Top Eight Lies From the Mac vs PC Debate that You Believe
- If you want to create media, you need a mac.
- Macs are awful for programmers.
- Macs are faster.
- There are no programs for Mac.
- PC's are just copying Apple's innovations.
- Windows won't run well on a Mac because it's emulated.
- Macs can't get viruses.
- Macs aren't PC's.
In the last couple decades, a struggle has broken out. A population that once sat at peace was split by a simple decision of which operating system to use, and a war broke out. No gunshots were fired but thousands upon thousands of ardent supporters flung insults trashing the opposing faction across the vast expanse of the internet. With so many bits of information flying around, some are bound to be false, and they've been collected here. I like both Macs and PC's. I've used both and both have their strengths and weaknesses so I'm going to keep this list as balanced as possible.
The lie: "No, you don't get it. I really like playing guitar and I want to put some tracks together so I need the Mac."
The truth: I'm sure that you'll be a rock star some day, but no, you don't need a Mac. Sure, the Mac ads might have somebody cropping a photo or adding a filter, but that's nothing you can't do online for free. There are a very small handful of applications used in various entertainment industries that require a Mac but in general, for every bit of editing a Mac program can do, Windows has 5 programs that do the same thing.
The lie: If you want to be a computer programmer, you absolutely need a PC since most advanced programming software won't run on a Mac.
The truth: This couldn't be farther from the Truth. Although dollar for dollar, PC's are much faster (read below) which can be useful for things like compiling giant programs, Macs are much more diverse. Want to code an iOS app? You're going to want a Mac. The Unix based OSX also tends to play more nicely with developers. The rare programming task that requires Windows can be accomplished by running Windows on the Mac with Bootcamp.
The lie: Because Apple develops the operating system to optimize the hardware that they know it will run with, it runs more quickly.
The truth: While OSX is a very efficient operating system for the reasons stated above, it's used as an excuse to deliver subpar hardware. A $1,000 MacBook Pro has specs similar to what a $600 PC would have. Assuming similar hardware, the Mac is almost sure to outperform the PC, but that's not a fair argument because a Mac with the same specs as a Windows machine comes with a much heavier price tag. To make a fair comparison, you would have to put a $1,000 PC up against a $1,000 MacBook Pro, a situation in which the PC would run circles around the Mac (not literally of course. Well, at least not yet).
The lie: Macs look really cool, but I can't go without my essential programs like Microsoft One Note.
The truth: Nobody blames you for not letting go of Microsoft Office. Luckily for you, one person in the world who uses One Note, you don't have to go without it. It is true that at first the selection of software for Macs was horrible, but as their market share has slowly creeped up on that of PC's, developers have started to make more and more programs for Mac. With the exception of video games and industry-specific programs, particularly in the engineering field, many popular programs have Mac versions available as well. And for those that don't, Windows can be installed onto a Mac computer via Bootcamp. If you opt to do that though, the extra cost of a Windows operating system has to be taken into account too, and considering that you had to refinance your house to buy your Mac, that bill isn't looking pretty.
The lie: Apple always innovates new products and then Windows just copies their ideas.
The truth: That would be true if Windows and Apple had their names switched in that sentence. While Apple is far ahead of Windows in the smartphone game (there is a thing called a Windows Phone by the way), this article is strictly referring to the battle for computer supremacy. In this battle, Apple hasn't released as many innovative products as the black turtleneck would've liked you to think. In fact, Windows seems to be ahead of Apple in this regard. The MacBook Air is probably the closest to innovation that they have gotten with their Mac line, but to call simply making a laptop lighter innovation is a stretch. Look through the rest of Macs though. There is nothing innovative about any of them. The Mac Mini copied the budget PC. The MacBook copied the laptop. The Mac Pro copied the high performance desktop PC. Compare this to some of the Windows 8 laptops coming out now with touchscreens. They are on the market and are reasonably priced, but it's still hard to deny that if Apple came out and announced their touchscreen MacBook, they would receive endless praise for their innovative idea.
The lie: If you emulate software on a machine that isn't meant for it then it won't work as well.
The truth: Ok, I cheated. What I wrote in the lie is technically true. If you run Windows on a mac via an emulator such as Parallels then you will get significantly worse performance than if you run it natively. Macs, however, come with a nifty program called Boot Camp. Don't worry! It doesn't require you to do exercise of any sort. In fact, it removes the exercise you have to do of getting up and going to find a Windows PC. It helps Mac users install any operating of their choice (so basically Windows 7 unless you are of the Linux variety or the Windows 8 variety if you exist) onto their computers. What makes it different from these emulation programs is that Windows runs natively. That means that if you want to switch from Windows to Mac, all you have to do is shut down and press the option key while booting back up to decide which OS you want to boot into. Be warned though. You're going to want to make sure you have plenty of hard drive space to do this since you need to allocate an amount of your hard drive to the Windows operating system and anything that you plan on doing with Windows which will usually be about 40-120gb depending on what you need Windows for.
The lie: Software developers are dumb. Why are they making anti-virus for Macs. Don't they know that they can't get viruses?
The truth: First off, software developers aren't dumb. Now that that's out of the way, they make anti-virus programs for Mac because Macs can get viruses. Not that long ago, it wasn't worth it for hackers and malware developers to make viruses for mac since there are so many more PC users. Why make a key logger that could steal the passwords of hundreds when you can make one with less effort that would steal the passwords of tens of thousands. Well, PC anti-virus software became prominent while Mac users kept living in this state where they didn't have to worry about their security at all. That, along with the increased sales of Macs led to the development of viruses for the Mac too. There are still significantly more strands of malware targeted towards PC's but Macs don't have a free ride like they used to. Well, they have tons of free anti-virus options like Avast Sophos, but no more free rides.
The lie: You can't compare Macs and PC's. It's like comparing apples to oranges. Or like comparing Macs to PC's.
The truth: PC stands for personal computer. It is a computer that is meant to be used by one person at a time. Technically speaking Macs are PC's. Apple's wildly successful "I'm a Mac and I'm a PC” campaign might have made you think otherwise, but strictly speaking they are the same. They are also more similar than the marketing experts at Microsoft or Apple would like you to believe. Under the hood, they all run the same basic components of around the same quality. They can run a lot of the same programs and be used to do a lot of the same things. PC's promise variety in the market, much better value for the dollar, compatibility with virtually everything, and the ability to switch parts. You can even build your own! Macs promise a much more pleasing aesthetic, more variety by being able to easily run multiple operating systems (running Mac on Windows is significantly more difficult than running Windows on Mac), a brand that emanates quality, and an easier to use user interface. In the end though, just about everything else about these two computers is identical. Now can we stop the fighting so that we can all be friends?
List by: Nicholas Munarriz
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