There are plenty of articles like this one from O'Reilly or this one from OS News reporting the recent bashing on how-why people aren't switching to a mac. I think that many did BUT in many cases, some people should stay with their beloved PC. Because.....

...First and foremost I was a left in the darkness PC user for years. I used Windows from 95 to XP and then different flavors of Linux from Mandrake to Suse, Redhat and many small distributions.

I switched last May by selling my old Sony Vaio Picturebook and moving on with an Ibook 900.

I see a lot of reasons to switch: one for all Mac is fun, superior and you will feel different. I was never so exciting about something for years...mac rocks!

Despite the Mercury News allegations Many users are switching.

But this is not the point of this "article". ..should the masses switch overnight ? of course not.

Is really mac for everyone ?

Not really.

Many computer users I know are all but enthusiastic about their buddy. For many people a computer is nothing more nothing less then an object. Like a fax machine or anything else you need to perform some task, nothing else.

Yeah, I am taking about these people confined in the M$ Office suite. A friend of mine is a Barrister at law (the British equivalent of a US trial attorney) and a PC user. All he does is using word, outlook and powerpoint. Does he think about a computer like a mac user ? of course not.

You shouldn't switch to mac if:

a) you don't enjoy any of the time you spend in front of a computer ;
b) you always build your own computer to save every penny and you do enjoy tweaking with your hardware, change the graphic card, sound card.
Not building your own computer makes you nervous and you hear these terrible voices..
c) your computer case is always opened seen the frequency of your manual surgical interventions to your cyber-patient ;
d) Price is the number one issue for you. Secretly you compared Apple prices with the latest Dell and something didn't click;
e) you don't know how to use a computer and must essentially you don't want to learn. (note: knowing how to use M$ office isn't the same).

Far from me suggesting that you need to fit some special requirements to own a Mac. The opposite is true.

Nonetheless, I don't think that a Mac is for everyone. A Rolex isn't everyone's cup of tea ...nor is the Four Season
(I could have compared the Mac to a Ferrari but that is an old cliché) excellence is for a few.

Apple is doing an outstanding job and many people will keep switching. I am a switcher myself. Mercury news is so outdated. Same story, Apple has only X% of the market blah blah.

So does Rolex and Four Season. They are certainly not market leaders but profitable companies with a superior product.

If you enjoy working with a PC and you don't fall within the above mentioned categories you should try a Mac. It is worth every penny and no, you are not buying a computer but something more: a complete solution, a companion and an outstanding machine. ;-)

That said, life would be boring if being a mac user would be as common and gray as owing a PC.

GuruGeek