The Age Old Battle

For many years I have had numerous amounts of discussions with friends and the like about which type of computer is better: Mac or PC. Each of those discussions wound up very similar. Those that had used Macs for a long period of time were loyal Mac users and defended the Mac to the bitter end. Those like me that had been using PCs forever (namely Windows based computers) will defend PCs to the bitter end stating that PCs are better. However I'm not writing this to try to settle any sort of dispute about which is better. But I will put my little spin on it.
In the very beginnings of the debates I've had, I totally hated Macintosh computers because of a number of things: 1) Its lack of software 2)Didn't have the cool hardware and upgradability that PCs had 3)I didn't like the user interface compared to Windows.
This bias continued for many years until I started realizing that Macs are great for Graphic Design and other high end graphical programs. Since my older brother began doing graphic design work, I started to gain much more respect for Mac, but still preferred Windows based PCs.
Soon however, Apple did something that really grasped my attention. They released OS X, a Unix based operating system that not only looks beautiful, but is feature rich, powerful, stable, and secure. This realization became a major turning point in my view of Macintosh computers. Microsoft was already deep into the world of Windows XP when OS X came out, and this is where a new battle begins. OS X is under constant development which is nice because it means less time before you get major updates and releases of the flagship operating system (Windows being Microsoft's flagship operating system and OS X now being Apple's). Since the release of OS X there have been 3 new releases: Panther, Jaguar, and the current Tiger. The most recent release, Tiger, is absolutely stunning. Since the release of Jaguar, there have been over 200 new features added to Tiger. Microsoft can't even begin to match that! Two that really stand out in my eyes are Expose and Dashboard. Expose is a really cool way to manage your open windows on your desktop. Instead of having a cluttered task bar, expose shrinks the other windows down so you can see each on and then allows you to bring whichever one you want into focus. Still confused? Check out ( http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/expose/ ) Dashboard is the other really cool feature I've seen. It's like having a really easy to use PDA right on your desktop. Now initially that doesn't sound really intriguing. The truth is that it is really useful. "Dashboard is home to widgets: mini-applications that let you perform common tasks and provide you with fast access to information. With a single click, Dashboard appears, complete with widgets that bring you a world of information — real-time weather, stock tickers, flight information and more — instantly. Dashboard disappears just as easily, so you can get back to what you were doing." ( http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/dashboard/ ) Check the website for full details. These are just two of the many features that are available on OS X. Read about all of these features on apple's website ( Http://www.apple.com/macosx/ )
So at this point some of you might be wondering where I stand on Windows based PCs? The answer is quite simple. I still love my Windows PC and the fact that they are so customizable. However, Microsoft needs to do something better, they need to step it up a notch if they are going want to keep current Windows users using their product. I guess for us Windows users, it is going to be a game of waiting for the release of Microsoft's new flagship operating system, formerly titled "Long Horn", now called Windows Vista. The thing is, that if it is still riddled with the security exploits, holes, and bugs that it's predecessors have had I might just have to switch over to Apple's OS. This becomes even more tempting ever since Apple announced they are switching to Intel based platform for their computers. This means even more power, speed and performance from Apple. This could also spell potential trouble to Microsoft's hold on the computer market. What will happen next? I guess the only thing we can do is wait and see. We can only hope for a brighter looking future.