By
Phil Baker, San Diego Source Daily Transcript
Monday,
November 15, 2004 - For the last few months
I've been trying out a Macintosh 15-inch
PowerBook running OS-X to answer the question
first posed in my Sept. 20 column. I'm
comparing the Mac's performance to a Sony
Vaio TR-2a notebook PC running Windows
XP Home.
Here's what I like about a Windows PC:
- It works with the most applications and
peripherals, while some are only available
for the PC or available first on the PC.
-
Computers are available in all sizes,
shapes and configurations.
-
Lowest hardware costs.
Here's what I like about the Mac:
- Easiest to use
- No major worries about viruses, adware
or spyware. No need to buy, run or update
numerous programs to protect your computer.
-
The best, most modern, most trouble-free
operating system available.
-
Elegantly designed, with reliable hardware.
Runs smoothly with no crashes, delays
or freezing.
-
Comes with lots of excellent software.
-
Excellent support by phone, and expert
help at Apple stores.
Learning
The Mac is easy to learn. It took only
a couple of hours to get up and running,
with a few more hours to learn many of
its other capabilities. PCs and Macs have
many similarities in their usage, with
some names and locations changed. However,
the Mac is more intuitive to use. Making
a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection is quicker
and simpler on the Mac. There is less
technical jargon, and settings are usually
made in one dialog box, not spread among
several. So learning the Mac need not
be a barrier to switching.
Compatibility
You can do almost everything on the Mac
that you do on a PC. You'll likely want
Microsoft Office for the Mac to create
and read files from Word, PowerPoint and
Excel. Entourage, also included, is the
Mac equivalent of Outlook with similar
functionalities. (However, Entourage will
not work with the numerous Outlook add-ins
and the Pocket PC PDAs and phones that
sync with Outlook.) The Mac versions are
considered equal or better than their
PC counterparts, and they all work much
like they do on a PC.
Safari, Mac's browser, works better than
Microsoft's Internet Explorer. It has
tab browsing, which lets you open a group
of Web addresses all at once, and it doesn't
have the dangerous security holes of Explorer.
Many popular programs are available on
both, such as QuickBooks, Photoshop, Instant
Messenger, etc. If there isn't a Mac version,
there often is another product with similar
functionality.
However, if you require a specialized
application, check availability on the
Mac before you switch. You can also run
PC programs using Microsoft's Virtual
PC on the Mac, although I did not evaluate
it.
I e-mailed attachments of all types between
the Mac and PC in both directions and
rarely had a problem opening or reading
them. On a couple of occasions a Word
file sent by a PC became a "win.dat"
file on the Mac. Compatibility checking
in Microsoft's latest Office for the Mac
helps keep the PC and Mac files the same.
Performance
The Mac's smoothness and performance was
impressive. Everything worked the way
it was supposed to. Applications never
failed to open or close on demand. The
Mac always went into standby instantly
when the notebook lid was closed, and
turned on instantly when the lid was opened.
It never crashed during my testing. When
I clicked on an item it responded as expected.
The PC, on the other hand, froze or crashed
a number of times and applications would
occasionally be slow to respond or fail
to open. This is nothing out of the ordinary
for those used to a PC, but it simply
did not happen on the Macintosh.
Keeping it running
The Mac requires none of the time-consuming
activities to keep it running safely.
With Microsoft's efforts to improve security
come more annoyances. Virus software slows
down the PC, while popup report the results.
With the Service Pack 2 installed, there
are more interruptions that require you
to answer questions before proceeding,
queries that many PC users haven't a clue
how to respond to. None of this happens
on the Mac.
Hardware
While Apple computers are exquisitely
designed, there are fewer choices. For
example, there's no counterpart to the
small Sony Vaio TR2 notebook I use, a
3-pound notebook with an SXGA screen and
5-hour battery life. (The 12-inch Powerbook
is available only with a courser XGA screen).
Also, while Apple products have come down
in price, you can usually buy a PC on
closeout for a few hundred dollars less.
But the differences in cost are often
offset when you factor in the time spent
on nonproductive activities, and add the
value of the excellent applications supplied
with the Mac.
Product reliability and support
Apple products have the highest reliability
of all computer brands and excellent customer
service, based on the latest surveys in
December's Consumer Reports. I found Apple's
customer service representatives on the
phone and in the Apple stores (Fashion
Valley and UTC) to be extremely helpful.
Resources for switching
If you make the decision to switch to
the Mac, there are several helpful resources.
Consider using Move2Mac from Detto Technologies
(OTCBB: DTTO, www.detto.com)
at $59. The software and smart cable transfer
files from your PC to the appropriate
locations on the Mac much quicker and
more accurately than you can do it manually.
A good reference book is "Switching
to the Mac" by David Pogue from O'Reilly
Press.
So what am I doing? I've decided to switch
much of my work to the Mac and use it
as my primary computer, although I'll
occasionally still use the Sony when I
want to travel with the lightest computer
or for those few things I can't do with
the Mac.
Baker
has developed and marketed consumer and
computer products for Polaroid, Apple,
Seiko and others. He is the holder of
30 patents and was named San Diego's Ernst
& Young Consumer Products Entrepreneur
of the Year in 2000. He can be reached
at editor@sddt.com.
