Return of the Mac (2005)

Windows still has dominant market share and, as such, is still supported far better by developers. More programs come out for windows than for mac by a long shot. The consumers are also familiar with windows which further increases the chance of them not buying a mac.

Anyways, the point of this comment is to refute your last statement. I'll first say that "purchase a .. iPad for their next computer." is completely ridiculous. A tablet cannot fill the needs of a user yet. I'll focus on why many consumers would not want to purchase a Mac. 1. Software support. A large amount of software is available only for windows. 1b. Video games 2. .Net developer/other developer. Many software developers will work on windows because that's their target platform due to the market share. 3. Familiarity. That's a big one. People are familiar with windows and so they stick with it. 4. Price. Because pcs are sold by various venders there are many pricepoints. Apple doesn't allow that. 5. Business relying on legacy software for windows.

Do I really need to name more? "I cannot even think of a reason" .. You really couldn't think of any of the above reasons or one of the several more? Macs are great and all, but they aren't the answer to everything. They still have many issues. Apple's tight grip leads to higher quality but higher prices, reduced variety, and reduced content. For now, a windows machine can do almost anything an apple computer can do at less cost. The consumer also has far more choices. A mac can only do a portion of what a pc could do; if the user installs linux than the mac has almost no features left that the pc is incapable of. Perhaps you'll harp on hardware quality, but it's perfectly possible to get machines of similar or better quality to any mac aside from the macbook air.

I've had essentially zero issues with Windows. I do 99% of my development in Linux (access my devbox through VNC). For desktop use, I have absolutely no problems. I work very fast zooming around with keyboard shortcuts. I don't get viruses or bloatware. Everything is calm and familiar.

Every time I get my hands on a Mac, even to simply Google something, I immediately hit issues. Paste is crazy squiggly hash v (or maybe apple v?), I can't right click, I can't win+d to the desktop. I'm sure all of these things are possible, but I'm fumbling around like my grandpa when I taught him to email.

At this point, I'm pretty sure it can't all be brand hype (my thoughts a few years ago). I'd really like to know what the incentive is for throwing away years of muscle memory, familiarity, and tweaking ability.

So, go ahead, someone sell me on Macs.