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Macs are even better than they were before.
   technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

Solving the Windows dilemma, Part 4: Make things easy and get a Mac


June 11, 2000

By Al Fasoldt
Copyright ©2000, Al Fasoldt
Copyright ©2000, The Syracuse Newspapers

   The easiest way to get out from under Windows is also the oldest way. You leave the world of IBM-compatible PCs and get a Macintosh.
   Macs have been around since 1984. They don't work like PCs and aren't made like PCs. They're easier to use and much more reliable than PCs running Windows. (Find out more at www.apple.com.)
   So why aren't we all using Macs?
   Questions like that are based on the wrong assumptions, so I'm not going to give you a satisfactory answer. Ben & Jerry's ice cream is much better than most other brands, so why aren't we all eating Ben & Jerry's? I hope you see my point. What sells is not what is better. What sells is what is cheaper.
   And PCs have been cheaper than Macs for years and years. Apple, the company that makes Macintosh computers, made a huge mistake in the late '80s by pricing Macs too high. (At that time, Apple could make a Mac at a cost of $730 yet sell it for $2,300. That kind of greed cost it a lot of sales when it needed all the sales it could get.)
   But that's ancient history. What matters now is that Macs are even better than they were before. And they're just about as cheap as PCs when you figure in all the extras you get with a Mac. Those extras include normal stuff you'd recognize in an instant, such as a built-in monitor (on iMac models) and digital video editing capabilities (in the iMac DV model).
   But what I consider something else as the real feature you get with Macs as standard equipment. You can't get it with Windows. It's the solid-as-bricks reliability of the Mac operating system. It will work and work and work. It won't die on you because you dared to install a game. It can't freeze up on you because you were silly enough to expect it to run for more than four days in a row.
   The Mac's operating system was designed to have this kind of reliability from the start. Windows was designed as a DOS graphical system and was then prettied up into the current version. It crashes too much and can't handle memory properly.
   Unlike the Mac, Windows is also badly designed in another way -- a very important way, as millions of Windows users were reminded lately. Microsoft designed Windows without any protection against "VBScript" viruses -- the ILOVEYOU virus of this spring was just the first of thousands yet to come -- and it is a sitting target for other kinds of viruses, too.
   Macs use different software than Windows PCs use. This was once thought of as a liability, but it's actually a big plus. By avoiding the plague of virus-prone Windows software, Macs are literally invincible to attack from Windows viruses and, of course, Windows bugs.
   But this also means you need to buy new software when you switch to a Mac. If you like self-punishment, you can even run Windows programs on your Mac through an emulator called Virtual PC. (I'm not endorsing it in light of the problems Windows has. Why bring those difficulties to a Mac?)
   You can choose from thousands of Macintosh programs, including a version of Microsoft Office (with Word, Excel and the other programs in Office) and a lot of games. There are Mac versions of just about every kind of program you can run, in fact.
   Macs come in two basic models. The iMac has a built-in color monitor and is very easy to tote around. The display is beautifully clear and sharp. The other Macintosh models have separate cases and monitors. Because the iMac has the screen built-in, be careful when comparing prices. PCs are usually advertised without monitors.
   Macs are sometimes sold alongside PCs in discount computer and software stores, but often you'll find them at stores that specialize in Macintoshes. If you don't have a Mac dealer near you, do your shopping on the Web. Start by visiting the Apple Web site, then try out the links on the Apple site. You can also find Mac dealers through search engines if you use "Macintosh dealer" and "Mac prices" as the search phrases. (Skip the quotes if your searches don't find much.)
   Next: Installing an alternative operating system while keeping Windows on your PC.