Compared to a windows PC, Apple Macintosh computers are considerably more user-friendly and easier to use. The launcher, which is the bar of icons at the bottom of the screen when you first start, is a much more straightforward method of accessing commonly used tasks than the windows start menu. It also integrates some handy features like download and document stacks which help you keep track of the files you use the most.

What's more, the installation of applications is just a few clicks, and the removal is just a matter of moving the applications to the trash, much easier than using the clunky add/remove programs system of windows. The dashboard feature allows you to keep information handy without it getting in the way. Windows has recently incorporated widgets on a sidebar of the desktop, but it takes up valuable screen space at all times.

The dashboard, by contrast, is gone when you don't want to see it and only a keystroke away from letting you see the weather, translate a phrase, or manage your calendar and to-do list. This is a major player in the main strength of the Macintosh operating system, which is that it's less cluttered. Whereas windows frequently shows large menus with every program you've ever installed cluttering your view, the engineers behind the Mac OS seem to realize that most people only use about 10 applications with any regularity, and make those visible while making the other applications easy to find in just a few clicks.

It's also remarkably easy to back everything up, thanks to the time machine program, which will make periodic backups of your computer on an external hard drive behind the scenes. The macintosh software suites, iLife and iWork, are well designed and useful applications that help to make a Mac useful without buying a lot of applications. Considering that such common applications as Adobe's creative suite and Microsoft's Office suite can be purchased and installed if needed, you can easily make a Mac do almost anything you could want to use a PC for.

Another advantage of the Mac OS is that viruses are much rarer, making an antivirus program almost unnecessary which you could never do on a PC. Since such programs are normally a drain on system resources and an annoyance to manage, you can rest easy knowing that smart browsing habits should be enough to keep you safe on your Mac.

Add to this the convenience and thoughtful organization mentioned earlier, and the appeal of a Mac should begin to be clear. On a final note, the hardware is just beautiful and modern Macbooks, iMacs, and Mac Minis have incredible visual appeal compared to the often utilitarian designs of most other PC computers. So, the question no longer is Mac or PC but what kind of Mac do you want?