Why You Should Choose Mac Over PC

Why Am I Writing This?

I've recently switched over to my first ever apple computer (Mac Book Pro 13.3 inches), and honestly it is the best decision I have ever made. I speak from experience, I've had my fair share of computers in the past. I've experienced enough of the Mac Vs. PC debate in my life. Macs were NEVER an option for me before, I wouldn't even give it a second thought. I mean after all, if I'm happy with my windows why go through the hassle of learning something new? However, over the last couple of years, more and more of my friends were getting macbooks, and they were happy with it. Seriously, not a single one of them complained. I used to think it was all a gimmick, fancy looking over-prices laptops that are nothing more than a fashion statement. For the sake of keeping this short, I'll say this: It came time for me to buy a new laptop, my old Toshiba lasted me a few months short of 3 years. It's battery life halved after about a year, and completely died after 2. Hardware-wise it was good for the most part until the 3rd year. After doing a lot of research on laptops, I decided to buy a Lenovo. The second I loaded it up, it was cluttered with a bunch of useless software, half of which I didn't even know the purpose for. I spent days transferring files and such, only to have it die on me after 2 weeks. It was in the middle of the school term, so I was too frustrated to buy another laptop and go through transferring files again. 2 weeks ago, I finally decided to try my luck with a laptop, and this time for a reason none other than curiosity, I decided to try a macbook. If I didn't like it, I would simply return it. In literally a day I decided I would never buy a windows pc again.

So, what makes Macs better anyways?

Now, I'm your average student and a very casual user. I don't play many games on my laptop, and don't use it for anything too drastic. I do however use Photoshop, Video editing programs, watch videos, and of course use it for web browsing. These are some of the best things about macbooks that set them apart from your average windows laptop:

• Battery Life: BIG points here in the Mac VS. PC debate for Mac. The maximum battery life for macbooks is very good, for browsing or light tasks I can average around 8-9 hours. If I'm running multiple programs and listening to music and such, I can get 5-6 hours. If I'm watching videos, especially streaming, I can get around 3-4. My other laptops maxed out at 3 doing even the lightest of tasks. My friends have had macbooks for over a year, and the battery life has not noticeably decreased. One of them had gone through over 250 cycles of recharging and the battery was still getting almost the same time as when it was brand new. Part of the reason the battery life is so good is because OS X (the apple operating system) Doesn't come with so much junk pre loaded on to it. Nor does it have useless processes running all the time.
• Size: They're so thin. I can't even believe sometimes that a laptop could be this thin. How does all the hardware fit into such a compact space? It's honestly like an inch high. When I bought the macbook, I could fit it with its BOX into my school bag. I don't have to second guess if I should bring my laptop with me to school, It's so light that it doesn't matter. As light as it is, it's still very firm.
• OS X and Speed: The operating system is amazing. It's so simple to use, it took me all of 15 minutes to get used to it. Everything is organized in a very simple way. It's also very fast, again because there are no useless processes running in the background. Even when I have several programs open, I've never so much has had my laptop lag. You know with windows how the hour glass thing appears sometimes when you click or open something? I've never had that happen. The track pad short cuts are also very convenient. There are so many of them it can be confusing at first, but once you learn them it speeds things up for you by a lot.
• Programs: Unlike most windows computers, the Macbook Pro comes loaded with plenty of useful software. There's iPhoto which makes it REALLY easy to load, organize, and edit photos. I have them organized by events, and they automatically organize by date. Browsing photos is also very easy. There's photobooth which takes HD pictures/videos, and has a lot of cool filters for taking pictures. With iMovie you can easily edit videos. With Garageband you can create your own music. With Facetime you can video chat or even call people who have iPhones. There's a dashboard where you can add widgets such as calender, temperature, sticky notes, etc... And of course it comes with iTunes. Also, for those who are worried about compatibility issues, I've been able to download and install microsoft office, photoshop, fruity loops, and other programs without any problems on my mac.
• Reliability: Like I mentioned earlier, none of my friends have ever complained about a problem with their macs. They are expected to easily last you around 5 years, My cousins have had theirs for almost 6 years now.
• No viruses!?: You don't have to worry about viruses. While viruses DO exist for macs, they aren't nearly as prominent. And you have to actually INSTALL something and give administrative approval by typing in a password before anything can corrupt your computer. You CAN'T get a virus from simply browsing.
• Convenience: The small things add up. The charger comes with an extension, so if you're going to be sitting far from an outlet, you can extend it. There's also the back-lit keyboard which is really useful for using the laptop in the dark. The size makes the laptop very portable and not a hassle at all to carry around. The CD drive is built into the laptop, which is genius! There's no annoying tray that comes out. There are other small features built into the operating system that are kind of confusing to explain but they help a lot. For example, the dock at the bottom makes it so much easier to open programs you use a lot. It's kind of like quick launch on windows, but a lot more practical.

But Macs are so expensive!

They are worth it. You can buy a windows laptop for the same price, and it honestly wouldn't be as good. The biggest thing with windows is that the more powerful the machine gets, the more it heats up. Macs have a very good ventilation system at the back, and are simply designed for the everyday user in mind. Macs last longer too, and have all the other benefits I mentioned. And let's be honest macs also come with social status, you feel better when you pull a macbook out of your bag. Back when I didn't have a mac, I was always in awe over the sleek design, and very curious.

So am I saying Macs are perfect?

No. There's still some setbacks. Nothing major at all, but I don't want to lie and give the impression that Macs are the god of portable computing devices. I will however say, they are the best option. The volume level on the macbook is also fairly low compared to the average windows laptop. It's decent, but a bit lower than I would've liked. I usually use headphones or speakers to listen to music anyways, so not that big of a deal. Sound does take a toll on the battery and heat of the laptop though, so the restriction may have been put into place with that in mind. There's also some other small inconveniences such as print screen requires you to press more buttons and saves the file rather than just copying it.

Overall though, I'm very satisfied with my new Macbook. It's worth every penny, and does everything I need it to do the easiest way possible. I am your average student, I use it for everything a student would. Apple makes good stuff. I'd assume whether you're a teenager or adult, professional or student, tech savvy or not, a Macbook is your ideal choice for laptop. Mac Vs. PC, Mac wins for me.

If anyone has any questions or concerns I'd be happy to respond to them in the comments. Any comments are welcome.