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AnchorDesk

David Coursey
Why you should buy an Apple this Christmas

David Coursey
Executive Editor, AnchorDesk
Monday, November 25, 2002
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This column--the first in a series of holiday shopping guides--is a blatant attempt to get you into an Apple Store and convince you to maybe even buy something while you're there.

It's not my first shopping guide of the year. I've got another one over here.

In that other guide, I recommend no fewer than five Apple products: the 17-inch iMac with the built-in DVD burner ($1999, other models from $1199) as my "best buy" desktop; a 17-inch Apple flat panel ($999) as my best display (but only because we don't yet have a review of the much nicer 23-inch model, which costs $3499); the iBook portable ($999-$1849); the iPod MP3 player ($299-$499); and OS X 10.2, aka Jaguar ($129 as an upgrade, free with new hardware).

If you've never been to an Apple Store (there are 50 around the country), you really should seek one out--imagine a Gap with stylish computers instead of jeans and sweaters. If you don't live near one, you can always visit the online version or one of the several Mac-specific online merchants.

NOW BEFORE YOU say, "Oh, no, I'm not an Apple person," let me tell you something I've learned in the course of writing a how-to book for people switching from Windows to Mac. (If I ever get the book finished, it will be published early next year.)

Apple's advertising notwithstanding, most new Mac customers aren't "switchers" so much as they are "adders." These are people who add a Mac to their lives but keep a Windows machine around as well.

That describes me and most of the people I've talked to, many of whom purchased a Mac after years of using Windows. Microsoft research says that three-quarters of MacOffice buyers also have a copy of Windows Office they can use. Clearly, many people do just fine with a foot on both sides of the Apple/Microsoft fence.

Both the adders and the switchers I've talked to were actually comfortable with Windows but grew tired of fighting with their computers on a regular basis. Many cited mysterious problems that cropped up on their Windows machines and never seemed to get solved because finding answers was such an ordeal.

Others chose Apple because they fell in love with the apps that come free with the machines. iMovie, iDVD, and iPhoto all have their fans, as does iTunes, which works with the iPod for synchronization and playback of an MP3 collection.

Another big group didn't have any one particular reason for choosing a Mac, but summarized it much as I did at the end of my "Month(s) of a Mac" series. These people, like me, found they spent more time creating on a Mac and less time thinking about the computer itself.

ALL OF THESE are valid reasons and if any of them resound with you, I urge you to consider a Mac as a new computer in your home this holiday or perhaps as a first computer for someone you know who still doesn't have one.

If your budget argues against buying a new computer, then an iPod makes a very nice gift, especially now that the new Windows version works with the popular MusicMatch software. One caveat: The PC you connect your iPod to needs to have a 1394/FireWire port. Many new PCs, like the HP Pavilion I'm using right now, have one; for those that don't, a PC add-on card can be purchased for $50 or less that will give your older PC the new, high-speed port in a matter of minutes.

As for OS X 10.2, I still believe it's the most graceful OS I've ever encountered. It's not the OS Microsoft should publish, and a close comparison to Windows is probably unfair. Apple benefits greatly from its ability to control both the hardware and the operating system. It also benefits from its small market share, which means it has fewer problems making sure the OS is compatible with legacy systems. Microsoft, meanwhile, has to be all things to all users, and, while it never quite succeeds, Redmond does what it does very well. So, yes, I like Windows XP; I just don't admire it as much as OS X.

If you want to know more about my Mac experiences, you can take a look at the columns I wrote earlier in the year. And please note that most of the compatibility concerns I had back then--such as networking Macs with Windows machines--have been resolved with the release of OS X 10.2.

If I could pick one item to put under my friends' Christmas trees, and money was no object, I'd choose either a Mac or one of the new Microsoft Media Center PCs. More on that latter choice in a future column.

What do you think? What kinds of tech gifts are you buying for you and yours this holiday season? TalkBack to me! 

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