For as long as I can remember, there has been a strong rivalry between Mac users and PC users. I've lost count of the number of times that I have sat at a conference room table and heard "Your PC is lame" and "Your Mac is nothing more than a big iPod". I'm not a big fan of such gibberish. In fact, I honestly can't remember a time that I participated in such a conversation in a contentious way, let alone started such a debate (believe me, I have had plenty of opportunities and even encouragement). To be perfectly honest, I think the whole thing is silly, and this is why.
We live in a day and age when we are lucky enough to have options. It wasn't that long ago that we had one real, viable option for a desktop Operating System... Microsoft Windows. Now, we have Windows, OS X, Linux and others (not to mention a plethora of portable Operating Systems like iOS, Android, Windows Mobile and more). There are certainly pros and cons to each Operating System in my mind, just like there are pros and cons to each Operating System in your mind. What works for me may not work for you, and the same is true the other direction. I think it's fantastic that we have a few options to choose from.
Can you imagine if we were all forced to drive a Ford Focus (nothing against the Ford Focus, by the way) instead of the car that we wanted to drive? How boring would it be to drive down the freeway and only see one make, model and color vehicle. Yikes.
I see my fair of struggling users on both the Mac and the PC. When I see this, I don't blame the computer. I see it as an opportunity to help the user learn new tricks and harness the power of their investment. Computers, after all, are here to help us get more out of life.
My advice? Stop participating in these time-wasting arguments and instead, look for ways to use the technology we have to better our processes, improve our efficiency and the get the most out of life.
