PC Guy with a Mac

I came across this great blog post from Tom Krazit at c|net, explaining the originals of the Cult of Apple, or the blind adherence by some individuals to all things Apple.

I’m sure that this blog post is one of thousands that explains this phenomena, and it definitely gave me some insights in trying to understand the “Mactarded” (that’s my word, all rights reserved ;) and their origins.

But still others see the basic Mac vs. PC debate as the computer industry’s version of Ford vs. Chevrolet, or Bud vs. Miller, or Michigan vs. Ohio State: people like to identify with groups and subcultures, and they do all sorts of ridiculous things in arbitrary support of whichever group they’ve chosen.

Go Bucks!

Well, it was bound to happen. One of my long-time customers and friends heard that I was diving deep into all things Cupertino and emailed me this question:

If I transition from a Palm Treo on Verizon to an iPhone on AT&T, what will I gain, and what will I lose? Will the iPhone sync with Outlook? Will my telephone coverage suffer?

Following is my response, and anyone can jump in here and correct me at will:

What you will lose in switching from the Palm platform to the iPhone platform:

• A LOT of third-party applications to choose from
• The ability to change out a dead battery
• A proven track-record of dependability and performance
• The ability to switch carriers
• The ability to attach to a Microsoft Exchange server
• The ability to open/modify Microsoft documents and spreadsheets
• Slow Internet connection provided by AT&T (in my opinion)

What you will gain in switching from the Palm platform to the iPhone platform:

• Street cred ;)
• Full integration with iTunes (if you use iTunes for music purchases and playback on your PC)
• A few good, solid applications that come pre-loaded with the iPhone
• A very good camera that takes very good photographs (I’ve seen this in action)
• Wi-Fi (assuming that your phone does not have this feature)

As for telephone coverage suffering, I really cannot say, but what I can say is that if you get in to bed with AT&T (which you will have to when getting an iPhone) you are stuck with their service, good or bad. Apple’s exclusivity with AT&T is going to last five years, so if you make the iPhone investment, make sure that you’re in it for the long haul (or hack the phone, which would be a hobby in and of itself).

My closing thought on the iPhone is that it is a neat device, and it definitely feels like I’m using it within the context of an Apple operating environment. The touch-screen is slick, but the fluidity of the animations that you see on the commercials (eg: when turning the iPhone on it’s side to display a web site in landscape mode) is not there.

Personally, I’m waiting for Google’s wireless offering (Android) to hit. I truly believe that the next evolution in operating systems (PC and mobile) will be to allow individuals to customize their operating environments, both functionally and visually (and I shouldn’t forget “easily”). By it’s open nature, Google’s Android should allow for a highly-customizable and “open” experience.

Larry Dignan’s blog on ZDNet today culled some very interesting data that compared the number of XP/Vista exploits against the number of Mac exploits in 2007. The data appears to be good and Larry spent a lot of time collating the numbers, but since my personal experience with all things Mac is now going on it’s 11th day, I’m not really a good judge of the blog post’s validity.

I can tell you that Mac’s days of existing in a squeaky-clean, virus-free cocoon are short-lived. Like John Travolta’s character in “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble,” Macintosh’s are wanting to kiss the girls, and pretty soon some nasty pathogens are going to take notice, and take advantage of, a faulty immune system.