Why You Should Go Mac And Never Look Back

So I started writing and doing other techy stuff for my school newspaper, the Lancer, and this is my first story that was published in the January Issue. Illustration by Steve.

Recently, there has been a lot of buzz around Mac computers. In fact I am almost certain that you have seen more than one ad for these machines that features a boring PC guy and a fun and cool Mac guy who is supposed to be able to do all the fun stuff that you want to do better.
At this point, you may be asking yourself what are these mysterious computers, with their pretty colors, docks, and what appears to be a stoplight at the top of every window. How are they different from the computer that I have (a PC), and why do I need one?

The truth is that Macs and PCs are very alike; their insides are basically the same, they both run what is called an OS (Operating System) whether it be Windows, Apple’s proprietary Mac OS X operating system, or if you are adventurous one of the many flavors of Linux. They both let you get what you want to get done rather easily. But the difference between a Mac and a PC is the way that they let you accomplish these tasks and basically the way they run.

Macs are known to be way more stable than other computers for instance; have you ever been working on that paper that you waited until 10 the night before it’s due and your computer freezes and you forgot to save anything? or you do get to the end and are about to print and your printer decides to “break”? The truth is that unless a catastrophic series of events occurs that cripples your computer, this will never happen on a Mac (don’t worry if you write a paper on a Mac and your printer mysteriously “breaks,” (cough, cough). You can still use that as an excuse, until teachers catch on.

Another highlight to the Mac platform is that you never get any viruses or spyware, that slow down your computer to almost unusable speeds, which is a very common issue for PCs lately with many of them coming from bad links on Myspace, etc. And contrary to most of your parents’ beliefs none from AIM. The best thing about a Mac is that it just works. You click on a shortcut and the application opens and stays open, running until you choose to close it (which, for PC owners is almost a rare thing).

This means no waiting 5 minutes for the window to pop up. When you plug in an iPod, it mounts on your desktop and works with iTunes seamlessly. This is mostly because Apple, which makes Macs, also makes the iPod. Basically almost anything you can think of the usually doesn’t work on the computer you have now will work on a Mac.
The only downside to owning a Mac is the price tag, with the cheapest Mac being $599 (the Mac Mini) that doesn’t include a keyboard, mouse, or monitor and the cheapest above that being $999 (The iMac). But you really are paying for quality because I can guarantee that that Mac will be useable for at least 5-7 years into the future, which is almost unheard of in the PC market.

The bottom line is, Macs may be expensive and do take a little getting use to, but switching is well worth it. So next time you are in Best Buy buying a new PC (which has almost become a yearly thing if you want to keep up with current technology), ask your Mom, Dad, or whoever you are with buying the computer “Hey, why don’t we get a Mac?” And when they stare at you blankly, Karate kick them, take the money, and buy the Mac yourself.

-Sean

Cav Comics: The PS3