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• Tuesday, November 6, 2007 09:42 PM

  Looks like the debate isn't over

  First off, to begin a piece with phrases like these:

  "people waking up to this fact"

  "Everyone who's used it agrees"

  "This simple truth"

  "debate is over"

  "Mac has won"

  ...is no way to open a discussion. On top of which, it's inaccurate: most of the examples of success provided upfront are for Apple, not for the Macintosh. The iPod and iPhone may be huge successes, but the Macintosh computer is still used by a tiny minority of people, and in no danger of taking over anytime soon.

  As for which system is superior, that's a limited framing of the question. The only question that matters to a computer buyer and user is "which system is right for me" and "which system is right for my budget". And the answer is different for everyone.

  The idea that one system is "right" and "best" is just Apple's closed, proprietary thinking rubbing off: to think that just a few models, not easily customized, are magically right for everyone is silly. To compare the cost of PCs with similar configurations to Macs is to look at the issue backwards--millions of people are just fine with less power because it costs much less, an option that Apple doesn't offer.

  And we can talk about the Windows "monopoly" all we want, but even that's disingenuous. All that Windows dominates is the market--and that's because it's available in many forms on a huge variety of machines made by a vast number of manufacturers. Macintosh, on the other hand, is perhaps a truer monopoly, for it only exists on one small set of computers made by only one company. If the Macintosh was dominant, it would put hundreds of other companies out of business. Heck, Windows creates a bigger secondary market for computer manufacturers than the Mac's entire market of its own.

  What no Mac fan seems to want to admit is that their system is only subjectively better, and only to certain people. There are millions of people out there who aren't just functioning in ignorance of the Mac's untold genius--they simply prefer Windows. They like the way it works, they like how it does what they need, and they're not interested in what the Mac has to offer. To suggest that anyone who doesn't want a Mac is ignorant of an objective truth is a dangerous way to think.

  I use both Macs and Windows machines every day. I've used Macs and PCs at work for many years, yet have always had a PC at home. Quite simply, I prefer Windows. I've always felt the Mac interface to be a bit childish, cartoonish, and dumbed-down, which of course is only my subjective opinion. I'm a very heavy internet user, and I've never had any problems with viruses or spyware.

  I also keep my machines 'til they simply can't do what I need them to do anymore, and then I donate or recycle them. This resale-value argument also seems like a symptom of Apple-think--the mad rush to outdate its own products, make them difficult to upgrade (or in the cases of portable devices, replace batteries), convince the masses that they need the flashy new item. I'm doing lots of professional graphics and audio work on a 5-year-old Dell, and I'm doing just fine. Landfills are bulging with the results of this disposable-tech mindset, and it's slowly poisoning the planet.

  So if you love your Mac, fine. If you love your PC, fine. If any debate is over, can it finally be that one?

  —kevred Read kevred's other letters
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