August 10, 2002 \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0Apple Computer’s new “Switch” advertising campaign struck a cord with me. \u00a0 Over a third of the correspondence I receive is from users frustrated with Windows. \u00a0 Every time I read an email describing a Windows error message or a computer that acts as if it has a mind of its own, I think, “If they were using a Macintosh, they wouldn’t be writing to me with a problem like this.” \u00a0 I know because I myself made the switch from Windows to Macs last year. \u00a0 Though I know how to correct the errors, crashes, and conflicts that plague Windows, I got tired of them and was not willing to give Microsoft a pass any longer. \u00a0 Switching to Macintosh, I traded Windows’ “Blue Screen of Death” for the Mac OS X (OS 10) “Blue Screen of Life”, as I like to call it. With a Mac, programs and peripherals install without fuss, and there are no more missing .dll files, hardware or software conflicts, system slowdowns, or surprise crashes. \u00a0 The last time I was forced to reboot my Macintosh was eight months ago, and it was my fault that it crashed. \u00a0 When I use a Windows machine, I have to reboot two or three times per day. Though Macs are the computer of choice of most creative professionals in the art, advertising, music, movie and publishing world, it seems to me that home users need them the most.<\/p>\n
Not only do Macs really work, they are effortlessly intuitive and fun to use. \u00a0 Apple’s iTunes software makes music mixing and CD burning a snap, and includes a nifty internet tuner for listening to radio stations from all around the world. \u00a0 iPhoto is by far the easiest digital photography software I have seen, and Microsoft Office for Mac OS X is superior to the Windows version, by Microsoft’s own admission. \u00a0 Web surfing is fantastic on a Mac. \u00a0 \u00a0 Open web browsers can be shrunk into little thumbnails in at the bottom of the screen for instant recalling. \u00a0 Neat stuff! \u00a0 In short, I have not seen a single thing a Windows PC does better than a Mac, except perhaps play games, as there are more games available for Windows. \u00a0 \u00a0
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\nRecently, two of my cousins and their spouses were looking for new computers. \u00a0 I took a new 14″ iBook laptop to show my cousin Eric and his wife, Sarin. \u00a0 “This comes with software we are really interested in using”, was Sarin’s remark. \u00a0 She quickly mastered iPhoto and was soon organizing, printing and emailing photographs of their baby Emma, and burned her first CD with iTunes. \u00a0 They purchased a new 12″ iBook with DVD-CDRW combo drive a week later, thrilled at how beautiful the Harry Potter DVD looked on the iBook’s crisp and colorful display. \u00a0 Their software and peripherals installed and operated without fuss, and I haven’t had a single question from them since.
\nCousin Joe and his wife Erin bought a Windows XP computer. \u00a0 Installing their scanner took seven downloads and four attempts to get the driver to install. \u00a0 Something about a .dll file. \u00a0 Just days later, they started calling. \u00a0 “The computer is connecting to the internet on its own and tying up the phone line for hours.” \u00a0 “Our speakers aren’t working.” \u00a0 “I can’t find the start button.” \u00a0 So much for Windows XP… \u00a0 some things never change!
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\nIn short, if you are looking for a new computer and are open to a superior ownership and computing experience, look at an Apple before you buy. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Have questions about audio, video, computers, or photography, or need some help using and enjoying what you already own? \u00a0 Don Lindich welcomes your questions and will be answering them in this column.<\/p>\n