Why Mac Users Feel a Mac Is Better than a Windows PC
Standard business school theory says that a company that sells the most product can’t be stopped because it just gets better and better at what it does, to the point where no one can catch up. But Apple has adopted some strategies that give it some important advantages that let it win against the competition provided by Microsoft.
If you have a problem, it’s Apple’s problem. Microsoft sells its Windows operating system to dozens of companies that make personal computers. This strategy has some benefits in that competition among these PC vendors keeps prices down, but it also means that Microsoft has to support a many different hardware designs and components (displays, hard drives, communications adapters, processor chips, and so on). And this includes not just all the variations currently being sold, but products no longer on the market but still in use, including PCs made by companies no longer in business. Outside of a brief period of licensing in the mid-1990s, Apple has maintained complete control over the design and manufacture of products that use its software. This vertical integration greatly simplifies Apple’s development efforts, allowing it to bring out new versions of its operating system much more often than Microsoft has been able to.
Vertical integration also has benefits for customers in terms of reliability and service. If you have a problem with hardware or software, Apple has a strong incentive to fix it. With the computer, operating system, and much of the software supplied by a single vendor, Mac users don’t have to worry about being shuttled from company to company. Regardless of the problem with the extensive suite of software that comes with a Mac, it’s Apple’s problem.
Apple is the industry thought leader. One of Apple’s roles in the computer industry is to pick and choose among the amazing new technologies. For the most part, technologies that Apple picks get adopted by the rest of the industry, particularly Microsoft. Apple may not have invented the graphical user interface, WiFi wireless networking, or the universal serial bus, but Apple’s adoption of these technologies made them industry standards.
Appearances matter. The original design team that created the first Macintosh computer included a fine artist who was involved in everything from graphical interface design to the artwork on the cardboard box that the Mac came in.
Apple also takes pride in arranging all the buttons and jacks in a pleasing way, questioning each feature, and eliminating unnecessary doodads. The result is something that isn’t just easy to look at but is easy to understand and simple to work with. A case in point is the Apple Remote that comes with each Mac. Remotes for most consumer products rival an airplane cockpit in complexity; Apple’s has just six buttons.
Apple’s leadership looks forward, not backward. Apple is also the company that decides when to tell a technology goodbye. Apple was the first to introduce 3 ½-inch floppy disks on personal computers and the first to drop them as a standard feature, as just one example. Unneeded features increase complexity and make machines harder to use and more prone to problems.
Apple provides top-notch products. Unit for unit, Apple is the most profitable company in the industry. How does the company do that with such a small share of the market? The same way that Mercedes-Benz or Armani does — by branding. Apple sells unique products that customers willingly pay for. The benefit to a Mac buyer is that no company can keep such an enviable position in the long run without delivering top-notch goods. You do get what you pay for.
Apple and Intel are partners. For most of the personal computer era, the Intel Corporation , inventor of the microprocessor and creator of the x86 series of microprocessors that power most PCs, was closely allied with Microsoft. But in 2005, Apple announced that it would be partnering with Intel. Now all new Macs use Intel chips. Strong hints have surfaced that Apple expects to take advantage of unique innovations from Intel in the future.
Macs and OS X Glossary
802.11x wireless
A protocol for connections to your Ethernet network and your Apple TV unit.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Address Book
The place for addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses on the Mac. You can also add a picture and note about the person.
Macs and OS X Glossary
alias
A pointer to another application of folder.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Bluetooth
A short-range wireless technology that lets your Mac communicate with other compatible gadgets, from up to 30 feet away.
Macs and OS X Glossary
ColorSync
A printer setting that lets you add black and white, blue tone, sepia, or other filters.
Macs and OS X Glossary
cookie
A small file that a web site automatically saves on your hard drive. It contains information that the site will use on your future visits. For example, a site might save a cookie to preserve your site preferences for the next time or ¯ in the case of a site such as Amazon.com ¯ to identify you automatically and help customize the offerings that you see.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Dashboard
A translucent screen that lays on top of your desktop and houses clever little applications called widgets.
Macs and OS X Glossary
desktop
The whole of your Mac’s computer screen. Also called the Finder.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Discoverable mode
Helps other Bluetooth devices find your Mac.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Dock
The colorful bar on the bottom of the Mac screen. It’s a rough cross between the Windows taskbar and the Start menu.
