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For many years I worked both with PC and
Macintosh computers, and have owned both. Generally, my PC got most use, but
with the purchase of a new iMac for my wife and daughter last year, Mac use
became an almost daily thing.
There are many commonalities between both platforms: both
have a very nice operating system. And even though one of those is more stable
than the other, both are very workable. Both run essential applications. Both
are networkable. And both can share network resources like shared drives and can read each other's files.
Then there are the age old differences: the Mac always had
evangelical users (Mac Evangelists); the Mac always required less support; the Mac always had
fewer commercial applications and peripherals like printers, scanners etc.; the
Mac usually had less upgrade or expansion options (it could be argued, that it
didn't need so many options and choices as the PC usually had, because the Mac
was inherently superior and didn't need so many options and choices.); and in
feel, the Mac OS always was a little less responsive.
So, for most home users it usually boils down to what you're
comfortable with; what you used in school; what software you already own; and
how much out-of-pocket money you're able to spend to get what you need. And
then, there's the gender difference: women tend to like Macs more, and more
quickly, than men.
Slowly, this computer landscape of one vs. the other is
changing. For one, both types of computer now run the same processor, made by
Intel. And both are usually connected to a network, enabling FAST lookups and
use of the Internet. This is relevant, because increasingly, the Internet
offers software-as-a-service, potentially replacing your desktop applications
like Word, Excel, and your email program, your photo collector... Soon, the only
application that you will really need is an Internet browser, except for
very specialized applications. This will make the PC vs. Mac question almost
obsolete.
Or does it? From a functionality analysis, perhaps yes. To
shed another light on this question, I'm interested in the DNA of each
platform: the history, the passions, and the theory behind each.
Apple is a very different company than Microsoft and always
has been. Beauty, minimalist, it-just-works, limited hardware and software,
more expensive, elitist, eclectic, seem keywords that come to mind for Apple.
Corporate culture, (much) cheaper, does great in large networks, faster and
faster, megalarge, buggy, virus prone, unoriginal but functional,
Johnny-come-late, unstable, beige boxes, come to mind for Microsoft.;-) These differences are very 1990s, and were very entrenched
in the American corporate cultures that I experienced.
Today, these differences are already much smaller than
before: The Macs have become cheaper, less elitist. Windows machines have
become more stable. Yet there's still a fundamental underlying difference
between the two: Apple switched over to Unix as the underlying technology for
the foreseeable future, whereas Microsoft has written a new OS, Windows Vista,
to be released in a month or two. This difference, I predict, is enormous.
Here's why.
Unix, regardless of flavor, has always been considered
superior to any other OS. Until not too long ago, it was very difficult to get
it to run on a home PC. Linux and *BSD have changed all that, and now Mac OSX
runs BSD Unix at its core. Unix has for a long time been the OS of choice for
the ubergeeks, the hackers, the crackers, and the real propeller heads. And
here's why: it's fundamentally better, stronger, more secure, and stable and
you can make it do what you want. And there is an ocean of free and open source
(f/oss) software available for it, that is getting better and better.
And it is the free and open source pedigree of Unix and unix
applications that will make the difference: with free and open source software
there are no licensing fees, no recurring maintenance costs, no intellectual
property rights, copyrights or forced upgrade paths to deal with. And what
really makes the difference is that f/oss software is made by amateurs, where
this word means "for the love of..." It may take longer, but my guess is that a
small army of "amateurs" will always win from an army of office drones doing the
work.
For the love of the work: this work is more creative, more
unusual, out-of-the-box, strange, not always a success. But collectively, an
unstoppable force. That is why the Mac's choice for Unix is so incredibly smart
and farsighted.
It's such a great time to be a geek.
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