Are you Team Mac or Team PC? Blog 132

Good morning!

I have to admit to being in a state of mild euphoria yesterday thanks to the fanfare heralding the end of an intense and stressful few weeks of working on fundraising. So I decided to have a 'play day'. Well mostly that was ok - apart from it was also the day of our Arc Board review conducted in earnest with all our staff in individual interviews. 

Mike Ainsworth - Arc Chair

Our Chair Mike and the 'money man' Graham put us through our paces - asking us to articulate the Arc vision going forward. It was slightly strange for me - as I won't be there soon. Its strange to stop talking about 'we' and begin to hear myself saying 'you'. After almost thirty years - a lifetime I am not going to be part of shaping the next 30 years. So much as I was feeling relieved at a done-and-dusted application the occasion was also tinged with sadness. I am excited about Arc's future and know it can only flourish - but being a control freak means that I struggle a little not to stick my oar in! 

Graham Simmons  - Money Man

I didn't stick it in for long - although the chocolate biscuits that Nita provided for team sustenance were calling to me. I needed to spend some time

taking delivery of fifities furniture for my new Jasmine Street studio. Old and new serendipitously colliding for me. 

I had also promised to help a colleague do some work on a project and wanted to focus a little bit on that. 

Which brings me to the subject of this post. The divide between the PC and Mac animals - I am very much in the latter camp - we all are at Arc. But my colleague is a PC person (I do love labels! - I am sure they have other redeeming qualities!)  

I am not convinced any of us really knew which camp we were choosing in those early technology adoption periods when David and Goliath fought for our attention! Anyway once a Mac user - always etc.... bit like being a catholic. It was fun to see just how differently the two systems work. Things I take for granted as intuitive on a Mac just didn't work for me on the PC and vice versa for my colleague. So rather than focusing on any content or even functions - we were trying very hard not to get lost in translation.

No guessing which this is?

The conflict between Apple supporters and PC Windows fans still rages on university campuses, social networks and Internet message boards. It's a discussion that invites flame wars. So put on your fireproof britches, i'm going to wade right into it.

Given the passion often displayed by owners of both brands, I was surprised and a little disconcerted to learn what a small share of the global computer market Apple actually controls. While the sales of iPhones, iPods and iPads provide a strong boost to Apple's overall earnings, Macs account for less than 5 percent of computers worldwide. However, the Mac boasts an impressive growth rate.

So, which is better - Mac or PC? (my attempt to be even-handed, I know the real answer!)

If you grew up in the 1980s, the concept of design might seem like a superficial and unimportant aspect of a computer. But design is a big differentiator between Macs and PCs. For the better part of three decades, former Apple CEO Steve Jobs focused on the outward appearance of his company's products with an enthusiasm unmatched by his competitors. The unique designs that resulted from this obsession have given Mac products the "cool" image that they enjoy today.

This unconventional focus on design began with the very first Macintosh, introduced in 1984. Like many of the computers in Apple's current line, its central processing unit and monitor were housed in a single unit, reducing the number of cables necessary for operation and creating a sleeker profile. Perhaps Jobs's and Apple designer Jonathan Ive's most significant success was the iMac, introduced in 1998. With its translucent, primary-coloured shell, this model reversed Apple's flagging fortunes and represented the start of its rise to present-day popularity. Today, some PC manufacturers are attempting to create more design-oriented models, but none have achieved the popular acclaim achieved by Mac products.

On the flip side, PCs don't come from a single manufacturer. There are hundreds of different designs of PCs on the market, ranging from the utilitarian design of most business PCs to the space-age aesthetics of Alienware's gaming PC line of computers. You might find some designs more compelling than Apple's approach, but there's no single vision guiding aesthetic choices when it comes to the design of the PC. That's not necessarily a bad thing - if you don't like one design, you can look to a different manufacturer to consider other options. If you don't like Apple's design, you're out of luck if you absolutely have to own a Mac.

One of the most frequently cited differences between Macs and PCs is price. Few Mac products sell for less than £900 while there are dozens of PC models that fall within that price range. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that Macs are more expensive than PCs with similar specifications. Rather, in general, Apple has chosen to build its Mac line around higher-end computers with better and more costly components.

The problem with comparing prices between Macs and PCs is that the computers are rarely comparable. Even if you did find two computers with the same processor speed, RAM, hard drive capacity, graphics, memory, number of USB ports, and so on, each of them would be preinstalled with vastly different software packages. The user may have to purchase additional software for whatever computer he or she chooses, like a virus programme for a PC or Microsoft Office for a Mac. The bottom line is this: The relative value of a Mac or PC really depends on the consumer's needs. (source - Intel)

If you just need a computer to perform basic functions like internet surfing or word processing, it might be hard to justify buying a Mac. There are plenty of PC choices out there that are less expensive.

