Introduction
The expansion seen in the field of science and technology was given pace by the introduction of multipurpose computers. “Competition in business leads to innovation and price drops. Corporate America began to take note and it was evident that by the mid-’90s, PC’s had won the battle.” (Macintosh vs. IBM Clone PCs para 7). The choosing features gave the impression to spin in the region of cost and complementary facts. The computers are usually more economical and appear to know how to perform similarly as supplementary complicated computer structures.
The two brands competing in the field of manufacturing computers are IBM and Macintosh. The competition between the two has helped in the development of computer technologies. The study on the various competitive aspects of both the brands becomes significant nowadays because “what might be true for IBM compatibles may not apply to the Macintosh – IBM’s were created as business computers, with better capability in office, business, accounting, type of applications, while the apple/macs were developed originally for education – placing greater emphasis on user-friendliness and graphics.” (Laptop vs. Desktop? Para 1). The right ideas on the topic become important for an academic person hopefully for getting updated to the current scientific and technical status. The preliminary step is to identify IBM and Macintosh independently and finally to compare explicitly.
Macintosh
“The Macintosh is a family of computers from Apple Computer. These are unlike PC, desktop, or IBM-based machines, which may come from many vendors. The Apple Macintosh comes only from Apple computer.” (Dvorak, Pirillo and Taylor 23). Macintosh is the product from Apple Inc. who is the designer, manufacturer and marketer of it. The Apple brand had developed computers long before the introduction of Macintosh to the market. Apple merged numerous, consumer-level desktop replicas to a form named ‘iMac all-in-one’ in the late 1990s, which were marketed much widely and the trademark was invigorated. “The original Macintosh was released on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a graphical user interface (GUI) rather than a command-line interface.” (Macintosh para 1).
Recent Mac models are chiefly aimed at the household, academic, and innovative proficient sectors. The models available in the Macintosh range by Apple Inc. are iMac, Mac mini desktops (entry-level), and the terminal level systems like Mac Pro tower, Mac Book, Mac Book Air Laptops, Mac Book Pro Laptops, and Xserve server.
The perpendicular incorporation technique is used in the manufacture of Mac into which the entire Apple hardware parts are integrated and also the personal operating system of the Mac is preinstalled. The entire hardware components are not created by Apple. The operating system used in the latest models of Macintosh is Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. But the usage of independent operating systems is also possible in the contemporary Macs.
IBM
The IBM Corporation functions first and foremost in a solitary trade, making use of quite a lot of special sectors to generate worth through contributing a multiplicity of way outs which incorporates expertise, structures, goods, work, assistance, programs and investment. “The company’s major operations compromise three hardware product segments. These segments are: technology, personal systems, and enterprise systems. They also offer a global services segment, a software segment, a global financing segment, and an enterprise investments segment (Ibid).” (IBM para 2).
IBM proffers its goods and services with the help of intermediary commercial associates similar to distributors and resellers. They furthermore present their goods and services by using their online feeds. IBM in the past was known for the success of its personal computers. The major advantage of the products of IBM Corporation is their upgrading capabilities. Various accessories and components are also marketed effectively by IBM. The products of IBM occupy a wide range of markets, namely laptops, desktops, terminal level systems, output devices for computers like monitors and printers, servers, networking devices, various data storage tools and Personal Digital Assistants. The services rendered are in every aspect of software business including different essential software, consultancy, providing outsourcing, web services, practicing and sponsoring. The advent of IBM was as a merger of three different companies, namely the Tabulating Machine Co., the Computing Scale Co., and the International Time Recording Co. The name of the company at its arrival in 1911 was Computing Tabulating Recording Co. (C-T-R) making use of the brand words of the merging firms. It was known as IBM (International Business Machine) Corporation from the year 1917 when they found market in Canada for various types of recorders, cards for punching, motorized keypunches, vertically sorting devices and tabulators.
Macintosh vs. IBM
The investigation on Macintosh and IBM can be used to compare and investigate their contrasts in the contemporary market all over the world. “IBM compatibles have captured the largest market share, but Apple Macintoshes holds a special place in capabilities.” (Reports & Essays para 1).
Only a capable potential system that is widely accepted can conquer a considerable portion of the market share. So, it becomes clear fact that IBM systems are having high demand around the globe. Alternately, it is stated that the Apple Macintoshes have a recognized position in the case of their competence and efficiency. Thus, the comparison between those two brands under competition becomes significant. Both the trademarks are representing the computer systems, but the buyers are available for both the products due to the real-time fact of “unique operating systems and stand-alone buying powers” in the systems provided by them. (Reports & Essays para 1).
