At the close of the stock market yesterday, Apple surpassed Microsoft as the most valuable tech company in the world. Today the lead widened even more. I know many of you are in disbelief that your beloved MSFT has fallen so far, or that your stock hasn't moved in 10 years... Am I gloating? Yeah maybe. But as an Apple faithful, I knew this day would eventually come. What yesterday proved is that I was right all along – that Apple makes wonderful products and MS lacks innovation, copies others, and is late to the game with half-baked products (Vista, Zune, Kin). Also this proves that more and more peeceer's are making the smart choice to end their misery. Unfortunately, many of my readers still refuse to let go, like a 40 year old still sucking on his security blanket.
I'm sure by now you know my opinion is very biased so please feel free to roll your eyes. Fact is, in my lifetime I've only used a peecee for a few days of training here and there, and I currently use it twice a month to do my timecard. What I find is that their desktop and menus are ugly and the workflow clunky, very unlike the elegance of my Mac. When I type on a peecee, I feel dirty, contaminated, like my soul has been violated... I can proudly say that I have NEVER even booted up a peecee in my life. And I never will. But that's just me.
What I do know I hear from my friends and family. If I had a dollar for every time someone said their peecee was slow, infected, crashing, in the shop, etc., I'd be a rich man. A part of me feels sorry for them, but a bigger part of me wants to say to them "Dude, you got a dell? Hahaha!" or "Wow, I would expect a better OS for $399..." but I'm too classy to pile it on :) All I know is that I wouldn't want to be them. Actually, who I really feel sorry for is the poor schmuck/friend they call upon (over and over) for tech support because they're too cheap to pay the shop $200 on a machine that has only a $150 value. Sure, I would do the same (it's the Chinese way), but is the cost savings worth the possible toll on your friendship? If I was that schmuck, I would immediately get a Mac and abandon the peecee just to preserve the friendship.
To make matters worst, generally the people that freak at spending a few extra hundred on a Mac are the very same people who happily spend a few extra thousand buying the EX/XLS/luxury versions of their car. Oh how people have no problem spending an extra $10k on a BMW/Lexus/Acura sedan over a comparably equipped Toyota or Honda because of the perceived "quality" and status. So let me ask, can a Lexus ES really get you from point A to B better than a Camry? And if so, at what cost? (Higher insurance, pricier maintenance and premium gas.) Are all those added creature-comforts really worth it? They say image is everything, but are you that much more the studmuffin/sexymomma with that fancy car when your kids are in the backseat?
Also, when you think about your luxury car, the annual depreciation alone is more than enough to buy a new Mac every single year. Hmmm, I can drive a beemer for 5 years and watch it's value plummet from $40k to $30K, or I can get an Accord for $25k and get a new iMac or Macbook every year and still come out ahead... And which one will bring you more happiness: sitting in your precious car while stuck in traffic? or creating incredible stuff on your Mac in the comforts of your home? Decisions, decisions...
Recently, one of the luxury car owners (and lifelong blanket-suckers) asked me what makes the Mac better? I started rambling off about OSX and it's lack of viruses and free preloaded iApps, but then I stopped. I told him to go ask someone who has switched. Since I've never used a peecee, I can't really compare. But of all the people I've helped switch to a Mac, NONE of them have ever gone back to peecee. Not one. In fact, in many instances, they've even convinced their spouses to switch too, so now they have two Macs in their household! Imagine that, a bunch of cheap chinamen willing to pay a premium for a computer! (Fortunately, some of us cheap chinamen also know a bit about value and quality of life.) Now the time they used to spend patching, upgrading and debugging is spent on just being productive. As they say, "once you go Mac, you never go back." To you all, you are welcome.
As graduation nears, some of you will get new computers for your kids. If you get them a cheap peecee craptop, then you are preparing them for a lifetime of hard labor. It's like in a village when a boy turns 10 and dad takes him out to work the rice fields. They'll spend their days frustrated, troubleshooting and rebooting. It's like forcing them to solve the Rubik's cube on a daily basis. At best they will grow up to be great problem-solvers. At worst, socially-inept nerds. Is this a chance you're willing to take?
Also you'll have the pleasure of training them not to open any .exe files or visit hundreds of virus sites that you won't know about until it's too late. Plus you get to do cool newsletters in Word and slideshows in Powerpoint using those snazzy transitions. They'll then thank you by taking that craptop to school where their unsavory friends can help fill it with satanic music, pirate software and loads of porn, thus crashing it and they you can buy another one. It's an endless cycle.
So instead of buying something that rhymes with feces, get the whole family a 27" iMac that stays in the house. Instantly, this beautiful appliance will add excitement and sophistication to your home, sitting as an inviting centerpiece begging to be explored. Your children's computer time can be monitored and limited. Your family will thank you for years to come.
You can also buy Apple's $39 iWorks and use it alongside Google Docs for cloud computing. YOU DON'T NEED MS OFFICE AT ALL. All .doc/.xls/.ppt files will open and save seamlessly from every computer. (Note: If you must use Office, rest assured that it is 100% cross-platform compliant – I know, I work with blanket-suckers all day.) Everything just works! You'll have peace of mind and will sleep better while witnessing your family do tons of amazing stuff on it. Now that's value!
To end, I would like to leave you with an excerpt from an earlier post of mine:
This, my friend, could be you – Penny-Wise and Pound-Foolish. Sure, you may save money up front. But at what cost? If I can mimic the voice of Al Sharpton:
"Guard your souls, my children! Don't be tempted by the Dell! It will consume you with instability, insecurity and uncertainty! Leading to loss of productivity, credibility, and longevity! Leaving you with feelings of negativity, irritability, and hostility. Flee my children! Flee I say! Lord have mercy!"
Right now you can even get a free iPod Touch with the Mac.
