Having used both Windows based machines and an Apple Mac now for two years I feel I am in a position to join the great debate which divides the computing world.
However, rather than just replicate the often lame and sterile, Mac OS Snow Leopard or Lion vs. Windows 7 debate I want to make the comparison more realistic by also considering the computers they came with. Somehow it seems a specious argument just to compare the operating systems, as they are only part of the overall computing experience.
For example in addition to my desktop i-Mac I also have a new Mac Air notebook. One of the reasons for purchasing it is that most reviews place it at number one in terms of reliability as well as functionality, speed, support etc. I’m hard pushed to think of a friend who owns a Windows based laptop who does not have hardware problems of one sort or another. And yes I admit with Apple you are paying through the nose for that build quality.
The other part of the debate that I find amazing is that it always revolves around which has the better features, is more flexible, practical or faster. The assumption being made is that both work equally well. The fact remains they don’t.
To me one of the big plusses of Windows is that it seems less clunky than Mac OS and in fact it has been able to do for a long time a whole raft of things that Apple users have only just begun to experience with Mac OS X Lion such as full screen working. Windows certainly seems to have the edge in multi-screen working and yet the downside is it soon becomes sluggish and unstable. Then of course as an avid game player (currently playing Skyrim) I know that the number and quality of games for Mac is extremely limited.
Windows flexibility comes at a price and that price is complexity and that to me is why every implementation of Windows I have ever used appears half-baked or finished. Perhaps if new versions of Windows spent more time addressing reliability instead of piling in zillions of new geeky features that nobody wants it could take Apple on at its own game?
Perhaps what exemplifies this most are the mindless and useless error messages that Windows generates. They have actually become a cult. Google and see. Most are so stupid they are laughable. Again it smacks of the half-baked nature of Windows. Here is just one example. OK it’s been generated by Word but it’s a great favourite of mine.
Now does it mean my file J:/Jayne Bondage (it’s my Tinker Tailor file) is corrupt, that I should immediately start downloading all the rescue packages as recommended?
Not really it simply means my external J drive isn’t plugged in. Windows is dumb on such a primitive level that it has made a call to a J: drive that isn’t connected and without the basic wit to work out it’s missing, simply generates a totally erroneous response. I really don’t see this as a high tech programming issue, as Windows is normally more than capable of detecting devices when they are added or removed, so what we have instead is a slap dash approach.
This is another favourite. Does it mean my computer can’t find a wireless signal? Nope it simply means Windows Internet Explorer can’t be arsed. Click on Firefox and I’m immediately back on-line.
If you are a Windows user ask yourself this: Have you ever tried to stop a print job? Something that can be quite expensive when you are using photographic paper. Once you could pull the plug on either the printer or the computer or both. But Microsoft soon got wise to this and modified Windows so it simply resumed the debacle as soon as you switched on again. Something which the next generation of viruses find a boon.
Notice I said pull the plug out of the computer, once it was a practical way you could stop a virus from taking control. I can only assume the virus community complained as since then Windows computers have been fitted with soft touch ON/OFF buttons that need holding for several minutes to give the malware time to complete.
In a one woman and a secretary business I must have something that works and continues to work. When I was in Industry we always had an army of techies on call to keep our Windows lap tops going. Back then new hard drives seemed to be an annual event for me and hardly a month went by without having to call the technician force.
Frankly I don’t want to be a computer geek who knows how to tweek the registry. I see computers as a tool not a lifestyle and that is why for me it has to be Apple. I prefer using Microsoft Office (well at least the old version before they decided to dispense with all my acquired learning), but of course now you can get Office for the Mac.
Now what about hardware and support? I know my sample is insignificant but it does at least reflect what most Consumer Associations around the world say along with the better review websites, namely Apple computers have a far better build reliability and support. Partly the support I am sure is due to the perpetual game that Microsoft and Computer manufacturers play, each blaming the other thus slowly grinding you down. As Apple makes both the hardware and the software the buck stops there.
During the two year and a quarter year period my i-Mac has remained faultless. My Dell has required a new motherboard, two keyboards and now it’s out of warranty a new mouse. The monitor it came with was so crappy it was never used.
The only time I needed Apple support, due to a difficulty in picking up wireless signals, support was speedy, precise and effective. It was provided by a knowledgeable individual with English as first language. I’d give it 10/10.
Dell in comparison was difficult to contact and bedevilled by language problems. However when the fault was diagnosed they remedied it quickly though their technician failed to re-wire my computer up properly afterwards. Support and this is being generous I couldn’t rate higher than 5/10.
Microsoft support –do they ever reply?
I’m used to Microsoft windows and I’m more comfortable with it than with Mac OS, but with Windows 7 I have had one vital security update that has failed to take on a daily basis for over a year now. This precludes me from using the latest Microsoft Window Explorer or Windows Service Pack 1 and of course I’ve been hounded by all kind of viruses and malware including two attacks that totally incapacitated my computer. In this context I cannot praise the freebie Malwarebytes enough which succeeds when all the top dollar virus checkers fail.
I know Macs are so much more expensive but frankly I can’t afford not to have one.
No comments:
Post a Comment