Time to switch?

1. I need to run MS Office

Microsoft produces an excellent, fully functional Mac OSX version of its Office suite of applications. Apart from Outlook being renamed Entourage, everything is more or less identical.

2. My Word and Excel files won't work

Years ago, there were incompatibilities between Word documents on different systems. Mac users had to use special software to convert files. But for nearly a decade now, Mac and Windows office files have been interchangeable. Text files, Word docs, spreadsheets, pdfs, Powerpoints: you can edit them back and forth between Macs and PCs, and they will always work.

3. Macs can't network with PCs

From the horse's mouth: "Mac OS X includes the major networking protocols for accessing every major server platform, including Windows, Linux and UNIX. You can browse Windows networks right from the Finder, as well as easily communicate with UNIX NFS file servers."

4. Mac OS is unstable

Unlike Microsoft, which relies on the same DOS core for all its OS upgrades, Apple rewrote its operating system from scratch. Five years ago it revealed OSX, based on a rock-solid Unix core. Part of the problem with the enduring stability myth is the OSX ("Oh Ess Ten") name. It wasn't in any way an upgrade from OS9, but a whole new system.

5. Macs are hard to use

Again, this myth is just ignorance. You probably thought your Windows PC was "hard to use" the very first time you used a computer. Apple's operating system is renowned for ease of use: a much gentler learning curve than most other systems.

6. Macs can't do wireless

"Oh no, Sir, Apple is very difficult with wireless" came the advice from a salesman in one of the UAE's leading electronics retailers. Stunning, shameful ignorance (or perhaps he was lying to try and make a PC sale?) The reality is that since AirPort arrived in 1999, wireless has been foolproof easy. Without the user even realising it, AirPort will have automatically found all available WiFi networks a few seconds after you've booted your Mac. All the user has to do is select which one they want from a pull-down list. No IP configuration, no settings (unless a password is needed on a secure network), nothing. You're online.

7. Macs are expensive

It's true that you can't buy a low-end computer from Apple - they are not a discount manufacturer. All Macs come with features such as sound and video cards by default. As ComputerWorld notes, when compared to an equivalent brand name computer, such as Sony or HP, "in many cases, comparable Apple systems are priced similarly, and in some cases they're even cheaper than the competition."

While Apple may not be for everyone, it would be a mistake to reject it through ignorance or misunderstanding. If you need a bulk load of low-end PCs for a couple of hundred employees, then you won't want to shell out for Macs. If you are a hard-core, high-end gamer, then you'll also need to stick with PCs.

But if you use general Office productivity software, enjoy multimedia, travel extensively and use wireless hotspots, and have security as a priority, then you might want to try a bite out of the Apple.