Good Apple...Bad Apple

Not all rants listed on this website are having a blast at a company, product or person. Sometimes we actually throw in a couple of nice articles as well. This doesn’t mean they have to be too nice of course! but we always like to throw in a few positives and a few negatives - just to level up the arguement. Now lets begin.

For those of you that are a little shady on what an Apple computer system is and what it does and why you should purchase one, I’ve devised a few easy to read steps on the benefits of owning an Apple computer. I will also list a couple of disadvantages too, so it doesn’t look like I’m solely picking on the Windows operating system or the image of Personal Computing.

Advantages
1. They are the manufacturers of iPods.
2. They make the smallest and sleekest looking computer (Mac Mini).
3. They make 20″ widescreen LCD screens that ARE the computer (iMac G5).
4. They make PowerMacs.
5. They make MacBook Pros.
6. They are the definition of Plug-and-Play for ease of use.

Disadvantages
1. Now they’re getting popular, hackers and script kiddies are getting interested.
2. They are NOT cheap at all, in the slightest, hot damn. Time to take out a loan.
3. Applications like .exe files do not run on them so you need to re-purchase software.
4. Upgrading is not cheap either and there are less “Fiddly Bits” for the Macs.

So there you have it, an honest rundown of the good and the bad of the Apple systems. If you’re still interested in purchasing one however, please read on as I’m not finished with you yet, there is still much to talk about.

If you are interested in media design, print design, graphic editing, movie editing or just general editing because you’re not actually sure what you’re good at - apple is the way to go. With so many free programs floating around on the Internet that you can just pickup and use (like the GIMP, for manipulating photographs) it’s a wonder you never thought of purchasing one before.

Software is generally cheap for the Mac, including their operating system but more importantly, software to manipulate photos and full movie streams is also cheaper. Now in many instances some software will be more expensive than others, this goes without saying. “You get what you pay for in this life” was the famous expression used many a year ago and to this day its still valid and true.

As an avid Windows user of over 8 years, there were points at which I thought “Enough is Enough” when it came to cleaning out spyware and malware from my PC and the constant formatting and defragging was really getting me down. It seemed like I was spending 70% of my time cleaning out unwanted media, files and Internet history pages rather than actually being productive. In fact I can safely say my productivity was at an all time low. Then came Apple, the dark horse out of the corner of the room. For years I have used the windows operating system, I still like it, it has many features that I miss even today but in terms of reliability it still needed a lot of work done to it.

When I was shown an in-shop demonstration of the Apple iMac G5’s capabilities, how it handles files and how its backend structure works (its based on a Unix platform, very stable!) I fell in love instantly and purchased one on the spot. At this point of the purchase I never realised how expensive these things are but looking back I can safely say that I am up to 70-90% productivity, my working habits have increased, I spend less time “fixing” and more time “doing” and in the 6 months it took me to pay back this Apple, I firmly believe that it was worth every penny.

There are some things that I miss from my windows days, like the ability to run full-screen games and certain applications but this is a step I knew I was taking. I knew what would happen if I switched operating systems but I was excited, it was something I have never done before and looking back, I don’t regret the move one bit.