The operating systems offered by the systems on different brands have their applications and significance. The user in need of a particular necessity-based system has a choice among the obtainable different operating systems.
The IBM compatibles are marketed with the confidence of sufficient satisfactory presentation with average effortlessness to use the system. The packages offered by IBM are of lower prices which is one remarkable competitive advantage of the company in the contemporary market. The Apple Macintoshes are prompted owing to the performance of the complete system. The Macintoshes available nowadays perform far better than the IBM compatibles. But the Apple Macintoshes remain as costlier systems in the market.
The standard computer systems are made to upgrade in terms of performance frequency, memory, and hard drive expansion within shorter durations with no increase in the prices which leads to the demand for the IBM systems. The memory provided with Macintosh systems is always above a user’s requirement and the hard drive capacity has reached up to 10 gigabytes. The upgrading is not possible in the case of Macintosh systems.
The major negative aspect is the intricacy of the IBM systems so as with Macintosh. The usage of DOS systems is another demerit of the IBM systems. “The fact is that the world is divided between users of the Macintosh computer and users of MS-DOS compatible computers.” (Eco para 4).
Point and click is the technique used in Macintosh while typing becomes necessary in IBM compatibles. IBM had introduced point and click in their systems as well but could not compete with the Mac OS effectively. IBM systems are more prone to attacks from various types of viruses which become adequate for cleaning and servicing that always costs time and money. The invasion of the virus is least for Macintoshes; only four viruses are identified for the Mac OS which can be spotted out with the help of anti-virus software.
The regular users of IBM always have a peep to the Macintosh systems due to the peek graphical resolution presented in Macs. The clarity of images offered by Macs can never be replaced. Even the speed constraints show the override of Macintoshes over the IBM compatibles. The Apple Macintoshes are the fastest commercial computer systems available in the market.
The fair procuring capabilities of the systems usually outpower the disadvantages of IBM systems. The major and prominent drawback recognized in the case of Macintosh systems is partial accruing capabilities which reduce their demand in the market share. The cost of the IBM compatibles to Macintoshes is found to be as 1:2 or 1:3 ratios.
The program accessories offered in IBM compatibles are a wider range including entertainment, business, and many other applications which are little presented in Macintoshes. But Macintosh has a special ability to convert the entire programs in the IBM compatibles to their systems. This is accomplished using certain programs run on Macs which robs away the time and speed constraints of the system leading to a slow down of overall performance.
In due course, Macintosh and IBM compatible computers present discrete potentials and applications that always divide them into two separate authentic encampments. The competency between the two has been credited to the increased performance and adequate cost constraints of the products. The scientific and technological flourish adds to the efficiency of both the systems without fail, it is the user who should determine his necessity and select a model of a computer system from the available choices.
Conclusion
The voyage through the two brands, IBM and Macintosh, gives information on the favorable environmental existence in the modern world for a person buying a new system for his usage. Competition does exist between IBM and Macintosh with their advantages and flaws. But the consistency of the systems is maintained so that the demerit gets blurred enough to disappear. The words of Roger Perry Smith “While it is heresy for a Macintosh user to admit, both systems work fine. The differences between the systems have narrowed and it is a matter of personal preference” becomes worth in this scenario. (Smith 10).
The requirements of the end-user define the system which is selected to purchase; that implies the fact that it is the user who characterizes the developments of the computer in the coming days. The vast market in information technology is the reason for the existence of competition, but the fact of this relies on the stunning advancement in the fields of academics and business. Hopefully, Macintosh, as well as IBM compatibles, also contribute to that advancement, which in turn, donates to the advancement of both.
Works Cited
Dvorak, John, Pirillo, Chris, and Taylor, Wendy. Online!: The Book. Prentice Hall PTR, 2004. Print.
Eco, Umberto. The Holy War: Mac vs. DOS. The Modern World. 1994. Web.
IBM. Peer Papers: Less Work, More Weekend. 2009. Web.
Laptop vs. Desktop?-Mac vs. IBM?. Epinions.com: A Shopping.com Company. 2009. Web.
Macintosh. Peer Papers: Less Work, More Weekend. 2009. Web.
Macintosh vs. IBM Clone PCs: Digital Segregation in Schools: What’s All The Hype?. Teachnology. Web.
Reports & Essays: Science-Technical: Mac vs. IBM. Study World. 2009. Web.
Smith, Roger Perry. The Internet for Physicians. 3rd ed. Springer, 2002. Print.