by , 4:00 PM EDT, August 1st, 2003
John Fortt has arrived, and he brings word straight from The Man: Switching to the Mac won't kill you. Mr. Fortt writes from his usual haunt at the San Jose Mercury News about the idea of Switching to the Mac in a piece titled "Want to switch to Mac? You won't die." It's a straight-forward, no nonsense look at the pros and cons of Switching. From the article:
Take it from a guy who has gone back and forth a few times between Macs and Windows PCs, and who now uses both: You won't die. You can use Microsoft Office on a Mac, share files with Windows users and have a lot of fun with a machine that actually adds to your decor. If your wallet can handle it -- a decent Mac will cost at least $1,000 -- a Mac can be a joy to use.
Before I go any further, I should admit a slight bias. I use a Mac at home. It's a 667-megahertz Power Mac G4 running Mac OS 10.2 Jaguar, which I've upgraded with 768 megabytes of RAM and two hard drives totaling 180 gigabytes of storage. I happen to love this 2 1/2-year-old Mac, I expect it will serve me well for another three years at least, and you would have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers.
I'm not a Mac zealot, however. Over the past three years I have recommended and configured two Dell computers for my parents, because for the money, a Mac didn't fit their needs.
Mr. Fortt goes on to look at who should and who shouldn't Switch, with an emphasis on 3D gamers, proprietary Windows software users, and those who want to buy on the cheap for those he thinks should go with Windows. For those who want to "like" their computers and be creative, however, he advises a Mac. We recommend this article as a very good read, and it's great advice.
Mr. Fortt really hits the nail on the head, and we can't be happier about this piece being published. It is great exposure for Apple, and it certainly offers straight advice for those looking for answers to the Switching question.