Considering A Mac?

Apple has certainly elevated user-friendliness to a whole new level. This ease of use is apparent, the moment you take it out of the box. My iMac G4 desktop, for instance, was remarkably easy to set up. I had picked up my unit at the distributor's shop, with all the needed software properly installed. And when I got home, I simply had to connect the speakers, the keyboard and the mouse to their proper ports, plug in the power cord, and I was done. I gently pressed the power button and could have sworn that I actually heard a musical "aaahhh"-like sound emanate from somewhere. Turns out, it was actually the default startup sound that melodied everytime you switched the computer on. So thus began my foray into the world of Apple.

I use my Mac for pretty much all my computer work. I use it to surf the web, design my own web pages, create flash animation, design graphic artwork and edit videos. I relish in the stability that the Mac OS X has to offer. No blue screen of death and there are very few error messages that sound as if they were written in some foreign language. Of course there have been occasions when I've had to "command+option+escape" (the Mac equivalent of ctrl+alt+del) a program, let's face it - no computer is perfect. But overall, the Mac gives me a very pleaseant computing experience.

Aside from the previously mentioned tasks I perform with my Mac, I, in fact, also use it to type Microsoft Word documents and create Powerpoint presentations, which don't have any problems running on a Windows PC. In fact, many other popular programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Flash have versions for the Mac. And the files created with these software will run on their Windows counterparts too. This kind of cross-platform compatibility is very beneficial for students and professionals who own Macs, as Windows PCs dominate the schools and work places in the Philippines (unless of course your work involves programming software for Microsoft). You can work on a Powerpoint presentation on your Windows workstation at the office, and then continue it at home whenever the need arises. You can surf the web or ask the local software dealers to see which software companies offer programs that have versions for both the Mac and Windows. One interesting fact, I might add, is that Microsoft actually has a special unit dedicated to creating versions of their own software (such as MS Office and Windows Media Player) for the Mac platform.

Now, for those of you considering a Mac purchase, make sure that you have a clear picture of your computing needs before you jump the gun. Are you a graphic designer who needs above average computing power for heavy-duty design work, are you a sales executive who needs to make presentations from one client to the next, or are you just a basic user wanting to find out whether professions about the Mac's stability and ease-of-use live up to all the hype. Whatever your needs are, there could very well be a Mac out there that is right for you. The important thing is that you do your research so that you can make an informed purchasing decision. To start you off, you can visit http://www.apple.com/switch. This page outlines 10 reasons why you should choose a Mac, as well as corresponding links to other useful information that will help you make your decision. I hope you find one that's right for you. :)