an apple a day...
In the Mac vs. PC debate, I'm firmly in the Mac camp.
I have not owned a PC since the 486 running Windows 3.0, which I used to write many papers during my undergrad, kicked the bucket in 2003. The iBook G4 I bought when I started my Master's was a huge upgrade. I jumped from 1990s era technology to OS X overnight. The iBook is still alive and, although I was recently upgraded to a MacBook Air (thanks to Kevin), asleep in the corner. I'm not ready to part with it - it has a lot of sentimental value.
And that is the heart of the reason why I am on the Mac bandwagon. I couldn't imagine getting sentimental about a PC. Macs are sleek and elegant and friendly and PCs are machines.
The dichotomy was exemplified on my recent trip out east when passing through security at the airport. As usual, I was asked to place my laptop into one of the sterile grey bins. But, since part of my trip was for work, I was carrying both my work laptop (a heavy, chunky, nondescript Dell) and my light, portable, beautiful MacBook Air. Sitting in the bins (they were not allowed to share a bin) side by side, the contrast between my Mac and my machine became all the more clear.
Most of the Mac attributes, outlined above, that cause Mac users to grow attached to their Mac products can be attributed to Steve Jobs and his vision. There aren't many CEOs who are as integral to the design of the products as Steve Jobs is at Apple and it isn't too difficult to speculate that the fate of Steve Jobs and the fate of Apple are tightly intertwined. Even in his short absence, an Apple application (Voice Memos) for the iPhone was launched with a poorly designed icon (via @patrickc).
Nonetheless, all the coverage of Steve Jobs and his recent illness and liver transplant is bordering on the ridiculous and has trespassed into the excessive. Case in point: the New York Times site has a "Steve Jobs Coverage" section. Really? Given the importance of Steve Jobs and the stock value of Apple in the greater scheme of things, does whether Steve is back at work full time or whether he should resign or disclose the personal details of his illness and surgery, including the legitimacy of the liver, really deserve special coverage? In my view, special coverage should be limited to natural disasters and wars and genocides and other major news events.
That said, perhaps there should be special coverage to speculate on the future market share of Apple and PC based on how geeky Steve Jobs and Bill Gates looked in the early 80s. I'd read that.
