Mac vs. PC: Users weigh in on which is truly best
By Lukas Myers
Staff Writer
Good vs. evil. Light vs. dark. Cards vs. Cubs. These are age-old rivalries, along with the newer one: Mac vs. PC.
We have seen the commercials with Justin Long, who portrays a Mac, and a nerd-type guy, who portrays a PC. They talk about which is better with the catchphrases: “I’m a Mac” and “I’m a PC.”
These slogans created a marketing rift between the major players in the programming world: Apple and Windows.
But just how deep does this rift go? After all, Bill Gates, a Windows founders, and the late Steve Jobs, the Apple co-founder, actually had a fairly friendly relationship toward each other and held no resentment, at least publically.
Kilian Bialas, a prospective computer science major at Lincoln Land Community College, is an avid PC user. He sees both sides:
“On one side, you have something that is polished and sleek and good at what it does,” Bialas said of the Mac. “But on the other hand, what it does is all it does. A PC can do anything and that includes what the Mac can do.”
Bialas was firm on his preference for the PC for most people.
“I think something like 10 percent of people really need a Mac,” he said.
Besides that, Bialas said a PC actually is better for a programmer. A PC will do a better job with programming, he said.
Kevin Carman, a music student, disagrees. He is a musician and uses Macs to record his work and is very familiar with its software. Yet, he thinks in reality, Mac and PC are probably not all that different.
“From my understanding, if I’m using it for my everyday stuff, both work just fine,” Carman said. “I’m sure if you desperately need something to be the absolute best, then you may have a preference, but honestly, there’s not much of a difference.”
While preferring Apple, he is critical of those who take fandom to excess. Known as “fan boys,” Carman does not support those who camp out and refuse to see the merits of the PC.
“PC is, by far, more user-friendly, despite what everyone seems to think,” said Gregory Hill, an IT maintenance worker at Illinois State University, who is completely avid in his stance that no one needs a Mac.
“(The PC) allows greater customization and is better at using the hardware,” Hill said. “Anything that you can do on a Mac you can do on a PC and probably better.”
All in all, it is probably a spectrum of sorts. From die-hard PC lovers to the ever prevalent Apple fan boys, loyalty can be found in all shapes, sizes, and degrees.
Rivalry or not, one thing is for sure, neither company will be going bankrupt anytime soon.
Lukas Myers can be reached at [email protected].