the myth of ease of use 1 of august, 1996 by johnmichael patrick monty monteith

There is a huge myth surrounding the Macintosh world which states that your typical Windows user will spend 40% plus more time getting their applications and system running than a Macintosh counterpart. Further amplifying this myth are the countless studies done by multiple sources stating exactly that. These are not just reports generated by Apple or MacUser, either. These are real studies by numerous sources showing that if you own a Macintosh you will spend less time getting it operational and keeping it going than a Windows system.

With all of this evidence staring me in the face, how can I have the gall to say that this is a myth? Well, because it is.

What none of these studies even attempt to factor in is the countless hours Macintosh users waste by not being compatible with the Windows world. If you factor that in, all of a sudden the Windows machine is the one that takes less time to keep going.

How many times does a Macintosh owner get a document they need to edit only to find after hours or trying that you have nothing that will read an AmiPro, a Corel, or a Quattro Pro document? How many times does a friend recommend a great new program that would then cost the rest of the day attempting to find a Macintosh version, only to find that one does not exist? Not to mention the days wasted on attempting to email this Windows only software company, EvangeList, Mac users groups, and countless other sources to ruffle enough feathers to someday see said program developed for the Macintosh.

As a Macintosh owner, you can not tell me that you have not spent many an hour dealing with separation from compatibility. No? You own a Windows compatible Macintosh, you say? How about the hours spent attempting to get SoftWindows or other emulators to run new Windows software and IBM games at a reasonable speed, or at all? What about the numerous hours you spend every week reading Guy Kawasaki's EvangeList just so you do not feel as though you are the only Macintosh user on the planet? How about the numerous hours you spend trying to find a program that can do anything close to the Windows program that you are unable to run because the company does not make a Macintosh version?

I know from experience just how much time this takes. If you work in a Windows environment, you will probably dread coming home to a Macintosh, unless you enjoy spending hours upon hours wrestling with a computer. Perhaps those worst hit by owning a Macintosh are those on the Internet. Every day you will find new great programs on the Web, FTP, or through news-groups that you would love to run, if only there were a Macintosh version.

You can say a Windows machine takes twenty times as much work to get running as a Macintosh . You can say that your average Windows user will call tech support every other day to get their favorite applications running. Yet, with all of these disadvantages, owning a Windows machine still does not measure in comparison to the amount of time an average Mac owner will spend overcoming working in an incompatible world.