I am by no means a technology guru. I’m don’t blog about tech, I don’t read obsessively about tech and I don’t build/hack/overclock computers on a regular basis (read: I never do that kind of stuff). I’m a Joe Schmoe user when it comes to computers. I like my RAM big, my processors fast and my hard disks massive. What I don’t like is the hype surrounding Macs these days.
Again, let me restate that I’m not a tech-geek. I’m a regular guy. But what’s the big deal about Macs? The most common reasons I hear about why everyone should buy a mac are 1. They never crash, 2. They have better graphics and 3. they are less likely to get computer viruses. (Yes, this is whole post is one big straw man fallacy. But please forgive my logical fallacy while I explain my point.)
PCs are more crash-prone
Now, as for the first point, I can only take other people’s word for it because in the past 10 years of using a PC/Windows combination I’ve never once had a computer crash on me. I’ve never seen a BSOD on anyone’s PC let alone my own. Mac lovers say it happens all the time. I can’t prove them wrong, I can’t say that it doesn’t happen all the time (it very well may happen all the time) but it has never happened to me; and I’ve used some shoddy PCs in my day. In college I used a PC that was cobbled together by my then-girlfriend’s dad with spare parts he had laying around, a mason jar of moonshine and a bootlegged install of Windows 95(!). If a PC was ever to crash I would have expected that one to be it.
At any rate, Macs still have problems just like PCs.
Macs have better graphics
As for the second point, yeah, Macs do render type better (anti-aliasing rocks on them) and they render graphics better as a rule. The average user doesn’t care about this. I don’t care about this. I guess if you’re really into this kind of stuff then it’s worth the extra money. Moving on…
Macs get fewer viruses
As for the third argument, that Macs get fewer viruses, it’s completely true. This is largely due to the fact that since a smaller percentage of the world’s computer users own a Mac (due to price?) virus writers tend to not see it as being worth their time. Why spend countless hours writing a virus that could potentially infect 20% (that’s a guess at a percentage) of the computers out there? Instead they write viruses that will infect the other 80% (again, that’s a guess). But my point is that the argument of “less viruses” is not a good one. If you take that argument to its logical conclusion then you’re best off sticking with a Commodore 64 because people hardly EVER write viruses for those! 
In conclusion
Will the superior graphics of a Mac make me switch to a completely different operating system? Not a chance. Besides the fact that I’m lazy and don’t want to learn a new OS, I don’t want to have to pay MORE for the opportunity to learn it. The thing is, from a Joe Schmoe’s point of view (like myself) Macs and PC’s don’t seem that different, aside from the OS of course … and the one button mouse (talk about unusable. Of course, Mac has recently wised up and followed the PCs lead of a two button mouse.) What does seem different is that Macs are ruthlessly expensive, and that Mac does that on purpose.
If I were to get a Mac it would be for the same reason that I perceive as the main reason many people buy a Mac: peer pressure. Mac is a brand name, it has a high “coolness” factor. You’re considered 1337 if you have a Mac. Remember back in the early 90s when everyone just HAD to have a pair of Nike Air Jordans? Yeah, it’s the same thing now with Macs; and iPods too for that matter. It’s not that they’re inherently better, it’s just that they cost more which gives them perceived value and are generally viewed as being “cooler” than the more generic PC.
And let us always remember than Macs are just name-brand PCs.
