Mac versus PC

So, I get asked this question a lot. I have been a die hard Microsoft / Intel PC guy since Dos 5.0 (we'll not discuss my TRS80 programming days). However, last year I moved to Macbook Pro at work, and at home shortly there after. It's been a while now, and I feel like I can offer my opinion to anyone that is curious.

Cost. Yes, it is more expensive. Everything about it seems more expensive. I don't know who's coming up with the numbers for making Mac look equal or cheaper than PC in the long run. Clearly these are the same people that Statistics is a real math.

User experience: Mac is superior in many, many ways. It's clear that this is a company that honors form over function in some cases, but generally that's okay with most users since rarely do I meet anyone that effectively uses more than 20% of the OS abilities anyhow.

Software: User mileage may vary. When I first got my Mac, I found myself paying obscene amounts for software that did very basic things. As I've grown more familiar with where the users are, I've found more and more shareware and freeware. I still think ultimately you'll pay more for software than with a PC, but if you're reasonably clever and brave, you can find most of what you need out there.

Power: Ah, this is where the computer geek meets Tim, "the toolman" Taylor. I got sucked into buying a Mac Pro at home (for three times what I usually pay for a computer) because I run ProTools, and the 64bit version was Mac only. That meant to get the horsepower and RAM I needed, I had to go Mac. I've not regretted the decision. There is something about seeing those eight cores all peg to 100% during a render that is sooooo satisfying.

Functionality: This used to be a problem, but now with Parallells and Fusion you can easily run Microsoft OS, so if you've got something you can't find (or don't want to pay for) on Mac OS, this is a fantastic option (with enough RAM, you'll never even notice it running).

So, long story short? If you've got the cash, I like the Mac better - though only really when you get to the high end lines. For software development, graphics, audio and video creation I'm a bit more limited for the same money, but I'm able to do LOTS more at the same time which more than makes up the difference I'm paying for the software and hardware.