Macs Head Room

Let's talk attitude! - Part 3



Again, I found a good site with lots of Mac vs. PC information. I want to make it clear that I'm not in the PC bashing business. But I am in the "how do you deal with snide comments from PC users who are just downright ignorant about Macs but want to open up their mouths anyway" business.

When one of these Mac vs. PC incidents occur, one generally hears the same old remarks, time after time. Here's my list of common comments from PC users and how I deal with that comment:

1. I heard Apple went out of business. or I thought Microsoft bought Apple.

Oh, this one is especially good for us this weekend, the release weekend for the iphone. Apple's name has come up countless times this week on every news broadcast I've watched. People are camping out on the streets for days to be first in line to get one. Everyone is talking about the success of the ipod and Apple's increased sales in the computer market. But this furor will pass and some PC user will no doubt tell you they thought Apple was out of business. Merely ask them if they've ever heard of the ipod or the iphone. Or better yet, ask them if they've seen the Mac vs. PC commercials on tv. Ask them if they think Microsoft is paying to have those tv commercials run if Apple's out of business.

As to whether Microsoft bought Apple, ask them whether they've heard of the Microsoft ipod or the Microsoft iphone. Ask them if Microsoft bought Apple, why would those tv commercials be running? Ask them how many gozillions of dollars Microsoft made this weekend on the iphone.

2. I need a computer that's compatible. Macs aren't.

My first question to that statement has always been "compatible to what and why?" Generally, this results in stammering on the part of the PC User. Some will say they need to share files with someone else. Obviously, the next question is 'what kind of files". As a general rule, you'll find out they have some text they need to share with someone else, or the occasional spreadsheet. Most of the time these are MS Word or Excel documents, and those files can be read by Word or Excel on Mac easily. Graphic files such as tif, gif, and jpg are easily read by various programs on the Mac. in most instances, you'll find a Mac program that will open the average PC file. They don't need to run the same application someone does on the PC. They need to be able to read the data files. And in most instances, it's possible.

3. You can't upgrade a Mac like you can a PC.

Because Macs come with much of what gets upgraded or installed on a PC, most users won't have the need to upgrade their Mac except for possibly adding some memory. Macs use standard RAM that can be bought locally at most PC dealers. Some Macs, such as the Mini, aren't designed to be opened to add cards, etc. Other macs can be upgraded in many ways, many times using standard off the shelf "PC" hardware.

4. Macs are too expensive

My first retort to this statement is to tell them that Ferraris cost more than Volkswagens. The fact is, as a general rule, Apple uses a higher grade of hardware to build its computers than most PC manufacturers do. The Mac Mini can be had for less than $600, with refurbs going for even less. For desktop units, when you compare equivalent features, the newer Macs will be very competitive. If you go futher and compare equivalent quality components, the PC will be more expensive than the Mac. The days of Macs being more expensive are simply a thing of the past.

5. There's not enough software for a Mac.

This is my favorite. In fact, I've turned this one around on them now. Before they get the chance to bring it up to me, I drop it on them. I say "well, I'd think about buying a PC but there's just not enough software for them. Oh, you can't imagine the look of shock on their faces when they hear that from me. I then tell them that I can run all of their PC stuff on my Mac. And then there's the large library of unix software that can be tapped into. Then there's the Commodore 64 library of software that can be run on a Mac. And of course, there's all the Apple II software and even the Apple /// software can be run on a Mac. There's even a bunch of game machine emulators so you can play gameboy, nintendo, etc. on your Mac.

And, of course, Microsoft Office is available for the Mac. The first version of Microsoft Excel for any platform was in 1985, for the Mac. Word was first introduced on the Mac in 1984.

And last, but certainly not least, is the large amount of native Macintosh software available, most of which is more elegant and user friendly than Windows counterparts.

I generally end that conversation by saying "well, if all I did was play games on a computer, I might look at a PC. But since I do more than just that, and don't want to have to deal with 100,000+ viruses on a daily basis, I think I'll just stick with my Mac since it's not a toy just for games. Particularly with that lack of software issue on the PC."

Folks, let me tell you. They have no comeback for that one. I've had diehard power user PC guys speechless when I dropped that one on them.

Tomorrow, we'll talk about viruses.