Apple Vs Microsoft

The battle of Apple Vs. Microsoft really comes down to personal preference. While Apple's products tends to be more conducive for those who value creativity and need the additional graphic capability, that innovation comes with a price. Essentially, Microsoft's products perform the same function that Apple's do at a lower cost, but they typically lack innovation and are less user-friendly.

Apple's ability to introduce innovative products to the market is undebatable. The company's iTunes music store application and iPod mp3 player have revolutionized the way the general public listens to music. More importantly those product innovations have changed the way the public purchases the music they want to hear. While Microsoft has introduced a competing product, it is relatively unknown and not as youth-oriented as Apple's.

Even though Microsoft maintains a healthy market share in terms of its Windows operating system and associated software programs, this is largely due to the fact that IBM compatible PC's are currently more popular than Apple's PC's. This may be due to the higher purchasing and ownership costs associated with Apple's systems. In response, Apple has recently cornered the market with mobile and handheld computing devices, with its popular introduction of the iPad and iPhone.

Furthermore, Apple's products seem to be more compatible with each other. In other words, the syncing ability between a user's potential portfolio of gadgets is greater. A customer is able to seamlessly integrate music files between an iPhone and an iPod for instance, without having to go through extra steps or software downloads. The company is also well-known for its exceptional customer service.

In terms of web browsing software, Microsoft's Internet Explorer is proficient but tends to run slower than Apple's Safari, even on a PC. Internet Explorer has been plagued with security and privacy issues and frequently requires updating. That said, there are some Internet applications such as blogging platforms that work better with Internet Explorer. Safari can cause font and editing issues that are not easy to fix.

Both Microsoft and Apple's operating systems are fairly easy to navigate, although Apple's can be a tad more difficult to troubleshoot and fix. The graphic display of Apple's software is of higher quality and tends to run more efficiently. Due to its market share, there tends to be more programs and applications that are compatible with Microsoft's system. Still, it is mainly a personal preference that comes down to look, feel and minor technical specifications.