by Jared Schneedle

Created on: March 31, 2010

I would have to say that a Mac makes the best computer for writers. Mac OS X is the most dependable, and easy to use operating system I have ever used.

Dependable because I have rarely had an application crash in the two years I have been using Macs. By rarely I mean about once a year. I have never experienced OS X itself crash. And, I have never even heard of a virus on a Mac. 

I think OS X is the easiest to use because after I bought my first Mac, I had figured out how to do just about everything in less than a month. I had been using PCs for about 10 years before that and I still don't know how to do much more than browse the web and play video games on a PC. My favorite part about the user friendliness of a Mac is installing applications. I just drag a file to the application folder and I'm done!

I would also like to clear up some misconceptions that some people have about Macs.

The first point I would like to make for those thinking about switching to Mac from Windows is that there is a Mac equivalent for just about any Windows software out there. There is even Microsoft Office for Mac as well as Apple's equivalent called iWork. And if that's not good enough for you, you can install Windows on a Mac (any Mac made after 2006) and switch between the two operating systems, as well as Linux or any other OS that is compatible with an Intel processor. So, in actuality, a Mac can run more software than any other computer out there. You can not install Mac OS X on a PC. Doing so would involve a lot of hacking and, possibly, some jail time.

Secondly, Macs are not more expensive than PCs. You can buy a Mac Mini brand new from the Apple Store for $599. I'm typing this on that exact Mac Mini right now and there is nothing slow about this machine. A PC with similar specs costs about the same, but you can only run Windows and Linux on a PC. And if you aren't afraid of buying a used computer, there are some very decent Macs on craigslist going as low as $30. I bought an older colored iBook G3 off of craigslist a few months ago for only $25. It has the Mac version of Office on it and it's perfect for writing on.

So, to sum it all up, the perfect computer for writers is a Mac in my opinion.

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