Why is it that every place where I present Power Point programs that has a Mac system requests that speakers bring their own laptops to hook up to the projector, because no matter how they have them configured, they can't seem to run Power Point programs that were made on PCs on a Mac? I bought a Mac once, but it was too late for me--none of it made sense, and it was especially frustrating that the computer came with one game--Nanosaur--which crashed more than half of the time when I came close to winning. So much for the "more stable operating system" meme.

Actually, I've never believed either system is superior to the other. But it's like French and English. Whichever one you learned on, the other seems counter-intuitive and confusing. And really, neither is superior to the other.

I am a writer and public speaker. The three main uses of my computer are writing, and most of my publishers want my work in Word; Power Point, and my programs work much better when made and displayed by PCs, and a software called AviSys designed to keep track of the birds I see, which only operates on a Windows platform. Oh--and I always use lots of windows for browsing. When I'm visiting my friend and using her Mac, she never allows me to open one browser window until I've closed the one I'm in.

I am sure there are some uses for which Macs are far superior. But I cannot think of a single way they'd be superior for me. And I still can't get that crashing Nanosaur game out of my mind--it was a game that was actually bundled with the only Mac I ever bought, and it crashed all the time. The horror! The baby dinosaurs that were never saved! I'm not a gamer, and this is the only computer game I ever got good at except an old, old version of Frogger and Tetris on my kids' GameBoy. But those poor baby dinosaurs--the whole Mac experience left a sad feeling in me.

I don't care if PCs are Fords. We put 120,000 miles on my Pinto before we gave it to my in-laws, who drove it another 10,000 miles and sold it. And I put 170,000 miles on my Ford Aspire before selling it. Might not have been fancy, but they sure were reliable. Just like my 4-year-old PC which has NEVER crashed.

...that so many of the Mac promoters here are arguing against straw men rather than the specific points that PC defenders are saying, based on actual experience. But I do take back that the only programs I use frequently are Word, Power Point, and AviSys. I also use Photoshop (I've edited tens of thousands of photos since I had a job writing a birding blog) Cool Edit (it still works just peachy so I refuse to buy the upgraded Adobe version) and Dreamweaver. I produce a daily radio spot which I edit on my PC and then upload to my webpage and podcast. And as I said, I've never had a crash yet on the PC that I've had for four years. My laptop has crashed exactly twice in two and a half years, and I ALWAYS have too many windows open. (Right now I see that I have 9 windows open.)

Today I applied for a job. The requirements include "Proficiency in Microsoft office applications required."

As I said, the main thing that makes one or the other superior is what you're used to. But I also like that part of the money I spend on a computer goes to research and protecting people from malaria. Bill Gates is stinking rich, but at least he knows how to spend it.

Anyone remember those TV commercials showing someone with a black eye saying "Us Tareyton smokers would rather fight than switch!"? That's pretty much us, whether we're PC or Mac people. Because it IS hard to switch, unless you have a cool mental ambidextrousness.

Reading some of these posts it struck me--I really much prefer John Hodgman to Justin Long. But I couldn't remember his name so I googled "mac guy" and guess what--apparently my take is rather universal, and Apple is getting rid of the character after the Christmas ads.

According to this article:

http://radarmagazine.com/exclusives/2006/11/apple-ditches-mac-guy-in-new-ads.php

"Virtually everyone who watches it comes away liking the "PC guy" while wanting to push the "Mac guy" under a bus," and "Why was Long dropped, specifically? Perhaps for striking people as a "smug little twit," in the words of Seth Stevenson, ad critic for Slate."

I think most of us realize that whether it's because we use one at work or for whatever personal reason, our computer choice is simply that--a choice, based on our own reasons--and not evidence of moral or intellectual superiority or inferiority. But it's fun and interesting to read so many comments that are in keeping with the attitude of a smug little twit. And to note which side the smugness seems to be mostly on.

I've bought my Windows XP Professional computer from Gateway in spring, 2003. It has never once crashed, and never once given me a single problem. I've upgraded Photoshop twice and upgraded Office once. No problems. And the rest of my software keeps working just peachy for the many things a writer, nature photographer, radio producer and web content producer needs.