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I thought the setup time for a Mac was about the same for Vista? Did you experience different?

More Software Argument
On the software side, from sheer numbers of pieces of software (a worthless statistic IMHO), the Mac is at least is equal to Linux due to Fink. True, it’s not solely Macintosh software, but it ‘runs on a mac’. Add to that the ability of the Mac to run Mac OS, Linux AND Windows via Parallels and it’s a win. Setting up a Mac to dual boot is significantly easier than generic PC — Apple actually includes detailed instructions with Bootcamp. Plus with Parallels it’s dirt-easy to setup (and backup) virtual hard drives (which you can also do in Windows, to be sure, but it ain’t Apple-Easy).

Apple Major FAIL: Lack of virtualization of the MacOS. If you understand Apple’s business plan (make great software to sell their hardware), it makes sense. Still annoying though from a tester’s standpoint.

Hardware flexibility
Accepted about flexibility, hardware tweaking, etc. However the limited hardware arrangement leads to the Mac OS’s stability and quality. The first to include built-in high quality webcams on mac laptops versus $30 craptacular Logitech. Dealing with a customer that whines “But WHY is my new HD video camera working sooo slow with my computer — I installed a board for USB2.0″ When the rest of their computer had problems keeping up with USB 1.1…

Think of web design — how many times has a client wanted to throw every possible techno-gadget on their website, and it was your job to tell them “You only need X, Y and Z, and it will be easier for your customers to operate/navigate without all the bloat/distractions” Same thing with computers: Most folks, including designers, use very little of their computer’s power and abilities. They think they need more than they really do, and supporting something that does less exceedingly well (TextWrangler) is significantly easier than supporting something that does a lot, but none of it particularly well/easy (the Un*x utility argument — do what you do well, and pipe your result to another utility if you need further processing)

Which is why I’ve always told people: If you like working on computers, get a PC (windows/linux/etc). If you like getting work DONE on your computer, get a Mac.

Linux is free if your time has no value. Ditto for Windows, especially Vista.

UPDATE. I played devil’s advocate and (unsarcastically) pointed out 5 reasons I would buy a Mac: http://www.pat-burt.com/general-web/5-reasons-to-buy-a-mac-im-still-not-convinced/

@4) I haven’t looked at the type of network the Macs were on at school. But I can easily understand where you’re coming from. It also makes a huge difference if your tech guy is ultra PC savvy with decent MAC knowledge or the other way around.

@1,2,3,5) Absolutely agree.

Thanks again for the intelligent response.

1) Pointing out that Patrick’s language could have been clearer doesn’t change the fact that Macs need to be A LOT more hardware flexible. Yes, this will introduce some problems regarding drivers etc. that Mac users glory in avoiding (oh, and that’s a big point for Macs that neatly balances the hardware flexibility problem). As a driver-savvy user, I’d rather have hardware choice than easy drivers (or transparent drivers), but that’s probably not a common feeling.

2) Clients. This is a great point. Clients have all kinds of weird files and requirements. It’s perfectly fine to tell them to “get with the times”, but that’s an attitude that doesn’t really work in the long run. Unless you’re one of those lucky people with more work than they’ll ever need.

3) Malware. While I agree that it’s not hard to keep viruses off you machine, and for you (and other savvy users), it’s a wash, BUT you’re not considering all the other garbage that you need to worry about on a PC. Worms, trojans, etc. that walk right in on IE’s latest bug. Ok, don’t use IE, but that’s still a point in Mac’s favour. I used to work sysadmin for my University’s Computing Science dept., and our record for the longest time between plugging a fresh XP install into the internet and getting hacked was 8 seconds. Obviously because of the hardware available in a CS dept, we get port scanned A LOT, but this is not a problem that can be solved with diligence. It is also not a problem on Macs.

4) Crashy crashy. This one I just disagree on. I’m hard on my machines. I leave many programs open. I install experimental software. I edit system files. My reformat/reinstall cycle is about 2 years on a Mac. 6 months at the most on a PC. And that’s with diligent firewalling/AVing. The install also takes about 1/3 the time on a Mac. It should also be noted that Macs don’t work well in a lab/classroom environment. I only note it as you said you used them at school. Macs are fine if the sysadmin knows his/her biz and keeps them on a Mac-run/mac-adminned network, but sadly, most admins try to run them on Win networks (based on the promise of Mac-friendly Active Directory), but it just doesn’t work. PC-networked Macs crash as much (if not more) than PC’s.

5) Software. PC wins, but it’s closer than you think. Yes there are just not enough good OpenSource alternatives on the Mac. BUT the ones that do exist are pretty great. Quality over quantity. You only need one Notepad++ (and yes, BBEdit is not as good as Notepad++ for those Mac users wondering). The fact that there are a million Notepad++’s on PC doesn’t make Notepad++ any better. The realy reason that they are pretty balanced is shell integration. I can do more with Apache/MySQL/PHP and that ilk with my trusty Terminal than you can do in Windows. Yes, it’s an advanced feature, but for a “diligent user” it’s fantastic. Some notes: a) Cyberduck is much improved (I just switched from Fugu and I’m very happy). b) Finder FTP is slick and easy but not robust enough to be useful.

Again, great article. Thanks for a reasoned approach to a discussion so often filled with unreasonable arguments.

-Re: 320GB storage then talking about RAM without some sort of indication of a new topic: poorly written. I’m not a writer, I just pretend to be. heheh
-Re: MS Works, I totally agree, but there are strange clients out there. People seem to use Microsoft Publisher too… :/
-Word vs Notepad, I agree, I love notepad.
-Virus Protection, agreed.

-Ah very cool. Thanks for stopping by. Did you read the comment about Notepad++ ?