Mac is king

By Jennifer Northway

At Biola there has been an ongoing heated debate that has divided students on campus: the ever-present Mac versus PC debate. Though the Mac alone can withstand any argument made against it, here are a few more points to strengthen its position in your mind.

1. Because the Mac has a completely different operating system, many of the viruses that plague the PC have no affect on the Mac. This greatly reduces and nearly eliminates the threat of your computer crashing because it has contracted some sort of virus.

2. The Apple Company takes great pride in their customer relations so, should any problem or question arise, the employees at your local apple store are more than eager to meet your needs and make you feel completely at ease with your computer.

3. Because Apple is one of a kind, without any major competition creativity-wise, they can focus more on creating the best computer on the market, instead of the cheapest box of wires.

4. The Mac offers a wide variety of new and old applications that can meet any need or want you have such as the popular iTunes, iPhoto, and Garage Band.

5. The Mac is reliable. For the past year I have not had any serious technical problems, and the few minor ones that I had were easily solved with a quick trip to the IT department.

6. Switching operating systems from Windows to Mac OS X is a little awkward at first, but that is because your body is trained to find things in certain areas. Once the retraining is complete you won’t be able to understand how you started as a Windows user in the first place.

7. The only major downside to buying a Mac is the price, and there is counter argument to it. Macs are expensive, but in my opinion, they are worth it in the long run.

Support the free market: Buy a PC

_By: Gavin Kirkwood _

With the recent trend towards increasing amounts of Mac buyers in our culture, as well as several strategically marketed advertisements, the PC seems to be looked down upon and neglected. This represents a big turn-around for what used to be a PC-dominant culture. It seems we have forgotten the advantages of the PC. Here are the following reasons to buy a PC instead of a Mac:

1. A typical basic Macbook starts at $999 according to Apple’s official Web site. A Dell computer with nearly identical specifications sells for around $499 at Best Buy. Obviously, you can purchase a PC without having to sell your family into slavery to obtain the necessary funds for a Mac.

2. You can tailor your PC to fit your specific needs, downloading some programs in place of others. In a way, buying a PC is your way of making a public statement declaring your choice for personal freedom, and in turn, your support for democracy. Mac’s do not offer nearly as much freedom, considering the limited range of programs available as opposed to the enormous selection available for PCs.
   With a PC you can have access to all the newest video games without having to wait for the “Mac-friendly” version to come out.

3. Between all his millions, Bill Gates is really hurting for money. By purchasing a PC you have the opportunity to help a man down on his luck.

4. Unlike the one-button mouse offered by Mac, the PC offers a two button mouse that at the end of the day just feels right.

5. The fact that there has been such a demand in the Mac world for Microsoft products and operating systems alone proves that OS X has been less than satisfactory, even to its proponents.

6. When you buy a PC, you have so many choices between different PC companies. You can purchase a Toshiba, a Dell, etc., thus encouraging competition in our economy and saving us from a potential monopoly of Apple.