Disclaimer: I have a strong bias towards PCs, so Mac-lovers may not like what I say.
Before I started to work here, Marylin warned me that I was entering Mac territory and would likely have to convert. Dismayed, I tried to keep an open mind about it, but ultimately did not want to make the switch. Thankfully, I have been able to use my HP Pavilion with few problems. The only thing that stands out is my inability to connect to the company network to access shared files. Other than that, I find that my PC is perfectly fine and usually outperforms those little Macs. Unfortunately, my colleagues are far too enamored with Macs to appreciate it. Recently, it seems like a lot more of the differences have become apparent to me.
First, let me go through the three experiences I had lately regarding the two different operating systems. It started when I was retrieving some information off a website to store in our database for reference. I thought I should use a Mac because it’s linked to the shared drive, so I could download directly to that. However, I quickly lost patience using the clumsy mouse pad and decided to get it all done on my PC and then transfer it over via a thumb drive. I found some articles that were embedded in the site, so they needed to be copy-pasted and then converted to a PDF. When I did that on the Mac, all formatting was lost and I had to go through to change everything. After switching over to my PC, I discovered that a quick copy-paste would yield basically ascreenshot of what was on the site, all formatting preserved nearly perfectly. It was a breeze making the PDFs that way.
The next time I came across an issue was at a meeting, where Macs don’t have the right plug to connect to a projector, so we had to use my computer to present a PowerPoint to the clients. Macs need this converter thing, which is such a hassle to remember to bring along. Finally, later that same day I was compiling a list that I wanted to store in a database, where I could tag each item with keywords to cross-reference them according to the various categories they fit under. I was looking into using Access to accomplish this, which would have been fine and dandy, except Macs can’t read those files. So now we’ve got to look for a paid program or I’m going to have to painstakingly figure out how to make it work out decently on Excel.
Now my main reasons for preferring PCs have always been:
1. The right click! So much functionality has been lost from not having that. I really can’t live without it. Granted, it seems that Apple has finally caught on are adding that in now.
2. The toolbar is at the top of my open box, no matter where that box is. Why does it have to be the very top, no matter what program is open and where it is on the screen? What if my window is open at the bottom right? Then I have to travel all the way to the opposite corner to get to the “Finder” thing just to use the menu options.
3. Double-clicking that expands to full screen. I am used to it expanding to full screen, not shrinking! How do you even expand on a Mac, is it that teeny little green button?d
4. The buttons along the bottom of the screen to show all the programs I have open and one button to press to go to the desktop. I often forget what is even still open on a Mac, and can someone please tell me if there’s any order to how the little screens appear when you sweep to one of those corners that shows all the open windows? I don’t like accidentally moving my mouse to a corner and BAM everything disappears, or everything appears when I don’t want it to!
5. The backspace AND delete options. Backspace removes characters to the left and delete removes characters to the right of the cursor. Delete on a Mac does what backspace does on a PC. So what on a Mac does what the delete does on a PC, pray tell?
And for HPs, I love the little remote that I get to allow me to control PowerPoints, movies, my music, or any other form of media from up to 10 feet away. Then I am no longer tied down to where my laptop is sitting (like when it’s tied to the cable connecting it to the projector), so I am free to walk around as I present something, sit further away to watch a show, or dance around to my music, changing it as I want to hear a new song.
Another thing is that I like my mouse sensitivity set at very high. I don’t know if it’s just because none of the Mac users I know like to make their mouse move faster, but I don’t have the patience to wait for the mouse to casually make its way across the screen. In this new age of efficiency, that is just too slow. I like a very sensitive touchpad. And can someone explain to me why there’s an “apple” button and a control button? Everything done with the apple button can pretty much be done with a control on a PC, so what in the world is the control for? Is it trying to make up for the previously lacking right-click? Maybe this is just something I’d get with time using it, but it seems superfluous to me.
A friend once told me that Macs are designed to be very childish and simple. That’s very true. Sometimes they are so simple it doesn’t make sense. (Like the Finder example above – it’s very easy to always expect the toolbar in the same spot, no matter what, but it is also inefficient in many cases.) Everything in their design is about simplicity and plainness. Just one simple color, no designs. Just one touch pad, nothing else. Just a few small slits for USBs and CDs. Oh, speaking of which, there are hardly enough USB ports! With a wireless mouse and a thumb drive plugged in, they’re already maxed out! What if I want to plug in just one more thing? Now maybe it’s just my computer and not all PCs have three slots, but I’m comparing what I have to what I’ve seen of Macs (the new silver ones with the glass screen).
Even their logo is childish and simple. For 22 years it was the apple shape we all know, but shaded in rainbow colors. A very simple design and all those colors is rather reminiscent of crayons. After it was revamped to be the new version that could be blown up without looking tacky, it’s now no more than a silhouette. Yes, it looks sleeker, but it is still very basic. And that is great for them – it costs much less to print just one color, the logo is easily recognizable, and it can readily be duplicated.
What I do like about Macs are the scrolling option if you use two fingers, as well as the expand or shrink option if you move your two fingers further away from or closer to each other. They also tend to be the quietest, though if I keep my laptop parallel to the ground and off of soft surfaces, it doesn’t complain either. The new glass screens are quite nice as well, leaving less room for dust to get in cracks and giving a nicely smooth texture. And I do agree that Macs tend to be better for creative work though, in terms of design and whatnot.
My one gripe about my laptops are that they are dead heavy. I have that one coming though, since I prefer to get the ones with wide screens and this one also has a reserve battery power that gives me extra oomph. My shoulders pay the price of that decision, but ultimately I don’t mind.
The sleek designs of Macs are much of what makes them appealing, but a lot of functionality is lost through that. I guess that’s why they sell/don’t se
ll. Some of the population is out for aesthetics over usability. Most of the population is looking for functionality. And I am one of those individuals who would not pay exorbitant amounts for looks. But hey, to each his own, I guess.
