Mac Lists

12 Good Reasons to Buy a Mac Computer

I live in a country where Mac computers are not commonly used and most of my friends aren't familiar with Macs. Yet, they respect my opinion about computers so they often ask me why they should buy a Mac instead of a cheaper PC. Over the years, I've increased my list of reasons for buying a Mac, and in this posting and the next one, I'll expound on those reasons. Feel free to use my reasons to convince a loved one to buy you a new Mac this year for Christmas.

1.  Cheaper in the Long Run

Although the initial cost for a Mac may seem higher than that for a PC, in the long run, you'll save money with a Mac. Mac computers are extremely durable and they can last for many years. Because they are so well-made, Mac computers rarely need repairs, so you save money on excellent quality hardware. In addition, Mac computers come with the operating system preinstalled and on installation disks, so you never have to invest money in purchasing essential software. Almost everything you'll need for your Mac is included with your computer purchase.

2.  Powerful, Stable Operating System

The Mac operating system, Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard), is a stable, powerful operating system. The system almost never crashes - it will only crash if you really "mess it up" by doing things you shouldn't do to any system. The system is frequently updated to include bug fixes and to add even more wonderful features to it. It's the easiest system to use - even a small child can learn to use a Mac with OS X. The system comes with great software and a secure firewall so you don't need to purchase extra Internet or firewall software. And, as everyone knows, to date, the Mac operating system has been immune to viruses.

3.  Easy-to-use and Powerful Mail Application

Mac OS X 10.5 comes with Apple's own email application, Mail. You won't need any other email program and Mail is easy-to-use and to learn. Yet, it is a powerful application that lets you do anything most people need to do with an email program. It even comes with beautiful stationery templates that can be used to create fancy cards and email messages.

4.  Built-in Backup Application

Mac OS X 10.5 comes with its own backup application called "Time Machine." Just set Time Machine to back up the files you want, or your whole system, and Time Machine does the rest. Every hour, Time Machine will automatically back up your files for you and you can concentrate on your work, knowing your data is being safely saved for you. Restoring files with Time Machine is also very easy - and fun, as you literally take a trip through time to find the exact files you want to restore.

5.  Superfast Searching

Spotlight, the superfast Mac OS X search engine, makes finding files and data you need a snap. Spotlight is available at all times in all applications, so you can quickly access those hard-to-find files in literally seconds. Spotlight searches in file names and also in the contents of files, so it's almost impossible to not be able to find what you're looking for in the thousands of files on your hard drive.

6.  Quick Viewing with Quick Look

Mac OS X 10.5 introduced a new feature - Quick Look - that lets you easily preview the contents of almost any file, including documents, images and even videos. With Quick Look, you no longer have to open a file to see its contents - just press the Space Bar and up pops a window, displaying the file's contents.

7.  Get Smart with Smart Folders

The Mac OS X Finder and most applications let you create special folders that update dynamically. You set criteria for the folder and Mac OS X automatically adds links to all files that match the criteria. Add a new file that fits in the folder, and Mac OS X adds it instantly. For example, I have a Smart mailbox in Mail that contains only unread messages, and every time I receive a new message, it is added to the mailbox. And once a message is read, it is automatically removed from the box. Organization is a no-brainer with Mac OS X.

8.  Built-in Burning

Disk burning is also easy with Mac OS X. Insert a disk into your optical drive, throw files on it and click a Burn button and Mac OS X seamlessly burns the disk for you. It even knows what speed to use for your burner. This easy-to-use burn technology also exists in Mac software, such as iTunes and iPhoto.

9.  Easy Photo Editing and Management

All new Mac computers come bundled with a fantastic software package called "iLife." iPhoto is the excellent photo editing and photo management software included in the iLife package. Connect your digital camera to your new Mac and iPhoto instantly imports and categorizes your photos for you. Naturally, you can create your own organization using regular or Smart albums for all of your digital photos and movies. You can even do some decent editing of your photos using iPhoto. And once your photos look perfect, you can create beautiful personalized calendars or books with them.

10.  1-2-3 Movies

iMovie '08 is for non-video oriented people who want to create quick and easy movies. If you have a digital movie camera, iMovie '08 can create a movie for you. Just plug in your camera and in minutes you'll have your first movie, ready for distribution. You can also create movies from still photos or video files that you import into iMovie. iMovie '08 is for the video-creation challenged person, but if you have video-creation talent, you can download iMovie '06 and use that more advanced version instead.

11.  Music-making Fun

Perhaps your talent is in music rather than video. You're in luck if you bought a Mac computer because iLife comes with its own music-creation software called GarageBand. With GarageBand you can create anything from a simple piano tune to a fully-orchestrated piece. GarageBand is so sophisticated an application that professional musicians use it, yet even a total novice can have fun creating their own music.

12.  Action-packed DVD Creations

Once you've created a video masterpiece with iPhoto and iMovie and you've added a super soundtrack with GarageBand, iLife has one final application that lets you complete your project. With iDVD, you can create a DVD with menus and introductory music and then burn the entire video to a DVD so that it can be played on any DVD player. Like all of the iLife applications, iDVD can be used to create quick and easy home DVDs or your project can be tweaked to produce a professional-looking DVD.