I am a heavy user of Apple products…computers and monitors…to do my work, iPod to give me some enjoyment listening to music and watching videos, and various software programs which I use for both work and fun. But, I have used Windows PC's a lot in my time, generally to great satisfaction.
Over recent months there have been TV commercials touting the advantages of both Apple computers and PC (Windows) computers. Loyal users of both products and systems get very emotional about things when people from "the other side" say their stuff is better. I recently had an experience which sums up why I prefer Apple products.
Last week I bought a new router, so as to wirelessly network our home. The router was an Apple product, but it works on both Apple and PC computer systems. I first decided to install the router next to my wife's Dell (Windows) computer running the Vista operating system. Her computer is upstairs while mine are in my downstairs office. I figured it would be better to have the wireless hub upstairs…better reception throughout the house. To get it all up and running, I had to install wireless network settings on the Dell with Vista and it was, in short, a total nightmare. I AM NOT a technical network guy, so between my inexperience and Vista's total lack of helpful dialog I could not get it to work.
Windows Vista is, to me at least, almost impossible to figure out what's going on behind the scenes. As I mentioned earlier, I am not a novice with the Windows operating system, I used it from it's earliest beginnings at work and at home. Windows XP was and is a great operating system. But, Vista is something else.
So, with my failure to get it to work using Vista, I decided to install it in my office downstairs, on my Apple Mac Pro. As I did, the computer gave me prompts that some settings I'd set initially on my wife's computer were wrong…caused when I went through the same setup on my wife's computer using Vista, which gave me no such prompts, leaving me to guess what to do. The Mac Pro told me which settings to use in plain language, and within seconds I was up and running.
This example is why I prefer Apple over any other computer. And why Apple's operating system OSX is so much better than Windows Vista. I can't say that, however, in relation to Windows XP. It is very good. But Apple has, overall, left Microsoft behind in the dust. And, Apple computers can run BOTH OSX and Windows operating systems on the same machine.
Oh, don't buy all the TV commercial hype about how much more an Apple laptop costs than a Windows PC laptop. Figures can be manipulated to fit any argument. Plus, not having to put up with the frustration of using Vista in the first place is worth lots more than just money.
