February 20, 2006 [LINK]
In last Thursday's News Leader, Fred Pfisterer shares his experience as a proud, satisfied Mac user coping with the bigotry of the cruel Windows-dominated world. Do we act like we are [a persecuted minority] some times? Well, you'd have to "walk a mile in our shoes" to understand. After suffering the indignity of PC techno-nerds spouting condescending jargon, Mr. Pfisterer opted for the "kinder, gentler alternative" of Macintosh. Once you go Mac, you never go back! Even though the Macintosh had established itself as a clearly superior platform by the early 1990s, millions of computer shoppers around the world let pushy geeks sell them Windows PCs against their better judgment, and the rest is history. After 22 years, the advantage to using Macs is a strong as ever: As Mr. Pfisterer says, you just plug it in and you get to work; no muss, no fuss. Viruses, Trojan horses, worms, or constant crashes? Not with Macs; well, hardly ever.* Mr. Pfisterer had previously written about putting family photo albums onto CD-ROMs, which I have also done; see Jan. 17 [corrected link].
I had thought that Apple's big "switch" promotion two years ago might have more effect, but most potential switchers are set in their ways by now. Ironically, the brainy pitch man for Apple, Jeff Goldblum, came across as condescending; people get very annoyed when they are told how simple their lives could be if they had just bought the other brand. Sorry, no offense! 
Even the phenomenal success of the iPod has not translated into much of a surge in Mac sales, at least not so far. Unlike many folks, I didn't have to be sold on the Mac, since I was in the thrall of Apple's karma from the get-go. Like Renee* Zellweger in Jerry Maguire*, they had me at 
* [Two name misspellings in one sentence!? Sheesh.]
Coincidentally, there was a very rare news report last week about a a virus that targets Macintosh computers. It apparently only spreads via instant messaging (iChat), however, so I'm safe. See techworld.com (via MacAddict and Washington Post [corrected link]).
I've updated the format of the Macintosh page for the first time in several months, with a new photo montage and few new links. I need to catch up with recent developments in the wake of the release of the first Intel-based Macs, which seems to be a mixed blessing.