Quite possibly very creepy, very funny but at the same time an apt description of the whole Windows vs Apple debate (debacle?) that goes on. I've included the original article in it's entirety just in case it disappears but it came from this site's entry.
" I have bought more software for my Mac than I ever did for my Windows PCs, most of it shareware. Is it really that much higher quality? Or am I buying her presents?"
The Mac is a Harsh Mistress
I was asked for advice today from someone who was apprehensive about buying a new Mac, and wanted to know my opinion. This, of course, is sort of like going up to Dick Cheney and saying ìYou know, Iím not sure about that Iraq thing. What do you think?î
Microsoft, ladies and gentlemen, is a cheap whore. She lives on the fringes of the law, but thereís no getting rid of her because she fulfils a certain need in our society. People want what she is selling.
Thereís a certain painted-on mystique to her, of course. Weíve all been indoctrinated with the propaganda, the hooker with the heart of gold, the disturbingly wide-mouthed Pretty Woman. When you find her, though, beneath the paint sheís really quite plain. You take what you need from her, but reluctantly and because you have no alternative. You get what you want, but she is almost peripheral to the act.
Apple is a lover.
From the moment you meet her, you know that she wants you to be happy. She wants to be a part of your life, and you canít help but be drawn into wanting to be a part of hers. She is beautiful and elegant in ways that the layers of paint on the Microsoft street-walker can only desperately try to imitate.
I have bought more software for my Mac than I ever did for my Windows PCs, most of it shareware. Is it really that much higher quality? Or am I buying her presents?
There is one danger, though. So long as you are careful to protect yourself from infection, Microsoft can not hurt you. Microsoft is a transaction, and if the transaction goes sour, youíre only out of pocket. When your lover hurts you, she can break our heart.
And Apple, for all her charm and grace, is notoriously thoughtless at times: scratch the surface of the Internet and youíll find a string of bitter, abandoned ex-ís who still curse her name.
And yes, this is possibly the most disturbing post Iíve ever written.
The above is Copyright 2004 Charles Miller, freely re-distributable under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial license, and as such all reproductions should include at least these two pieces of information.
