Computer Wars

Computer Wars

Grant Tabler
Feature Writer

While most students opt to buy a laptop for their first year of University, the operating system often varies. The choice is a simple one, Mac or PC, but the reasons behind this choice are somewhat more complex.

     Mac ads often portray Macs as being the cool 20-something with everything going for him, while the PC is portrayed as the old inefficient businessman; the PC is shown as your dad’s computer.

     Mac advertisements have always tried to appeal to their audiences as being the artistic alternative to the more serious, spreadsheet making, PCs.

     Whereas PC advertisements aim more at showing the versatility and ease of use a PC offers, often without trying to poke fun at their competitor.

     Despite the more aggressive Apple marketing style, student sales numbers for laptops are 20 times that of Macbooks says future shop salesperson Sergio Puzzella. He believes the reason for this, is the price.

     “Pcs have a far broader price range, allowing for many students or families with lower budgets to still buy a computer for University,” said Puzzella, referring to the significant sales difference.

     “The Macs use a lot of high-end parts, which contributes to their cost, and limits price flexibility,” said Puzzella, adding that parents often look for a less expensive computer, especially if the student is just starting their first year.

     To supplement the starting costs of Macbooks, Apple is offering student discounts through their site. The discounts range from $50-100 depending on the model, however the student can only buy a limited number of discounted products per year.

     Another factor Puzzella mentioned was familiarity. PCs have always been the old standby, most people who learn to use computers learn on a PC.

     PC familiarity can put Macs at a disadvantage due to differences in its controls. However, with the wider spread of an alternative to PCs, many students are learning to use Macs instead.

     To draw a broader audience, the Apple website has created several video tutorials to ease the transition and learning curve when switching from a PC to a Mac.

     Another main selling point to University students is the reliability and battery life. However, as University of Guelph-Humber student David Finoro found out, some computers last longer than others.

     “It lasted about as long as most iPods,” said Finoro, a Macbook owner whose computer stopped working within a year of its purchase date. “It died on course selection day, I’m so glad it happened after I chose my courses.”   

     Reliability is a major issue for students, if their computer stops working they could lose access to many of their assignments.

     If students are worried about file loss, there are several products like Apple’s external hard drive called time-capsule, which automatically and wirelessly backs up the information on all the Macs on your network.

     For some however, like Humber student Adam Coleridge, reliability is not the biggest factor when choosing a computer.

     “I use a laptop because I need to be able to use all the programs available to me,” said Coleridge commenting on PC proprietary software. “There is a lot of software that just isn’t designed to run on Macs.”

     Apple is trying to remedy compatibility issues in Macbooks; they are becoming more compatible with many of the programs being used on Windows, like the Office Suite.

     “It depends what you are using it for,” said Coleridge a first year television broadcasting student. Since many University students like to play video games in their spare time, video game compatibility can be a major factor.

     Ironically, although Mac ads like to portray the PC as the older businessman, designed for making spreadsheets, Macs are the system less aimed at running video games.

     Macs are known for turning away many gamers, as game developers often design games to work for PCs alone.

     When buying a Macbook or any Mac computer, the cost of making a machine focused on gaming is sufficiently higher than the cost of a PC with similar specifications.

     One reason for this is the proprietary nature of Apple, all Macs are created by apple, and individual users cannot buy parts and create their own computer like they can with PCs.

     This greater ability to customize means that users can continue to keep their PC on the cutting edge for a longer time.

     However, based on what you are doing with the computer, constant upgrades may not be as much of a worry.

     PCs usually have their components updated so regularly because of ever more graphics intensive games being released.

     With Macs not being based around gaming and often not being compatible with many games, updating the components in a Mac is often not necessary.

      Despite traditional PC dominance in the computer market, Apple is attempting to lead the way in innovation to counteract buying trends.

     “What happens in the classroom no longer stays in the classroom — you can use your computer, your iPod, or your iPhone to work where you want, when you want,” says Apple’s education website.

     Apple is attempting to make information more accessible by synchronising the different Apple products that are already widely used. This is an added draw for University students as they are often on the go, or commuting.

     Beyond a student’s own lectures and course materials Apple offers another way to learn, using iTunes. iTunes U, is a section of iTunes offering University lectures from a wide variety of Universities, with many lectures offered free of charge.

     iTunes U also has the capability to allow professors to host lecture notes to their students downloadable wirelessly to a student’s iPod or iPhone. Microsoft does not have such a program.

     It seems that, while the battle for computer sales this semester is over, the computer wars are still raging on.