No end in sight

Much like the battles of “Good” vs. “Evil” or “Right” vs. “Wrong”, the MAC vs. PC fight will never truly be answered. It would be quite naïve of us to think that here on this wicked sweet website we would settle a score so epic or a topic as heated as the great Microsoft vs. Apple debate. Yet we stand before you; humbled in the knowledge that a potentially large flame-war could quickly engulf us as users vie for the glory of the ever-anonymous “one-upper” comment. Yes folks that one comment that will forever silence the naysayers or adjunct points of view, the one comment that will shed some passionate light on why the other side is wrong. Yet, before the trolls start their rampage on this fight, we offer our opinion on what we consider to be the triumphs and pitfalls of each competitor:

Let’s Start With Brass Tacks…

Microsoft is market share leader of the industry. Theres no getting around that. They have the world-at-large buying into PCs for business and pleasure. Whether thats because we “grew-up” with it (‘we’ referring to the Young Adult population out there) or because, generally speaking, its much less expensive that comprable Apple alternatives. Windows recently launched Windows 7 on the heels of Apple’s OS X Snowleopard which, unlike its predecessor Windows Vista, has fallen upon more favorable critism. It would appear that Windows 7 is increasing in populatiry, as just yesterday CNET released this interesting article talking about how the market share has reached 10 percent of the computers accessing the internet. Prior to the release of Windows 7, Microsoft still held a 92% market share across the board. Tough numbers to compete with!

Marketing Matters!

Apple, by-and-far, takes the cake when it comes to marketing. With the so-called “reboot” of their franchise in the late 1990’s and the trend appeal they’ve saturated themselves with in the last 5 years, it’s the hipper company. People will argue that because Apple makes its own system parts (aside from the deal with Intel) that it is more capable of the awe-inspiring synergy not found in Windows. There is some truth to that too. Apple has this aura of brevity. Everything “just works”. Its a simple idea and its execution, in our experience, is flawless.

Final Thoughts

Macs, while overpriced for what it does, has the sex appeal. PCs, while littered with bugs and blue screens of death, does have the versatility and market share. I don’t think we can call this one. And really, it has nothing to do with fear of reprisal in the comments. Honest!

Ok… that was a lie. We’re scared to death of you.

Stats

Apple (Mac)

Type of Company:

Public

Founded:

Cupertino, California, April 1, 1976

Founder(s):

Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak

Headquarters:

Cupertino, CA

Area Served:

Worldwide

Industry:

Computer Hardware, Computer Software, Consumer Electronics, Digital Distribution

Products:

Mac (Pro, Mini • iMac • MacBook, Air, Pro • Xserve) iPhone, iPod (Shuffle, Nano, Classic, Touch) Apple TV, Cinema Display, AirPort, Time Capsule Mac OS X (Server • iPhone OS), iLife, iWork

Revenue:

$42.91 billion (2009)

Operating Income:

$11.74 billion (2009)

Net Income:

$8.24 billion (2009)

Total Assets:

$47.50 billion (2009)

Total Equity:

$31.64 billion (2009)

Employees:

35,000 (2009)

Website:

http://www.apple.com

Microsoft (PC)

Type of Company:

Public

Founded:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 4, 1975

Founder(s):

Bill Gates, Paul Allen

Headquarters:

Redmond, WA

Area Served:

Worldwide

Industry:

Computer software, Consumer Electronics, Video Game Consoles

Products:

Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Servers, Xbox/Xbox 360, Zune, Bing

Revenue:

$58.44 billion (2009)

Operating Income:

$20.36 billion (2009)

Net Income:

$14.57 billion (2009)

Total Assets:

$77.89 billion (2009)

Total Equity:

$39.56 billion (2009)

Employees:

93,000 (2009)

Website:

http://www.microsoft.com