by Karelle Scharff

What would you say if a salesman were to try to sell you a computer that could run four different operating systems at the same time, could network with your current computers, had tens of thousands of applications, including thousands of children’s and educational titles available for it, could run Microsoft Word and Excel, browse the Internet with little fear of all the viruses, worms, and Trojan horses just waiting to attack an unsuspecting computer, into which you could plug peripherals, and they would just work, that would be blazingly fast, that is competitively priced, would last for years and was aesthetically pleasing and downright fun to work on?

You’d tell that salesperson that your mama didn’t raise a fool, and if something sounds too good to be true, then it usually is too good to be true. And you’d be wrong.

We’re talking about a Macintosh. The current operating system, OS X 10.5 (aka Leopard) integrates powerful state-of-the-art features of UNIX, into Darwin, its open source base. Though the full power of the command line is as close as the click of the mouse, most users use the elegant GUI (graphical user interface) to surf, work or play. Data from prior Mac systems and even from PC applications is usually just directly opened or is easily transferred.

But, you say, what you really need is to run a couple of Windows-only programs. And you can run Windows, on your Intel based Mac, any flavor, from 2000 to Vista. There are several paths to running Windows apps on the newer Mac hardware, some of which don’t even require a copy of Windows.

What really doesn’t run on Macs is 99.95% of the viruses, hackery and other malware produced in the world today. In the last few years, numerous viruses have disrupted or shut down any number of corporate networks, government agencies and personal computers, but Macs have sailed right through those storms with no damage.

The Macintosh is not as visible as the Wintel PC in either stores, catalogs or in the computer consultant section of the Yellow Pages. But it is available locally at Apple stores in Boulder and Denver (29th Street Mall, Flatirons Crossing, Cherry Creek Mall and Aspen Grove), and through Web sites and catalogs such as www.maczones.com, www.clubmac.com, www.macmall.com. There are a legion of resources to turn to in case of trouble, among which are AppleCare Tech support, one of the highest ranked in the industry; for friendly user-to-user support: the Colorado Macintosh User Group (www.comug.com), for repairs: the MacShack (www.themacshack.net) and for training and support: local Macintosh consultants such as Best MacSolutions (www.bestmacsolutions.com ) and The Mac Therapist (jy@indra.net). But trouble is infrequent and the legendary ease-of-use minimizes the need for training, reducing the need for expensive IT staff on-site. Ease-of-use and smooth OOBE (out-of-box-experience) both contribute to the Mac’s popularity in home use, especially for families with children. For instance, setting up secure, supervised accounts for young children is … well … child’s play.

And for those families sending students to college in the fall, Macs are widely accepted at most colleges and universities. Some, like the University of Missouri School of Journalism, even recommend Macs to their students. Apple has a great student purchase plan available. You can find out more from the university or from Apple’s Web site.

Each year PC Magazine conducts a survey among its readers to evaluate customer satisfaction with computer reliability and tech support. In 2007’s 20th annual Readers’ Choice Service and Reliability Survey (www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2184120,00.asp), Apple received an 9.1 out of ten for its desktop machines overall, and the same for its notebooks—earning a Reader’s Choice award for both, from a PC-focused magazine. What do those satisfied customers know that you may not? They know that the hardware is fast and competitively priced, especially when you look at the total cost of ownership, including software, management, support and longevity, not just the original cost of the box. They like the “extras”—802.11b/g/n compatibility (that’s wireless, all speeds), Gigabit ethernet, easy Bluetooth implementation, the iLife applications (iPhoto for digital photos, iMovie for creating and editing digital video, iTunes, Garageband for making music and iDVD for creating DVD presentations). And maybe they just like the sheer elegance of its innovations and industrial design and the comfort and joy found in working on a beautiful and superbly functional machine.

Karelle Scharff, information technologist and the owner of Best MacSolutions is an Apple certified help desk specialist and a member of Apple Consultants Network (www.bestmacsolutions.com), based in Ward. She provides training, service and support to small businesses, home-based business and individuals. Karelle teaches beginning Mac OS X classes in at the Longmont Free University (check their schedules at www.longmontfreeu.org). Questions about classes or Macs? Call her at (303) 459-3363.