Perhaps the most obvious difference between a Mac and a PC is the number of configurations available for each brand. Currently, Apple offers just five computer lines: the MacBook Air, the MacBook Pro, the Mac mini,

the iMac and the Mac Pro. Even if each configuration of these models is counted individually,  at the moment Apple only offers a total of 18 unique computers. This limited selection is not a sign of weakness, but a part of the company's "less is more" approach to marketing.

PCs, on the other hand, come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Consumer Reports reviews 11 distinct brands of Windows-based computers, including Acer, Asus, Compaq, Dell, eMachines, Gateway, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba, each offering numerous configurations of desktop and laptop models. Many consumers see this large selection as a benefit because they're more likely to find a computer that meets their exact needs.

When it comes to third-party retail stores Apple is more selective than the PC manufacturers about where it will sell its products. The company's flagship retail outlet is the Apple Store, which first opened its doors in 2001 and since then  has opened more than 300 additional stores in 43 states and 11 countries [source: Apple].

Microsoft has a very different strategy. The company doesn't make hardware -- it licenses its Windows operating system to other companies. Most of those companies push their products into as many shops as they can. So while you might not see an Apple computer in a local computer shop, you'll see dozens of Windows PCs.The operating system has been a long-standing difference between Mac and PC; currently, Mac computers are preinstalled with OS X Lion, while PCs come with Microsoft Windows 7. Between 2007 and 2009, when Windows was Microsoft's operating system, OSX was widely regarded as the better of the two software packages.

A significant development in this debate occurred in 2006, when Apple announced the release of its Boot Camp software, which allows users to install Windows on their Intel-based Macs. Today, there are many programmess that facilitate the installation of Windows on a Mac. In contrast, you aren't supposed to install Mac OS X on any Windows PC. Getting Mac OS X to work on a non-Apple computer is tricky - they call such machines hackintoshes. They tend to be unstable, and selling them is bound to get you into trouble with Apple.


Apple has worked very hard to craft a fun and cool image for its line of Mac computers, while simultaneously portraying PCs as dull and nerdy. (Would I ever agree with this? Don't get me going- its and ongoing raised voiced issue with my dad - enough to make one of us storm away from the meal table!)

This strategy played out most famously in Apple's recent advertising campaign featuring "Mac," played by the younger, hoodie-wearing Justin Long and "PC," played by the older, bespectacled John Hodgman. But is there actually any truth to these stereotypes?

In April 2011, the Internet was a buzz with the results of a survey on this very topic, conducted by a Web site that makes recommendations based on user preferences. It asked users to identify themselves as a Mac or PC person, and then questioned them about a number of self-identifying factors. The results were comically stereotypical.

Early Apple Mac - we had one of these in 1993!

Among the findings were that Mac users were more likely to be liberal, eat hummus and read The Guardian! (que moi?). PC users, on the other hand, were more conservative, had a better grasp on mathematical concepts, and, unlike their Mac counterparts, would rather ride a Harley than a Vespa. While these results are certainly interesting, they can't be taken too seriously - these conclusions were based on an admittedly unscientific survey.

One thing that both Mac and Windows PC fans have in common is passion for the brands themselves. Get a diverse group of computer users together and introduce the subject of Macs versus PCs and watch the sparks fly! Mac users will bring up concepts like security, usability and design. PC owners will counter with price, software compatibility and choice. It can get really ugly really fast (but it's fun to watch).

Probably the most striking difference between Macs and PCs is in customer satisfaction. In the most recent surveys conducted by both PCWorld and PCMag, readers chose Apple computers over every single brand of PC available. Macs scored high marks in categories like reliability, service experience and even phone hold time. The only category in which Mac scored low was percentage of laptops needing repairs. It didn't seem to matter, though, as Mac also topped the category, "likelihood of recommending."

These high rankings are probably due in part to the way that Apple provides service. At a time when many PC manufacturers have shipped their service centers overseas, Mac users can get face-to-face assistance from a technician at the Genius Bar help desk located in any Apple Store.

It also helps that Apple has a centralised identity. If you have a problem with a Mac computer, whether it's the hardware or the operating system, you can go to the Genius Bar. But what happens if your PC is melting down? You might have to speak to two or more companies just to identify the underlying problem.

In the end, the choice of PC or Mac depends upon you more than anything else. Declaring that one is better than the other is like saying oranges are better than - well, you know.

This was a rare technology post from me - don't expect another one soon. This was really enough! So in the end I think I just have to be a little more tolerant with my colleague and keep our vision on the big picture rather than ending up in a scrap! 

Have a good day - PC and Mac users all!