Intense Debate: PC or Mac
Written by Lauren Hunter // June 28, 2010 // Church Software // 23 Comments
More and more of my clients, business associates, friends, and family members have shifted over to Mac from PC, leaving a trail of desktops and laptops in their dust to be recycled. As I pull my hair out over the fact that my hard drive is full with program data, I’m contemplating the move to Mac.
My lifeblood is my computer. I got to thinking the other day about how my professional wouldn’t be possible without electricity. No computer, no internet, no income. If you’re a pastor or worship leader, technically, you could still preach, still sing, still lead people to Christ. You just wouldn’t be able to Tweet about it!
However, it would be much harder to connect with your congregation without the internet, awesome web-based church management solutions, the ability to take online donations and registrations for events, and so much more.
So back to my dilemma: PC or Mac? It seems almost like making the switch from Republican to Democrat, meat-eater to vegan (I tried this once, it didn’t take), single person to married . . . okay, maybe I’m being overly dramatic.
I’m concerned about moving away from Outlook for email, Word for documents, Excel for spreadsheets. I really do love these programs and I know how to use them efficiently and have for my entire career. I’m wondering if I can be as productive using the Mac applications, and how much it will slow me down to move over initially.
How about for your ministry? What does your church use? I’d love to hear your feedback if you’ve switched from PC to Mac to help me along in this journey. There might also be a few readers contemplating the same switch.
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23 Comments on "Intense Debate: PC or Mac"
I grew up in a PC house. I remember the first Tandy computer my Dad brought home from Radio Shack. I never thought I’d become a “Mac” guy, but I am.
“Santa” brought me one for Christmas. With more and more of my work existing of Webinars, Web conferencing, and a multitude of audio/video platforms, it just made sense to make the switch. The Mac even feels as if it has been constructed with greater intentionality.
I’m now a Mac enthusiast and waiting for my iPad which should be delivered in just a few short days. The Mac is more intuitive, more versatile, and more reliable than any PC I ever owned.
Programs such as Keynote outpace any Microsoft product hands down. And functions like adding printers and connecting to wifi occur automatically rather than through a series of pop up boxes.
I still interact with a lot of people in the PC world without any difficulty. I use iWork and OpenOffice for Mac. I never have any issues reading or sending files in a variety of formats.
You really do get what you pay for. Mac is worth every penny. You won’t be disappointed.
I grew up in a PC house. I remember the first Tandy computer my Dad brought home from Radio Shack. I never thought I’d become a “Mac” guy, but I am.
“Santa” brought me one for Christmas. With more and more of my work existing of Webinars, Web conferencing, and a multitude of audio/video platforms, it just made sense to make the switch. The Mac even feels as if it has been constructed with greater intentionality.
I’m now a Mac enthusiast and waiting for my iPad which should be delivered in just a few short days. The Mac is more intuitive, more versatile, and more reliable than any PC I ever owned.
Programs such as Keynote outpace any Microsoft product hands down. And functions like adding printers and connecting to wifi occur automatically rather than through a series of pop up boxes.
I still interact with a lot of people in the PC world without any difficulty. I use iWork and OpenOffice for Mac. I never have any issues reading or sending files in a variety of formats.
You really do get what you pay for. Mac is worth every penny. You won’t be disappointed.
I grew up in a PC house. I remember the first Tandy computer my Dad brought home from Radio Shack. I never thought I’d become a “Mac” guy, but I am.
“Santa” brought me one for Christmas. With more and more of my work existing of Webinars, Web conferencing, and a multitude of audio/video platforms, it just made sense to make the switch. The Mac even feels as if it has been constructed with greater intentionality.
I’m now a Mac enthusiast and waiting for my iPad which should be delivered in just a few short days. The Mac is more intuitive, more versatile, and more reliable than any PC I ever owned.
Programs such as Keynote outpace any Microsoft product hands down. And functions like adding printers and connecting to wifi occur automatically rather than through a series of pop up boxes.
I still interact with a lot of people in the PC world without any difficulty. I use iWork and OpenOffice for Mac. I never have any issues reading or sending files in a variety of formats.
You really do get what you pay for. Mac is worth every penny. You won’t be disappointed.
Lauren, I was in your shoes just two and a half short years ago but did not have the luxury of debating the topic. I joined the team at CCB, which is a “Mac Shop”. Therefore, I had to convert to Mac whether I wanted to or not.
While I was a little apprehensive about the learning curve, I was also excited about finally diving in to the whole Mac culture and seeing if it was worthy of the hype. Without going into all of the detail, I can tell you that my entire family (immediate and extended) are now all Mac users!
To echo Ben’s post, it all comes down to the user experience. The brain damage that I once thought was just a part of computer ownership is gone. Mac’s just work! Apple has de-mystified the computer ownership experience and made it what it should have been all along……..an added benefit to your life which helps you get things done and then gets the heck out of the way!
