Why OS X?

The “Elevator Speech” is a popular business meme. You have 30 seconds in an elevator to pitch your million-dollar idea to someone who can make it happen; what do you say? I am often asked in regards to Amateur Radio, “Why OS X?” I usually have about 30 seconds to convince the other radio amateur that Amateur Radio on OS X is a viable and worthwhile endeavor.

Do I talk about the integration between software and hardware? Do I discuss the quality of the amateur radio software on OS X? Perhaps the other amateur already has a Mac, or is only thinking about switching over but has yet to make the commitment. Do I discuss running Windows via BootCamp or a virtual machine as a form of transition, or do I do the hard sell on going OS X only? What about LoTW? eQSL? Digital modes? Contesting? Am I aware of what is happening with amateur software on Windows or Linux and how it compares (and contrasts) to OS X? Am I aware of amateur software on OS X and how the different programs compare and contrast to each other? Do I have any resources, online or otherwise, to which I can point the amateur to show that OS X and amateur radio are a viable combination? All of these questions, and many more, need to be taken into account.

So, are you ready to answer the question, “Why OS X?”