There is a never-ending debate as to whether Macs are “better” than PC’s. “Better” is of course a subjective term; for instance, while Macs are generally acknowledged to be easier to use, if you’re a long-time Windows user the first time you sit in front of a Mac, it certainly won’t seem that way.

In any case, here follows a list of differentiators… if nothing else, these are reasonable arguments as to why you should consider buying a Mac.

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1. Macs are actually cheaper in the long run

Sure, you can buy a Windows PC for fewer up-front dollars. But the true cost of ownership should be calculated based on not only the acquisition cost, but the residual value after you sell it or trade it in. It’s the difference between those two numbers that really tells you what your computer costs to own. When you calculate the cost of ownership in that way, Macs win easily. All you have to do is compare the value of a Windows PC from, say, three years ago (which is often close to zero), and compare that to what you can get for your 3-year-old Mac. It’s virtually always no contest.

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2. Macs are much easier to buy

We tried shopping for a PC just to compare, and after about 15 minutes our eyes glazed over. When you have so many choices, not only of manufacturers, but bells and whistles and speeds and sizes, it’s almost impossible to know whether you’re getting the right, or best, deal. With the Mac, it’s much easier to narrow down your search quickly, PLUS, be assured you’re getting a well-made and well-respected product, included being loaded with a whole bunch of great software you’d have to buy extra on a PC. On top of all that, there’s no equivalent to PowerMax in the PC world. Our friendly and expert staff is happy to help you through the entire process.

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Note: We received a message from someone who took umbrage at the above, saying he thought it was “incredibly ignorant.” We responded with the following, which may or may not appease those of you who share that opinion, but it is our opinion and we’re sticking by it:

Simplicity isn’t for everyone, of course, and many IT professionals and computer geeks will look at the plethora of options available in the Windows world and not only not be fazed by them, but delight in the choices. Those same people often get frustrated that if you want to run the Mac OS, your choices are essentially limited to Apple, and then the limited choices they give you within that. But it sure makes it easier “for the rest of us” to make a decision, which is why we entitled that paragraph: “Macs are much easier to buy.” Obviously, with either, you can just see one and click “buy,” but with a PC, you’ll never be sure whether Samsung or Dell or HP or Acer or Toshiba or who knows how many other brands to choose from was the “best” one, all with their different video cards and storage options and screen sizes, not to mention the presumed or expected quality. That’s a lot of choices, and that makes it harder. That’s all we’re saying.

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3. In general, when Apple makes assumptions with its software, it gets it right, Microsoft often gets it wrong

Surely this is subjective, but when you run Microsoft’s software, even on a Mac, it loves to run interference, making assumptions as to what you’re doing and trying to stay a step ahead. Most often, however, it just gets annoying. For instance, by default, if you type a “1)” in Entourage or Word, suddenly the next paragraph automatically starts with a “2)” even if you don’t want it. Most people spend more time undoing the presumptions than benefitting by them… Microsoft is just horrible at getting in the way.

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4. Viruses

While this has changed just a little as Apple has gained ground on Microsoft, Mac users are still living in relative bliss with the lack of viruses, spyware and malware. We’re not saying they can’t get them, but it’s just far less of a problem for Mac users than it is for Windows users.

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5. Time Machine and the Cloud

Not nearly enough people back up their hard drives (because it should be everyone), but Apple’s Time Machine makes it so elegant and simple that all you really need to do is hook up a drive and turn Time Machine on. And it’s not just a back-up, but you can go back in time to find a document you deleted. Apple is further assisting with backing up with the utilization of iCloud, something especially appreciated in this age of people using multiple devices, such as the iPhone and iPad.

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6. When something goes wrong…

Microsoft makes the software. Dell, or Sony, or HP, or seemingly a million other manufacturers, make the Windows PC. Then you have third-party drivers and whatever else for all the peripherals. When you have a problem, everyone points a finger at everyone else. With the Mac, the issue rests more often just with Apple. Of course, any customer of PowerMax who has ever had a question or problem can attest to the friendly expertise we also provide to help sort it all out for them as well.

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7. Apple makes upgrading its OS simple, Microsoft still keeps it complicated

Apple smoothly transitions its customers to its latest OS for free. Windows can’t even use a consistent naming scheme: the versions include: 7, 8, XP, Vista, CE, NT, 98, 2000. The best we can say about that is that their scattered approach to naming matches their scattered approach to their OS.

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8. Microsoft is for people who love tinkering with computers, Apple is for people who just want to get their work done

What’s pretty much true is that the back-end, server-infrastructure kinds of things is well-handled by Microsoft, because it’s in the “land of the geeks,” who love to dig into the machinery and tinker with all the settings and understand all the acronyms. Those kind of people like Windows on the front end as well because they understand all the crazy intricacies and complications of the computer system. Apple isn’t nearly as big in the IT world, and that’s okay, because its front end user interface for “the rest of us” doesn’t require us to be computer whizzes to get things done.

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9. Let’s face it, Apple understands style

While there are a zillion different styles of PC out there, pretty much everyone agrees that the style, elegance, and just plain “hipness” of the Mac has yet to be beat. They just look cool. Most importantly, because they can stay out of the “I can make it cheaper” fray in the PC world, Apple’s quality is second-to-none.

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10. You can run Windows on a Mac anyway, so why not get the best of both worlds?

Apple allows Windows to be installed via its own Boot Camp, or you can use a third-party virtualization program, such as Parallels, VMWare Fusion or VirtualBox. So why not both save money in the long run and have access to virtually any desktop software you want?