I have used Windows PC's for almost 20 years. I just went along with everyone else following the Windows PC Pied Piper. I remember Apple computers as something out on the fringes. They were something I was always curious about, but I listened to the nay-sayers who bemoaned Apple's lack of software and incompatibility with just about anything. "It's a Windows World" they'd say and I fell for it. So for years and years I put up with constant problems with Windows PC's. I literally can't believe how much time I've spent over the years fighting and struggling with software glitches, system crashes, failures connecting printers and other peripheral items, hard drive crashes, spyware, viruses, etc., etc. It's like we all became numb to just how much time we spent with machines that were not productive and just resigned ourselves to it.

It all began to change for me when I got my first Apple product a few years ago; a 2GB iPod nano. I couldn't believe what a classy, simple, yet elegant and ingenious device this was. It worked flawlessly for years and gave me so much satisfaction. I began talking to a good friend about Apple products and how much I was impressed with them. He told me how all he had ever had at home was Mac computers and that they were so trouble free and "just worked". How profound! I finally reached my limit with running one anti-virus/anti-spy and system utility software suite after another on my PC. I went to the Apple Store and bought a 20" iMac. The shopping experience was so amazing! The salesperson answered every question with absolute expertise. They offered discounts to my wife and I because she was a school teacher. We walked out of the store with the iMac and a free iPod Touch and all-in-one printer. I was floored at what a positive shopping experience this was. I held my entire computer at my side in its box by an integral handle in the box, like it was a briefcase. I got it home, took it out of the box, plugged it in and when I hit the power button, it seemed like one minute passed and I was up and running and good to go. No more turning on my PC and waiting for five minutes for it to fully boot up and stop loading drivers and software so I could use it. I hit the power button and in about 30 seconds, the computer is logged in and ready to go. Everything on my iMac just works so well and I have had almost no problems whatsoever. I have had the occasional minor glitch; nothing even remotely worth worrying about. My iPod Touch is wonderful and I recently bought my wife an iPhone 3G 16 GB and she loves it.

I am not a blind devotee to Apple, and I do think they have some work to do to help their products and their image. There is no doubt that their products, while FAR superior to Windows PC's, do have technical problems like anything else. I would have to say, however, that the amount and severity of problems pale by comparison to Windows PC's. I think Apple does have a bit of an elitist air about them, which is evident in their reluctance to admit problems and take care of them promptly and openly. I have noticed some of this; not from personal experience as much as from being an avid follower of all things Apple as of late. There is also a certain tinge of arrogance that I've sensed from some of the sales people at the Apple Store. It does seem as if Apple has possibly let some of their success go to their head, or they have a corporate strategy that comes across that way. Success and humility go quite well together and really help endear an organization to its customers. People really are very forgiving when it comes to technological problems as long as they don't feel they are being ignored or jerked around. I also think there are a lot of people out there that don't realize that they have become spoiled by Apple's quality products. By that I mean that they have either forgotten what a complete nightmare it was owning and working with Windows PC's or they have been Apple users for years and don't have enough experience with product failures like the rest of us for whom it has been a way of life. Apple is no perfect company and neither are their products, but I think it would do us all well to stop and take stock of just how innovative, beautifully designed, and well built Apple's products are and just what amazing things they've brought to our lives. But to be fair, Apple should learn that pride, arrogance and an unwillingness to own up to problems and correct them to the satisfaction of the customer will not serve them well with the passage of time.

"No more turning on my PC and waiting for five minutes for it to fully boot up and stop loading drivers and software so I could use it."

One "problem" with Windows is that anyone can install it on any PC compatible computer, without regard to whether or not the computer is powerful enough for that particular version of Windows.

If a Windows computer takes 5 minutes to boot, the computer is underpowered. Typically, this is the result of someone upgrading to the next version of Windows (or buying a bargain basement priced computer). If the computer didn't come with enough memory for the new version or the hard drive is close to being full, then the upgraded computer will be a dog.

If Microsoft controlled hardware like Apple does, this wouldn't be a problem. Remember, Microsoft only makes the operating system. If you install it on a computer that isn't powerful enough, that's your fault.

I think this the major cause of the early complaints about Vista. People tried to upgrade their existing computers from XP to Vista and (in many cases) the older computers just weren't up to the task. This happened in earlier upgrades to Windows as well.

Mike_n_nm:

You do have a point and I will have to admit to some exaggeration on the five minute boot time. My real point is that Windows PC's take longer to do things than my iMac and Windows PC's require so much maintenance (anti-spy, anti-virus, system utilities, etc.) just to keep them running right, not to mention the memory upgrading. I just have no maintenance and smooth sailing on my iMac. Now of course it is new, but I just can't imagine that it won't give me the level of service I'm experiencing now for some time to come based on testimonials from people I know.

Another thing I failed to mention in my previous posting is that I heard so much from PC people about how I wasn't going to be able to do anything I needed to do on a Mac because of software incompatibilities and because it's a PC world. This has been false, as I haven't yet found anything I couldn't do on my Mac that I've needed to do. I bought the iWork 08 software and it opens and converts files in Word, Excel, and Powerpoint format with no problems. I also love how Macs will load any peripheral hardware (printers, hard drives, etc.) so quickly and effortlessly. With Windows it always seemed like a long drawn out process to load usb devices.

I want to be careful in my blogging about this because I hate readin blogs where people just trash on one thing or another and spew hateful rhetoric about technology from one company or another. The bottom line is that most of our technology, be that computers or what have you, are wonderful and useful. I just have found that all the bad things I'd heard about apple computers for years, while I struggled with PC after PC with problems galore, have turned out to be completely unfounded, and in fact the reality is quite the opposite of what I heard all those years. Thanks for bringing me down to earth on my comments.

That's strange... since on Macs each major update makes the same machine faster, not slower.

Sounds like Microsoft isn't very good at programing to have such slow code. 5 minutes to boot? Yikes!