That’s true. But here are some arguments for using Macs which will may have strong appeal for many users.

1. OS X’s GUI is better designed. No speech bubbles popping up all the time. A “Control Panel” with HALF as many “screens” or tabs or whatever you want to call them. Same functionality, half the screens. I counted. I don’t have a life Just ONE example of the better design.

OS X has had three major revisions since Win XP was released. Each time, the GUI was refined. It went from rough and unfinished to world-class. Without peer.

The gui is aesthetically and functionally superior. If poor aesthetics don’t bother you, you won’t care.

2. Apple’s software is damn good overall. And you get a lot of software with a Mac. You will probably like it very much once you get used to a somewhat different software philosophy. Apple’s software is powerful, but the interfaces are somewhat minimalist. Windows software interfaces look horribly cluttered to me at this point.

3. Much much less threat from malware. No viruses or worms at this time. Except Word macro viruses. A handful of spyware apps.

OS X is/was inherently more secure despite a legion of ignoramuses saying otherwise!! All ports are closed by default! Steve Gibson warned Microsoft of the MESS they were going to create with XP’s open ports. He. was. correct. Yes, SP2 finally plugged the major holes in the sieve.

Research suggests ~80%+ of Windows machines are infested by spyware. True. Sad. The newest stuff is almost impossible to get rid of without breaking the system. ~0% of Macintosh machines are infested by spyware.

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Some people _should not_ consider Macs. Anyone who doesn’t react well to change will probably not be happy. Macs do not work exactly like Windows. They will do _everything_ a Win XP system will do, often more efficiently. Same functionality. Sometimes there’s a different way of doing it.

Real Estate agents probably shouldn’t. The websites they depend on use ActiveX. That’s a Windows-only technology.

Anyone who uses custom applications developed for Windows shouldn’t. Or Microsoft Access. There’s no OS X version.

Anyone who needs to be very mainstream and who gets upset and embarrassed unless he is doing what everyone else is doing will be upset with OS X.

If you are unwilling to give up certain applications for OS X analogs, maybe you should stick with Windows. But there are many, many excellent software apps for OS X. Check Apple’s site.

I’m an expert user, Windows (until 2002) and OS X. I have only Macs at this point. I have a wireless gyroscopic mouse and keyboard (awesome), a Sanyo projector for movies, close to a dozen reasonably recent games you’ve heard of, two HP printers that work great, I use lots of high quality free software as well as MS Office, Photoshop Elements, Google Earth, etc. Whatever I want, really.

Do I miss anything? Only a handful of legendary games that will likely not make it to the Mac, such as Half-Life 2, GTA, and Deus Ex 2. Of course, my next Intel Mac will run them fine.

For users who really enjoy playing with technology, as I do, you would likely enjoy a Mac mini. You might even decide to use Macs as your primary machines.

ex2bot

Sorry this was so long. I hate long posts. Argh! I hate myself!!

However, can I offer a little bit of genuine advice if you’re serious about pursuing this? The bottom line is this: no-one that can help you develop your idea and business will sign a CDA in order to hear what you have to say. Not a one. So, unless you have the resources to develop this idea yourself, you will have to tell people about your idea *without* being under condifentiality.

I understand that you feel protective of your idea; it’s really common for entrepreneurs to feel nervous about disclosing their ideas. But, trust me: the problem you will have won’t be people *stealing* your ideas. The problem you will have is getting anyone to be *interested* in them in the first place.

(See: http://www.psynixis.com/blog/?p=90 )

The fact is - there is more malware written for Windows than is written for other platforms…

It’s based on unix and if *that* had the security headaches that Windows does, no one would bother with it.

The fact is, that Windows is built on a “perimeter” or External security model. A firewall is a perimeter device - it stops nasties getting in.

However,once something breaks or sneaks through the perimeter, the whole machine is wide open.
Want to store a file in c:\windows\system32? ok, sure.

On the Mac there’s perimeter security also, a built-in firewall. But there is also Internal security. If something sneaks through the firewall on a Mac, ALL it can access is what the user can access which is NOT the system areas. At the very worst, a virus could hose a users area, which is bad enough, but it cannot bring the entire system down.

Want to store a file is /etc? Gimme an admin password, please. No? Sorry.

I use both Windows and Mac OS X and I know which I prefer, and it’s not just the added security.

BAzz

Yah, I ain’t pitching nothing till a paper is signed…..

http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/01/the_top_ten_lie_1.html

to make sure you don’t do any of these in the pitch! No confidentiality agreements either (sorry!) - you won’t find anyone willing to sign those just for looking at an idea. Building apps for mobile phones that are worth a billion dollars is a tough thing to do. I’ve probably looked at over hundred ideas, and have had just one at that level make it through with no red flags - maximum potential value is around $5B.