Pensacola Computer Help Technoblog

I cringe every time I hear that a parent has once again succumbed to their child’s wishes for a new computer and has gone and gotten them a new Macbook or even a iMac. It’s not that Apple makes a bad computer, or that they don’t have uses, but for students they just aren’t a good thing for so many reasons. I know quite a few kids who are either in college or have just graduated, and what I hear most often from them is that the tech kids know better than to get a Mac – they run Windows or Linux on PC’s because it is a better value, there is a greater choice and freedom of softare and they aren’t tied to overly expensive and limited hardware and software. Also the majority of kids who run PC’s (usually 60% or more at most colleges) think that the kids who tout their Apple’s are just what they call posers.

It isn’t that my opinion is based upon a dislike for Apple (although I will admit I am not a big fan of the company in general), it is more because of the numbers. Apple makes up at the most 8% of the computers being used, and the percentage for businesses is much smaller. This means that all the time spent learning and using their Macs in school is wasted when it comes time to enter the real world – go ahead and look at the majority of company requirements for most kinds of mid to upper level jobs today; very few mention anything about having experience with a Mac, whereas most will expect at least a comfortable skillset with PC’s. The kids who spend their school years using Macs will be at a big disadvantage when it comes time to enter the ever competetive job market.

The majority of business software runs on Windows or Linux, and in fact there are quite a few corporations which dissallow Macs to even hook into their networks. Despite many erroneous claims, Macs are in no way more secure, in fact they are very unsecure and easily exploitable (there are just less viruses and malware due to their small percentage of the market). While it used to be that Macs were touted as being good for those interested in doing Graphics and multi-media, this is not so much true today. While it is true that Apple does make some systems that are good for graphics, these are in the high end range and usually in the 3-4k USD range in price.

 Someone told me recently that their student needed a good computer for Graphics (Photoshop etc) so they bought them a new Macbook (the $1000 one). I hated to tell them that it in no way was a good choice for a graphics (Photoshop) computer. Granted, it would run Photoshop marginally, but not real well as anyone who knows Photoshop knows that to really have Photoshop hum you need a secondary hard drive (and a fast one) for a scratch disk. Not to mention that the brand new Macbooks are running 3 year old intel processor technology and are designed for battery life and not power.

Considering I just purchased a nice laptop for my wife for Christmas which has an Intel core i7 processor, 8 GB of RAM, dual hard drives, and nice graphics, not to mention a blue ray player for a bit less than the ‘cheap’ Macbook, and that it will easily run Photoshop, as well as do computer intensive video editing, it isn’t as if there aren’t some much better choices for a student who needs a good system that they can actually use to its potential for school.

While it is possible to run Windows on a Mac, but not OSX on a PC (talk about anti-competetive practices thanks to Steve Jobs), doing so results in you paying quite a bit more for the exact same hardware as in a PC. And for all those Apple fanboi’s who tout Apple’s great customer service etc, you might want to talk to a growing percentage of people who have found that Apple seems to find just about any justification that they can to not honor a warranty.

In the end it comes down to the numbers – the best bet for careers and a future says go with what the large majority of businesses run – Windows and Linux (which can easily both be run on most PC’s), the best price for the hardware comes to PC’s which are highly customizable for the student’s needs, the most software available (there is 98% more software for Linux and Windows than there is for Macs).  The argument for lack of viruses and such doesn’t stand up against all the other numbers, and there is an increasing amount of malware and viruses that are now able to infect Macs as well.

In the end, while your kid may whine and beg that they ‘need’ an Apple computer, before you buy, think about the numbers and their future. What good does it do to know how to use something that only a small minority of people and businesses use? While Apple computer market shares are increasing when it comes to things like iPads, unless your kid is writing and selling apps, there is not a big need for the skills to use an iPad, nor is there a very big learning curve as compared to skills with an operating system and business software.

When it comes to colleges and Macs, this picture I snapped this past Summer at Duke University speaks volumes for what higher education institutions think about their Macs (the Macs were donated by Apple in an attempt to sway more people to buying Apples, but it doesn’t look like their use is as was intended).

Duke University Computer Lab – All the Apple computers running Microsoft Windows

1. Sean Phinney says:

   January 15, 2011 at 11:24 pm

   I beg to differ with your take on Mac’s. I have been a user of PC’s since the 8088 based units of the late 1980′s and made the switch to Mac’s about three years ago with the advent of Vista and the over use of Bloatware that comes packaged on about every new PC.

   I have heard many people over the years that take pride in telling others “I hate Mac’s” when in all reality they have never really used one. This used to be a popular public sentiment but if you really get out and see what people are using now you will see more and more Mac’s being used in places where you would never expect them and for good reasons.

   Here’s my case against PC’s:

   1) The structure of a PC’s registry eventually renders the PC almost unusable because it gets clogged up with so much junk from adware, trackers and malware. It is pretty much the rule that a PC is ancient history after two years because the registry is so maxed out. This is why it takes a year old PC 10-15 minutes to start up before you can use it. They are literally a magnet to all the crap out there on the internet. Most users do not know how to append their registry and there is no shortage of hawksters ready to “help” you get your speed back (too bad there is no such thing as auto exec bat and config sys anymore). Not so with Mac’s. A five year old Mac is just as fast on it’s fifth year as it was on its first. You turn it on and it is ready to use…..period.

