The irrational battle of Mac vs. PC

Today my husband had to instal Windows on my Mac (yes, that’s right!), as my translation agency needs me to use Trados (an application tool I’ve been trying to avoid for years, but it’s unfortunately the leading product on the market).

I used Windows until eight years ago and today I was reminded why I fell in love with Macs when I first used them and why I'd never ever go back. I felt so frustrated and upset for having to contaminate my gorgeous MacBook Air with such a horrible software, that I wrote a Facebook status:

Windows is a scam! I can't even start describing how bad, dysfunctional, outdated, not user-friendly, poorly designed and overly complicated it is. How can anybody get anything done on a Windows computer?But here's what shocks me the most. How can reasonable and sensible people still choose Windows over Mac? Don't they value their time and their productivity?If it's because of the price, I'd be happy to pay much more than what I do pay for my Apple devices if the only alternative were this Windows joke. And if I couldn't afford it, I'd just save until I can.Un-be-lie-va-ble!

A friend of mine commented on it, saying:

It's not about the price, it's about the principle. Apple refuses to share their technology with all the other companies. When you've read this, you'll understand a bit more about people's reluctance to buy Apple.

And she linked to this article: 10 reasons to hate Apple products.

It's always infuriating to see intelligent people hate Apple irrationally, without actually analyzing the quality and functionality of their products against Windows products.

So I asked my husband for help (especially with the techie bits) in writing a thoughtful blog post. This is the result.

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First of all, my post was not about Apple (the company) vs Microsoft. It's about the intolerable inefficies of Windows (the product) when compared to OS X. You might not want to associate yourself with Apple because of personal beliefs and principles, but I reckon it'd be difficult for you to argue that Windows is a more efficient and easy-to-use operating system.

To address the points you make:

You say Apple "refuses to share their technology with all the other companies". I guess the comparison you're making is to Linux (open source) or Android (kind of "open source")? Or do you know other examples of companies sharing their technology with their competitors? I didn't realize you were into technology so much that this would affect your purchase decision.

Regarding the article you linked to, I can't believe I actually took the time to read it. Anything with words "top 10" and "hate" in the title is bound to be accurate and unbiased, right? Also, only two of the points are even remotely relevant to the OS X vs Windows discussion. And to top it off, it's on AskMen—it's like taking tech advice from Cosmo for crying out loud.

Against my better judgement, I'll go through each of the points here:

1) Paying more for an Apple product (a debatable point at best) doesn't induce "hate" in me. There are plenty of more affordable choices on the market if price is the deciding factor for you. It's like saying "I hate organic food because I can't afford it".

Anyway, regarding price, I have to say: you get what you pay for. Apple doesn't offer as entry-level models of their computers as PC-makers do, which is why you won't find a new Mac for $500. However, if you compare similar configurations between the two, you'll find them to be almost the same price, and in some cases a Mac will be cheaper.

2) Can't run unvalidated software (only applies to iOS). Again, not much of a reason for "hate" in my book. It's a tradeoff and in this case the benefit is one that I personally value: significantly reduces the chances of malware and viruses. I bet I'm not alone in that.

3) Siri hates Aussies. Seriously? I should've just stopped here, but I was too curious…

Let’s take a break with another of Ed Yourdon nice pics.

4) Transferring files to iDevices is painful. While true in some cases, it's far less painful than what I had to go through to get extended characters working on Windows though. Quick googling suggests it's not all roses on the other side of the fence either, and an oft-proposed solution is to use Dropbox. Guess what? Dropbox is available on all platforms. But yeah, when you want to transfer files and it's more difficult than it should be, I guess you could "hate" Apple.

5) Android. So because a competing product exists, I should "hate" Apple. Wouldn't this work the other way as well?

6) Switching away is difficult. I actually wish it'd be possible to seamlessly switch between platforms as I'd like to try an Android or Windows phone for a change. But let me ask you, what happens to all the stuff you've bought from the Play store when you switch to a Windows phone? By that logic, I "hate" all mobile phone makers.

7) Apple refuses to give you the keys. This is probably the only point here that's actually valid. I know a couple people who would never get an iPhone because it's not "hackable" (they all use Macs though). However, that limitation is a benefit to the vast majority of the people. Again, it's just about tradeoffs: maximum ease-of-use/reliability vs. maximum flexibility/openness. Thankfully the market is full of options that do let you tinker with the most esoteric settings if that strikes your fancy. No need for "hate".

8) Apple refuses to support Flash. And their decision for doing that was absolutely correct as was demonstrated by Adobe discontinuing the mobile version of Flash couple years ago.

9) Censorship. The article is conflating three issues, so let's separate them out.

• App Store: Apple can decide what apps to sell in their store, just like your Harrod's can decide what products to carry in theirs. It might make you "hate" Apple, but on the flipside, there are lots of people who appreciate it.
• Technological censorship: the patent they're talking about is just that, a patent.
• Spying: when it comes to governments abusing technology I think the ship has already sailed (regardless what company the technology came from).

10) Sweatshops. The article does a good job of invalidating this point by itself: "It's worth being aware that several of Apple's competitors (Samsung, Sony and Nintendo) use the same Foxconn factories. Although Apple's not the only tech company exploiting offshore slave labour, it's the wealthiest and it relies on an image of delivering the most superior products". And seriously… Slave labour? Why do I even bother with this *shakes head in defeat*.

I clearly spent a lot more time on this than I should've and I still don't understand "people's reluctance to buy Apple". What I do understand are the effects of reading sensationalist articles like the above without applying much critical thought. Something that's unfortunately quite widespread in our society. So, wait, maybe that does explain the popularity of Windows after all.