Apple vs OEM - Follow Up to Mac to PC Switch
The post originated due to a particular “challenge” and I must say it wasn’t too easy. Some of the reasons I myself, feel are lacking. I think Apple has done a number of things right and in fact, some better than OEM’s. I was in no way saying you should switch due to these reasons – that is far from the case. I was simply trying to compile a list of possible reasons which had some validity (I realize, not all of them were excellent). The title is obviously a play off Chris’ as it was in response to his post, plus I knew it would stir up some controversy and it worked. BestTechie Blog page impressions jumped significantly.
I am an Apple user, a Windows user, and even, occasionally a Linux user. I think Apple is doing it right when it comes to the production, the selection, and the usage (I’ll explain more in a bit). However, I do not feel this is a battle between MS and Apple. In my opinion, it’s more of Apple vs OEM Manufactures. The reason I am saying this is because Apple is not just a software maker, in fact, they are more of a Dell type-of-company with an operating system. Therefore, they are essentially an OEM, if you will.
Here is what it comes down to in my own opinion, OEM’s need to stop bundling this horrendous junk software on people’s computers. There are several other options to try such as, open source, freeware, and shareware solutions or maybe, nothing at all. Not to mention, any software to install should first and foremost be Opt-In only, Opt-out – not good enough. Perhaps, the OEM’s should reconsider their business plan here, you’ll be losing your market soon (already are in the laptop market), if you haven’t already noticed Mac’s run Windows too now, but not only that, when you install Windows on your Mac the installation is clean – no junk software.
On top of the software, select your hardware more carefully. Generally speaking here, when Windows blue screens, a very common cause of this is driver conflicts/issues. Take a look at Apple for a second, people tend to complain about hardware selection, but when it comes down to it, you’re essentially guaranteed any hardware that says it will work on your Mac, usually will with no problems.
Now don’t get me wrong, choice is good, but at the same time choice can be a lethal mistake, you bombard potential buyers (some of whom may know nothing of computers) with all of these specs and no useful information about the hardware they are selecting I can almost guarantee it will cause a problem later down the road. Ever look at Apple.com when you go to customize your Mac? Each step has detailed explanations under the “Learn more” link.
Who do we blame? I don’t really think you can fully say Microsoft is the major issue here, perhaps what needs to be done is Microsoft and the OEM’s (Dell, HP, Gateway, etc) need to get together and work out the approach, neither one should try and do it alone as they each have their respective fields. This is perhaps where Apple benefits in building their own machines as well as having their own operating system.
I strongly feel that if these issues aren’t resolved you can say Goodbye to some of these OEM’s. Windows isn’t going away, but the companies who build the machines for Microsoft Windows might not be as lucky. It’s not too late to save yourselves.