KEY POINTS:
Why would you switch from a PC to a Mac? This subject is one of those subjects in the IT world that can raise strong passions. Changing from a PC to a Mac is a bit like changing rugby codes - hardly anyone goes the other way, unless there's a big cheque involved.
If you've ever been into a place that sells PCs and enquired after an Apple computer, it usually results in a litany of reasons, most of which no longer stand up to scrutiny. All things considered, the reasons usually boil down to two: compatibility and price.
'But 97 per cent of the computer world use PCs, not Macs.' OK, for one thing, now it's more like 86 per cent of the computer world.
For another, files have been interchangeable, for most file types, for at least the last 12 years. That means that a file written on a PC can now be read and worked on with a Mac, and vice-versa, like never before, and most of the time you won't even notice.
Even better (or 'worse', if you're a dyed-in-the-wool Apple aficionado) you can actually now install and run Windows on Macs, meaning you can have two platforms on the same machine. This is supported within OS X Leopard by an Apple application called Boot Camp which guides you through the process. You can even, using software like Parallels Workstation or VMWare's Fusion, run Windows apps either without restarting or even without having Windows installed.
This has been an absolute boon to those who either needed both platforms or who couldn't decide on a Mac because there was just that one indispensable application - it was Windows and you can't do without it, and there is no Mac equivalent. Or no Mac equivalent you want to pay for, anyway.
I know a bloke from Adobe Pacific who used to tote a PC laptop and a Mac laptop everywhere he went - and he was always flying somewhere - so he could demonstrate the PC-only application on the PC, and everything else on the his preferred Mac.
I saw him demonstrate Adobe's PC-only software in the Auckland Town Hall to audible appreciation - but nothing elicited a gasp more than his final surprise: 'Watch this!'
And he pressed a button, the projected display swivelled and 300 people gasped as they realised he'd run the whole demo on a MacBook Pro laptop.
Of course, Apple is assuming that's how you'll use a Mac - just using Windows software when you have to, the rest of the time using OS X. That's because OS X still gets no viruses (I haven't had one for 12 years) and Apple's bundled software is awesome, from an email client right up to pro-quality audio software.
And this is the reason that the other main complaint - price - is no longer such an issue. For one thing, the price differential is nowhere near as extreme as it was; for the other - look at what Apple puts on every Mac and price out the equivalent software for your PC.
The Mac, clearly, comes out best.
Mark Webster - mac.nz
