iMac therefore I am

I don't think it's any secret that I use Apple computers. Anyone who has seen the wedding web page has seen the dog sitting in front of a PowerBook. Recently Apple released the Mac mini. It's been well recevied by those who review computers (people who know more than I). I have also read a bit of "push back" from dedicated Windows users. I have no problems with people who like their machines, and adhere to their preferences. If you prefer a PC, then that's fine.

My problem is when people bring up the 'canned' arguments: "You can't use a Mac for work," "Macs are for graphic designers," "Macs can't run the same programs," and "You can't play games on a Mac." These are stereotypes that PC users seem to have come up with to not try a Mac. To not even try one.

I have worked on both PC and Mac. And even more, I have worked on PC and Mac at work. The first "push back" has always been - "yeah, but can you use it at work?" The answer anymore is "yes." Now I should point out that the Mac mini is designed for home use, as well as the iMac, and iBooks. I currently use both a Windows machine and a Mac at work and have zero problems transferring files from one to another. Even if you create a presentation in Keynote (Mac presentation software that is similar to PowerPoint) you can convert that slideshow to PowerPoint. You can also run all of Microsoft's office suite on a Mac, and the files translate perfectly fine.

And that's the majority of the work applications that people generally use. All I am saying is that the "use it for work" argument doesn't really hold water for the majority of the corporate world. They truly are not just for graphic designers anymore. While it works very well for that, it is now just a stereotype.

Games is the other argument, but to a number of users, it's of minimal concern - however, I have played "Halo" (one of the most heralded recent games) on a Mac. And more and more games are coming out with Mac versions. I don't know what capabilities or features a computer must have for a 'serious gamer,' but I do know that there are companies that have to make super-souped up systems for gaming regardless of the platform. An everyday Dell computer is not optimal for gaming either.

I think a lot comes down to "because everyone else is using Windows." And my mother always said "if every one else was going to jump off a bridge, that doesn't mean you have to."

Both platforms work fine. But, all I am saying is that opening your mind you will find that the Mac systems perform at least as well in all areas you would want to use it for than any other machine and in some cases better. If you are a home user, every Mac ships with a suite of softweare called "iLife." This is designed for the home user. iPhoto, is probably the best digital photo application out there. It allows you to edit and crop photos and even put together a slideshow accompanied with any of the music in your iTunes library. You can use iMovie to piece together photos and put into a Quicktime movie (like I have used to make the movies on my hompage). You can also hook up your video camera an import clips. Then you can take that movie and put it into iDVD and make a professional looking DVD complete with menus. All of these applications work seamlessly together.

That's my schpiel.