CyberGuide

Dr. Tim Rhodus
Department of Horticulture and Crop Science
The Ohio State University
e-mail: Rhodus.1@osu.edu

When considering what type of computer to buy, the first decision one is usually asked to make is - Macintosh or IBM? While market share of IBM and compatible computers (PC's) versus Mac is about 7 to 1, there are various aspects of each system that are important to understand as we look down the road to future developments in computer technology. The first thing to point out is that Mac systems (until Spring, 1995) were developed and sold by only one company, Apple Computer, Inc. Apple has recently licensed their proprietary operating system and hardware technology to a few other companies, who are now bringing Macintosh clones to market. Whereas, PC's are sold by literally thousands of companies. Anyone with a basic understanding of electronics and computer architecture can assemble their own systems from various parts suppliers and become a new PC vendor. This difference in relative number of suppliers on the PC side has resulted in two significant advantages for the consumer, more available choices and greater price competition. However, this does not imply that the systems are technologically superior or that they will perform better. Judging these two characteristics is really the key to deciding which is better for you, Mac or PC. In terms of technological advances, one needs to consider both hardware and software. Generally speaking, Apple computers, because they are designed to one set of specifications have been easier to set up and connect external devices such as secondary hard drives, CD-ROM drives, network connections, video display cards, and printers. On the other hand, because PC users have had more brands to select from and each one comes with its own particular configuration software, getting things to integrate with the computer's operating system can be very frustrating. In terms of speed and performance, there has not been a significant difference between the two types of systems that wasn't quickly equalized. Therefore, if you're looking to buy a new system for the first time or replace a system that is 8+ years old, you will easily find comparable performing equipment but experience less frustration with a Mac. Software advances over the past ten years fall into two categories, operating system and application programs. The operating system provides the basic "look and feel" of a computer when you first turn it on. In the early 1980's, IBM contracted Bill Gates of Microsoft Corporation to develop an operating system for their new line of personal computers, IBM PC's. The resulting software was called DOS (Disk Operating System). Over the years, DOS has been revised by Microsoft a number of times but it still remains as the heart of your PC. With this system, text-based commands are entered into the computer through the keyboard in order to make something happen. This approach requires the user to understand both the logic and the syntax of the operating system.

Utilizing research conducted by Xerox, Apple introduced users to a new concept, a graphical-based "Point and click" operating system. By incorporating a secondary pointing device, nicknamed a mouse, users could install software and hardware, run programs, diagnose and fix system problems, without knowing any computer language. Over time, these same advances have been incorporated into PC's though the use of application software such as Windows, but I consider the Macintosh operating system still superior to that of the PC. While operating systems are encountered whenever you use a computer, the majority of your time is spent running application programs. Building on the special advantage of the Mac operating system, early software engineers provided application programs that were very different looking and behaving for the Mac than possible on the PC. However, with the sheer number of PC users, relative to Mac users, basic economics has led many programmers to switch their efforts from Mac to PC. The real switch came when Microsoft created an application program to run on top of DOS that provides a graphical/point and click interface to a PC computer. This program was called Windows. While this new software required some users to upgrade their system memory and processor speed, there is no doubt that personal computing has been permanently changed by Windows and most would agree, for the better. Today, there is much more variety and availability of software for the PC than the Mac. Across many industries, the latest and greatest piece of software comes out first for the PC and may or may not be developed for the Mac. However, that's not to say that there isn't excellent business management, desktop publishing, image processing, spreadsheet, database, word processing, telecommunications, and job scheduling software available for the Mac. Quite frankly, there is more software available for both types of systems than anyone would ever have time to fully evaluate. Finally, what type of system will perform better for you and your organization? The answer to this question depends on your needs and priorities. As in all things, different people look for different things. In addition to the differences stated above, additional considerations should include: do you want to set up a local area network so as to be able to share information among many different computers in the organization (Mac wins), do you want to upgrade your existing DOS or Windows systems to improve performance (PC wins), do you want to connect to the Internet in order to access and disseminate information for business purposes (tie), or do you want to simply improve the efficiency and effectiveness of running your business (tie). In the next two years, I don't see your decision becoming any easier. Both types of systems will continue to be available and offer the user many useful and exciting opportunities. Beyond that, it's too uncertain.

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