Would You Consider Switching to Apple?

"Would you consider switching?"  was the payoff of an old TV ad I remember from way back when I lived in Italy. Apparently there is an enterprise PC shop that did just that a couple of weeks ago. Computer World reports that Auto Warehousing Company (AWC) is pulling the plug on all its Windows-based PCs and powering up Macs.

AWC is the largest full-service auto processing company in North America, with 23 sites across the U.S. and Canada. This story caught my eye because we were just talking about cars and auto dealership and because it is a significant move for Apple.

[AWC CIO Dale Frantz holds the new standard]

What are they finding as they make the switch? That the stuff really works, it's easy to learn, and provides additional functionality that the shop doesn't have today. That's a pretty compelling testimonial right there. Add to it the announcement Steve Jobs just made about the new iMac, yes, after all there is going to be one, and you've got more reasons why Apple is in customer seduction.

That is the subject of my post at FC Expert blogs -- sensuality, intimacy and mystery all wrapped around a product that many hail as great make the Apple brand a lovemark. And there is a secret ingredient. Go read my post and then come back for some fun stories of Mac seduction -- yours.

Comments

[Bryan Eisenberg]

Valeria,

I switched first when I began my book tour for Waiting For Your Cat to Bark in April of last year. Jeffrey switched shortly after that. At the beginning of this year we made the decision to switch everyone at Future Now's computers to Macs. One of the tidbits we learned from someone who switched before was that for every 12 PCs you have you should have one IT support and they are generally pretty busy. For every 40 macs though you can make it with just 1 IT support person. That made a lot of sen$e to us.

[Ignacio]

I switched to Mac late last year, only because a friend of mine gave me his Mac Mini after updating his Mac set up. I ain't looking back to PCs.

From a marketing/reputation stand-point, the Mac phenomenon happening now is a great example of shaping reputation by product, not just by image. For whatever reason, Macs got put in the "geek" category at their inception and stayed there for a long time. It seems like they figured out that the best way to break out of that mold and appeal to more people was not just to say "we're cool," but to actually make product that is "cool." I think the iPod was probably that breakthrough (you can't get cooler than being in the music biz), and consumers got the message loud and clear.

The Mac experience is just so organic. PC's have been about "productivity" based around your "work" person (I am sure Bill Gates would dispute that). But, Apple knows that we're all not just about our jobs. We're human beings with needs that commute back and forth through the work/life boundary. I think Macs just nailed this with tools and usability that delivers on this experience.

Not to dog on PC's. Both platforms are great tools and have contributed tremendously. But, today, I'd say Mac is beating PCs on the computing experience and what computers bring to overall standard of living. It's exciting to see what the future brings.

Ignacio
Houston, TX

[Valeria Maltoni]

Bryan -- clearly, the advice I received included comments from long time users who felt Macs had a more robust system that required less technical assistance. As reported in the article, AWC seemed to have a productivity reason beyond that: additional functionality. Have you found that to be true for Future Now as well?

Ignacio -- funny that you should bring up the whole person consideration. Yesterday I was talking with a colleague who owns a Mac at home. The reason: I use computers for work all day, when I get home, I want to have fun ;-)

[Ed]

The new iMacs are nice and the prices make them even more reasonable. But, it's the software and operating system that make them great.

In addition to the announcement of the new Macs, Apple also released new versions of iLife and iWork. Many of the new features will help my wife and I create improved movies and presentations, and with less effort. I promised my wife we'll get them this weekend.

[Valeria Maltoni]

Ed:

I promised myself I would take the time to clean up my PC hard drive so I can make the switch ;-) So far I haven't come up with the time. Maybe I'll do it this weekend as well.

The less effort piece really encourages me. The more time I can spend being productive, the better. What were you thinking of purchasing?

[Bryan Eisenberg]

Valeria,

The nice thing about Macs is that when and it is infrequent a program crashes, it only affects that program. Think about how many times you have had a frozen pc, had to reboot a pc or had the blue screen of death. That alone eats away a bunch of time. There are still a couple of programs I missed but for the most time our stuff now looks better and is more efficient. BTW the only programs that have ever crashed on my Mac are Microsofts. :-(

[Roger von Oech]

Why not just drink all the Kool-Aid and buy an iPhone as well?

Roger von Oech
Apple user since 1981

[Valeria Maltoni]

Bryan -- that is a great advantage! It is so frustrating to have to reboot, especially since I usually have a lot of applications open at one time.

Roger -- I think I'll pass on the iPhone for now as I haven't been accused of being an early adopter on anything yet ;-) For my needs, a Nokia works just fine. In fact, I would love to have a European Nokia one day soon...

[Ellen Weber]

Great post and yes -- a compelling question with discussions! Thanks Valeria. Now you have me looking closer and what I've been missing in the shift back. I left Apple years ago when they slipped behind - and it's worth another look after reading your updates. Given the trade in value of PCs it's likely best to hold out for a bit older than mine is at the moment. So I'll check back and hear more along the way.

[Valeria Maltoni]

Ellen:

Welcome to the conversation! I will document my purchase and learning over time. When I asked my readers about making the switch they were so generous with tips and advice that I'm sure everyone will be curious to know how it goes.

[Trisha]

Hi Valeria

Don't bother with cleaning up your old PC hard drive - that's too much work. You'll really only wind up copying over certain files anyway (email, docs, maybe some photos or music, etc).....you won't really do a "mirror image" copy. I learned the hard way with my first mac (by trying to copy everything), and when I upgraded to the two I have now I made it easier on myself. When you're ready, drop me an email and I'll send you a list of tips to make it easy, plus some advice on how and when to deal with what to do with your old PC. I'm already compiling a list for you!

[Valeria Maltoni]

Thank you for your kind offer, Trisha. I will share my list of things to consider with you offline. What I meant was that I will take out the files I will no longer need as the Apple folks provide a free switch over to new customers.

[Lewis Green]

Valeria,

I was an early user of Macs, back in the mid- '80s. I can't remember when I switched to PCs but I suspect it was for price and because at the time communicating between Macs and PCs was a problem for marketers, and most of my clients were PC-based. Here's the point:

In my firm we use both PCs and Macs. Whenever I have to get into a designer's Mac to retrieve something, it takes me many times longer that if I were using a PC. Macs may have more functionality but PCs are easier and faster in my experience. Now if I could just keep my system from crashing once a day, I could argue that everyone should use a PC.

[Mark Northern]

I still miss my old Mac (but not the little bomb or the "sad Mac" face). When I left the fun life of advertising and public relations to become a tech mercenary, I won a PC in a sales contest. I haven't owned a Mac since. Old-timers will remember the articles in Macworld about how Bill Gates wanted to license and sell the Mac OS. There might never have been a Win95, 98, SE, and (argh) Vista.

I would get a Mac for a pet. Does that count?