Most computer users do not come anywhere near the parts of the system that are fundamentally different; it’s all user interface, and the user interfaces have mostly converged. Those interfaces are no longer significantly limited by computer resource constraints (CPU time, memory, graphics), which prevents the underlying architecture from intruding too much into the experience. If all you need are a few common applications, there really isn’t much practical difference. But if you stress the system, or go outside the common applications, there is definitely a big difference.

Most people who get worked up about the remaining differences are coming from the days when those differences were still readily apparant to an ordinary user. I come from those days myself, I’ve just stopped screaming about it.

Except for the mouse – why Jobs insisted on that Cyclopean one-button thing is another Mystery of the Universe – as is his contempt for color – until he saw which way the world was spinning. What you see on the screen is what counts, along with how quickly you can get it there, and from where.

There are 1 or 2 (OK, maybe 3) graphics applications where the Mac shines. Other than that, a computer is a computer is a …

My Win2000 PC at work has never ever crashed. I have no idea what the fabled “blue screen of death” looks like. And I can buy a ton of other stuff with the money left over from buying a PC box instead of a Mac.

(Hmmm… Maybe I do understand the attachment…..)

So, I’ve got Macs at home and only work on The Dark Side when I’m at work. Sure, I’d rather use Macs at the office, too, but that’s not an option. And I use Windows enough to know why I hate it.

Just don’t flame me for my choice. Live and let live :)