Brian the Education Geek writes an occasional blog with observations about life, geek stuff, politics, and just whatever strikes his fancy.
In my line of work, many of my customers ask for advice about their home computers. The most common of these questions: My home computer is old/slow, and what would you recommend for a replacement computer?
The answer I've been giving them, for about a year now, has been one that I never expected to give. Honestly, for most users, I recommend that their next home computer be a Mac.
A Mac.
Those of you who aren't as familiar with personal computers probably don't get why a Mac recommendation from me is so hard to believe. So, a little background if I may. There are two main kinds of personal computer out there, Mac and PC. Macs run Mac OS, and PCs run Microsoft Windows. Techno-geeks like myself generally are either in the Mac camp or the PC camp. We have what we believe to be sound reasons why we chose the personal computer type that we did, and once we start down one of these paths, in my experience it's rare that we switch to the other...or even speak favorably of the other.
It's kinda like Democrat or Republican. Ford or Chevy. Smooth or ribbed. Once you make your initial choice, never the twain shall meet.
The most die-hard of Mac people and PC people are known as fanboys of their chosen camp. They take every opportunity they can get to trump the advantages of their camp, and every opportunity to bash the other camp.
I am a PC person. I am not a PC fanboy, though I used to be. Nevertheless, for a PC person to recommend the purchase of a Mac, or vice versa, is almost unthinkable in the computer world. Yet there but for the grace of God go I, telling folks who want to know what computer to get for home use (most of them anyway) that they should get a Mac.
How did it come to this, you ask? What makes the EduGeek, a lifelong PC nerd, recommend a Mac? Long story short, it happened when I learned to put myself in the shoes of the person asking the question.
I haven't run across very many computer nerds--support techs, salespeople, developers--who can do that. I certainly don't claim to be the only one who can, I'm just saying that in my experience, it's rare. But objectivity is the thing that non-technical people need from technical people, even more than technical knowledge itself, when they ask for computer advice. Objectivity demands that I put aside my prejudices, put aside what I perceive to be the advantages of the PC platform over the Mac--so as to determine the needs of the particular customer who I happen to be working with at that moment.
So for example, even though I'm equally adept in Mac OS and Microsoft Windows 7, I have to concede that most of my customers would do better with the easier to use of the two, which at the moment is still Mac OS. Windows 7 is great and I love it, but overall it's still not quite as intuitive as Mac OS.
Macs are by and large more expensive that the equivalent PC--regardless of the PC manufacturer (with the possible exception of Sony)--so a given user can usually get a new personal computer for less money if they get a PC. On that basis alone, for years I told people, "Get a PC!" I've since learned, though, that of all the areas of life in which people want to save a buck, computer purchases aren't generally one of them. A home computer, once considered a novelty, is now an essential part of most households, and its something that most users seem willing to pay some extra for.
And although I may end up having my geek card pulled for this, I firmly believe that Mac computers...well, feel more expensive. By that I mean that when you use a Mac, you really get the feeling that you're using a high-end piece of hardware. From the sculpted aluminum computer case and keyboard, to the bright, crisp video display, to the highly-functional multitouch trackpad mouse...it just feels like a computing experience that's more worthy of the money you spend--however much money that is--than would a typical PC. There are exceptions, of course, but all in all it seems to me to be the Mac that delivers the more solid-looking and solid-feeling computer. It took a long time for me to understand that from the perspective of the user on the other end of the phone, the look and feel and overall experience of a computer is usually more important than is that extra few megahertz of clock speed or that extra few gigabytes of hard drive space.
Let's see, what else... ah yes, computer video games. My inner geek wants to tell users, "Get a PC! There are infinitely more computer video games for Windows than there are for Mac OS!" Then my customer service side steps in, and says "Really Brian? Is that what most of your users buy a home computer for? Video games?" In the end I must always concede, no. Your average user mainly just wants a computer to surf the web, do e-mail, manage finances, store the photos from their digital camera, that sort of thing. At most they might want to play a couple rounds of Sudoku, maybe some Bejeweled here and there, but nothing as involved as what your typical PC gamer (like myself) would want. Same with application programs, utilities, even small-business tools; while there are more of these for Windows than there are for the Mac, there's still a large enough array of them for Mac OS that most Mac users can find a program to suit their needs.
Most of all, though, it comes down to this: I know how much trouble the average user can get themselves into with a PC, even one runing Windows 7. I see it all the time at work: a user calls and says they clicked on a web link, and a message popped up on the computer telling them that they have all kinds of viruses and security threats on their computer, and Click Here To Remove. So of course they clicked, and of course the thing they clicked on promptly installed malware on their computer. You read that right: in an effort to remove the (false) threat of malware, users click on the very thing that installs the malware! From there, all manner of bad things happen--the computer slows down to a crawl, the user is prompted for their credit card number so that the fake program can continue to provide "virus protection," all kinds of popup messages appear, advertising Viagara or teeth whitener or ribbed condoms or whatever.
