Why it's better to buy Apple rather than Microsoft

By Sam Varghese
Wednesday, 25 March 2009 03:40

Opinion and Analysis

You have to hand it to Steve Ballmer. The man is never short of inaccurate statistics or words to take a dig at the two rivals which Microsoft has been confronting in recent times - Apple and Linux.
First, he came out with the crazy conclusion that Linux was a "cancer." Now, he says, buying Apple means a tax of $500 just to get a logo; the inference, obviously, is that when it comes to operating systems and hardware, Windows is equal to Apple.

Not so, my dear Steve. Let me disabuse you of some rather erratic conclusions. I don't use either of these systems; the good old GPL stuff does for me. But there's a good reason why I'm taking the time to dissect your statement.

There are loudmouths in every camp, FOSS included. They operate on the principle that when one who bears a title and is well-known throws something out into the cesspit that is the internet, it will surface in hundreds of places and often be accepted as the gospel truth.

We need to demystify and analyse these pithy sayings and deconstruct them. Never mind if the person spouting something is the chief executive officer of the world's biggest software company.

I've messed around plenty with PC hardware of every kind and description, having built close to 100 new PCS in the last 10 years. I've also had a look at the innards of plenty of machines built by Apple.

There really is no comparison, my dear Ballmer. The PC hardware can best be described as crude - and one is being polite here. The Apple hardware - well, I'm not a fan of proprietary hardware or software but even I have to confess that it is elegant.

Everything fits beautifully, there is no pushing and shoving involved to get things to sit correctly and it all looks good too. There is plenty of space inside.

Would you pay a bit more for just this kind of hardware when ranked against equivalent PC hardware? If I was inclined to use Apple hardware, I certainly would. And remember, Sun has been selling hardware based on just this principle. (The $US500 figure cited by Ballmer is wrong; the actual amount is closer to $US200 or $US300 but then this is a long-term investment.)

Last week, I had a change to play around with a 24-inch iMac. The only word one can employ to describe this beast is "superb." The keyboard is a thing of beauty - and has the same hard touch as my ancient IBM keyboard which I rescued from a chicken coop some years ago, the touch that nerds and hackers love.

And the mouse - boy, you can hardly feel that wheel scrolling under your finger as you navigate down a web page or a document. It's a thing of beauty.

CONTINUED