Can a Mac lover go PC?

As a lifelong devotee of Apple products, Paul McKenzie scorned PCs. But when he needed a new laptop, he decided it was time to consider a switch of loyalties

(David Ashdown)

You know you're having a bad day when a BT broadband saleswoman starts laughing at you. It's a stifled giggle: broadband experts have to maintain some level of professionalism after all. But it's a giggle all the same. My heart sinks. I haven't even got to the bit where I'm talking laptops, RAMs and operating systems, and already people are laughing at me. "Your wireless BT Hub 2.0 will be with you by Wednesday." She stifles a further laugh and is gone.

All this mirth has come about because I'm moving into the future. Albeit a future that most people with a hint of computer savvy have already entered. A future that is wireless, a future that has mega hard disk space, a future that has an all-mod cons laptop at its epicentre.

Currently my cyberworld is held together by a BT broadband 210 Voyager with a bright yellow Ethernet cable stuck into my ailing iBook G4. I explain the sorry condition of my iBook G4 to the lady at Apple and am greeted by yet another muffled laugh. I'm sure she's thinking what I've been thinking over the past few months, "Wow, that computer is ancient." I explain that the iBook G4 was sexy way back in 2004 when I first bought it for £700, but so, come to think of it, were Newcastle United. A lot has changed since then. Now, like the fallen Geordie giants, my iBook has seen better days. It's slow and unresponsive. The keyboard is missing the letters, e, a, s, c, *and d. The hard disk is always full, no matter how many times I burn files on to a CD. Years of late night copy-writing, online reading, youtube viewing, photo storage and iPod uploads have taken their toll. Put simply, it has come to a point: upgrade time.

But I'm not just thinking of upgrading. Despite having been a life-long Mac user, I'm actually thinking of switching sides. Mac to PC. Freshen things up a bit.

First, though, some research. I check in with my friend Chesney Hawkes, a musician. He spends up to 10 hours a day in his studio working on various tracks on his PC studio set-up. Most arty and media types work on Macs. I ask if he wishes he could work from a Mac too. "Yes. But I grew up on PC. I use a system called Nuendo. It's not perfect, but I like it," he explains. But if you could, I press, would you use a Mac? "Oh yes. But there's a small matter of the £4,000 I'd need to buy the Mac studio set-up I need. Apples are so bloody expensive."

I call up game designer Emily Newton Dunn. She tells me she is toying with the idea of trading in her Mac for a PC. "There are some great PCs out there. Sony Vaios are hot. And Macs are rubbish for gamers."

John New, senior marketing manager at Dell, tells me that Macs are niche products and that PCs have caught up. "It's a level playing field now." He argues that, while Windows has developed a bad reputation, Vista is "excellent and heavily tested against viruses." And, he adds, "Apple no longer has the handle on cool or design." Then he brandishes the argument I keep hearing: "Macs are too expensive. A lot of our consumers are students. Students are conscious of every dollar they spend, and you don't need to spend £1,000 on a laptop when you can get one that does the same job, if not better, for half the price."

He has a point. These are challenging times for the McKenzie wallet, and I'll be watching the pennies as I make my choice. Before I shop, however, I need to take one other thing into account: the arrival of notebooks and netbooks – thinner, lightweight laptops that can be as small as paper notebooks. Most laptops have more artillery in terms of capabilities and software. What notebooks – especially netbooks – have going for them are size, transportability and cheapness. Are they the answer to my needs?

Heidi Foster from ComputerWeekly.com is dismissive of notebooks and of netbooks, "They are OK if you are on the move and want to get to emails, write replies and deal with documents. But that's about it. A laptop will always be your office and home on the move." As for the Mac v PC debate, Heidi leaves me with a final thought: "It's really like Nike vs Primark."

I'm not absolutely sure what she means. But I think the time has come for me to try things out for myself. My findings are in the panel on the left.

PC or not PC? How the competition measures up

Sony Vaio

My first foray into the world of PCs isn't one I wish to remember. The Sony Vaio arrives with no instructions on setting the notebook up so it's a learn-by-feel experience that leaves me flustered and exasperated. The machine itself feels plasticky and fragile. Packing it and dragging it halfway across Europe for a holiday or work trip would have me worrying about a cracked screen or internal damage. The Vaio Z31 series starts at £1,450 and for that kind of money I'd like something that feels more secure. Once I get a feel for it, though, I'm impressed by its speed, its 4GB memory and its 320GB hard disk. The operating system – Windows Vista Business – is also pretty neat and the Blu-ray disc capabilities meant that watching flicks was a joy. Sony.co.uk

Hewlett Packard Pavilion Notebook dv3-2100

I'd assumed that all notebooks were small and slinky, but the HP Pavilion is both bulky and heavy. However, it is equipped with a heavy-duty 4096 MB memory, supports 8 GB DDR2 worth of memory and has a vast number of ports. But it's not as fast as the Vaio, coming in at only 2.10 GHz. There are a number of software packages included, and they have even tried to funk it up a bit, designing two natty cover/keyboard designs. Also worth a mention is the backlit keyboard and the integrated webcam. The price is a competitive £694 (excluding VAT). Overall, though, there's too much going on. The touchpad and the surrounding areas are sensitive, and the mouse jumps all over the place like a cat on a hot tin roof. It's messy and hard to navigate. In short, I'll give this one a miss. www.hp.com

Dell Studio 1555

"If you can't beat them, copy them," seems to be the unspoken mantra at Dell. And yet, although the Studio 1555 imitates many Mac features – from the interface dock layout to the sleek design – I kind of like it. It's not a poor man's Mac: it's an affordable laptop that gives the Apple MacBook Pro a good run for its money. Easy to set-up, smooth to use, thin(ish) and light despite its size, it has a 15.6 in LED HD screen. All the software features I would require – Office, Windows Vista and Windows media player – are present and correct. It has a number of Digital ports and USB outlets. The designs are pretty cool, too: Dell have commissioned three acclaimed artists to design the laptop fronts, giving the product a touch of personality and zest.

It is also worth mentioning the Studio 1555's stunning picture quality and sound, courtesy of 3-watt subwoofer. But it's the price that really wows me: £449 for a laptop that looks the part and performs to such a high standard sounds pretty good to me. www.dell.co.uk

MacBook Pro

Just when it looks as though my head has been turned by the Dell Studio 1555, the MacBook Pro arrives. This is the Rolls Royce of laptops. All the software I know and love has been updated – and how! Safari has a few new tricks, iMovie is unrecognisable and the face detection software in iPhoto is straight out of "Blade Runner". The Leopard operating system is as good as it gets. Navigating through my various files, pictures and documents couldn't have been easier, because of the new cover flow set-up and the MacBook Pro's ability to split screen. There's also seamless integration between emails and calendar dates.

And the cons? Apart from a paltry GB memory (which can be upgraded to 8GB), I struggled to find a fault – except, of course, for the price. In the current climate, £899 including VAT is going to hurt the bank balance a lot. www.apple.co.uk

Verdict

One thing that I've learnt is that, although Apple has only a 10 per cent share of the market, more PC users wish they owned a Mac than vice-versa. I think I can see why. Having used a Mac for all of my journalistic life, I've seen nothing on the other side that could make me switch – although the Dell Studio 1555 gave me reason to think. I also feel that too much is made of the "Macs are expensive" argument – given the relative high cost of some high-end PCs. In both cases, you get what you pay for. So I'm going to treat myself to a MacBook Pro. Why? Because I'm worth it.