TECHNOBUDDY’S BIG Q&A

Q: (I’ve rewritten this excellent note simply because it was too long to print. I’ve kept the essence of it intact but the words are mine.) I used to have PCs but I always had to upgrade those for the revised version of Windows, then deal with their initial bugs, later on with viruses, and so on. Now I’ve switched to a Mac and it works so much better and is much less trouble. Since you happily own a PC and your wife a Mac, I admire your tactful but well-balanced recommendations. But wouldn’t it be interesting to find out how many PC users switched to Mac and vice versa?

— Ashok Kulkarni

A: I guess the information is out there somewhere — people who change from one to another. My honest opinion, for what it is worth, is that neither computing system is trouble-free and both are adequate to what most people do. I have no real problem

(since I use anti-malware software) with malware with my PC. And I prefer using my PC to using my wife’s Mac.

My thinking is all of this is like growing up with a religion. I mostly grew up with PCs, despite my time with Macs. They feel more comfortable to me, and better bargains as far as power-to-cost ratio. I still use my wife’s Mac on occasion but it doesn’t feel as comfortable to me as a PC. I’m willing to accept the tradeoffs between the machines. People eventually find what is right for them. My wife did. You did. And, in truth, I did, too.