Karelle Scharff, info@bestmacsolutions.com
What would you say if a salesman were to try to sell you a computer that could run 5 different operating systems at the same time, could network with your current computers, had tens of thousands of applications available for it, could run Microsoft Word and Excel, browse the internet with little fear of all the viruses, worms, Trojan horses just waiting to attack an unsuspecting computer, into which you could plug peripherals and they would just work, that would be blazingly fast, would last for years and was aesthetically pleasing and downright fun to work on?
You’d tell that salesperson that your mama didn’t raise a fool and if something sounds too good to be true, then it usually is too good to be true.
And you’d be wrong.
We’re talking about a Macintosh. The current operating system, OS X (aka Panther) integrates state of the art features of FreeBSD 4.4, a flavor of UNIX, into Darwin, its Open Source base. Though the full power of the command line is as close as the click of the mouse, most users neither need nor want to ever type a text based command and the interface ensures that your wish is its command. Additionally, the X11 Window Server is available in the installer for OS X, along with the multitude of applications that have been developed for it. Some legacy applications still require OS 9 to run and you can run them in Classic, an OS 9 emulation, inside OS X.
But wait, there’s more! If Linux floats your boat, get on board – Yellow Dog Linux runs on the PowerPC. But, you say, what you really need is to run an occasional Windows program. And you can by running Virtual PC 6.1 on your Mac, from 3.1 to XP Professional. Some Windows programs may not run, especially ones that depend on hardware that does not work on Macs, but those are few and far between.
What really doesn’t run on Macs is 99.95% of the viruses, hackery and other malware produced in the world today. Recently, MSBlast disrupted or shut down any number of corporate networks, government agencies and personal computers and is estimated by computer security experts to have incurred close to $1 billion worldwide in lost productivity and cleanup costs. According to the London digital risk management firm mi2g, in an October 2002 report on the vulnerabilities of all the major and minor operating systems, the Mac OS is the least vulnerable to attack (31 of 57,977 or .05%) and Windows is the most vulnerable (31,431 of 57,977 attacks or 54% of the total).
Though Macintosh computers are not as visible as the Wintel PC in either stores, catalogs or in the consultant section of the Yellow Pages, they are available locally at CompUSA stores, and through websites and catalogs such as www.maczones.com, www.clubmac.com, www.macmall.com and www.smalldog.com . There is a legion of resources to turn to in case of trouble, amongst which are Apple Tech support, one of the most highly regarded in the industry, the Colorado Macintosh User Group (www.comug.com) and local Macintosh consultants (www.macboulder.com). Trouble, however, is infrequent and the legendary Mac ease-of-use minimizes the need for training, eliminating the need for expensive IT staff on site.
PC Magazine conducts a survey amongst its readers each year to evaluate customer satisfaction with computer reliability and tech support. In 2003's 16th annual Readers’ Choice Service and Reliability Survey, Apple received an A+ for its desktop machines, and an A for both notebooks and servers - and this from a PC magazine. What do those satisfied customers know that you may not? They know that the hardware is fast and competitively priced, especially when you look at the total cost of ownership, including management, ITsupport and longevity, not just at original cost of the box. They like the “extras” – 802.11b/g wireless compatibility, easy Bluetooth implementation, Rendezvous (zero configuration networking), driverless download of digital video and photos, amongst others. They find hundreds of personal and professional uses for the integrated iLife applications (iPhoto for cataloging and sharing digital photos, iMovie for creating and editing digital video, iTunes for ripping, playing, burning and buying music, and iDVD for creating DVD presentations and GarageBand for the creation of music). And maybe they just like the sheer elegance of its innovations and industrial design and the comfort and joy found in working on a beautiful and superbly functional machine.