   2) Almost every new PC bought at a retail store is so full of Bloatware that will never get used that you literally become lost in your own computer. Most of the stuff is only good for 30 days and it takes that much time get rid of it. The major software developers are literally at each others throats to get their junk onto your unit. Many of these pre-installed programs do not work well with other components leading to major conflicts. Microsoft has literally become a “cartel” in the pay to play PC arena. Not so with Mac. The up front cost is more but it comes bundled with the things you need, not what the software developers think you need.

   3) Surfing the net on PC today can be a dangerous and expensive endeavor. Hit the wrong site with your pants down and you are in the market for a new hard drive. Virus’ are more prevalent than ever before forcing you to “take up arms” with antivirus software that always runs in resident memory bogging your system down further. In my three years of using Macs I have never got a virus. To be honest, I have never met a Mac user that contracted a virus on his computer. The University of Tampa recently trashed all their PC’s and went over to Mac’s because of this. I have a box full of old hard drive units out of PC’s and roughly half were taken out by a virus. Every one of them had virus software running on them.

   4. Microsoft Windows is a frustrating operating system to say the least. XP was not too bad but it would regularly crash. Vista was a fiasco with a huge appetite for RAM. How absurd of Microsoft to suggest that you can feed Vista’s hunger for RAM by plugging in a flash drive. Crashes on Vista are the norm; I don’t believe any one operating system caused more grief than this rogue. You could not give me a top of the line PC with Vista. OS X is rock solid. It is elegant, yet very powerful and yes it does have a learning curve but is naturally intuitive. My three year old can perform many functions on our IMac and I would dread teaching her how to use a PC.

   I could go on and on about the reasons for my switch to Apple but you have to try yourself. There will always be room for the Mac in business and education. The Macbook was the best selling laptop of 2008 and 2009 and these units hold their value very well. A three year old Macbook sells for better than half of what it was purchased for. Check out eBay and look at the bidding activity on Macbook and Macbook Pro’s. Bidding for these units are fierce and it is not unusual to see a non working “parts” unit sell for a few hundred dollars. Obviously the demand is huge. Apple really had it right with these units and I realistically don’t see any downward trend for the public’s affinity towards these computers for any time in the near future.
2. PensacolaComputers says:

   February 8, 2011 at 7:24 pm

   An interesting viewpoint, however there are a number of flaws in your reasoning:

   Windows registry, while the registry clutter could in earlier versions of windows cause some issues, with the hardware of today’s computers, the speed of even a heavily cluttered registry is such that performance impact is minimal. The argument that they are literally a magnet to all the crap out there is a two edged sword, sure a 5 year old Mac may be just a fast as it was when new, but that is only because the majority of Macs are using less than 1 50th of the number of programs that an average PC user has and there is only about 1/10th of one percent of the software titles available for Macs as there are for PC’s. While I agree it is easier to clutter up your PC, it is at least the users choice to do – the comparison with the Mac = you can’t clutter it up becuase you are so severely limited in software choices, sure you have the basics and some specialty programs, but nowhere near the variety available for PC’s.

   Macs do NOT come with the software you need, it comes only with what Steve Jobs has decided to allow you. To truly be productive you pay the premium and now with the new software sale model that Apple is trying to push (more profit for them, with higher prices for all) you are limited. I can remove all the bloatware on a new PC in about 15 minutes, and considering how much cheaper the PC is due to the subsidies paid by the software companies to install their trialware, that 15 minutes more than pays for itself (which by the way is easily avoided by buying through a business channel instead of retailer).

   Honesty, if you have thrown out a hard drive because of a virus, then you know absolutley nothing about computers or viruses (not being mean here, but there is no excuse for that level of ignorance if you are going to make such a reply like you know what you are talking about). Viruses are of course more prevalant on PC’s but they are not non-existant on Macs, as a matter of fact, due to the idiocy of Mac owners, there are numerous cases of identity theft, and massive data leaks from professionals running Macs who have had their machines hacked – look it up, Macs get hacked every year at pwned competitions in seconds. Sure if you do not take common sense precautions, you are more likely to get a virus on a PC, not because they are less secure, but because they are more popular, just as you are more likely to be a victim of a crime in a city than out in the country.

   People that say things like Vista has a huge appetite for RAM have no inkling of how memory works in a computer. The more that the operating system and programs use RAM the faster it performs. OSX is adequate if you run only Steve Jobs approved software, but it can’t do real computing, it doesn’t have the internal guts. While I agree that Vista was not ready for prime time for a number of reasons, Windows 7 runs circles around OSX in many areas, and while it has its own issues, there are many things that it can do program wise that OSX just can’t handle.

   I have used Apples for over 10 years, I have worked on both high end workstations and the low end laptops. In the end, I cannot justify the price, nor can I do what I want to do program wise or am too limited by hardware. Mac’s still hold only about 6-7% of the market and that number hasn’t changed much – Apple now uses iPad numbers but iPads are not really creation devices, but rather they are consumption devices and not in the same class. Saying that a 1500 Mac holds its value well when it loses half it’s value $750 in 3 years isn’t saying much when you can get equal hardware in a PC for half the price and even if you threw it away after 3 years your monetary loss would be the same. In today’s world, hardware that is 3 years old is on the edge of obsoletion. While Macs do have their uses, and as I said in the original article, if you like them and can afford them than you should definitely use one. but for kids, pidgeonholing them with a Mac severly limits their potential in the future – numbers don’t lie more than 90% of the world’s business workstations are PC’s.