By John Martellaro
Published on: March 23, 1998
Men are more sentimental than women. It blurs their thinking.
-- Lazarus Long (Time Enough for Love)
A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, this conversation happened...
"Hey, John! I'm finally ready to buy that first computer. What kind should I get?"
"You should buy a PC, Charlie," I said with a twinkle in my eye.
"I thought you were a Macintosh fanatic. Change your tune, there, John?"
"Not really," I said. "I just think beginners should buy a PC."
Charlie paused and furrowed his eyebrows . "I thought you were going to give me all that crap about how Macs are easier to use."
"Not the point any more. Listen. Isn't your daughter Sarah ready to start driving her own car?"
"Yeah. She's had her license for two years. Now she's hitting on me for a car for college." So what does that have to do with my computer?"
"Bear with me. And what kind of car were you thinking of getting her?," I asked, trying to look casual.
"Well, Burt said he'd sell me his old ninety Geo Prizm. Fifteen hundred bucks."
"Why not buy her a new Neon? I know you can afford it."
"'Cause I don't want to spend a lot of money on a nice car. She's a new driver. If she trashes it, no problem." He paused. "So long as SHE'S okay!"
"But you're going to have a lot of problems with a car that old. You'll be driving down to campus every other month to do some fix-up work."
Charlie paused, thinking, then brightened. "Yeah, but the parts are cheap!"
"OK. I have another question for you. Bear with me. Hasn't Josh been asking for a telescope? What are you going to get him?"
"Well, I saw this Meade sixty millimeter refractor at the toy shop for seventy bucks. That should do."
"You mean you aren't going to get him an eight inch Celestron Ultima with full computerized R.A. and Dec?"
"Geez, no. Come on John! He's only ten years old. He'd wouldn't begin to know how to use all that fancy stuff. And I sure can't teach him. He needs to bootstrap himself with a beginner scope."
"OK," I said smiling. "How is buying a computer any different? Computers only have a useful lifetime of two or three years. Then they're junk. It's not like making a life-long commitment, you know. Just buy a PC and get your feet wet. Go with the flow. Then, when you've learned a little about computers, you'll have a better idea of what you really want."
"I get it! It's like buying a stereo system. You don't go out and buy a thousand dollar McIntosh stereo receiver for starters - unless you really know your stuff. You get a Radio Shack receiver and then move up as you learn the ropes."
"Exactly."
"But, John. What if, after two years, all my stuff is in PC format? Won't it be tough to convert to a Macintosh?"
Not really. Microsoft Office file formats for Mac and PC are identical. So are the Quicken files. Of course, graphics and HTML documents are cross-platform. And hey, if you did have a problem, you could run Virtual PC for awhile. It's not at all like buying a BetaMax, you know. That locked you into a physical cassette format. With computers, you're not locked into anything."
"Well, John," Charlie said with a shrug. "I really feel guilty. I don't want to let you down, being a Macintosh guru and all that. But what you're saying makes sense. Maybe in a few years, when I'm a lot smarter about computers, I'll be smart enough to know why I should switch to a Macintosh. Anyway, I gotta go now. Checker Auto Parts is having a sale on Geo seat covers. Later!"
Despite Apple's resurgence under Steve Jobs, it is still very hard to convince a newbie to buy a Macintosh. The fear of being outside the mainstream combined with the fear of being a new computer user terrorizes them. But if you can plant the seed that switching back and forth is a no brainer, and if you can guide those PC users through their perilous two year journey with Windows, then many of them will be ready for a Macintosh.
Remember, a PC is a commodity. Throw it away in 24 months. That's when people will want something better. It's a natural human tendency.
Copyright (©) 1998 John Martellaro