As the war between Apple-ites and PC-ers rages on, it’s easy to get caught in the middle. If you’ve already put your stake in the ground, no snarky web images, clever TV commercials, or humorous print ads are going to sway you. But if you’re a computer newbie or looking for a change, the competing messages can be more than a little overwhelming.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last twenty years, you’ve probably been inundated by the Mac vs. PC personas—Mac is the cool kid, pretty boy, hipster, hacker, designer (think ripped jeans and a t-shirt) where PC is the grown up, serious, focused, business-minded analyst (think three piece suit and, just maybe, a paisley tie).

Kelly Ford, Content Lead for Hunch, Inc., examined differences between Mac and PC people in their self-professed aesthetic preferences, media choices, and personality traits in her article “Mac vs PC People: Personality Traits & Aesthetic/Media Choices.”
Here are some of her findings:

Mac People                                                                                       

• Want to be perceived as different and unique. Their aesthetic choices include bold colors, “retro” designs, one-of-a-kind clothing, and highly stylized art
• Media interests trend toward indie flicks, comedians, and design-centric magazine
• Describe themselves as “verbal,” “conceptual,” and “risk takers”

PC People 

• Want to be perceived as “in tune with those around them.” Their aesthetic choices are subtle, “mainstream modern,” and they favor function over design
• Media interests trend toward more mainstream alternatives as well as sports
• Describe themselves as “numbers oriented,” “factual,” and “steady, hard workers”

If you are what you eat, are you also what you use? Ehh, we think not. If you’re trying to select the right device for your practice, we suggest doing a little more research on feature comparison before you decide to buy on the “cool kid” vs. “grown up” image alone.

Check out this infographic created by Itok that outlines the major differences on everything from stability and speed to compatibility and affordability (hint: PCs are definitely more affordable, but Macs are faster).

If PC vs. Mac wasn’t a hard enough decision, there’s also the option of desktop, laptop, or tablet. Depending on your clinic structure, it may be important to have a variety of devices so you can easily manage your practice on the go. And don’t worry anti-Applers, the iPad is not the only tablet option available (although, it is a great product).

BlackBerry finally released the PlayBook with the new 2.0 operating system that our Co-Founder and COO, Heidi Jannenga, PT, MPT, ATC/L featured in her blog last year, iPad Alternatives. With built-in WiFi, a 7” LCD display,  and 1GHz dual core processor, this BlackBerry smartphone-compatible tablet is giving the iPad a run for its money (despite some questionable company forecasts). Plus, it’s Adobe® Flash® 11.2 enabled (and the iPad isn’t).  

Here’s a quick look at the devices 500 WebPT members are using most to stay on top of their documentation:

The good news is no matter what device you choose to use at home, in the office, or on the go, WebPT’s physical therapy software is compatible with them all, so choose a side and join the fight. (Or not—our staff’s PC pundits and Mac masters work side-by-side and we all still get along—most of the time).