Consider me a business user

Over the last several months, I’ve noticed that my computer expectations and demands have changed considerably. I’m not interested in the latest computer technology or the hottest design. I’m not looking for the new shiny product.

I really just want whatever works reliably and whatever works the best. In the past, I’ve had a lot of time to play around with different setups and programs for getting stuff done. For instance, I’ve spent a good amount of time playing around with Google Docs even though I know that it is nowhere near production quality. I’ve tried OpenOffice because it is free. I’ve played with Linux because it’s free and because its supposed to have good performance. I’ve played around with the Windows 7 Beta (not quite there yet) and the Windows 7 RC (quite solid). I bought a stylish gold and black Asus multimedia laptop, which I stopped using because the keyboard and touchpad buttons were not up to snuff. As you all know, I got rid of the MacBook. I just don’t have the time to play around anymore.

No more betas, release candidates, or other shaky software for me. No more shiny computers. No more software that is advertised as just as good, but for some unknown reason, no one actually uses it. I’m sticking to the basics. I’m sticking to what works. I don’t care if it is ugly or unpopular.

It’s Windows Vista Business SP2 (which is stable), Office 2007, and Firefox for me. I’ll stick with my trusty Lenovo ThinkPad T61, even though it is large, ugly, and rather industrial looking. When the difference between getting the job done and not getting the job done means messing up a trial, not filing a case, or simply being unprepared for court, one becomes a little bit more conservative in what they choose to rely on.

So my MacBook is gone

That’s right. I sold my MacBook. It was nice to have for a few weeks. It was a good computer but at the end of the day, it did not meet my needs. I’ve learned a lot in the time that I had the Mac. Here is some of what I’ve learned.

1) MacBooks are excellent computers. My Macbook worked as advertised. It was quick, reliable, and easy to learn how to do the basic stuff. Some features, such as advanced power management (standby mode) worked perfectly. To this day, I have never had APM work well on a PC.

2) There is less software available for the Mac than for the PC. I know this probably seems obvious, but one doesn’t really realize how this is an issue until you need the software. I particularly missed Chrome, Media Monkey, and Windows Live Writer. Also, Office 2008 for Mac is inferior to Office 2007 for Windows. The interface sucks. Further, OpenOffice preserved the look and style of my Office 2007 documents better than Office 2008. That’s just sad.

Also, software for the Mac costs about 30 to 40% more than the equivalent Windows software. I don't know why. That was just my observation. Cool software and tricks from blogs such as Lifehacker frequently focus only on Windows software so I missed out on that also.

3) Apple hardware rocks. I loved the MacBook keyboard and build. It was stylistic. It felt high quality despite being the cheapest model and everything worked well. However, you do get a lot less quantity for your money than you will get with the average PC. The quality will be higher than with the average PC.

4) Overall, I found Apple’s software to be quality, including iTunes, Safari, iWork, iLife, etc. However, I personally found the software to be inflexible. You had to do it the Apple way. If that worked for you, the software was great. If it didn’t, you did not have very many alternatives. The Apple way didn’t work for me.

5) Apple customer service kicks ass. The one time I did have an issue booting my MacBook, I made an appointment at an Apple Store. My name was called on time. The person helping me was knowledgeable, friendly, and fixed my computer. I did not get harassed about a warranty. He simply scanned my computer and fixed it.

6) I’m a PC. What I mean by this is that I know PCs and Windows so well that it was impossible to transition without lots of time and effort. In my current job and lifestyle, I simply don’t have the time to relearn everything. Further, the costs of being slower on a Mac are high to me now. I have used PCs since I was 10 years old. I have almost exclusively used, built, and hacked PCs over the last 16 years. I did use Macs (namely Adobe PageMaker) while on the school newspaper in high school, but I never did anything outside of a web browser or PageMaker.

I’ve also learned that I’m a power user. I know most of the Windows shortcuts, I know how to fix Windows problems. If I can’t fix the problem, I know where to look. With Macs, I knew nothing. I could barely install and uninstall programs. I knew no shortcuts. It took me several minutes to do on a Mac what it would take me a second or two to do on a PC. Sometimes it took a very long time to figure out how to do something new (like burn disk images). Once I learned, it was easy, but it took a while the first time around.

If you have been using PCs for years and years and are considering a Mac because people are telling you it is better, do not switch. It takes time and energy and will be years before a Mac will work as well as a PC for you. Macs probably are better than almost all PCs, but it won’t be better for you. Just wait for Windows 7 and buy a very high quality PC (Thinkpad, Dell XPS, etc).

If you are not computer savvy and are looking for a new computer, I would absolutely recommend a Mac. They are easy, work as they should, and provide excellent customer service. Just don’t ask me how to do anything because I don’t know.