Reasons why not to go Macintosh

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Reason 8 : "Macs don't have Windows"

Significance:

Once upon a time, not so long ago, while discussing computers with a not so computer literate individual, this person was heard to ask in all seriousness, "Macs don't come with Windows? What's the point of that then?"

Well, where do you start?

All Windows have windows, but not all windows is Windows

This individual, in not really knowing much about the ins and outs of computer platforms, could have meant one of two things.

Did he perhaps inextricably associate a graphical user interface (GUI) based OS – i.e. windows, icons, mouse pointers, drop down menus – with the Microsoft Windows OS, and assume if a PC doesn't have Windows, then it doesn't have... windows? If that was the case, then it did need pointing out to him that there's more than one operating system in the world, and the Mac has its own – Mac OS X – and it is indeed a GUI based OS; similar in concept to Windows, but not Windows.

How necessary is Windows?

What he could have meant however, is the world has pretty much standardised on the Windows platform, so any PC that doesn't conform, is always going to be hugely compromised. Regardless of any potential technological or usability advantages of other operating systems, the 3rd party ecosystem supporting Windows is so much larger, it's game set and match Windows, period! Anything else is... pointless.

That's arguable.

Firstly, there may be less software for Mac OS than Windows, but less doesn't necessarily mean insufficient. See reason 1 – 'There's less software for the Mac' – for a closer look at this.

Secondly, just because Macs don't come with Windows pre-installed, doesn't mean you can't install it yourself, for use either alongside OS X, or instead of. Choice is yours. Or at least it is with a Mac. See also 'Windows; Macintosh edition'.

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