Time to jump on the bandwagon?

I tell ya... Up until now I have always wondered what is such a big deal about jumping on the "I love Mac (computers) and Windows is evil!" bandwagon. It never made sense to be so moral and passionate about something to silly as software when there are so many issues that are far more detrimental to citizens of the world.

In the programming / web-development world, it is pretty much decided that you have to love mac or you just ain't cool. I've known this since I started working with computers, and never saw any good reasoning behind it... but then I use Windows at home and work... not by choice mind you... at work, when I started everyone else was using Mac so they wanted to add a Windows machine and I just happened to be the guy who needed a computer. At home, Windows happened to be on my computer because it happened to be on the only affordable lap-top that I liked (although I didn't know what I was looking for).

Over the past 2 /12 years, I use Windows 98% of the time, and once in a while use a Mac. Over the same 2 /12 years I have slowly developed an aversion to using those Macs. I'm sure it is simply because I am used to the ease of doing things on my own Windows machine, and if I used Mac as much as I did Windows I would feel the same way about Windows.

But wait... even the Mac users in my office are much more efficient when they use Windows. I constantly hear people swearing and complaining about their computers freezing up, or not being able to open some application when they are using Mac. I watch them fumble around the unintuitive windowing system... But still I am sure that it is not the fault of the computer, but rather that the user is inept.

Yesterday, we had a 6 hour meeting with a client in which four of us revised a simple 15 page document that was due today. We had it perfect.. every word thought out and with reason behind it. The computer we were using (a Mac OS-x) crashed several times during the 6 hours, forcing us to reboot but we had been saving the file after ever minor change so all is well... and the owner of the computer assured us with a sheepish grin that "this always happens". I do remember thinking that this has only happened to me on my computer five times at most in the last 2 1/2 years... but again, it must be because the user is inept.

Today, I had him send me the file so I could make the final 3 adjustments and send the file off in the morning. What's this? I can't open the file? Hmmmm.... must have been corrupted by me evil Microsoft Outlook Express email software... I'll just go ask him to resend it.

Your all smart... I guess you know how this story ended. The file was totally wasted on his own computer... I assume as a result of the consistent crashing. 6 hours of work for 4 people gone. Again I recall how this has never happened to me on my computer... oh wait, no that's not true... once I lost some of my personal email inexplicably on my home computer... but I don't really treat that one with respect, so I'm greatly pleased and amazed that it has only happened once.

What's the point?

Until now, I have always just assumed that the people using the Macs that mess up life in the office are just bad users. After all, how could so many computer geeks love Mac so much if the only reason was that it is cool to do so? I still wonder, though I am ever more biased toward the computer that lets me get my work done with no problems. I guess though the biggest point, is that I am happy that I am not officially a geek. I know that I am not, because to be one seems to mean that I pledge blind allegiance to what would appears to my young, 2 1/2 year-old computer-using-eye to be an inferior product.

The other point... That crap sucks when 6 hours of four people's work due the next day is wiped out by a crappy computer!

The last point... I wish someone would give me a practical reason I can understand for choosing a Mac over Windows... leaving out all the bull crap about Microsoft being evil... Sometimes, to battle more meaningful evil in the world, people need to be more efficient in their work, and I think they probably benefit from a computer that does what you expect when you expect it to.