So what's next for the hapless PC user? Well, of course they take the computer to Geek Squad or some other computer repair shop. Who, in turn, dutifully repairs the computer (usually by completely wiping out the hard drive and reinstalling Windows 7, because that's likely all that you can do at that point)--charging however much money for this service they want. (I want to believe that computer repair shops charge a fair price, but what I know is that they know you can't be without your computer. And I suspect that's the more driving force behind the prices that they charge.)
And what are the chances of anything like this happening on a Mac? You guessed it--virtually zippo. For this reason more than any other, it's a Mac that I want to be in the hands of the average computer user. The user who doesn't know what malware is. Who doesn't know how to wipe and reinstall their computer. I know how to do these things of course, but understanding that most people don't was a big breakthrough for me.
Now, big disclaimer here (I probably should have started the blog post with this): Apple Computer Corporation is hardly one of my favorite companies. In fact, they've historically been one of my least favorite, yet another hurdle I had to overcome in my efforts to provide computer recommendations from the standpoint of the user rather than from myself. I don't much like the Big Boss over at Apple, Steve Jobs; to me, he exudes a lot more negative energy than positive, even when he's up on stage trumping some new product. I don't like the swift and harsh retributions faced by apple employees who--intentionally or otherwise--disclose details about upcoming Apple products to the press. I don't like that Macs only benefit from the computer technology that Steve Jobs wants them to benefit from--which is why, for example, there's no such thing as a Mac with a Blu-ray disc player. Or a VGA output for connecting an external monitor.
And while I stand by my previous statement that Apple computers feel like they give more bang for the buck than do PCs, I nevertheless wonder how much of the price difference between the Mac and PC comes from a Mac's (generally) higher-end hardware, and how much of it comes simply from the "sexy factor" and from the brand recognition currently enjoyed by Apple.
But my own personal feelings toward Apple, and the various reasons for those feelings, aside... it nevertheless seems to me that Apple has the upper hand these days, at least for home computers, for all the reasons mentioned above. I'll kick out another blog post in the coming weeks on using Macs at the workplace. Also upcoming will be a piece on pad computers.
--The EduGeek
In my line of work, many of my customers ask for advice about their home computers. The most common of these questions: My home computer is old/slow, and what would you recommend for a replacement computer?
The answer I've been giving them, for about a year now, has been one that I never expected to give. Honestly, for most users, I recommend that their next home computer be a Mac.
A Mac.
Those of you who aren't as familiar with personal computers probably don't get why a Mac recommendation from me is so hard to believe. So, a little background if I may. There are two main kinds of personal computer out there, Mac and PC. Macs run Mac OS, and PCs run Microsoft Windows. Techno-geeks like myself generally are either in the Mac camp or the PC camp. We have what we believe to be sound reasons why we chose the personal computer type that we did, and once we start down one of these paths, in my experience it's rare that we switch to the other...or even speak favorably of the other.
It's kinda like Democrat or Republican. Ford or Chevy. Smooth or ribbed. Once you make your initial choice, never the twain shall meet.
The most die-hard of Mac people and PC people are known as fanboys of their chosen camp. They take every opportunity they can get to trump the advantages of their camp, and every opportunity to bash the other camp.
I am a PC person. I am not a PC fanboy, though I used to be. Nevertheless, for a PC person to recommend the purchase of a Mac, or vice versa, is almost unthinkable in the computer world. Yet there but for the grace of God go I, telling folks who want to know what computer to get for home use (most of them anyway) that they should get a Mac.
How did it come to this, you ask? What makes the EduGeek, a lifelong PC nerd, recommend a Mac? Long story short, it happened when I learned to put myself in the shoes of the person asking the question.
I haven't run across very many computer nerds--support techs, salespeople, developers--who can do that. I certainly don't claim to be the only one who can, I'm just saying that in my experience, it's rare. But objectivity is the thing that non-technical people need from technical people, even more than technical knowledge itself, when they ask for computer advice. Objectivity demands that I put aside my prejudices, put aside what I perceive to be the advantages of the PC platform over the Mac--so as to determine the needs of the particular customer who I happen to be working with at that moment.
So for example, even though I'm equally adept in Mac OS and Microsoft Windows 7, I have to concede that most of my customers would do better with the easier to use of the two, which at the moment is still Mac OS. Windows 7 is great and I love it, but overall it's still not quite as intuitive as Mac OS.
