What is a mac? It is basically a PC with an original and exclusive operating system, and uses only proprietary peripherals. In terms of price, I find it extremely over the top, yet I compare it to clone systems because like the majority of PC users I build my own rigs. Even if you use identical hardware in the latest Mac with that of a clone PC, the PC will blow the Mac away in any benchmark. This is a fact. The other fact is that the hardware in the clone PC will cost a lot less. In fact if you build the comparable PC solely on price matching, the gap widens even further.
Yet I find it understandable that W&C compares the Mac to a Dell rather than a custom built rig. That's because both are brand names, and purchasing brand names brings certain advantages, such as guarantees, less headaches, faster purchases etc.
Having said that, only a small percentage of PC users buy brand name systems. Most build systems themselves.
I won't bother pointing out the irony of a bunch of Windows users bitching about OS X because they think Mac users are all stuck up. (... Oops.)
haha, I didn't think of it that way.
Why do I really dislike the Mac?
1. The marketing. This has nothing to do with Apple, but to do with any underdog in a cut throat business. Take for example my former university, Brock U. It was a mid sized university, and the smaller size allowed it to become more personalized. There were smaller seminars and the profs were more hands on because of this. Yet the board of directors wanted nothing more than their university to become huge. Since their university was still growing, they had to find a way to distinguish themselves from the competition. It wasn't a choice, but marketing. The brochure made it sound like the university wanted to be small sized. They took pride in having smaller campuses without brand name food franchises that "spoiled" the university experience. They made it sound like they were small by choice, when reality was they would have given their wife's left breast to make their institute the size of something like University of Toronto.
This was five years ago. Now they have progressed to become
much bigger and are continuing to grow. So where is that ambition to be small now?
Take a look at the Wii. Nintendo would have you believe they love being the underdog. That they love the fact that their console is the weakest on the market, because it allows them to be unique.
Bullshit.
The fact is that Nintendo would have loved to have released a state of the art console, but they just didn't have the resources. So they decided to differentiate their product, and for the most part did a good job. But their marketing is irritating beyond belief. While the Xbox 360 advertises all sorts of bells and whistles, the Wii advertises itself as being
fun, which is laughable especially when the fanboys eat it up.
Similarly the Mac is the underdog. Most people buy PCs and not Macs., and Apple has to find a way to distinguish itself. That's why they resort to irritating and pathetic marketing efforts. Again they would give their right testicle to have the market that Windows does, but don't, so have to distinguish their product.
This brings me to the second reason I dislike Macs., and that is the Macs themselves. Now I really don't care that Macs are inferior, honestly I don't. That isn't quite what makes me hate them, but rather the way they market themselves. Honestly if I was the CEO of the Apple company, I wouldn't have done it differently. And what they do isn't different from any successful underdog. So if I were a shareholder I'd think their marketing was excellent, especially since it is fairly successful. Unfortunately it is just irritating and mean spirited.
As for the advantages of Macs, they are all gained at a big trade off. If you had PCs released that were as restrictive and closed as Macs then you would get the same advantages. Stuff like better security, lack of viruses, lack of compatibility issues etc., all come at a massive price.
To me it is like the difference between two well functioning yet totally different economies. The Macs are a lot like a communist country while PCs are like an open and mostly well functioning democracy. While having an open democratic country (if you aren't careful) will mean you sometimes have to go through unfortunate events like September 11th, you will have the advantage of having the latest technology, the most creative ideas, and diversity in culture. You will be able to get the cream of the world with ease.
On the other hand using a Mac is a bit like living in a successful communist enterprise. You don't have to worry about being mugged, your property stolen, or your vehicle ever running out of spare parts. But on the other hand everyone drives the same car, life is bland, and you have to pretend to get excited about the latest movie, when it debuted overseas ten years ago. Oh and your national anthem tells you your country is the best, when it really isn't, and your national sport involves making people immigrate to your country.
