Yes, Mac is short for McCulloch which is a line of home power tools. In the computer world, however, “Mac” is synonymous with the Apple Macintosh line of computers. Now that we’ve covered that most obvious point it may also be worth noting that for all practical purposes, a computer is indeed a computer even if it is called by some name other than “a computer.” The whole idea, in case you were wondering, behind covering this topic is to purposefully demonstrate the idea that Macs aren’t any really worse, or better, than a Windows-based computer. It has been my experience that the whole argument is one that is as baseless as the whole “Chevy vs. Ford” argument. To get down to brass tacks let me make it very clear where I stand on the issue; the only difference is with the user and not the respective platforms.

To the vast majority of readers the whole argument is silly because they just want to use what everybody else is using, and they just want it to work. That is quite a legitimate criteria, however the idea of using what everyone else is using does not address why a significant portion of professionals use Macintosh computers. The concept flies in the face of it in fact. I would encourage anyone who is curious to understand why people even use Macs to ask themselves what they have a computer for in the first place. If your answer sounds like the following, “e-mail, surfing, solitaire & writing letters” (which constitutes a large portion of users) then I’d reply – “So what really is so scary about a Macintosh?” The answer to that is actually pretty simple, I’ve seen it way too many times from both sides of this argument: “X_Platform is so much more difficult to use than Y_Platform.” People are comfortable with what they know and are unlikely to change, even if they perceive that there may be a possible advantage to changing. This is true with most things in life, including computers.

Within the IT community, the arguments get even more stalwart and narrow-minded. Perhaps one of the most popular arguments against using Macintosh is that it only has one mouse button. Now before you jump out of your chair in a state of delight or outrage please allow me to clarify this fact. Apple designs all stock Macintosh computers to have only one mouse button in order to attract more novice users. Think of it, Windows-users, how simple would learning how to use a computer have been for you if you did not have to adopt behavior patterns consisting of a series of “left-click on this, right-click, scroll down, left-click again”. Learning the Mac platform is easy, “un-learning” old Windows habits is really the part that prevents most users from switching. Back on the other side of the argument, if using a single mouse button is some sort of a threat or disadvantage to Technophiles, you can always buy a plain old two-button mouse, etc., and switch it out. No big deal.

“Does it do Windows?”, as people have asked me so many times. Understanding what they are actually asking really does address the heart of the matter. Short answer: Yes, long answer: No. There is a version of Office for the Mac. You can make Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents on a Mac every bit as easily as you can on a PC. You can seamlessly trade these files with Windows users as well. In that respect there is no difference between the two platforms. Internet Explorer does exist for the Mac as well, although I don’t think many Mac users would advise using it over Safari or Firefox or several other browsers. One big draw back to using the Mac platform in an area such as Southwest Louisiana is that you usually have to order software on line. You can’t just go down to Wal-Mart or Office Depot to get it. Which brings me back to the beginning, “What do you do with your computer?”

One area that the Mac platform clearly does stand head and shoulders over the Windows platform is security. This includes virtually no viruses, spyware, trojans or all of those other wonderful things you hate about your Windows-based computer. Depending on your browser, pop-ups really aren’t as much of a problem either. Why is this? Why do Windows users have to suffer all of these inconveniences for the sake of the convenience of owning a Windows-based computer? The answer is two-fold. The first part has to do with the fact that all of this malware is not designed to run on anything other than Windows. Malware authors simply design their software to affect the greatest number of people. The second part of this answer is one that may surprise you. It might possibly actually make you a bit upset with Microsoft for thinking that they know what is best for you. The sad truth is that there is absolutely no reason why Windows XP is not as secure out of the box as a Macintosh other than plain old default user preference.

Fresh out of the box, a Macintosh computer will ask you for a user name and password just as any Windows computer will. It will also ask you for an administrative (known as “root”) password just as Windows will. The difference is what the platform(s) do with this information. On a Mac, the basic user profile is locked down to some degree. You must use the administrative password in order to install anything. This is what you get with an out-of-the-box Mac. In Windows, the default configuration is set-up with administrative privileges, there is very little difference, in that respect, with the administrative profile. Microsoft says that most computer users are not going to want to be bothered with this level of security and Malware authors exploit this “reality”. Most Windows-users don’t even know anything about user-based permissions and that is why the problem exists.

Let me make something clear: I use both platforms, and I see many other small things that separates the two platforms that, in my mind, arguing about makes as much sense to me as splitting so many hairs. It really is a matter of personal preference – there really isn’t any big difference between the two that would make me say that one is better than the other. That is, save one consideration. The core of Apple’s Mac OSX series is getting close to being forty years old. The Windows XP core has been in development since the mid to late eighties. OSX is far more mature with far fewer security flaws. Nevertheless, neither is truly foolproof, no system is.

If you want a system that, overall, has fewer issues, fewer hassles, and is developed specifically for bottom-of-the-line ease-of-use, don’t be afraid to try a Mac. On the same token, Mac users, don’t be afraid to hear that the Mac platform is not 100% compatible with the rest of the world because it’s just the truth. The Mac is different enough but it will still do whatever it is you bought for in the first place. That is indeed the bottom line when comparing the functionality of the two platforms on purchase day. So, what do you want to do with your computer anyway?


Richard Horvath, Infinity Prime Media, LLC or the Times SWLA are in no way responsible and do not accept any responsibility for errors, accidents, or computer or data failure or malfunction that may occur with the use of any of the software mentioned in the preceding article.