10.22
It’s what seems to be an age-old question: get an Apple computer or don’t? From the perspective of a person who spent a ton of money on Macs recently 9and who is writing this article on an aluminumiMac), and otherwise has used PCs, here are the points of contention, with notebook computers as the focus:
Design – Yes, PC makers’ new designs are getting better and better, but Apple takes the cake here, generally speaking. Appearance may be a matter of taste, in which entrants from Dell, HP and evenLenovo (fka IBM) may win, but design also includes build quality, where Apple handily wins against all but the most business-focused of the PC line. Aesthetics also translate into performance improvements of sorts; the newMacbooks, due to their aluminum unibody construction, are about a pound lighter and 30-50% thinner than comparable non-Apple machines. They also feel stronger. If nothing else, Apple is the king of fit and finish, especially with the latest round ofiPod and portable upgrades. The contrast is as stark, if not as practical, on the desktop side of things, though Apple’s desktop aesthetics come at the expense of minimalism…
Ports and Expansion – Sorry Apple, PCs win here. As long as Steve Jobs reigns as Apple CEO, his philosophy of “less is more” will deprive Apple machines of such ports asHDMI, limit USB connectors to a ridiculously low number compared with PCs, and insist on proprietary video connectors on all but the low-end and high-end desktop Macs (the Mac mini and Mac Pro are now the only Apple computers that have an industry-standard video out connector, and the Macmini’s days may be numbered, with no upgrades in practically forever). Also, ahem, no FireWire on new Macbooks, more inexplicable because Apple pushed the standard so hard in the beginning. As to expansion capabilities, the Macbook Pro has an ExpressCard slot, and the Mac Pro has tons of expansion capabilities. For other Macs, you can upgrade the memory (iMac and Macbook series) and the hard drive (Macbook series) without voiding your warranty. This stands in opposition to PC units, where most desktops allow you to dive into the case, upgrading whatever component you want, and where the vast majority of notebook PCs haveExpressCard slots and plenty give easy access to upgrade the memory, hard drive, wireless card and maybe more.
One more thing: you don’t see media card readers on Macs. Useful, but you’ll have to buy your own and hook it up externally.