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I know both sides think they're right in this ongoing debate.but I'm taking a stand.

I’m a Mac guy. I have many friends, (most of them in fact) who are PC people, and I love them, they’re like misguided children. They like what they’re used too, and like youngsters…sometimes they don’t know enough to know what they don’t know. As a result, when it’s time to get a new computer, they usually get another PC…but not all of them. Slowly, sometimes stealthily, even the diehard PC owners drop by the Apple store, or take a turn behind the keyboard of a friend’s iMac or MacBook, and then…life is never quite the same.

Now it was easier for me, because my first computer was the first Mac. I was working at NBC at the time and they actually gave us a check to defray the cost of buying a computer (try finding a station that still does that). It was Mac 128, it was small and cute, it weighed a ton ( OK 16.5 pounds) and truth be told, it didn’t do very much, but it did what I needed it to do, which was basically write, edit and print and…I was in the club, the Mac club.

Clearly Macs and PC’s have both evolved in the 20 years since, but to my mind Apple is just running on a faster, cleaner track. Their design is clearly more elegant and functional and in some cases like the iPod and iPhone, arguably revolutionary.

There are some things you will miss if you come over to the bright side, (like viruses) and you’ll lose some of those troubleshooting skills you’ve developed after years of trying to get past PC crashes and freeze ups because well, there just aren't that many troubles for Mac owners to shoot.

Remember the day you decided to finally get that Hi-def TV? You were in the store and for the first time you saw a hi-def and regular tv playing the same program or ballgame at the same time…game over. Well it’s hard to find a store that sells both Macs and PC’s (Circuit city and CompUSA do) and even if you do the salespeople frequently don’t know enough to give an informed opinion. So my advice is go to a well- known PC store and find the best computer for you, write down the price and specs, then go to the closest Apple Store and compare (or you can do it the other way around). Mac’s tend to be a bit more expensive, but in this case…you get what you pay for.

One word of caution…if you’re looking for a laptop but don’t want to become a Mac person…DO NOT pick up the new MacBook Air and play with it!

You’ve been warned.