Why I Tossed Windows For Mac

Sometimes you feel like a Mac...sometimes you don't.

This weekend I followed through with an important decision. I replaced my Windows XP powered laptop with a MacBook Pro, the first time in 16 years of computer ownership where I purchased an Apple computer. Yes, I’ve decided to leave the dark side of computing for what works best: a Mac laptop computer that won’t be prone to crashes, viruses, registry errors and all of the usual problems plaguing Windows technology.

No, it wasn’t the commercials touting Mac over Windows that convinced me to switch. It wasn’t even problems with Windows that pushed me in a new direction. Rather, it was certain unrelated problems, such as the hacking of four WordPress sites numerous times that caused me to reconsider my computing needs.

Constant Computing

I decided that if I have to deal with problems at the web hosting level, then I certainly don’t want to continue dealing with problems at the computing level at the same time. Besides, the appeal of working uninterrupted without constant warnings showing up on my screen loomed large in my decision-making.

Yes, Windows 7 may finally be the best of its kind, but when you’ve put up with so much junk dating back to Windows 3.1 and also with DOS, there comes a time when abandoning what doesn’t work all that well for something that does, makes perfect business sense.

Apple Devotees

No, I don’t plan to become a Mac evangelist nor will I put hold other freelancers in derision for sticking with Windows. The smugness of some Apple devotees is annoying; all I want to do is do my job better and faster—I’ll let the computer geeks battle it out. Besides, I’m still working on my other computer, a desktop Windows PC, part of the time until I familiarize myself with Apple. Can you say, learning curve?

Oh, as far as transferring files goes, I won’t be doing too much of that. Anything I’ve long since completed for clients is housed on an external drive while my not-quite-but-almost-dead Dell laptop houses some other information. At some point I’ll transfer the remaining files on the Dell to the external drive, wipe that hard drive clean and send that unit to the PC graveyard in the sky. Or at least to the town’s recyclers.

Decent Service

Maybe this time I’ll have a computer that will work well for me for two years or longer without the attendant registry issues slowing me down. I like to think that any computer should give about five years of decent service before needing to be replaced. However, no Windows computer I’ve owned has been able to reach that goal without regular hard drive defragging on my part, costing me time and money.

Photo Credit: Jeff Geerling