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I hope you enjoy this column. It may be my last. I have offended the Mac users of the world. Apparently, that means the death penalty.
Last week I wrote a small piece on some of the basic differences between Macs and PCs. (OK, Macs technically are PCs, but most buyers still see them as something apart.) I knew I was asking for trouble, but I wrote the piece anyway.
The Apple Defence Forces went ape. Apparently, my lack of accolades for Mac was too much to bear. One user on a local Mac forum wrote, "Let's form a lynch mob!"
I'm pretty sure he was joking, but I don't think the person who said he hoped I was a fast runner was. I was also told I should have written about how secure the Mac OS is and how maintenance costs are lower.
One user wrote of how "Mac users are accused of being blind cult followers, loyal to the cause." He then tried to dissuade me of that notion by writing a missive twice the length of the original story.
Then there are the Mac users who like to quibble about the price. They say you get what you pay for, and you get more with your Mac. You can spin it anyway you want to, but when I compared prices last year, Macs ran about $300 (Dh1,200) more than a similar PC system.
Apparently, the extra money covers your membership into the snobbish I-own-a-Mac club, because no other add-ons justified the extra money.
Other people pointed out that I failed to mention that Macs can run Linux or Vista. True, they can, but why would I want to pay money for OS X only to go through the trouble of putting on another system? If I want Linux, I'll buy a PC.
Viruses
Then there are the people who complained about Mac viruses. Mac users repeatedly told me there are none, or at least none that are actually causing problems for users.
I found three: OSX.Leap.A, OSX.RSPlug.A, and OSX/Inqtana.A. There will be more. According to Symantec's website, "Mac is becoming popular enough that the bad guys think it's worth spending time and effort in developing Malware for the Mac OS." That's right, until recently, Macs just haven't been popular enough for the thieves to care about.
And let's face it, Apple products are not known for being difficult to crack. Consider the iPhone.
Apple put it out last year. But Apple had an idea: offer the phone exclusively on one network in exchange for a portion of the networking fees. But so-called Apple fans had none of that. They lined up, bought the phone, and cracked the software - using a Macintosh, we assume - so fast it made people's heads spin. With customers like that, who needs corporate espionage?
I have only one thing to say to you people: Get a life! A computer should not define your identity. You are not a hip person because you own a Mac.
That said, I can already hear the lighting of torches and lifting of pitchforks. So let the abuse begin. If anyone wants me, I'll be hiding out in Redmond.
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