Apple! (vs PC's)

Now synonymous with style and the techy face of 'cool', Apple have produced what have been voted some of the best technological products of the last decade; revolutionising the mobile phone, reinventing the mp3 player and creating a portable web browser tablet. The iMac is where the change in image started and I'm sure everyone remembers the egg shaped colour monitor in commercials making a point to the world that their computers didn't have to be ugly silver boxes. They've been steadily climbing the popularity tree ever since.

My thoughts about using Apple products at home have been the same for many years since I used a Mac Pro as a graphic designer. They've only ever been able to provide full functionality in an exclusive environment; that is with no PC intervention. For instance, in my opinion an iPod never really sync'd well on a PC, especially when you already have most of your music converted to mp3 and organised into artist and album folders. To use their products you NEED that central Apple hub, be that a MacBook with an external drive or an iMac.

There is no doubt that Apple make some of the most desirable and aesthetically pleasing technological products but to use them to compliment your life means commitment. Unfortunately for me I had a period in my life where gaming took up a vast majority of my computer life and hence a PC was an essential tool. From this base I was engulfed in the young and still growing online social networks of EverQuest, Quake III and Command and Conquer. Leading on from that I was locked in the world of the PC, my life stored on it and it is only now, having moved away from PC gaming that I have reassessed what I want from my home computer.

Primarily now used for social internet connections I can confidently move towards the Apple range at home. In this regard I cannot see how the PC can compete. Apple do everything better! The PC software world is full of people searching for freeware programs that do the job at hand with the minimal amount of intrusion to your control. The infamous paperclip "It looks like you're writing a letter" being the perfect example.

The iPad is looking to take yet another step into revolutionising how and more importantly why 90% of us use our home computers. Why buy an awkward slow laptop with un-necessary ATI graphics driver programs, touchpad control panels and throttling icons in your system tray and annoying power cable keeping the measly battery charged (a contradiction in itself), when for less money you can sit comfortably on your sofa with a smart and sexy internet browsing tablet.

For me this is Apple's joker card and the iPad should sell in it's millions if only the user interface could be portrayed as intuitive and not something to be scared of for those who have used Windows for all their computer life. The App Store alone should open up hundreds of new doors for the average home internet user who until now has just googled the subject of the day on their laptop or browsed online stores for new shoes.

In the next few weeks I am planning to take a MacBook Pro as my media centre with an external drive for the extra data my PC. The MacBook should take care of my one other requirement - Photoshop and web design allowing my upcoming iPhone (and no doubt iPad) to take care of any mobile needs; music, communication and organisation.

I'm very excited about being able to take these products anywhere and everywhere with me confident that back home they will connect and act as one easy network to compliment my lifestyle. Afterall, technology should be there to aid us not hinder our life and in this I believe Apple have the market there for the taking.

In my opinion, the only, and I mean only, obstacle they have to overcome is how to portay OSX as the very user friendly and intuitive interface that it clearly is and to take the fear out of swapping from the 'norm' of Windows. Crack this image and I can see their products dominating.

What do you think? It'd be great to hear your views on this subject. Feel free to comment below and I'm sure I'll run an update post in a few weeks once I've bought my MacBook Pro and started that transfer.

Thanks for reading, Chris