Wednesday, April 05, 2006

How to convert a hardcore PC user into a Mac fanatic

Today, I've been finally and completely won over by Macintosh! My next laptop will be the Macbook Pro with Intel Core Duo processor.

And if I've been won over by Mac, I predict everyone else will be won over too. (official prediction, write this down: I predict that 50% of all new laptop sales in 2010 will be by Apple. I'll eat my hat if it isn't)

I've grown up with PCs, I like taking them apart, tweaking them, upgrading them and doing things with them that no one really should.

Macs aren't too common in South Africa, but some schools had sponsored Macintoshes, and my Dad, a technophobic schoolteacher, even had one and knew how to use it!

But back then, buying a Mac locally would cost the same as it would to buy a ticket to the States, spend 2 weeks at Disneyworld, buy a Mac overseas and bring it back here!

The cost just didn't make sense. Furthermore, Macs were underpowered. No matter how many disciples have told you that Macs were optimized for Photoshop and Video Editing, a high end PC could always do the job faster than a high-end Mac. And it could do a whole lot more, especially if you wanted to play the odd PC game.

The first time I started looking at Macs with some degree of tolerance was when Mac OS X came out. The fact that it was based on UNIX and could run UNIX applications, including giving you the "Power of the Command Line" through Terminal, was intriguing, to say the least...

However, it was still underpowered, and forever would be, or so it seemed.

Until Apple went and did a very smart thing: They put Intel Inside!

All of a sudden I say to myself: I'll consider a Mac! It now has a great Operating System running on a great processor. It's still expensive, but I'll think about it.

Then a few days ago, Rick Segal (VC Guru extraordinare and Mac evangelist) posted a link to a video that combines the audio of a futuristic Windows Vista presentation and the video of Mac OS X. It shows how Mac OS X does everything today what Windows will be doing for the "first time ever" in a year or so to come.

Today Apple went and did the one truly extraordinarily smart thing in all their history: They delivered Boot Camp. (not without reason, some thought it might be an April Fool's joke)

Boot Camp allows you to run both OS X and Windows XP in a dual boot configuration on a Mac. I might never even need Windows XP once I'm fully converted to Mac, but just knowing that I can boot my Mac into Windows if I really need to, makes all the difference!

I am converted. My next laptop will be a Macbook Pro. There's only one little problem: I don't have any money!

The only stupid thing Apple still does is charge 42% more for a Macbook Pro in South Africa than it does in the USA. It's better than before, but you could still take a holiday to the UK and buy it over there for the same price as buying it locally. Hopefully Apple will continue the trend of wisening up.

{
The abbreviated version: (in case you're writing an essay for a marketing class, or your name is Malcolm Gladwell and you're tracking the Tipping Point)

1. In Mac OS X, Apple built a great operating system based on UNIX
2. They put Intel Inside!
3. With a cute little movie they showed that they were miles ahead in productivity and functionality
4. Macs are now based on a widely supported and powerful hardware architecture and operating system, that even gives you the flexibility and comfort of running Windows programs
5. Today they announced you can now dual boot into Windows XP using a Mac
}