PC Blues

Ever wonder why people are so loyal to their Mac?

I have both a PC and a Mac at home. I use the PC mostly for recording TV. It runs the latest version of Windows XP and I have become accustomed to the ritual of downloading monthly display drivers, updating, and hoping that nothing breaks (as it often does) once I reboot.

My current dilemna is that when the PC goes to sleep it somehow loses track of the video signal. Wake it up and the display appears for a brief second, then goes back to black again. I’ve checked for device conflicts, reinstalled video drivers, run Windows updates, and habitually scan my PC for viruses and spyware on a regular basis. I even sent the PC on a defrag vacation last week because it appeared to be getting a little long in the tooth.

The result? Absolutely nothing. The PC still won’t work right and the common response of “reinstall Windows” just doesn’t fly with me. The sad fact is that I spend more time attempting to coerce my PC to work as it should than I spend using my Mac to actually get things done.

Why are Mac users so loyal? Perhaps the number of switchers out there is larger than we know.

— Clif @ 10:21 am

The Magical Curtain

In my day job I work with mostly Windows users and I’m often asked how to go about doing this or that on a Mac. Frequently such questions are followed up with the statement, ” So why doesn’t it work like Windows?”

I starting thinking the other day that here lies a great irony of technology. The irony that because so many PC users spend so much time in the dark trying to figure out what’s going on behind the magical curtain that is Windows, they automatically assume that using a Mac would be just as confusing. Many never decide to switch because they feel they’d have to learn that awful process all over again. Take the process of uninstalling applications for example…

Windows: Start menu -> Control Panels -> Add/Remove Programs -> scroll to application you want to remove -> click Remove -> click Yes to confirm.

Mac: Select the application you want to remove on your computer -> drag it to the trash.

My point?

The difference between Windows and Mac OS is the difference between a process so complex that it requires a separate process to manage (Windows) versus a process specifically designed from the beginning to be intuitive enough that it just makes sense (Mac).

Technology is complex enough in its own right, the beauty of the Mac is that someone, somewhere actually knew that and went out of their way to make easier on the rest of us.

Who needs a curtain anyway?

— Clif @ 10:06 am

Switching

Ah… the sweet feeling of switching someone. Meghan has been my best friend since we were twelve years old. She and her family have always been PC users and seemed to have no real reason to switch to the Mac. This has been a challenge to me, as I have been attempting to switch them since the beginning of our friendship, however at that time, her parents just laughed at the silly little twelve year old girl that was trying to talk about computers to them. I can’t imagine what was going through their minds… “What is wrong with this girl, shouldn’t she be out playing with the other kids, not trying to sell us a computer??�

Well look where I am now, still trying to sell them a computer, gosh can’t they just buy one! Actually, I have recently found out some wonderful news… Meghan’s parents are going to buy her a Mac!! I realize that this is simply one person, but my thought process works like this… Meghan’s parents will buy her a Mac, they will then see how cool it is, buy one for their younger daughter, and one for themselves, then they will go on to spread the word about how AWESOME Macs are!

So look at that, just getting my friend’s parents to buy her a Mac, will hopefully turn into many, many more Mac purchases. Sweet!

— Annie @ 12:02 pm

RELAX!

Let’s a brief detour from the topic of technology. We’re all college students. Most of us have about a month and a half to finish all of our work for this semester. Projects. Papers. Exams. For many of us, we’re also rapidly approaching the end of our college careers. It’s time to find jobs or graduate schools, say good bye to friends, and prepare to move.

In short, it’s a very stressful time. Here, then, is some advice from Dr. Andrew Weil on how we can keep ourselves relaxed and happy.

Enjoy.

— Stephen Jendrazak @ 12:53 pm