PC World—Mac OS X is Better

What makes this month’s issue of PC World magazine so interesting is the “Up Front” editorial by Harry McCracken. The piece is entitled “The More Operating Systems, the Merrier” and tells of his experiences with a brand new PowerBook. While he makes sure you know he hasn’t completely switched to OS X (after all, how could he be the editor of PC World if he did?), he does state it’s a better OS.

What makes the editorial so relevant to me is that his experiences mirror mine. The first Mac I got “up close and personal” with was my new wife’s iMac running OS 9. I wasn’t impressed. The machine’s screen was small, the single button mouse was too limited in functionality, and OS 9 didn’t seem to have anything Windows XP didn’t have. Mac OS X was a whole different story. It was an operating system to fall in love with, if there is such a thing.

Even if there’s not, it is an operating system I enjoy working with, and that’s not how I’ve ever felt about working with Windows, even with XP. XP is the most stable and attractive Windows operating system I’ve used. But OS X beats it in attractiveness and usability and is an equal in stability. Yes, I did have to invest in Mac versions of Windows programs I was already running. But, like the editor, I swap data between my Macs and my single Windows computer without effort, just like I do with Windows computers at my job. And if you’d ever seen or used Microsoft Office v.X for the Mac, you’d find it’s a no-brainer to prefer it over its Windows’ brethren. I also don’t struggle anymore to find a really good video editor; I have several on the Mac. iMovie is on par with Pinnacle Studio and Final Cut in any form beats the hell out of Premiere. There is nothing in the Windows world equivalent to DVD Studio Pro (and, yes, I’ve tried Ulead’s DVD Workshop)?or GarageBand for that matter.

I find it heartening that this is the second editorial to spring up during the last two months in print and on the web about influential people in the computer industry switching to Macs in some form. It will be fun to see if the trend continues.

But don’t take my word for it or theirs. See for yourself. Find an Apple Store or Apple retailer near you and go give the Mac a try. Keep a Windows PC around for flight sims and games; but for anything else, you might want to ask yourself what it is you really of with a PC and examine whether you might do it better and with more fun on a Mac.