point to be made: The Macintosh lineup consists of five model lines and 12 basic SKUs (or specific models), each of which offers additional configuration. There are three desktop and two notebook model lines.
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Here are some of the other quotes in the article that I found very compelling. I've been trying to tell people these things for quite a few months now.

If you're not that familiar with Macs, you have to open your mind, take a look at the different Mac models and closely compare the specs.

Though it's true that in some categories there are only two or three Mac offerings, all in all there is a very solid, rich spread of software makers creating Mac applications. As a longtime software reviewer, I've been surprised by the quality of these applications.

The Mac represents the most reliable vehicle you can buy (perhaps a Toyota?). There's a hidden value to having far fewer problems than average. And a big segment of the computer-using marketplace doesn't seem to want to acknowledge that.

You're not conscious of your TV while you're watching it. That's the way it is with a Mac. I found that much harder to achieve on Windows PCs, which are constantly drawing attention to themselves.

"A programmer at work said yesterday that he hated Apple. I asked whether he'd ever used a Mac. Nope."

He'd probably hate chocolate if he hadn't tried it, too.

"You're not going to believe it until you try it yourself. I didn't."

I also found this pointed and accurate little snippet on MacDailyNews:

The vast majority of Mac users have Windows experience (via school, work, friends, and family). The vast majority of Windows users have no Mac experience. Think about it. Informed users overwhelmingly choose Macintosh over Windows PCs. Uninformed Windows PC users just keep obtusely buying Windows PCs while spouting myths and out-dated ignorance about Macs.

People ask me why do I bother? Why do I keep posting these threads? Why do I want to spread awareness for the Mac platform?
Well, the reason is that when I had set out to buy a notebook, if no one had told me about the Mac and I'd bought some other notebook (as I was about to) and then used someone else's Mac later, I would have suffered immense buyer's remorse. Immense and unquantifiable. I simply cannot bear people spending a lot of money on a computer and ending up with a Windows PC. So I just want them to know that the option is there.

The purpose of this post is to spotlight an interesting piece of news and not to spark off yet another flame war.

 

[iMav]

look whos using words like zealotry ...