My first YouTube video and blog post on this subject -- why Macs rule and PCs drool -- received some deserved criticism.
So I'll man-up and admit that comparing the start-up time of a brand new MacBook to a several year old IBM ThinkPad isn't entirely fair.
The PC runs slower and has a bunch more start-up programs installed that, no big surprise, need to start-up before my ThinkPad is ready to go.
Fortunately, I had an almost hot-off-the-Chinese-shelf Lenovo IdeaPad Y510 sitting around. I got this Windows Vista computer in January of this year, but haven't used it much. Mainly, because I didn't have time back then to transfer all the crap (emails, documents, etc.) that I use every day.
Also, because I wasn't as wowed by Vista as I thought I'd be. In some ways it seemed better than the XP Pro operating systems I've been using; in other ways, not as good.
At any rate, a couple of days ago I set the Lenovo next to my MacBook and did some comparison tests. In the new video below you'll see that the start-up times were just about equal. But I show some other areas where the MacBook beats the PC.
In the end, though, my preference (really, love) for the Mac can't be easily tied down by saying it's because of this or that.
The whole Macintosh experience, from how the keys feel, to the look of the screen, to how program menus pop up, to how error messages are handled, to how easily unfamiliar programs can be learned -- this whole shebang flows together into a much more pleasant computing day, every day I've had my MacBook.
Back to the criticism, and a bit of defense now: someone said that my ThinkPad looked like it was sluggish.
Well, yes. That comes with the Windows territory -- the need to have all kinds of extra programs and utilities to keep your PC functioning halfway reliably.
On my ThinkPad I have:
-- a virus checker, firewall, and other utilities included with SystemSuite (a nice program), because the Windows firewall sucks, and you need virus protection on a PC.
-- a real-time spyware scanner, to supplement the spyware protection in SystemSuite
-- Google Desktop, because it's hard to find files and emails using the crappy search feature in Windows
-- various other programs, such as a registry fixer-upper, that help keep Windows XP functioning
-- a back-up program that uses an external USB hard disk, because you never know when the blue screen of death might appear
Much of this stuff slows down my PC. All of it adds to its complexity.
But this is part of the Windows world for people, like me, who have learned over the years that you have to supplement Microsoft's operating system offering if you want to have a healthy computer.
It's refreshing to not have to worry about installing all of these extras on my MacBook. I've added a better password protector than Apple's web browser (Safari) offers. On the whole, though, my Mac simply works.
And that's the biggest reason I like it more than my PCs.
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