Reasons why not to go Macintosh

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Reason 1 : "There's less software for the Mac"

Significance:

So is there, "Less software available for Macs" compared to Windows? Yes, of course there is. But a more pertinent question ought to be, "Is there insufficient software for Macs?"

Now, this is where it all gets rather subjective.

Cut the crap, gimme a number!

Estimates are that there are approximately 18,000 applications available for Mac OS X. That's hardly a small number. Does having a million dollars in the bank makes you a poor man because your neighbour has got 4 million?

Do not read too much into the fact that your local supermarket or PC superstore may not have much or even any Mac software on their shelves. You may just have to go to a store that is more specific towards Macs, or of course, buy or download via the Internet. There is Mac software out there; you just may have to look for it.

And none of this is even including the tens of thousands of UNIX applications, and the current Mac's ability to run all of Windows' applications too. You could say that Macs are theoretically capable of running more applications that any other PC! How's about that then?

But... but... there's still more for Windows, yes?

All this is well and good, but as said, the fact still remains there is more software choice on Windows. And choice is good, right?

There may be tens of thousands of Mac applications, but there still may be gaps in very specialist areas that only Windows covers. But also, even in mainstream software genres, there will usually be more choices within those genres with Windows.

See reason 20 – 'I need to use an application that is not on the Mac' – and reason 9 – 'There's no games for the Mac' – for examples of this.

However, in areas where Macs are supported, it is worth asking, is choice for the sake of choice, such a huge benefit?

What is the point of having umpteen choices of basically the same thing? How many different versions of the same type of software could anyone possibly need? And how many of those choices are worth choosing anyway? Choice is good, but having hundreds of choices when only one works well, is not an advantage; it's a hindrance. An overwhelmingly confusing hindrance if you don't know exactly what it is you need.

Wouldn't it be much simpler if there was just 3 choices; free n' basic, cheap n' cheerful, and expensively professional?

Finally...

Consider that only a tiny minority of software is used by the vast majority of people. Now consider that if that software is available for Macs too, then is it so imperative that you must have Windows? You may believe you must run Windows so you could have access to this vast array of available software – much more that you could ever need – but in all likelihood, you'll only end up using the same core pieces of software as every other Mac or Windows user anyway.

More often than not – with a few notable exceptions – you will find that of the software worth having, there will be a Mac version or a viable alternative.

So...

...back to the original quesion: "Is there insufficient software for Macs?"

It's entirely subjective, and I'm sure for a minority of individuals in specialist areas of work, the Mac's software range renders it not a viable permanent choice, but for the rest of us, probably not nearly as much of an issue as it's commonly assumed to be.

Go and search the www.versiontracker.com database for a look at some of what software is currently available for Macs. Much of it free! You might be surprised.

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