I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Toys 'R Us kid...

To all the people who've argued with me about my choice of computers over the last five years, I'd like to bring you up to speed on my Mac.

I bought this thing on academic discount back in 1995, I think, when a 603 was still faster than the crop of Pentiums out there. I think I paid about $1800 for it, monitor included. In the intervening years, PCs grew more powerful and Mac applications started demanding more power (like 604 PowerPCs). Having worked in several Windows-dependent businesses since then (and currently), what I've noticed is the necessity of replacing entire systems every three years insofar as Intel decided not to make Pentiums replaceable like they did the earlier x86 chips.(4.13.00: please excuse the previous brainfart. I have been corrected) A friend of mine who will go nameless has recently entreated her folks to replace hers.

In the space of ten minutes this morning, the 1995-era PowerPC became a 2000-era G4 PowerPC. Five minutes after that the 1992-era mouse (don't get me started on the crappy mice Apple makes now) is replaced by a Wacom Graphire tablet (cordless, batteryless pen and mouse included). Some months back USB capability was one PCI card installation (another five minutes). Total cost, $640, shipping included. Was your last up-to-date Windows machine this cheap?

Don't get me wrong. I like Windows. I use it professionally and NT is one of the most stable OSes I've worked with (95, on the other hand, can suck rocks from my butt). However, it's stuck on a legacy chip that still works off the idea of complex instruction sets, when everything else is using RISC for its unmatchable, naked speed. If Apple could move off the Motorola 68000 series, first by emulation and then by fiat, I can't understand why Bill Gates couldn't retool Windows for the G4--emulating Pentium IIIs at first,then slowly telling the rest of the world to catch up with the times and releasing a G4-native Windows, which would scream compared to the current PIIIs (which are, again, slower than the current Mac microprocessor).

Then again, Microsoft's got competition from Linux to contend with. End users like yourself are snickering while reading this, but Linux powers more servers out there than you'd imagine and the numbers are only rising. And it doesn't cost anything and the source code is open to systems people. Apple is not quite as shaking in their boots over the analogue, the fascinating but experimental BeOS, which still to some extent depends on Apple cooperation to exist. It's up to Mr. Gates to decide how to keep his grip.