Extra Credit: Which has fewer problems, a PC or a Mac?
My worst computer disaster happened at work a few years ago – a fried hard drive. I didn’t lose a lot of work, since all of my files are on our network server, but I did lose a lot of time. We didn’t have in-house tech support at that time (don’t get me started – fortunately, it’s no longer true), and it was at least two days before the problem was resolved. I did get an unexpected vacation day, though – I got my boss to agree that there was no point to my coming in to the office if I couldn’t DO anything. (That wouldn’t happen now, but I would try to get a work-from-home day. At times, those are almost as good as a day off.)
I can’t recall that I’ve ever had a monitor go dark, but it has gone blue – the dreaded BSOD (Blue Screen of Death). If you’re a PC user, you’ve probably seen it at some point. It made all-too-frequent appearances on the Gateway PC I brought with me when I first moved to California, but considering that it was almost four years old at that point – decades in computer years – I suppose I shouldn’t have been too shocked. That PC did not age well, though. During its last year or two, I was regularly getting kicked off my (dial-up) online connection, and it would frequently freeze up in the middle of…well, sometimes nothing important, but it was very frustrating. I replaced the Gateway with a Dell PC five years ago. That computer had occasional startup problems, but otherwise it operated fairly well, for the most part. I still have it, but retired it early last year after I switched over to my MacBook; it’s hanging out in the garage until we find a place to donate it or dispose of it safely.
I work in a PC kind of place (the technological kind of PC, that is, although it can be “PC” much of the time, too), but at home, I was part of a mixed marriage for over a year. Tall Paul has been a Mac guy for longer than he’s had children. Macs have long been preferred for creative work like graphic design, but his attachment is personal as well as professional. For my part, since spreadsheets and writing are what keep me going, I’ve been a Microserf for lo these many years, and kept a PC at home for compatibility, so that I could work at home when I had to (which, granted, isn’t very often). The chances of my working in a Mac environment are too small to be measured reliably.
But when my home PC was going on four years old, I began craving a laptop, and I decided that when (if) I got one, that would be the time to jump ship. I do most of my personal work online through Google Docs these days anyway, so the system and software don’t matter much. And if I actually do have to work within Office, the Mac versions of Word and Excel are friendly to Windows documents. (It’s still not always reciprocated, though.) I can even access the PC-based network at work on my MacBook, thanks to Remote Desktop connection software.
Like many who come to Macs from the PC experience, I marveled at how easy so many things are on a Mac, and sometimes I’m still surprised by it. The thing that remains a challenge is that I’m now living in two technological worlds on a daily basis, and I have to remember the rules of whichever one I’m in at the time. It’s more challenging to remember that when I’m on the PC side, which surprises me a bit since I’ve been there so much longer. I suspect an out-and-out conversion is easier than the dual-system existence I’m living now, but it keeps me on my toes.
I’ve had very few problems with my MacBook, other than a chip in the keyboard. Occasionally things run slowly and the fan kicks in, but I do tend to keep at least half a dozen Firefox tabs open at once, and there are usually at least two – sometimes three – computers online at our house at any given time, so I’m not sure the computer itself is at fault. On the other hand, my husband the Mac jockey has been through three hard drives and a power supply on his almost-five-year-old iMac, but nothing will shake his faith in his chosen machine; he is a dedicated member of the Cult of Apple.
Which side of the Mac/PC debate are you on, and what’s the worst thing your computer has ever done to you?
I’m married to a geek, so my computer problems are usually solved pretty quickly. We have Macs and PCs and I prefer the PC. I find the Mac has some issues running certain software.
Kathy (Bermudaonion) – True, some software is not Mac-friendly. Some websites aren’t Safari-friendly either, which frequently frustrates my husband, who prefers Apple’s own browser. Since I use Firefox on both platforms, don’t usually have those particular issues :-).
The fact that my husband is a Mac jockey was actually one more reason to make the switch at home. It IS nice being married to a geek :-).
I use a pc at work and have a mac at home, and I haven’t really noticed that much of a major difference. Maybe for games, which I don’t play a lot. The only thing that is truly annoying with the mac is waiting for people to make their software versions for us mac users.
If you have a bunch of tabs open and Flash is running in them, that can slow it down. At least that’s what I’ve read. Macs don’t like flash very much.
So far I’ve been okay here, still trying to get used to the differences. We run Linux at work, so now I am windows free.
I was a die-hard PC user — until January of 09, when I bought my first apple computer. A few months later, I bought myself a MacBook as well. I’m now proud to say I’m a Mac girl all the way!
Nicole – A lot of the differences are cosmetic, really. But you’re so right about the software. One reason I use Google Docs and Spreadsheets is that Microsoft is a bit slow t update Office for the Mac.
Mike – That makes some sense. I’m glad to know that there’s a possible reason for the slowness. I’m also glad to know you’re still happy with your new iMac. Totally Windows-free – must be nice :-)! (Well, according to my all-Mac, all-the-time husband, it definitely is!)
Jen (Bibliolatrist) – Welcome to the cult :-)! Glad that the Macs are working out so well for you.
Macs rawk. I use a PC at work and it is slow slow slow, it chokes up constantly, I hate it. I have had Macs at home always and love them to bits!
Marie – Ah, you live in my split-personality computer world too, but it’s clear which side you’re on :-)! (My husband would say it’s “the right side.”)
Like all the posts before me, I have to say when it comes down to usability and speed, Mac completely trumped the pathetic little used PC laptop I’d picked up for a song at our company’s “clearance sale” (it was a Gateway, too). As a creative at an ad agency, I’d exclusively used Macs at work, but I needed a laptop to work on my novel at home and for the first ten chapters, the Gateway was fine, albeit a for-shite user experience. When it bit the dust, and it did so very rudely – I was so happy to have saved everything to an external drive – I went out and bought a MacBook, and haven’t looked back.
Even when my hard drive had to be operated on at the Apple store, the experience on the whole was far superior to PC. (BTW, Apple Store support people are called Mac Geniuses, but my Mac had to get the attention of a Mac Wizard – “He’s in the back and never comes out into the store” was how my Mac Genius mysteriously described him. But you don’t question the man behind the curtain if he comes through with the goods, which this guy did.)I now have two generations of MacBooks, and I don’t plan to ever buy a PC.
Lucia – You definitely have something in common with my husband, who also came to Macs from a creative background (graphic design). He can’t imagine why he’d even WANT a PC.
Our experiences with the Geniuses at the Apple Store have always been pretty good as well.
I imagine almost any computer, if it’s used at all, will have problems before its fifth birthday, so Tall Paul’s faith isn’t necessarily misplaced, methinks. I’m sorry to read that Windows still squawks sometimes at Mac Office docs. They really should have fixed that years and years ago.
Karen – That whole Windows/Mac play-nice issue was one of the main reasons I tried out Google Docs, and now I use that for almost all my writing and personal spreadsheets.
Tall Paul would never ADMIT that he his faith in Macs could be shaken, but I don’t really think it is anyway :-).