I’m no IT guy so I can’t speak to all the geeky aspects of why Mac is superior or inferior to PC. However, I can tell you that I spend more time getting things done on my computer these days and almost no time dealing with headaches and infuriating technical issues.
JUST DO IT!!
Lauren, I was in your shoes just two and a half short years ago but did not have the luxury of debating the topic. I joined the team at CCB, which is a “Mac Shop”. Therefore, I had to convert to Mac whether I wanted to or not.
While I was a little apprehensive about the learning curve, I was also excited about finally diving in to the whole Mac culture and seeing if it was worthy of the hype. Without going into all of the detail, I can tell you that my entire family (immediate and extended) are now all Mac users!
To echo Ben’s post, it all comes down to the user experience. The brain damage that I once thought was just a part of computer ownership is gone. Mac’s just work! Apple has de-mystified the computer ownership experience and made it what it should have been all along……..an added benefit to your life which helps you get things done and then gets the heck out of the way!
I’m no IT guy so I can’t speak to all the geeky aspects of why Mac is superior or inferior to PC. However, I can tell you that I spend more time getting things done on my computer these days and almost no time dealing with headaches and infuriating technical issues.
JUST DO IT!!
Lauren, I was in your shoes just two and a half short years ago but did not have the luxury of debating the topic. I joined the team at CCB, which is a “Mac Shop”. Therefore, I had to convert to Mac whether I wanted to or not.
While I was a little apprehensive about the learning curve, I was also excited about finally diving in to the whole Mac culture and seeing if it was worthy of the hype. Without going into all of the detail, I can tell you that my entire family (immediate and extended) are now all Mac users!
To echo Ben’s post, it all comes down to the user experience. The brain damage that I once thought was just a part of computer ownership is gone. Mac’s just work! Apple has de-mystified the computer ownership experience and made it what it should have been all along……..an added benefit to your life which helps you get things done and then gets the heck out of the way!
I’m no IT guy so I can’t speak to all the geeky aspects of why Mac is superior or inferior to PC. However, I can tell you that I spend more time getting things done on my computer these days and almost no time dealing with headaches and infuriating technical issues.
JUST DO IT!!
Instead of looking at PC or Mac, you would probably be better served asking first if its the applications that you need, or the content that you already have that you want to continue to have access towards. If you are using applications such as Outlook, which are only now starting to open up to 3rd party support, then you would be best at staying put, or using online services such as Exchange to abstract your content from the application.
In terms of specific modes of use, such as you might liking the way an application notifies you or organizes your information, remember that you had to learn the application and platform for it to get to that place of comfort. You should expect nothing less from another application or platform when moving there. Yes, its painful, and usually has issues all it’s own, but this is the cost of moving somewhere else from where you are comfortable.
I would also recommend looking at Google Apps for your domain, as it might offer a better long term solution for some types of the data that you are dealing with.
Just imagine the fun I have when moving to a new mobile platform, it’s a lot worse
Instead of looking at PC or Mac, you would probably be better served asking first if its the applications that you need, or the content that you already have that you want to continue to have access towards. If you are using applications such as Outlook, which are only now starting to open up to 3rd party support, then you would be best at staying put, or using online services such as Exchange to abstract your content from the application.
In terms of specific modes of use, such as you might liking the way an application notifies you or organizes your information, remember that you had to learn the application and platform for it to get to that place of comfort. You should expect nothing less from another application or platform when moving there. Yes, its painful, and usually has issues all it’s own, but this is the cost of moving somewhere else from where you are comfortable.
I would also recommend looking at Google Apps for your domain, as it might offer a better long term solution for some types of the data that you are dealing with.
Just imagine the fun I have when moving to a new mobile platform, it’s a lot worse
Instead of looking at PC or Mac, you would probably be better served asking first if its the applications that you need, or the content that you already have that you want to continue to have access towards. If you are using applications such as Outlook, which are only now starting to open up to 3rd party support, then you would be best at staying put, or using online services such as Exchange to abstract your content from the application.
In terms of specific modes of use, such as you might liking the way an application notifies you or organizes your information, remember that you had to learn the application and platform for it to get to that place of comfort. You should expect nothing less from another application or platform when moving there. Yes, its painful, and usually has issues all it’s own, but this is the cost of moving somewhere else from where you are comfortable.
I would also recommend looking at Google Apps for your domain, as it might offer a better long term solution for some types of the data that you are dealing with.
Just imagine the fun I have when moving to a new mobile platform, it’s a lot worse
It’s a no brainer really.
I’m not pro or anti either but if you’re considering it then don’t let ‘what you think you know’ restrict your move.
Word & Excell have long been available for the Mac and very soon Outlook for Mac will be with us so in fact you don’t need to move away from them at all. Personally I’d migrate my email acocunt(s) to google and utilise IMAP to access it from whatever app that supports it that you fancy.
As Steve above says – Nike ….
It’s a no brainer really.
I’m not pro or anti either but if you’re considering it then don’t let ‘what you think you know’ restrict your move.
