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Why switch?
The 10 reasons that Apple must think is imperative for
making the change from a PC to a MAC can be found on their website. Of
course if you have the time to read through all of them you realise that
these 10 features or reasons have been standard with the PC a long, long,
long time. Some of the reasons are just plain myths that Apple invented.
Probably because they ran out of fabricated facts.
So take the journey through
the 10 commandments of a mac-enthusiast and enjoy their naive attitude
towards personal computing.
1. The Mac... It just works

This is maybe the ultimate reason a mac owner
will give you to explain why it's superior to a PC. The mac owner will
tell you that all people that own macs are really satisfied with their
computers and would never switch back. This is ofcourse not true. If you
read our Real stories you will find
all kinds of interesting stories about owning a mac.
The mac owner will also tell
you that with a system from Apple you will never have to think about drivers,
upgrades or anything. A mac is perfection itself when delivered. Atleast
according to their standard. Many mac:s can't even be upgraded. So what
you buy is what you get. Expect your system to be outdated within 1-2
years.
Apple also states: "Only
with a Mac do you get an operating system built by the same people who
built the computer it runs on.". Actually Apple's Mac OS X (the
operating system) is not based on their own technology, but by the technology
of freeBSD. Apple's own capabilities in form of creating an operating
system have been demonstrated in previous versions of Mac OS. It took
an operating system based on someone else's technology to get a Mac multitasking
and not behaving like an oversized pocket calculator from 1985.
2. It doesn't crash

Yes it does! And it does it alot. The difference
between a pc based on Windows crashing and a Mac is that on the pc the
crash is in 99% of the cases caused by badly coded third party software,
when the Mac just has a faulty operating system. Why else would Apple
themselves run their india
website on Linux RedHat?
There
is another fun part about crashes on the mac, it's almost always impossible
to trace the source of the crash. When your mac crashes you simply reinstall
the system. Sounds like a fun thing to do on your spare time, well buy
a Mac then!
3. Simply the best in digital music

This point is actually based on Apple's iPod. I
must admit, the iPod is not an ugly creation. I'll give Apple credit for
that. But as always, they exaggerate the
benefits of their product. Apple was far from first with creating a portable
mp3-player with a built in harddrive but on the other side they do offer
the most expensive solution.
The
iPod is about 40-60% more expensive than technologically equal products.
Keep in mind also that it offers no recording option and no belt clip.
Two very crucial benefits a portable mp3-player should have.
4. The missing link in digital photography

It's amazing! Apple has invented a program called
iPhotos that will revolutionize the way we look at digital photos. Hear
what they have to say: "Simply drag your mouse, and iPhoto magically
grows or shrinks your photo thumbnails. So you can view individual shots
in detail or see hundreds of photos on the screen at once...".
Maybe mac users are new
to digital photos on the computer but on the pc we have a huge variety
of freeware that does the job of iPhoto and more, to choose from. So when
Apple says that they are "the missing link in digital photography"
maybe what they meant was that iPhoto is the missing link of the Mac.
Windows users reached that
stage of evolution ages ago.
5. Your own digital entertainment center

It seems that Apple thinks that they've revolutionized
computing by developing mediocre software for viewing digital photos,
editing video, burning CDs and DVDs and listening to music. Well they
haven't!
6. Goes everywhere you go

You better sit down for this one, hold on to your
seat and embrace yourself for some cutting edge news from Apple... they've
invented the laptop, eureka! Not only that,
they think they've made it superior to other laptops. Let's look at why
and also try to answer their questions:
- Can your PC laptop go
coast to coast with just one battery?
Ofcourse. And if it only needs the performance of the Mac it
could probably go around the world.
- Can you put the system
to sleep just by closing the lid?
Oh my god, a Mac can do that? Well, so can a PC!
- Does it wake up instantly?
Duh!
- Can your PC laptop automatically
switch between Ethernet,
dial-up and wireless connections on the fly?
Without a doubt!
- Without a restart?
Is this a joke? This really proves that Apple has no clue on what their
competitors are doing. If they never have used a PC running Windows
it makes their tests and objective sayings about the Mac really credible.
Oh, by the way, I was being sarcastic.
7. It's built for the internet

Apple makes a huge point about the easability of
configuring an internet connection on a mac. All new Windows versions
come with just as easy to use guides for connecting to the internet with
modem, lan or anything else. They also brag about such obvious tools of
communication like email, favorites and contacts. Yes Apple, this is really
new and hot stuff, you are indeed innovative. Or maybe not.
The worst part might be that
they lie about their under average video-plugin Quicktime. This might
be one of the worst programs ever to install. Actually if some students
at a university needed an example of a really poorly written program,
this would be a perfect opportunity
for Quicktime to step into the limelight.
8. Office is Office, and then some

Yes, the mac comes with Office and this is why
you should make the switch from a pc to a mac:
"The transition to a
Mac is easy in part because youll continue using the same applications
you already know"
Ask
yourself this: Why would I switch when It's the exactly same on the mac?
-Beats me. Apple does speak of some mysterious features in this sentence:
"And thanks to exclusive features, the Mac versions
improve on their Windows counterparts"
As you might expect they mention nothing on what these features are.
Well they're probably just wonderfully, perfectly and amazingly non-existent!
9. Works effortlessly with PCs

Apple thought for a long time that they'd be best
off constructing their own method for network-communication. Everyone
that has struggled with the glorious AppleTalk knows that they didn't
do a great job. Now they have realised that it's better to use an already
working technology that someone else created instead of poorly reinventing
the wheel.
"Networking on a Mac
is built on the same technologies used by PCs."
They also reveal amazing means
of medias you can use on your mac:
..."you can also swap
files via data CD, floppies or Zip disks."
10. It's beautiful

Apple
emphasises that all their products are masterpieces of design. Their problem
is that their focus on design hinders them from creating ergonomical and
practical machines. If you have ever used the small round iMac mouse you
have probably too suffered from aches in arm and hand.
"...ergonomic products
that are the toast of the design world..."
It wasn't I who brought up the word toast into the debate. On the other
hand it was I who drew the paralell to machines looking like plain household
machines. Who wants a computer that look like a remnant from the 70's
like the one on my right. You could probably achieve the same state of
hallucination if staring long enough on this iMac, that you could by inhaling
large amounts of heavy drugs.
So what have we learned from these 10 points that Apple provides for
the potential buyer. We have learned that Apple likes to tell their future
customers that the mac is built on technology they probably already are
using on their PCs. They also lure the extremely naive buyers with words
like internet, word-processing and cd-burning.
Please do not be fooled. You have nothing to gain by switching to a Mac.
Apple has proved it on their own, with a little help from us.
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