Mac vs. PC

Mye portable difference engine be afflicted with aires and maladies of a moste nefarious sorte so that I fear to touch its keyboard with my sainted flesh. I do observe that its internal aire circulation device does stray now and again from the path of righteousness and that a stern tap is required to restore its gaze in the direction of the Almighty and cause the aire to flow freely once more. And it is similarly afflicted with the twin Curses of Sloweness and Insufficient RAM so that even the simplest piece of godly software does challenge it to its limit, causing internal grinding sounds that surely indicate the unholy presence of the Adversary's daemons. Yea, verily I do need a new one.

So, the question is, what to buy next? Mac or PC? The PC I'd like is probably going to run me about $1000. A similarly-equipped Mac would cost twice that much at least. No brainer, right?

The thing is, I really want a Mac. I recognize this as an emotional reaction and I'm fascinated (and repulsed) by Apple's ability to move me toward this kind of reaction (I consider myself a very logical buyer). With a Mac, it's the experience I'm seeking. I can't believe that a Mac would make me twice as productive or would crash half as often. But I look at my iPhone and say "I didn't know I needed this, but I can't live without it" and I wonder if the Mac would be the same way. I mean, I've had cell phones and Blackberries over the years, but the iPhone has revolutionized the experience for me. Maybe it would do the same for the laptop experience.

I've talked to a couple of folks who have used both Macs and PCs in business-productivity environments over the past few years and they say there's no major difference. The Mac is better put together, with higher-quality parts, and boots up/goes to sleep much faster. But other than that, it seems there's little difference.

And with the PC, I've got all the software already. With the Mac, I'd have to buy basics like MS-Office. And I'd have to move all my files over, with all the naming problems that entails.And I'd need new stuff like docking stations and probably a better monitor. With Apple, it's a short trip from $999 "starter" laptop to $3500 "how did they get me to spend this much" effective solution.

Still, still....

I'm going up to the Apple Store tomorrow to ask them this very question. They probably won't change my mind. After all, this has to be a logical decision and I don't see what argument they can make that can defend a doubling in price.

Plus, I look more like John Hodgman anyway...