Word & Excell have long been available for the Mac and very soon Outlook for Mac will be with us so in fact you don’t need to move away from them at all. Personally I’d migrate my email acocunt(s) to google and utilise IMAP to access it from whatever app that supports it that you fancy.
As Steve above says – Nike ….
It’s a no brainer really.
I’m not pro or anti either but if you’re considering it then don’t let ‘what you think you know’ restrict your move.
Word & Excell have long been available for the Mac and very soon Outlook for Mac will be with us so in fact you don’t need to move away from them at all. Personally I’d migrate my email acocunt(s) to google and utilise IMAP to access it from whatever app that supports it that you fancy.
As Steve above says – Nike ….
As much as I love my Mac, dude make the Linux switch. I love Ubuntu much more then Mac, it has much better web development tools.
As much as I love my Mac, dude make the Linux switch. I love Ubuntu much more then Mac, it has much better web development tools.
As much as I love my Mac, dude make the Linux switch. I love Ubuntu much more then Mac, it has much better web development tools.
About 18 months ago I was in the position of needing to buy a new laptop, and since I was supporting some Macs and some PC’s at the church… I ultimately decided to buy a Macbook and would try to run both Windows and the Mac OS at the same time using Fusion or Parallels.
And while it worked, I wasn’t really satisfied with either system (Windows Vista Ultimate and Snow Leopard). Then Windows 7 came out… and instead of using Fusion or Parallels I decided to give Boot Camp a try. So now I use Windows 7 at my office and the Snow Leopard at home. It’s an either or thing, but I get a great experience from both of them.
The built-in Mac Apps now work with Exchange 2007 (Mail, Contacts, and Calendar) and they are not that bad. If you’re trying to connect to Exchange 2003 then you’re left with Entourage (you poor soul). Note: Outlook is coming to the Mac in Q1 2011. And if you want to throw in a wild card and you’re using Google Apps… Zimbra from Yahoo can sync all 3 (contacts, mail, and calendar) and you can use the same client on either Mac or PC (same look and feel).
As far as office apps go, I’ve never been in love with any of the alternative office suites (like Open Office or Star office) except Lotus Symphony. And it too… works on both the Mac and PC. It’s built with Open Office source code. The interface is a little bit dumbed down, making it simpler to use, but I think it has everything you need and the learning curve isn’t that hard.
About 18 months ago I was in the position of needing to buy a new laptop, and since I was supporting some Macs and some PC’s at the church… I ultimately decided to buy a Macbook and would try to run both Windows and the Mac OS at the same time using Fusion or Parallels.
And while it worked, I wasn’t really satisfied with either system (Windows Vista Ultimate and Snow Leopard). Then Windows 7 came out… and instead of using Fusion or Parallels I decided to give Boot Camp a try. So now I use Windows 7 at my office and the Snow Leopard at home. It’s an either or thing, but I get a great experience from both of them.
The built-in Mac Apps now work with Exchange 2007 (Mail, Contacts, and Calendar) and they are not that bad. If you’re trying to connect to Exchange 2003 then you’re left with Entourage (you poor soul). Note: Outlook is coming to the Mac in Q1 2011. And if you want to throw in a wild card and you’re using Google Apps… Zimbra from Yahoo can sync all 3 (contacts, mail, and calendar) and you can use the same client on either Mac or PC (same look and feel).
As far as office apps go, I’ve never been in love with any of the alternative office suites (like Open Office or Star office) except Lotus Symphony. And it too… works on both the Mac and PC. It’s built with Open Office source code. The interface is a little bit dumbed down, making it simpler to use, but I think it has everything you need and the learning curve isn’t that hard.
About 18 months ago I was in the position of needing to buy a new laptop, and since I was supporting some Macs and some PC’s at the church… I ultimately decided to buy a Macbook and would try to run both Windows and the Mac OS at the same time using Fusion or Parallels.
And while it worked, I wasn’t really satisfied with either system (Windows Vista Ultimate and Snow Leopard). Then Windows 7 came out… and instead of using Fusion or Parallels I decided to give Boot Camp a try. So now I use Windows 7 at my office and the Snow Leopard at home. It’s an either or thing, but I get a great experience from both of them.
The built-in Mac Apps now work with Exchange 2007 (Mail, Contacts, and Calendar) and they are not that bad. If you’re trying to connect to Exchange 2003 then you’re left with Entourage (you poor soul). Note: Outlook is coming to the Mac in Q1 2011. And if you want to throw in a wild card and you’re using Google Apps… Zimbra from Yahoo can sync all 3 (contacts, mail, and calendar) and you can use the same client on either Mac or PC (same look and feel).
As far as office apps go, I’ve never been in love with any of the alternative office suites (like Open Office or Star office) except Lotus Symphony. And it too… works on both the Mac and PC. It’s built with Open Office source code. The interface is a little bit dumbed down, making it simpler to use, but I think it has everything you need and the learning curve isn’t that hard.
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