I've seen the light... I've made the switch. A Mac it is.
I finally feel like I’ve arrived. This past week has been my first using a Mac Powerbook as my main computer. The transition has been smooth and the results are beyond anything I imagined.
I don’t usually get that excited about any inanimate object, and far prefer working with living, breathing people, but being in the technology business, I do get rather excited when I use something that just works. And that’s what happened this week. Here’s my week in a nutshell:
Number of computer crashes: 0
Number of stalled or frozen applications: 0
Stress and frustration caused by technology: none
Number of things (music, videos, downloads, websites) that just worked: all of them
I started my computing career as an avid Windows user, then converted to a Linux fanatic until my present arrival into the world of the Macintosh. As a business owner, I’ve always shied away from Mac’s due to their high cost of entry and ongoing software costs. After trying to quantify just how much that decision has cost me over the past year in terms of lost productivity, slower client response time and general stress and frustration, I am stymied why I didn’t make the switch sooner.
Now there is nothing inherently wrong with Microsoft Windows or Linux per se. Of course Windows freezes and crashes more times than most demolition derbies, and you can spend an entire afternoon in Linux trying to get your soundcard working, but each operating system is good for certain key areas of business and ecommerce. The trick is knowing what to use when, and why.
For day to day productivity, ease of use and overall computing experience, however, you just can’t beat a Mac. Nothing else even comes close.
Will you pay more for a Mac? Of course.
Will you have to upgrade your software and pay for that too? Yes.
Will your investment be worth it in terms of the affect it creates on your bottom line? You bet.
The longer I live, the more I believe the adage, “You get what you pay for.” It’s not that a high price tag automatically translate to a better product, it’s more that a higher price tag often delivers increased value. As a business person, you can take that value and turn it into increases in productivity, revenue and profits.
I don’t believe the conventional wisdom espoused by most corporate tech people to standardize everything. “Users” (or people as I like to call them) are different. They work differently, they learn differently, and frankly, the business value of people throughout an organization is not equal.
Why do real estate professionals get paid (hopefully) a lot more than administrative staff?
Do they work harder? Maybe.
Do they work smarter? Maybe, maybe not.
It’s not that they are better, smarter or deserve more, it’s that the business impact of their decisions is exponentially greater than others in the company.
With that in mind, and viewing technology as an investment in future profits, making a larger investment that is calculated to provide a higher return is just good business.
So consider the Mac. Consider making a smart investment in higher productivity, increased revenues and more profits for your business.
