The Mac vs. Windows debate

I encountered the Mac fans in my life at the oddest occasions: weddings, graduation parties, 4th of July picnics and once at a funeral, yes at a funeral. Well it was really the wake, but that's a small detail. Anyhow, I'm at the Green Turtle just about to dig into some delicious wings when the fire of debate was lit again. A simple question like "what's your email address?", was the igniter. "Well my email address is johndoe@me.com". "What the heck is ME?" I inquire. Whooooshh. It begins with a small smirk, maybe a wry smile, the questions start... "you have all these other Apple products, wouldn't it be easier for you to sync them using a Mac OS"? "I'm scared of the mouse." I reply. What kind of a weird system uses only one button to operate and interact with the OS? It's almost communist. Now the name calling, tears and apologies all follow suit as we all reach the same conclusion; I'm a coward and everyone else who doesn't assimilate with the cool music commercials crowd is simply a Techno-Snob.

I actually had a Mac once. Well it was an Apple II and I was 10 and used it to play Leisure Suit Larry and Drug Wars on its white screen with soft blue text. Very advanced stuff, but hey you know what I don't remember? I don't remember a mouse with only one button. There I was facing the barrage of logical questions regarding my poor personal IT choices and all I want to do is get more buffalo sauce for woefully under-spicy wings. Then I remembered a recent blog I read on CIO.com and I chuckled (Yes. I recognize the irony: I don't like blogging but love to read them... my life is one big contradiction). In this particular blog the author discussed the fallout resulting from a blog he posted regarding a request to his IT staff for a Mac book as replacement for his current, slow and wimpy XP-enabled ThinkPad. His blog followers response posts were, well to say the least, not nice. The blogger went on to detail the link between the Mac vs. Windows sides of the debate and their representation of the business users vs. the IT. I thought the whole thing was funny because here I was being derided by friends for not fully taking advantage of user-centered Mac computers. Mac’s designed to handle the interactions of my various technological devices (mostly Apple products), and here I am defending myself based on the fact that the Mac is too simplistic and scary.

The blogger makes a valid case when he states that the IT staff never examines requirements and customer needs from the business or user side. IT always views business needs from a technological perspective - "why wouldn't you want to do it the right way", should be my IT department’s motto. The challenge is that without putting themselves in the user’s shoes it’s difficult for IT gain a better understanding of why an increasing amount of users have transitioned to Mac's in their personal lives and now find them suitable for business activities. Without this understanding they’ll continue their narrow minded approach to resolving IT challenges and this will continue to perpetuate the "us-vs.-them" ideology. BTW, “me.com” was apparently the older Mac users email domain name. I’m avoiding my Mac friend like the plague for the next few weeks as they make out with their newly acquired iPad’s. I joked that they can now make wireless phone calls and feel what it’s like to be in 1986 (seemed funny at the time).