I love apples raw, ripe, and cooked. Even if I go to any McDonald’s restaurant my eyes instinctively look for apple pies. But lately my attention is drawn towards different kinds of apples and Macs: iMacs. I have always been using Windows OS running on PC Clones and had little incentive to look outside ‘windows’. No one could dissuade me from using them for three reasons: my familiarity with Windows, its compatibility with a wide range of applications and its economy of use.

Every time I see the Mac vs. PC ads put out by Apple on TV and print media, a sense of anger builds up in me. It is as much due to my loyalty towards Windows, as it is about ignorance of Macs and my jealousy to those who can afford Macs. A chance exposure to this YouTube presentation made me only too happy that at last Windows gets its due recognition.

I am told for simplicity and ease of use nothing comes close to Apple products. A customer of ours who bought a few computers from us running Windows recently bought an iMac and was quite happy with it. In fact he was so enthusiastic that he was selling me on the merits of iMacs in particular and Apple products in general! Internally I started to worry whether I lost this customer forever to Apple products while I am devoted to selling PCs and laptops running Windows.

His reasons seem convincing enough that I may become a convert soon. See for yourself.

1. User is totally freed from the details of hardware and the connection details. You bring home the iMac, connect the keyboard, mouse in the respective ports and turn it on. That’s it and it is ready to use. Rest of the items like monitor, webcam, wireless connection, all the hardware integrated and out of sight makes things simple. There is very little chance the user can go wrong in setting up the computer for the very first time.
2. The system is intensely focused on giving the user the necessary help in getting his (her) job done. By that I mean all the necessary applications that an average user needs are preinstalled and come as a single package. The user need never have to worry about compatibility issues, no product key to forget and retrieve during installation or reinstallation.
3. Apple is not content with just making their systems user friendly but even the after sale service is dedicated to giving an user friendly introduction to the use of Macs and solving Mac related issues on an ongoing basis. If you go by their slogan “Come to shop. Return to learn“, you will understand what I mean. Of course this service is not free but is on chargeable basis.
4. Contrast this with us the Windows vendors, who are busy pushing hardware and software to a saturated market and in the process ignore the pleas of a customer who bought a Windows system but is beseeching to learn the basics. Often times I have come across customers who ask me as to where they can learn how to use the PC. To be honest with you, I directed them to some bookshops, library or the Internet!
5. We learn about Windows from such disparate sources as friends, outdated books, manuals, internet articles, forums. A little here, little there and we are never sure we have learned enough or in a professional manner.

I believe there is a real business opportunity for us (the vendors selling PCs and Laptops with Windows on them) if we can combine training customers with selling them the system. Even if we don’t do this in a proactive way, soon we will be forced to be on the defensive as Apple continues to gain market share at the expense of Windows.

In writing this post I have become a traitor to myself.