Hi, I'm a PC... and I'm a Mac

Hi, I'm a PC...

We’ve all seen the series of commercials pitting Apple against the PC, and although I admit they’re clever and bring up some good points, I’d like to set the record straight and say that I will never—EVER—be an Apple guy. I’m all for cleverness and elegant, sophisticated design, but the love for Apple has become nauseating for me. Yes, I have an iPod (more on that in a future column…) and have experience with Macs dating back to my days as a young struggling editor, but I have always gone back to the PC, whether for work or for personal use. The debate runs far and wide—even our own physician editor has Apples in his house!—but it stops here, and here are some reasons, most of them from personal experiences: 123456

1. No right click.

Yes, I know you can now get an Apple mouse that has this function, but for years, whenever I used an Apple and went to right-click, my middle finger—accustomed to clicking the right mouse button on the way-ahead-of-its-time PC mouse—was instead used for things like flipping my computer the bird after realizing it was a regular click.

2. Sad iPod face.

This has now shown up twice on the iPods I’ve purchased over the years, bringing my total spending on dysfunctional

iPods up to the price I paid for my first car. Yeah, let me run out and buy the 80GB Video iPod now—oh, and then keep me from wirelessly streaming the music I bought on iTunes to my Xbox 360.

3. Refurbished iMacs.

Since I’ve been here, my production team (the Mac lovers of the world, of course… oooh, we’re designers!) has gone through two refurbished G5s because they just decided to stop working without any warning. Good times in a deadline environment, let me tell you.

4. Lame for games.

America’s favorite Internet activity is playing games, and although these “games” are casual, the PC is still the king when

it comes to new releases and the next great computer game. Download BioShock if you don’t believe me. Mac users, enjoy that latest version of Photoshop.

5. Limited custom capabilities.

Modders, builders, or geeks who overclock their machines to squeeze out every last bit of performance do so on PCs, giving them an impressive shelf life over the soon-to-be- $2,500-paperweight Macs.

6. The whole “lifestyle” crap.

Give me a break with this one. Oooh, we’re innovative. Oooh, we make cool-looking products. Yeah, thanks, Apple. Now, does it work for more than a year? Will you upgrade something and make the one I just bought obsolete? Will you continue to deny that it’s broken and that Microsoft must have something to do with it?

Mac users, I salute you. You’ve been able to handle terrible customer service, those puck mice, illogical upgrade patterns, and probably a bad power cord or two. For design, nothing else compares—if the way it sits all Feng shui on your desk is important to you, go for it. If you think Microsoft is the root of all that is evil in the world, then by all means avoid Mr. Gates and his dream of putting a PC in every home in the world.

As a PC user, yes, I have to put up with the possibility of viruses, malicious software (malware), spyware, and a host of other nasty electronic traps that could affect my computing experience. But like my car, which I service regularly and get cleaned, my custom-built, mid-tier PC has been running smoothly for the last four years, and that’s with the addition of some RAM modules, a new graphics card, a new audio card, and countless software upgrades and other junk that eats up precious memory and speed. And I’m sure I’ll have it for another four years…you know, right around the time when the iPhone drops $50, its battery lasts longer than a Two-and-a-Half Men episode, and they introduce more wireless carriers that let you sign a contract for less than $400/year.

... And I'm a Mac

If you don’t have an appreciation for elegance, innovation, and sophistication, I suppose a Mac isn’t for you. If you’d rather be gaming for hours at a time instead of creating slide shows or movies of you and your family, a Mac will not suffice. Since I wasn’t given enough room to write all the reasons why I think PCs don’t measure up (thanks, Maillard), I will instead give you a short list of why I think Macs are better.

1. Sound, video, camera, USB 2.0, Ethernet, Firewire—standard on all Macs.

2. Hassle-free out-of-box experience—just plug in and go.

3. You can run Windows, OS X, or both.

4. Have you seen the new iMac?

5. Mac customer service is not worse than PC.

John has many complaints when it comes to the world-dominating Apple iPod. I just have one question for him: how’s the Zune?

Ari Mihos is a graphic designer for MDNG and a die-hard Mac guy. Are you a Mac-doc? Send your thoughts to amihos@mdng.com.