More Thoughts On The Mac

Last week I asked the question “Should I Take The Mac Plunge?” I received 40 comments on that blog post, plus reply tweets through Twitter, as well as emails and Facebook messages. When it comes to Mac vs PC, people have STRONG opinions! The responses so far have been neck and neck. Apple is in the “lead” by 2 votes.

I talked to someone from Apple last Friday and spent the weekend looking at the Apple site, watching their tutorials and mulling everything over.

I was contacted by someone from Hewlett Packard last week, but haven’t been able to match our schedules for a chat yet. And they did offer to let me test drive the new HP TouchSmart IQ800 PC (you’ve probably seen the commercials – you can touch the screen to tell the computer what you want it to do), but this story is more about laptops. So we’ll see what happens with that…

Anyhow, back to the Mac!

I had a lot of concerns and questions about the Mac. Is it really that much better? Is it really worth the money? Would I be able to make the switch without wanting to pull my hair out in frustration?

First of all, let me start out by saying that the person I spoke to from Apple was very nice and walked me through a lot of things. Apple also has a lot of video tutorials on their site to help you get a feel for what working on a Mac is all about.

I still have some doubts and concerns, though. Here’s what is going through my head:

Okay, yes, I’ll admit the Mac is prettier. It’s sleek, sophisticated, and yes, it is pretty. It looks cool. But…. I’m looking for a hard working machine, not a fashion accessory. I have jewelery for that : ) And besides, I can get a Dell in a very cool rock n’ roll red!

Macs are thinner and weigh less. Point taken. And trust me, I have lugged my current Dell Inspiron 6000 through many an airport. Have you ever been to Atlanta? The airport is huge. You get on a subway system to take you from terminal to terminal. And let me tell you about getting into O’Hare late from Salt Lake City and running through the airport because your flight home to Flint is leaving shortly. So shortly, that when you get to the gate, the person standing there just yells “Crissy, get on the plane, go!” and doesn’t even take your ticket.

So, yeah, I know all about running around with a heavy laptop. And I can see why it would be great to have a thinner, lightweight computer. But I know that in addition to my laptop bag, I’m going to have another carry-on loaded down with magazines, books, a couple snacks, souvenirs for my nephews and anything else that crosses my path. I know that for the majority of my flight, I will be listening to my iPod, but I still over pack because you never know when you’re going to have a delay and need something to keep you occupied. So who cares if my laptop bag is a couple pounds lighter? I don’t think I’ll notice…..

The whole trouble-shooting issue: A lot of people have commented about the fact that they don’t have to worry about trouble-shooting, that they can take their Mac to an Apple store, etc, etc. Well, there isn’t an Apple store conveniently located near me. I’d have to drive waaaay out of my area to get to one. And I don’t have a problem trouble-shooting my PC. I’ve taken it in twice for things that were beyond me. Other than that, I’m pretty adept at handling things.

What’s the big deal about anti-virus software? Another often heard comment is that you don’t have to run anti-virus software on a Mac. I don’t understand why this is so freaking awesome. I use AVG, it’s free, and it runs by itself in the background. I don’t have to do anything to it. I don’t have to remind it to do it’s thing. It’s just there and it works. I’ve never had a virus (knock on wood), and I’m really not too worried about them. I don’t open up spam email, and I don’t download anything weird.

My Mac  won’t be “ready to use” out of the box: A lot of people say “when you have a PC you have to buy all this extra software and blah, blah, blah.” Yeah, well, I’m still going to have to do that with a Mac. I NEED an office productivity suite. Word and Excel are not the coolest kids on the block, but they are some of my best buds and I need them around. It’s going to cost an extra $149 to buy the student and teacher edition of Office for Mac. (yep. I’m using my nephew’s student id…. he uses my computer; that JFK report didn’t create itself, so I’m using his id). And yes, I know I can use Open Office…. but I just want what I’m familiar with and I want my Office.

In addition to that, I use Photoshop. That iPhoto program may be very nice, but it isn’t going to create graphics. So I will need to start using Gimp (an open source graphics editor) because I won’t be able to afford a Mac, Office for Mac and Photoshop for Mac.

And what about that iWeb? I NEED to be able to create web pages. It’s kind of what I do for a living. I watched the iWeb tutorial and they say that it’s ‘web design for the rest of us,’ which I guess means people who don’t know how to build a website.

Well, darn it, I’m one of “them,” the people who do know how to build a website. I want to to be able to look at my code! Can I even do that in iWeb? The tutorial shows how easy it is to use their templates, but I don’t want that! And I want to use Filezilla to upload my pages. Is this possible? Is iWeb going to cut it for me, or will I need to buy Expression Web for Mac?

Another problem is that I need to be able to record my screen in order to make “how to” videos. iMovie is very impressive, as it allows people to do all kinds of stuff with photos and video that they’ve uploaded. But when it comes to my business, I make how-to videos that show people how to do things, like use Twitter or write a press release. I don’t think I can do that with iMovie. I’m going to have to purchase a screen capture software.  Another investment.

When it comes to my PC, I already own the software needed to complete all of the above tasks.

I’m going to have to buy a mouse. There is this new trackpad on a Macbook that is very impressive, but I want a mouse. I use a mouse. I need a mouse. My laptop is my main computer. I want to be able to reach over to my right and use a mouse. A Mighty Mouse will be another $69.

By the time I buy a Macbook, buy the extra software I need to complete the tasks I need to do, and buy a Mighty Mouse, I’m going to have a Super Mighty Price Tag. Yikes!!!

So what exactly am I gaining out of a Mac? I admit, the videos make the Mac look impressive. And it does have a lot of cool features that a PC doesn’t have. I can see how people say a Mac is easier to use. The dock at the bottom of the screen seems pretty simple. The finder seems pretty simple. The whole drag and drop concept is pretty simple. And yes, a Mac definitely makes it easeir for people to edit photos, make movies, music, and so forth.

But at this point, I am not sure if a Mac will really make my life any easier or better. Of course, I’ve never used a Mac, so maybe I’m totally and completley wrong.

I did have a few people tell me that they couldn’t believe I wasn’t already using a Mac. I guess that is the best compliment there is. These people love Macs and are familiar with the work I do. They obviously like my work and were stunned to realize I was using a PC to create my graphics, website, podcast and videos.

So I guess my PC and I are doing a pretty good job as it is…..

Now, I did put in a request for a product review so that I can actually play around on  a Mac and get a feel for it and see if it will really do something my PC isn’t already doing. So we’ll see what happens with that….

I’m also going to be interviewing a few people on both sides of the debate and I’ll have that published soon.

(Buying a new computer is such a BIG decision, isn’t it??)