In last week's column, we introduced the Mac
Challenge. The purpose of the Challenge is to see which is more stable
under ordinary usage, a Mac or a similarly equipped PC. Thank you to
everyone who emailed their thoughts and suggestions regarding the
Challenge. As a result of the great number of emails we received, we
have adjusted the test criteria.
I had tentatively chosen a custom-built PC with a top-of-the-line
Asus motherboard, an AMD Athlon processor, and Windows 2000. This PC is
the standard in our company; we probably have hundreds of similar
units. I also have access to a Dell OptiPlex with a 1.7 GHz Pentium 4
processor and inquired of our readers as to whether I should use this.
The overwhelming consensus was to use the Dell with Windows XP.
The prevailing opinion was that in large businesses where the IT
department does not make the purchasing decisions, the Dell with
Windows XP was more likely to be purchased. Therefore the test would be
more meaningful to the corporate world if this hardware/software
combination was used. We heard and we have responded.
However, we would like to point out what we consider the lunacy of
using what we know will be an inferior combination just because this is
what "everyone uses." This begs the question, "Why then does everyone
use this?"
As a result of readers' suggestions, we will also be making the
following changes/additions to the Challenge:
We will also be evaluating the ease and speed of installation and
setup.
Two additional categories will be added: Gaming and listening to
music. I own Civilization III for both platforms and will be looking
for a few more games available on both platforms. I will also find an
iTunes equivalent for the PC.
Ease of connection to the following peripherals will be evaluated:
printer, Palm, and digital camera.
I now have an evaluation copy of the latest version of Photoshop for
the PC, so the graphics area should be more fairly matched.
The duration of the test will be adjusted. Each platform will be
used for 30 consecutive days.
To recap, here is a summary of each platform:
PC
Hardware
- Dell OptiPlex
- 1.7 GHz Pentium 4 processor
- 256 MB RAM
- 20 GB hard drive
- 3.5" floppy
- CD-RW/DVD
- 2 USB ports
|
Mac
Hardware
- iMac DV+/450
- 256 MB RAM
- 40 GB Maxtor hard drive (5400 rpm)
- DVD
- External FireWire CD-RW
- USB
- FireWire
|
Software
- Windows XP
- Microsoft Office XP
- Internet Explorer 6
- Netscape 6
- Outlook (in Office XP)
- Adobe Acrobat
- Front Page Express
- Macromedia Dreamweaver
- SmartFTP
- Adaptec EZ CD Creator 5
- Adobe Photoshop 7
- LimeWire
- MP3 player TBA
- Civilization III
|
Software
- Mac OS X 10.1.3
- Microsoft Office v. X
- Internet Explorer 5.1
- Netscape 6
- Entourage (in Office v. X)
- Adobe Acrobat
- Claris Home Page (Classic app)
- Macromedia Dreamweaver (Classic app)
- Fetch
- Roxio Toast Titanium
- Adobe Photoshop 7
- LimeWire
- iTunes
- Civilization III
|
Both of these computers were manufactured prior to the release of
the OS which is installed on them.
There we have it. Now, only the contest remains. May the best
platform win.
First up: The iMac. 
