From Paul Harrington, SVP, Creative Director, Palio
Why do you look with envy at my Macintosh laptop when I open it in a meeting? Why must that stringy bungee of drool sway from your chin as I effortlessly use all the same MS Office programs you rely on? And why begrudge me a moment of awe as my Mac causes stop-n-stares as it nonchalantly slides along the belt to be x-rayed at the airport?
Chances are, you own an iPod. (Or someone sitting right next to you does.) Over 100 million of them have been sold (and there are just over 300 million people in America as of this blog entry). And we all acknowledge that for the most part, the iPod – and iTunes – revolutionized not only the music industry, but also our very culture as a whole. Everyone loves iPod, because hey, what’s not to love?
So if you follow this logic, the iPod proves that Apple is smart. Cool. User friendly. Fun. Accessible. And revolutionary. Case closed, right?
So why, dear reader, are you still handcuffing your creativity, productivity, and freedom with that bloody awful PC? It’s a throwback to the days of Pong, “The Safety Dance,” and shoulder pads the size of bread loaves.
This really isn’t stop-the-presses news. In fact, it was during the days of Purple Rain that Apple told the world in no uncertain terms that everything was about to change. Were all the PC users watching “Knots Landing” instead??
You could have a Mac too.
Yet you stubbornly continue to pigeonhole Apple and the Macintosh platform as the “snobby, creative types-only” computer. In fact, a quick Google search indicates that 90% of all computer users still suffer at the hands of the geek-peeps in Redmond. Really? 90%?! This, despite the repeated insults that were DOS, Windows, Vista, and now back to Windows again. And let’s not forget the fun of Y2K.
I’m not a PC hater. Sure, I use Microsoft products. I/we/you love many of them. But PCs are just harder to use, and even harder to love. You know it, I know it, Bill Gates knows it.
OK, let’s address the elephant in the room: cost. Yes, Macs cost more. So does a Volvo, but you’d pay that extra amount to protect yourself and your family, right? Hey, it’s as true today as it was when the phrase was coined: you get what you pay for. So spend a little more on a Mac, and be ready to be flabbergasted by the return on your investment.
So, you’ve got a PC. What now?
Junk that piece of crap. Seriously. You’ll be AMAZED at the liberation you’ll experience once you give Apple a try. Compare the labyrinthine structure of Windows to the intuitively designed graphic interface and operating system of Apple. Test-drive a Mac’s wicked-fast speed. Savor Apple’s human, environment, and fashion-friendly designs. Know that all the programs you know, trust, and love, plus some you’ve been afraid to try (PhotoShop, anyone?) work on a Mac. And did I mention, just have a good ol’ fashioned dose of fun, too?
Grab your IT guy, and shake him or her until they put Apple on your company’s list of supported platforms. Go throw that black, fugly, clunky box you have in your home office in the recycling bin at Best Buy and invest in a Mac your whole family will embrace. And slide an oh-so-delicious MacBook Pro into your backpack the next time you travel.
This isn’t a battle. The fight’s already done and won. But like the light from a distant star, it just hasn’t reached a lot of you yet. And just to prove that Apple fans have a sense of humor, here’s an excellent shot at Apple courtesy of the yellow folks of Springfield. But it’s all still true.
Do it. Because once you go Mac, you’ll never go back.
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