Everyone knows PCs are better than Macs.

Everyone knows Macs are better than PCs.

As strong as arguments about religion and politics can be, it's hard to beat the Mac vs. PC debate for pure venom, at least among techies.

With something like 95 percent or more of the market, personal computers running some version of the Windows operating system rule the roost. But that has never dissuaded Apple devotees who consider the Macintosh a custom-tailored suit in a land of off-the-rack fashion.

The arguments are standard (although it's arguable how accurate the points are):

Worms and viruses rarely hit Macs; there's more software for the PC.

The Mac is a beautiful, elegant machine; PC buyers have more to choose from.

Macs are easier to use; PCs are more easily customized.

And the list goes on.

Mac lovers tend to point out the Mac's ease of use.

As Roanoke-based computer consultant Robert Underwood said, "I love to tell the story about connecting a Microsoft USB mouse to a Mac and starting to use it within 10 seconds. Taking that same mouse and connecting it to a PC with Windows 2000 required a minimum of two minutes to install from the CD and a restart." (Windows XP should recognize the mouse immediately and not require a restart.)

And Fred Hoffman of the Roanoke Valley Mac Users' Group said that several of his group's members see the Mac as a whole-family machine: "Our children have found a computer that they can also use. It seems to be an intuitive machine for accomplishing a wide variety of 'work/play.'"

Of course, not everyone agrees with that. Although more software is becoming available for OS X (the newest version of the Mac operating system), a quick look in most computer stores makes it obvious that Mac titles aren't easy to find.

And then there's the fact that only Apple makes Macs, while hundreds of companies produce PCs. Mac users claim that the one-company philosophy means better quality control - all the parts are guaranteed to work together. But PC users say it means higher costs and less choice - as if you could only buy Ford parts for your Ford car.

Robert Turcotte, senior systems consultant for Entre Computer Center, tells customers who ask about Apple's products, "We don't do produce!" He's a firm believer that staying in the majority has its benefits.

"It's easy to find peripherals, software and the like to do whatever you want, when you want to do it," he said. Because Mac software for business users is limited, he wonders, "Why keep two computers when owning one will do?"

But Turcotte appreciates that the Mac is appropriate for some. "Long ago ... Apple made the wise decision to provide the best environment for creative folks," he said. "Rumor has it that artists can be temperamental. My conclusion: that temperamental folks need a computer that isn't, and they are willing to accept limited availability of aftermarket hardware and software - and hard-to-find support - to get it."

Mac users point out that it's not just "creative folks" who want a less-temperamental computer. The PC's flexibility - all those vendors making all those products - is cause for frustration.

"The maintenance for an OS X machine takes me five minutes to show someone, and then they can do it themselves," said Hoffman. With Windows, he said, even simple things aren't always simple.

"[I] add a printer, install the driver, and it doesn't work," he said. "[I] check the Web site, and there is a new driver available that fixes the problem [with a driver] that shouldn't have been released in the first place. Mac users will not put up with that."

But PC users counter that those arguments are old; Windows XP, released in 2001, recognizes and installs most hardware immediately, and even updates drivers automatically. Usually.

Beyond the question of hardware and software is the issue of innovation and, for want of a better word, style. Macs are at worst, cute; at their best, stunning. PCs tend to be plain, beige boxes (although many users have developed slick "mods" to make their plain-vanilla computers into extravagant pieces of art).

And anyone who has seen the latest Macintosh desktop - the G5 - come out of the box knows that innovation is a cornerstone of Apple.

Fred Hoffman claims that Apple has been first, at least to the mass market, with the graphical user interface and computer mouse (both invented by Doug Englebart at Stanford University), as well as networking, high-quality printers, the USB port and computer design in general.

Turcotte countered that Apple may innovate, but it never follows up with those innovations, or lets anyone else join the party. By keeping its computers "closed," he said, Apple ends up stifling innovation and giving up the market.

"The main weakness of the Mac computer and operating system is that it is a more closed system than the PC," he explained. "The success of the PC rests in the open nature of the environment - encouraging independent development of options and software. Apple innovates. The rest of the market makes the innovation a popular and profitable product.

"If Apple could and would design and market around both innovation and open standards, they could have taken over the market from the beginning. After all, they had a head start."