I have a question for you....

You know those questions that people around the world ask, that everyone has to answer one way or the other? Questions that sum up a persons stance based solely on their answer. For example:

“Paper or Plastic?”
“Chevy or Ford?”
“Coke or Pepsi?”

Well today I am going to answer one of those questions.

“Mac or Windows?”

I actually get asked that question quite a bit in my line of work. Neighbors, family, friends, clients, that guy that throws the paper, the mailman,…well you see how it can be.

My answer was always a hedge, a waffle. I could list the benefits of both platforms. I used both platforms, daily.

I went out yesterday and purchased a copy of Windows XP professional, for a clients machine I was working on. 299.99. It was necessary, so I choked it up and bought it. I went to install it, and the factors to install it were pretty simple, but then I got to the registration. You see, you plug in the CD license key, a 16 digit number that makes your install legal. Then, well you call Microsoft and get another key, something like 25 digits,to show that not only is your software legal, its activated as well. And you give them all your information so they know who bought what. If for some reason your hard drive crashes, and you put in another one, you install windows, activate the key from the cd, then activate the windows by calling again, and begging for another key, because your machine broke.

To me there is a trust factor there. Microsoft trusts that your going to buy the software. They know you have to have it. Then they trust you to use your license key from the packaging, because otherwise, the installation will not start. Then they trust you will call and activate that software, otherwise a small grimlin will jump out of your fan in 30 days and uninstall your pictures and music. Or so I hear.

I really am getting to my point. When you buy Mac OS on disk, its 129.00. When you buy it, its activated. When you install it, it asks your name, and then it can send stuff back to Apple, or you can choose to register now, later, or never.


So macs trust you o use the software on one machine, but the ability to install on several is there. Windows, not so much.

I choose Mac. They are to a point now that anything you can do on a PC running windows, you can do on a Mac. Now Macs can even run windows, with the help of Parallels software, or using Apple’s Bootcamp software.
Of course if you install Parallels and Bootcamp at the same time and want to see which you like better, you have to install a copy of XP. Then you have to call Microsoft and get 2 license keys, but they will only give you one. See installing it in 2 different locations on the same machine, they see that as installing it twice, and want you to pony up with another 300 bucks.


So Hi, Im a Mac.