This is a true confession: I’m in love with my new Mac laptop.
As a lifelong PC guy and owner of a company that provides IT services in Philadelphia, I’m a little surprised. Until recently, I had thought Windows was the window to the soul of office technology.
But as much as I may personally have been invested in PCs, as tech experts, my team and I have been knee-deep in Mac IT services and maintenance for as long as I can remember. So, when it was time to get a new laptop, I thought it was about time to use a Mac for my everyday work.
My rationale? Using a Mac would be one way to get an even better understanding of clients using a Mac laptop.
The surprise? I found myself swooning. The only word that comes to mind to describe the user experience is “upgrade,” and the feeling was not just rewarding on a practical level, it had (dare I admit this?) an emotional payback as well.
Of course, a Mac costs more than its Windows equivalent, but I quickly discovered that price is not the source of its “cool” factor. As a user, I found the Mac experience is more like moving from coach to first class. Or as a colleague put it, “Once you go Mac, you can’t go back.”
However, as the owner of an IT company, I do go back and forth all the time. When I work on a Windows machine, I can’t believe how much time I invest in waiting for it to boot its various elements. Apple does a much faster job, with all my tools booting instantly. And that makes Windows feel like it’s living in slow motion. I almost wish I hadn’t made that discovery.
I use my Mac now for my own work and everyday tasks, as it’s faster than a hound chasing a squirrel. The interface is so clean you’ll want to scrub your desk just to make it worthy of the laptop sitting on top of it.
Why I Didn’t Use a Mac Before
I’ll date myself by admitting this, but I remember when people made decisions between PCs and Macs depending on the software they needed to run. That’s because, before the cloud and software-as-a-service (SaaS), the real cost of a computer was the expense and availability of the software you needed to run on that computer.
At that time, there were about 10x more software products written for PCs than for Macs. So for many business fields, such as finance or manufacturing, PCs were the only choice, while in creative industries (publishing, design, filmmaking) Macs offered the superior software. The market was divided.
But now, that’s a moot point. No matter what software you want to run, chances are it’s available online in both flavors, Windows and Mac. So these days, no matter what field of work you pursue, you can pretty much choose either operating system. But I’ll say this: It’s easier to switch from PC to Mac than the other way around.
Syncing Up
One thing that makes a Mac super useful is the iPhone — the phone of choice for most of the people I know. It syncs seamlessly with my new Mac laptop and other Apple devices. For example, if I walk up to my Mac wearing my Apple watch, it unlocks my laptop without me having to do anything. If I get a Wi-Fi signal on my iPhone, my Mac gets it, too, without any extra logging in.
Very smooth!
A Note to Windows Users
Don’t over-worry about my Mac joy. I’ve been in your tribe for decades and I’ll always appreciate Windows and the machines that run it. I’m still your go-to guy for all things Windows, and I completely get your loyalty to it as your operating system of choice.
But if you get itchy wondering if your daily laptop experience could be better, consider going Mac.
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About Me
I’m Keith Tessler, business owner, tech expert, advisor to CEOs and other business leaders, proud Philadelphian, and avid Phillies fan. I own several locations of an IT services company in the area, so if you need IT services in Philadelphia, my team and I are at your service.
Pictured: Using my Mac to catch up on work outside a meeting room at a tech conference in Miami.
