And the winner is?

Why do we seem to need to compare systems in such a hostile way?

It always seems to be the same... Atari Vs Commodore, Sega Vs Nintendo, Microsoft Vs Just about everything on the planet.

It's actually the last one that I find a particular pain at the moment, particularly in relation to Windows Vs Mac.

I'm certainly not a fan of Bill and his chums but neither am I likely to deny the fact that Windows serves a purpose... as does Mac OS... as does Linux... as does every other operating system. Every Mac site I've seen insists on making a big show about how Macs are SO much better than PCs... how the hardware is 'better', the software 'more stable' etc... (you've all seen them so I won't list them all). And the number of students that come into my office suggesting that Apple is the way to go is just ridiculous.

Ask them what they like about Macs though and the answer is almost always the same... they look good.

Yup... ok... for the most part I'll give you that (though the minimalist white plastic look is getting a bit old). What else? Anything?

Don't get me wrong, I like Macs, and they have more going for them than just their looks. But... they're not better. Neither are they worse... just different.

It's about choosing the right 'tool' for the job.

Macs are a safe bet if you stick to the specific tasks/software available for them (which is quite a vast selection) but they are more expensive (no matter what the Mac users try to justify) and they no longer have the exclusive edge that they used to in terms of software for desktop publishing, music and graphics work. Just recently I had a Mac setup on my desk next to my main PC... £1000 of Mac with a very nice 17" widescreen TFT... unfortunately my £500 PC (including the 19" widescreen TFT) is the more useful by far for what I do.

The trick to PCs is their flexibility. We run well in excess of 170 different applications and Windows happily takes them on. If a piece of hardware goes wrong? We just whip it out and throw something else in... even if it is completely different from what it had before. Sure, this has the potential to give you some instability if you don't take the time to uninstall the previous drivers... but it'll still work! They may not look as 'nice' as a Mac (though they are rarely as ugly these days as the beige blocks that Mac users like to use as examples of a typical PC) and, due to their popularity, they are always going to suffer from attack from the virus writers (if you're looking to cause anarchy, which are you going to choose... the widespread popular to be unpopular Microsoft or the 'I'm your friend' little-guy Apple?).

As an ex-Unix, Novell and Real/32 (amongst others) administrator I've worked with a lot of different set ups. And I've used all of them in different scenarios (the recording for my band was done on a Mac using Pro Tools). I'd never dream of using anything other than Unix for a ultra-secure and stable commercial engineering system; and if I was building a media centre designed to go in the lounge, I'd be a little foolish to over look using something like a Mac mini... but for my day to day tasks? No question about it... PC all the way, I need the flexibility (and the games)!

My Point? Be happy and secure with what you've got. If you feel the need to justify what you've got or who you are by putting others down then you've probably got some issues you need to work on (and not many friends).