Mac or PC?

In my world, this is as loaded a question as “Republican or Democrat?” “Straight or Gay?” “Jon or Kate?” Oddly enough, people usually want to know this about you before anything else. I would liken the Mac/PC debate to the bitter rivalry between Canada and the United States. Though less ancient and less publicized than the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, close borders have sparked tensions for generations. For all their merits, the Canadians I’ve known have shown considerable animosity toward my countryfolk, and while they generally manage to stifle it publicly while within our borders, get a few in them and it will come spilling out in barrels. As the PC has a wide market share, Canada has a vast geographic area. It’s cheaper to live there. Like PC users, Canadians make no qualms about extolling the merits of their own land while negating those of their neighbor. They know all sorts of facts about their nemeses, which makes them better at deriding them.

Like the Apple community, most Americans, on the other hand, are only vaguely aware of a rustic people to the north.

Now, I try not to make a religious debate of it. In our company, there’s a PC camp, and then there’s everyone else who happens to use an Apple. Yes, we’re aware of the camp across the river, but as long as their harassment doesn’t escalate to physical violence, we’ll just let sleeping dogs lie.

I like my Mac because it works. And it looks cool. And I’d wager that everyone who cites price as the main cause of their disdain for Apple would readily buy the Lexus 450 over the Ford Focus if they could afford it. Nay, the resentment lies much deeper than mere economics, but I’m not going to go digging.