PC vs. Mac

In my late teens, I developed a serious interest in computers. That was stimulated by my high school library having an Apple II where students could run educational programs stored on floppy disks. Soon I took a computer programming course. Occasionally, I played games plus created a few of my own. 

In college, I was initially a computer science major before drifting into music. I used an early MacIntosh in one of my electronic music classes. Years later when using computers on the job or at the library, they were usually PCs. Then in 2006, a friend gave me my first MacBook Pro. I’m now on my fourth one.


Apple aficionados will advise computer shoppers to “get a Mac.” When people ask me what kind they should buy, I give this answer: If all you want is a computer to browse the Internet and type simple documents, a PC should suffice. It will cost less money. However, if you want to get into music and video production, then I would recommend a Mac. Applications for those purposes (GarageBand and iMovie) are available for free. PCs require one to pay extra for similar apps in addition to Microsoft programs like Word. Apple computers are also less susceptible to viruses.


One drawback to Apple laptops nowadays is you cannot upgrade the RAM and hard drive. I used to be able to do that with previous models. Three years ago, I bought a new mid-2020 MacBook Pro with a 256 GB hard drive. Since then, I’ve had buyer’s remorse. Aside from the much-faster M1 chip coming out months later, a larger hard drive would have been better for my purposes. I’d spend less time reorganizing files and saving them onto an external hard drive to free up space for new projects.


Those same tips could apply to tablets and smartphones. In 2018, I bought an iPad mainly because their GarageBand app had extra features absent in the laptop version. I have friends who have PC-based tablets with expandable memory. Despite my preference for Apple products, I’ve been using Android smartphones for almost a decade. However, I’m thinking of switching to an iPhone soon. They are more durable plus have higher resale value.


I’m against the political causes Apple supports. Then again, I don’t want to buy PC devices that require the purchase of Microsoft products. That puts money in the hands of founder Bill Gates. His financing of COVID-19 vaccines has led to many premature deaths (including the father of a close friend of mine). Regardless of which kind of electronic devices you use, they are tools that can used to help expand God’s kingdom.  


“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” - Colossians 3:23


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