Macs and OS X Glossary
double-clicking
Left-clicking twice in rapid succession while keeping the cursor in the same location.
Macs and OS X Glossary
dragging
Positioning the cursor on top of a symbol or icon and then holding down the mouse button and rolling the mouse across your desk, which moves the symbol or icon to a new location.
Macs and OS X Glossary
driver
A software program provided by the printer manufacturer that tells Mac OS X how to communicate with your printer.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol; DHCP
A protocol that enables a computer to automatically get connection information for communicating with a network or your ISP.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Exposé
A Mac feature that, with a click of a button, organizes your Mac desktop.
Macs and OS X Glossary
FileVault
A Mac feature that automatically scrambles, or encrypts, the data in your Home folder.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Finder
The application that Mac OS X runs to display the operating system’s menus and windows.
Macs and OS X Glossary
FireWire
A speedy connector often used with digital cameras.
Macs and OS X Glossary
FTP
Part of the TCP/IP protocol suite; (the hoary acronym FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is one of the oldest methods for sharing files between computers
Macs and OS X Glossary
function keys
Housed on the top row of the Mac keyboard, the keys with the letter F followed by a number.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iCal
The Mac’s built-in calendar.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iDVD
The application that lets you burn movies onto a disk.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iMac
A Mac desktop computer.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iPhoto
The application where you store and touch up digital images.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iSync
The application that keeps your calendar, Address Book, and Internet bookmarks synchronized across multiple devices.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iTunes
Apple’s renowned musical jukebox.
Macs and OS X Glossary
iWeb
The tool that lets you create personal Web sites, blogs, and podcasts.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol; LDAP
With LDAP, you can search a central company directory from anywhere in the world as long as you have an Internet connection.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol
An encryption protocol developed by Cisco Systems for superior security in the business world.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Mac Mini
Apple’s budget desktop computer. Weighing less than 3 pounds, it’s portable, but not in the same sense as a notebook.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Mac OSx
The operating system that Apple included with all new Mac computer systems since 2002.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Mac Pro
A Mac desktop intended for professionals facing demanding graphics and other computing tasks. Its arrival completed the transition of the Mac line to Intel processors.
Macs and OS X Glossary
MacBook Air
Apple’s super-thin Mac. Encased in aluminum with a 13.3-inch display, Air measures just 0.16 inches at its skinniest point and just 0.75 inches at its thickest. But it still boasts a full-size keyboard and very good battery life.
Macs and OS X Glossary
MacBook, MacBook Pro
Apple’s successor to the PowerBook.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Mail
Apple’s built-in calendar.
Macs and OS X Glossary
MobileMe
The application that keeps your e-mail, contacts, and calendar synchronized, no matter what device you’re using.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Network interface card
A hardware device that your computer uses to talk to the rest of the network.
Macs and OS X Glossary
operating software
The software that makes a Mac work.
Macs and OS X Glossary
parental controls
Safety features that let you place limitations on your child’s computer use.
Macs and OS X Glossary
partition
A formatted section of a disk that contains data.
Macs and OS X Glossary
PDF
A special document display format developed by Adobe; they display like a printed document but take up minimal space.
Macs and OS X Glossary
phishing
A form of Internet fraud where identity thieves, posing as a respectable financial or Internet company, tries to dupe you into clicking phony links to verify personal or account information.
Macs and OS X Glossary
RAID set
A group of multiple separate disks, working together as a team.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Safari
The Mac’s Web browser.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Smart Groups
A way to group contacts in your Address Book.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Smart Mailboxes
Searches for e-mail that matches specific search criteria.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Spotlight
The Mac’s search technology.
Macs and OS X Glossary
start-up disk
The boot drive that contains the Mac OS X system you’re using at the moment
Macs and OS X Glossary
thread
Contains an original message and all related replies, which makes it easy to follow the flow of an e-mail discussion without bouncing around within your Inbox, searching for the next message in the conversation.
Macs and OS X Glossary
trackpad
The smooth surface below your Mac keyboard that’s your laptop’s answer to using a mouse.
Macs and OS X Glossary
USB port
The place on your Mac where you plug in devices you want to connect, such as printers, scanners, digital cameras, and more.
Macs and OS X Glossary
Voiceover
A screen reader designed to make using a Mac easier by speaking the contents of the screen.
Macs and OS X Glossary
wireless network
A network that isn’t connected by wires but uses radio waves, instead.
