I come to real estate from the computer and technology world.
While I worked at Apple for nearly twenty years, after leaving Apple I spent a lot of time using Windows XP and Linux.
As a real estate agent I was faced with one of our two MLS systems requiring Internet Explorer and both forms packages requiring Windows.
While I was in start up mode, I managed to get by with my home based XP system and our office duty desk XP computer.
As my business increased, having the forms with me when I traveled became very important so last fall I bought a Windows laptop running Vista.
I am now five months into my Vista experience. A number of colleagues in our office have recently bought Vista laptops.
Laptops have come down in price dramatically and the case for having a machine with you with all your work on it is very compelling.
The problem is that Vista doesn't work very well. It's slow and prone to hanging. Even PC Magazine has stated that Apple OS X is the better operating system.
I have yet to talk to anyone who likes Vista or who isn't having some problems with it.
I actually had another agent call me over the weekend. He was thinking about getting a Mac and wanted to know what I thought. Six months ago, I would have probably told him to bite the bullet and just buy another Windows laptop.
After my experience with Vista, I did not even hesitate to tell him to buy a Mac. I have three Windows PCs, two Linux computers, and four Macs so I can pretty well tell you what works and what doesn't work.
I personally cannot depend on Vista to get my job done. While I hope Service Pack 1 will make it better, there is nope for it being better than a Macintosh for what I do.
My estimate is that Vista imposes a thirty to forty five minute tax on my computer work during a day. That means if I use Vista exclusively instead of mixed Macintosh-Windows world, it will take me up to 45 minutes longer to get the same work done.
Four years ago when I was fresh from being a mostly Macintosh user, I would have attributed that time to my lack of skill in the Windows world. Now that I have people asking me how to fix some of their Windows' problems, I think I am up to speed and the time difference is based on Vista and some programs on the Mac that do their job quicker and better than any that I have been able to find in the Windows world.
I regularly have problems with Outlook. From what I heard from others, I am not alone.
There are no web design programs in the Windows world as easy and as inexpensive as Rapidweaver or Shutterbug. I talked about those tools and more in a post, Great Apple tools should matter.
I recently read an article in the WSJ RealEstate Journal.com. The article, Do Young, Tech-Savvy Buyers Need a Real Estate Agent's Help?, makes the comment "most agents are not utilizing technology efficiently," and refers back to another article, "Why Don’t Real-Estate Agents Use Better Photos?."
I was actually shocked at some of the comments in that article. At a time when people are questioning the value of real estate agents, there is no better way to prove your worth than to embrace some new technology that lets you get more done and do a better job without getting swallowed up with tech problems.
Learning how to use a Macintosh can free you from many of the frustrations in the Windows world. With the latest Macs you can either dual boot into the Windows world or use a package like Parallels that lets you run Windows in a virtual window.
While not everything is perfect in the Apple world, most of the pain of using a computer is removed. A Mac might look expensive, but just figure out how much 45 minutes of your time per day is worth over the next couple of years.
Using a combination of web tools including Google's calendar and Google Docs or the free NeoOffice suite of tools lets you get free from the tyranny and cost of using Microsoft Office.
And if you want to do absolutely stunning presentations, you can buy Apple's iWork package for $79. It includes Keynote which is a very strong presentation package, spreadsheet software and a good word processing/flyer creation package, Pages.
I need to close this with the statement that unfortunately I don't own any Apple, Google, or technology stocks.
I also do not sell Macs. While I have toyed with the idea of doing consulting for firms who would like to get a leg up on their Windows based competition, I have yet to do that, but I am open to it.
Also I actually do not even like Apple the company. I have spent four years trying to find another almost as good way to do the things that I learned how to do so well in my nearly twenty years at Apple.
Unfortunately I have to admit that while you can do all of the things on a Windows machine, you will face a good deal of frustration along the way.
The reality is that a Mac with OS X is a far better computer than anything with Vista. My experience shows that.
Once you get a Mac and only have to switch back to Windows the few times that you need it, you will eventually learn that technology should make things easier not harder. That's the beauty of the Apple experience.
People at our office cannot believe that I can open my Mac laptop and being up and working in seconds.
The only way to appreciate a Mac is to spend the $1,100 or so that it will cost and the time to learn how to use it.
It might be the best way to be ready for an improving real estate market with younger buyers.
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