Macs are by and large more expensive that the equivalent PC--regardless of the PC manufacturer (with the possible exception of Sony)--so a given user can usually get a new personal computer for less money if they get a PC. On that basis alone, for years I told people, "Get a PC!" I've since learned, though, that of all the areas of life in which people want to save a buck, computer purchases aren't generally one of them. A home computer, once considered a novelty, is now an essential part of most households, and its something that most users seem willing to pay some extra for.
And although I may end up having my geek card pulled for this, I firmly believe that Mac computers...well, feel more expensive. By that I mean that when you use a Mac, you really get the feeling that you're using a high-end piece of hardware. From the sculpted aluminum computer case and keyboard, to the bright, crisp video display, to the highly-functional multitouch trackpad mouse...it just feels like a computing experience that's more worthy of the money you spend--however much money that is--than would a typical PC. There are exceptions, of course, but all in all it seems to me to be the Mac that delivers the more solid-looking and solid-feeling computer. It took a long time for me to understand that from the perspective of the user on the other end of the phone, the look and feel and overall experience of a computer is usually more important than is that extra few megahertz of clock speed or that extra few gigabytes of hard drive space.
Let's see, what else... ah yes, computer video games. My inner geek wants to tell users, "Get a PC! There are infinitely more computer video games for Windows than there are for Mac OS!" Then my customer service side steps in, and says "Really Brian? Is that what most of your users buy a home computer for? Video games?" In the end I must always concede, no. Your average user mainly just wants a computer to surf the web, do e-mail, manage finances, store the photos from their digital camera, that sort of thing. At most they might want to play a couple rounds of Sudoku, maybe some Bejeweled here and there, but nothing as involved as what your typical PC gamer (like myself) would want. Same with application programs, utilities, even small-business tools; while there are more of these for Windows than there are for the Mac, there's still a large enough array of them for Mac OS that most Mac users can find a program to suit their needs.
Most of all, though, it comes down to this: I know how much trouble the average user can get themselves into with a PC, even one runing Windows 7. I see it all the time at work: a user calls and says they clicked on a web link, and a message popped up on the computer telling them that they have all kinds of viruses and security threats on their computer, and Click Here To Remove. So of course they clicked, and of course the thing they clicked on promptly installed malware on their computer. You read that right: in an effort to remove the (false) threat of malware, users click on the very thing that installs the malware! From there, all manner of bad things happen--the computer slows down to a crawl, the user is prompted for their credit card number so that the fake program can continue to provide "virus protection," all kinds of popup messages appear, advertising Viagara or teeth whitener or ribbed condoms or whatever.
So what's next for the hapless PC user? Well, of course they take the computer to Geek Squad or some other computer repair shop. Who, in turn, dutifully repairs the computer (usually by completely wiping out the hard drive and reinstalling Windows 7, because that's likely all that you can do at that point)--charging however much money for this service they want. (I want to believe that computer repair shops charge a fair price, but what I know is that they know you can't be without your computer. And I suspect that's the more driving force behind the prices that they charge.)
And what are the chances of anything like this happening on a Mac? You guessed it--virtually zippo. For this reason more than any other, it's a Mac that I want to be in the hands of the average computer user. The user who doesn't know what malware is. Who doesn't know how to wipe and reinstall their computer. I know how to do these things of course, but understanding that most people don't was a big breakthrough for me.
Now, big disclaimer here (I probably should have started the blog post with this): Apple Computer Corporation is hardly one of my favorite companies. In fact, they've historically been one of my least favorite, yet another hurdle I had to overcome in my efforts to provide computer recommendations from the standpoint of the user rather than from myself. I don't much like the Big Boss over at Apple, Steve Jobs; to me, he exudes a lot more negative energy than positive, even when he's up on stage trumping some new product. I don't like the swift and harsh retributions faced by apple employees who--intentionally or otherwise--disclose details about upcoming Apple products to the press. I don't like that Macs only benefit from the computer technology that Steve Jobs wants them to benefit from--which is why, for example, there's no such thing as a Mac with a Blu-ray disc player. Or a VGA output for connecting an external monitor.
And while I stand by my previous statement that Apple computers feel like they give more bang for the buck than do PCs, I nevertheless wonder how much of the price difference between the Mac and PC comes from a Mac's (generally) higher-end hardware, and how much of it comes simply from the "sexy factor" and from the brand recognition currently enjoyed by Apple.
But my own personal feelings toward Apple, and the various reasons for those feelings, aside... it nevertheless seems to me that Apple has the upper hand these days, at least for home computers, for all the reasons mentioned above. I'll kick out another blog post in the coming weeks on using Macs at the workplace. Also upcoming will be a piece on pad computers.
--The EduGeek
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