1 of 2

Mac

Write now Article Tools

To properly make this decision one needs to take into account a few things before their computer purchase. What is the primary purpose for the machine? What will it be used for? The biggest decision though is how much are you willing to spend on your next computer?

There are a couple reasons we will discuss that make the Apple machine a better buy in the long run and justify the higher cost. First and foremost lets discuss the build quality. The latest iteration of the Mac book is computer controlled unibody fabricated. Big terms. What they mean is that the body of the laptop is actually one solid piece of aluminum cut down to spec using water jets. This same technology is used in aerospace construction of mission critical parts. By using this approach you get many benefits. Instead of having several plastic molded parts screwed together, you have one solid aluminum piece for the body. Its much more rigid, and much more durable. Not to mention it allows better cooling for your internal parts and more space for added bits and pieces.

The next benefit is the operating system itself. One downfall of Windows is that it needs to be everything to everyone. It must work on any hardware period. Such is not the case with the Apple operating system. The software was designed specifically for the hardware in your machine. Its fine tuned to run on your hardware and yours alone. By doing this, Apple is able to get amazing performance out of its machines. Hands down, if you compare an Apple to a Windows machine of the same specs, the Apple will run circles around the Windows machine performing any task you choose. There was a popular ad shown on television not to long ago. Last year, the fastest machine tested running Vista was actually an Apple running Windows Vista on a separate partition using the boot camp software. Very impressive.

The last thing to make Apple a better long term choice is the service that comes with the machine. With a Windows machine you do not have only one company to deal with. If your operating system is acting funny, you call Microsoft. However, that might not be the culprit. Then you might need to call the company you bought the computer from. Heaven forbid you put an expansion card into your system, you would then be dealing with yet a third company. Not so with Apple. One phone call and you can have an appointment set up at what is called their "genius bar". You take your machine to them and they run diagnostics on it for you. Then recommend the best way to fix the issue. Even better, the appointment and diagnostics are free. Recently my Mac book pro was having a weird buzzing noise. Having purchased the laptop used on-line I was fairly certain I was on my own. With a hope and a prayer the Apple hot line was called. In no more than five minutes I had an appointment made for the nearest "genius bar" to me. Diagnostics completed and problem solved without costing me a penny. All this for a used machine bought from the website craigslist.com.

The purchase of an Apple would be worth it if only for the service involved. However, when you factor in the other things we discussed, it takes little to no thought to come to the same conclusion. Routinely people use their Apple computers for five years and longer. How long have you used your Windows machine and how does it perform? Is it time to convert?

Learn more about this author, Lon Elliott.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Best computer for long-term investment: Mac or PC??
We want to hear your view. Write now!