First, some background. I’ve always used Windows. Though I was a chemical engineer, I took a real interest in computers and eventually pursued it as a career. I was always a PC guy and thought that my in-laws (and everyone else) strange for their love of Apples. Knowledge was part of the issue. I could generally fix any problem with a Windows and even Unix while I had no experience with Apple. Even now-though my practical knowledge has decreased with advanced degrees-I feel like I generally can fix just about any problem on a windows PC.
I have however, become frustrated with my current system. Despite doing everything possible (scanning for viruses, defragmenting, uninstalling unnecessary programs) my school issued IBM Thinkpad is still amazingly slow. Rebooting can really be a 10 minute affair. I also ended up getting an iphone and absolutely love it.
My friend, who happens to be the educational rep for Apple, ordered me a MacBook Air to try for two weeks. First the disclaimer. I’m not being paid by Apple. They haven’t offered me any free technology…..just a 2 week trial of an Air and a regular Macbook. If Apple would like to offer me something in the future….please do…I’ll give you the address to send it!
So, about the Air. I loved it. It was amazing. Sure, I had some switching problems. I couldn’t get it to read my backup drive (NTSF format) and I never could get a remote drive to map. I expected the switching problems.
On the positive side, the MacBook Air is so wonderfully cool that I wanted to go places just so that people could see me using it. I walk around just so I can feel how light it is….and I wondered if I would have to get a decidedly smaller bag if I were to own one. I was cool and hip again, and it felt good.
It was a fun 2 weeks, but unfortunately I just had to give it back.
In the PC space, competition has focused primaril on general functionality. What is the best combination of RAM, HD space, video, etc. that I can get to fit me? Sure, every company had the five different models and Dell provided the ability to customize to exactly fit customers. Dell’s ability to customize while integrating supply chain efficiencies is a favorite case in many business classes and textbooks.
Apple, on the other hand, competes on cool. THE ad campaign is one part of it, but I would argue that it goes down to the very foundation of the products that Apple puts out. The silver finish and stylish precise nature of the keyboard design are just exuding coolness. I am sure that among the high school crowds the MAC PC debate is less technology and more fashion. Sure it costs more. However, so do all good fashion brands.
The technology aspects of the laptop exceeded my expectations. It started up and hibernated very quickly (my two personal issues with my laptop) and was very stable.
While the execution of my Mac experience has been great, it is still unlikely to convert me to a full time Mac user anytime soon. First off, the organization that I work for does not support Macs. Supporting end user technology is a difficult and often thankless job. Contact with end users is typically initiated only when problems occur, and there is a need to be able to offer a quick solution. For this, adding an additional operating system to the mix complicates things for the support personnel.
In addition, I have a great deal of existing technology and work process built into the way I work. For example, I store articles in pdf forms in a directory on my computer which are connected to a local web server. This enables me to link the articles directly from endnote, a bibliographic management software. In other words, it would probably take me a good bit of work to duplicate the things I can already do.
The third reason is that I don’t have any money left in my IT budget. If I did…then I may just be willing to look past 1 and 2.
For discussion and comment:
1. Does your organization support both Mac and Windows software? If so, how do you justify the additional expense associated with supporting more than one operating system?
2. How much do you consider or value the coolness factor when considering a laptop purchase?
3. How large to you consider the switching costs between Mac and Windows? Are the switching costs lower now than in the past? What are they likely to be in the future?
October 27, 2008 at 7:31 pm |
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