The Mac addicts have come out of the woodwork to poke fun at a PC user in childish ways. Even a future in-law criticized my writing, to no avail. Saying I’m a disgrace to Iowa State and the Daily is preposterous. Last time I checked, Iowa State didn’t offer a Virtues of Macs versus PCs class.

Naturally, my opinion comes from experience, not from either of these institutions. If you are looking for a technical article, go elsewhere or online. You will find many Web sites proclaiming the same ideas I represent.

I began my computing career on a brand new Apple Performa 575. For four years, I was a diehard Mac fan. However, this changed when I was introduced to the opposite side of the spectrum. PCs became my life. No longer did I have to put up with the built-in design, expensive parts and bad memory management. Windows 95 was a dream compared to what I used on Macs. I don’t want to make this into an OS war, though — my complaints about hardware are simple and just.

Simply, Apple misleads people. Mind you, I don’t stand behind Intel when they claim the Pentium 4 makes the Internet go faster, but Apple has consistently led people to believe their products are the fastest, and this has repeatedly not been the case. It is still too early to tell which will be faster, which is all the more reason to let others declare triumph. The only independent study conducted so far was by NASA. The benchmarks released by NASA show an Intel P4 running at 2.66ghz beat the fastest G5 — by the way, the fastest Intel chip runs faster than 3ghz.

Welcome to the spin zone. Instead of being a downer for Mac enthusiasts, the information is spun to look like a victory. The only results mentioned on MacAddict.com are the scores in MFLOPS/mhz. This score shows the efficiency of the processor. Sadly, no matter how efficiently the G5 runs, it can’t outrun the fastest P4 by a long shot.

I find it strange Steve Jobs would claim the first 64-bit personal computer title when the Power Mac G5 has not yet been released. The Athlon64 is planned to release around the same time of the G5. Only time will tell who wins the race.

Aside from Apple’s hideous propaganda, my only other problem is with ignorant people. If you are an IT professional, and you simply prefer the Mac because it better suits your needs, so be it. That doesn’t bother me one bit. However, if you are an aspiring young artist craving the control over your creativity which only a Mac can provide, I am criticizing you. Basically, if your computer is supposed to be an image enhancer, get a life.

This idea spans much further than the computer realm. If you are a 16-year-old girl driving a Ford Excursion, or worse yet, a Hummer H2, I don’t condone your self-involved aspirations. Neither do I enjoy Honda Civics with 6 inch mufflers.

Most Mac users tend to be elitists. It seems since many are so insecure about their own platform, they act as sheep to their heroic Apple shepherd. Apple’s followers blindly accept company propaganda — such garbage can be read at a number of Web sites including the previously mentioned MacAddict.com. The technical sites I frequent provide a much more balanced viewpoint. They are always very critical of the shortcomings of any new product be it Apple or PC.

In the end, I do regret claiming PCs are always a better choice. Obviously, it’s impossible for anyone to say this. For some applications, a 386 might fit the bill. However, I am glad I encouraged so much discussion. For anyone who believes the computer industry is boring, we have most definitely proven that idea to be false.