I’m a part-time computer geek. There: I’ve said it. Geek. Nerd. I’m the guy people ask for computer advice. My picture hangs over the shared computers in the SFCM faculty lounge with an announcement that I am available for consultation or digital advice. I’ve written software, managed a computer lab, and in general done a lot of Information Technology stuff.
I also collect computers; what self-respecting geek doesn’t? I have three Macs—a massive Mac Pro for my main home computer, a top-of-the-line MacBook Pro for school use, and a Mini as living-room media center. I also have three PCs, all laptops—a clumsy 16” slab from Hewlett-Packard, an amusing little netbook, also from HP, running Ubuntu Netbook Remix, and a downright delightful Studio XPS model with a 13” screen from Dell. The big HP runs the pre-release version of Windows 7 while the Dell is running Vista.
I’m primarily a Mac guy and certainly would never consider being otherwise. But I’m far from indifferent to the PC world. I’ve been using Microsoft operating systems since the early DOS days. I was a beta tester for Windows 95 and I’ve always been deeply impressed with Windows 2000, the immediate precursor of Windows XP. I’m not particularly taken with Vista, but Windows 7 looks to make abundant amends. Nor is Vista anywhere near the turkey it’s made out to be; I’d rate it more as a Cornish game hen.
Certain advantages accrue to going PC. Software availability is dramatically better. I cheerfully confess to preferring Windows Live Writer to all other blogging clients, including my mainstay MacJournal. Writing up blog posts on the chipper, slick little Dell Studio XPS laptop, using Live Writer, is indubitably pleasant. The Dell has a great keyboard, a fine Apple-caliber display, and sufficient horsepower to make even Vista snap to attention. I’m not saying that it’s better than a MacBook Pro, but it hardly imposes the nightmare of inconvenience implied by some of those amongst Apple fandom. (However, the Dell does suffer from a serious design flaw, in that the heat exhaust is blocked by the display when the lid is open—and therefore the computer overheats all too easily and gets all whirry with fans. I can’t imagine that glitch ever surviving Apple’s design process.)
Microsoft Office remains superior in its Windows incarnation to the Mac version, which runs sluggishly even after being rewritten for the Intel platform. The redesigned interface in the Windows version requires a bit of retraining, but once you’re over the hump, there is no denying but that it shines much-needed light on programs which are seemingly bottomless pits of features. And the Windows version hops to it crisply.
Without question you can get more bang for the buck in a PC over a Mac, but caveats apply. For one thing, cheaper PCs are just that—cheaper—and they aren’t low-priced out of charity. Crappy construction, careless design, minimal specs, and substandard components characterize those bargain-basement jobs. Apple sells only premium-quality computers, remember, and a quality PC isn’t cheaper than a comparable Mac. The Dell XPS Studio laptop cost about the same as a 13” MacBook Pro, and is overall comparable, trading some extra features—larger hard drive, faster processor, more memory, HDMI and eSATA ports—for good, but hardly Apple-caliber design and build quality.
Oh, I’ll never be a PC guy primarily. In those Microsoft commercials with the shoppers looking at lappies I’d go for the Apple product every time. But nothing is all that black & white, and a well-designed PC, constructed of quality materials and built with integrity, can be more than just an acceptable computer; it can offer a fine experience in its own right.