WINDOWS, APPLES AND WHINERS

By now surely you have heard of Boot Camp in relation to the Windows and Macintosh computers? Well, because of this software you will be able to load Windows XP onto your Macintosh computer. What's funny and perhaps a bit ironic about all of this is that there were some hard-line Mac users who think that Gates is the devil, Windows "sucks" etc. but now think that this integration of the two is great. Way to stick to your guns. These flip-flopping dolts sound like the fair-weather anybody of "American Crisis".

I was surfing and found an article by one nerd which criticizes and article written by another nerd. Apparently Andrew Kantor of USA Today set off Jason Snell of MacWorld with his [Kantor's] article. According to Snell, "Kantor's piece might be one of the most ridiculous Apple-related articles I've read in years. Batter up! Let's take it as it goes." Yes, let's "take it as it goes". I will paste the portions of Snell's gripes from Kantor's article in case you don't want to read either nerd's article (the link really is there for luxury...it's not worth the time in either case).

Today, according to Information Week, the Mac's desktop share is less than 5%. But Boot Camp, say some people, will overcome that hurdle and help propel the Mac into the mainstream. Businesses will buy Macs for their employees, confident they'll be able to run all the needed applications. Gamers, who have pretty much shunned the Mac because the gaming picks are slim (to say the least), will be able to run those games on their Mac hardware.

So says Kantor, now for Snell's "thoughts".

Okay...Who are these "some people"? Many businesses buy Macs for their employees now; many of those Mac users also have to use PC applications, forcing the companies to also buy them a PC. For cross-platform Mac users, Boot Camp and its ilk mean a company can save on its computer hardware budget. But is anyone really saying that, now that Mac hardware can run windows, businesses are going to run out and start buying Macs so that they can run Windows? Maybe "some people" are, but those sound like pretty dumb people. Then again, I've found that mentioning stupid arguments in a column - whether they're real or made-up - is a great way to prove my point. It's a rhetorical device called the straw man. Fortunately, I don't need a straw man today - I've got Andrew Kantor.

So the nerd battle lines have been virtually drawn with one pissed off nerd attacking another nerd's opinion. The thing that caught my eye most of all was the fact that Snell attacked Kantor's position citing a logical fallacy in that Snell just can't seem to figure out who those "some people" are...but I guess Snell could figure out who "many businesses", "many of those Mac users" and "the companies" are right? In the end the rest of the article is a trainwreck basically crying about Kantor's article; not a great read, but funny in its intent. I think that Snell is the biggest loser in this event, but so long as the internet allows for the perpetuation of criticizing other nerds: Snell did have at least one thing right; he doesn't need a straw man today, he needs a straw woman.

The bottom line is that if you spend your valuable time trying to decide such inane crap like which is better Windows or Mac, you're a saucebox. Computers in general are toolboxes; they do different things. Get over yourselves and get out more. Tux p0wns both of your asses anyway, suckers.

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