Macs Are Good for Marriage
November 7, 2006 \ 5 Comments
I'll give you a little peek into my personal life in this article. The purchase of new computers (and any electronic device) is a matter of significant negotiation in my home. I, like any normal man, consider it vital to my existence to upgrade my electronics on a regular basis. Since "regular basis" has a widely different interpretation between a husband and wife, a great deal of discussion and debate follows any proposal to make a technology purchase.
Getting my first Mac was preceded by months of negotiation. Since this magnificent device has graced our home, my wife has taken a liking to iLife and the overall ease of use of OS X. Having discovered the infinite possibilities of photo editing, slideshows, creating photo albums, making movies, and video chatting, my anti-upgrade wife now needs (an important choice of words here) her own Mac. But couldn't she do all this on a PC? Well, perhaps with extensive training. I started teaching her how to use Fireworks, but that took months. She figured iPhoto out within a few minutes. Some persist that everything available on a Mac is available for PC and it's cheaper. But you can't argue that a couple hundred dollars is worth forfeiting ease of use, effectiveness, and security.
Take the following conversation, for example. Such an exchange never occurred while we were a PC family:
"Hey Jenn, I figured out how much it would cost to get you an iMac. We could get you the 20" kind, with an extra-big hard drive for storing video and some extra memory so it's fast.""Okay."
"The only thing is that we need to get it before the end of the year or we can't write it off on this year's taxes as a business expense."
"Well, I'd like to get it sooner than later so I can get to work on this project for my mom."
"Well, then let's buy it tonight."
"Okay."
I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing. Nevertheless, we made the big buy, and we should have the new computer within a few days.
Mac ownership now stands the ultimate test. They are so easy to use, and so effective in what they do, that even your wife will start getting excited for the Macworld Expo. The most difficult part of a man's plight to convince his wife that he needs a toy is to adequately (and honestly) communicate the benefits without exaggerating. When your wife can see and touch the benefits with a Mac, the conversations become much more balanced. Soon, your wife will start telling you why she needs extra RAM. It's a beautiful thing.
So for all those weary PC users out there, and those looking for a little more harmony in your marriage, switch to a Mac. It has been the wisest computing decision I've ever made.
Tags: Fireworks, imac, iPhoto, mac, marriage, os x
It's good to see that Jenn has joined the world of Mac users. Congrats on converting her! Of course, it's probably not so much due to your excellent persuasion skills (although I'm sure your skills are excellent), as it is to the amazing things being done with Macs. Wow, now I sound like a computer geek. Dang. I better stop before I embarrass myself further.
I completely agree that thanks to iLife, Mac has made multimedia use and integration amazingly easy for the common wo/man. The one thing that bothers me is comparing iPhoto with Fireworks as if they were 1. the same type of program and level of complexity and 2. that Fireworks is PC software and in competition with Apple's proprietary software.
I know in your mind you have a full and complete understanding that this is not the case for either point, but for those unfamiliar with Fireworks and/or iPhoto might be mislead. I think a better comparison would be with iPhoto and Windows' photo app....oh, wait, Windows doesn't have one. And that basically goes for all of iLife--there's no real equivalent on a PC, unless you get 3rd party software. So right of the bat things will be easier with a Mac.
But compare Apple's iPhoto to Apple's Aperture (the professional photo editing software) or iMovie with Final Cut Pro and see how long it takes to master. The program's level of complexity, abilities, and learning curve isn't (and shouldn't be) based on what platform you're running it on. You're a seasoned user of many advanced programs, did you figure out Fireworks in a few minutes or did it take extensive training because you were on a PC as opposed to if you started using it on Mac?
If Macs are that easy for everything, then Adobe and other software developers could save a lot of money and energy not including thick user manuals with their software bundles. Think of all the trees they could save and Apple would be everyone's hero, again.
Didn't mean to go bananas comparing apples with oranges, since you think PCs are lemons anyhow.
(P.S. I'm curious to know how you plan on writing off the new computer for mom's projects as a business expense)
I'm right there with ya buddy - it's gonna be a long week :)
Darn - I guess comments don't support img tags. Worked in the preview though which was weird...
http://tinyurl.com/yljb7l
Thanks, Brandon. It's always an exciting thing to get a new computer!
Thanks, Geoff. Good comment. My intent was not to make a direct comparison between Fireworks and iPhoto. My point was that given what we had on-hand, iPhoto was a more pleasant solution to Jenn's photo editing. Could we have downloaded another application for the PC that would have been easier? Sure. But such an application would not offer the same interface elegance, inter-operability with other media tools, etc. Even with comparable tools, I still think it's easier and smoother on a Mac.
You must work in Redmond if you're trying to extinguish the irrational exuberance I have for Cupertino products. Frrr.