Back in high school, I was a Mac fanatic.

For our publications class where we created our school newspaper and TV show, we used iMacs.

Whenever I saw one of those commercials pitting a conservative looking dope in a business suit (a Windows computer) against a casually dressed hipster (a Macintosh), I laughed.

Heck, sometimes I would even make the occasional “blue screen of death” joke to a Windows user, just to help showcase the inherent superiority of Mac OS X and to bolster my rank in the Apple Army.

But now that I finally own a Mac, the wool has been lifted up from over my eyes, and I have come to a remarkable realization:

“Steve Jobs, you REALLY need to shave.”

“Oh, and your computers aren’t perfect, the new iMovie 8 sucks, the MacBook Air will break if you breathe on it wrong, your digital distribution method through iTunes is completely whacko, the iPhone is too expensive “”

Yeah. As you all can see, I’m no longer a brainwashed “Mac-Man.”

I guess I didn’t realize that, until I finally purchased a Mac for my schooling at here at BGSU, that it’s really quite moronic to buy into consumer product loyalties and rivalries concerning material possessions such as computers. And it took me two years to realize that. Uhggghh.

Don’t get me wrong though; I really like my Mac. It’s got a high resolution display which is perfect for my graphic arts work, it’s got a pretty punchy engine beneath its nonexistent hood, and it’s got more peripheral ports than you, your mother, and Gary Coleman can handle!

I just don’t love it like Apple’s marketing department says I should.

I mean, I grew up on Window 98 and Windows XP, learning to use computers the Bill Gates way. Windows is a series of effective, utilitarian operating systems which serve as the industry standard for computing. Maybe Windows isn’t the most bug-free OS and it might not have the most elegant interface, but Windows has tons of customization and modification options to change these things if they are a problem to the user (which they really weren’t for me).

And I call Windows a utilitarian operating system as a compliment, not as a slam.

Windows is practical no matter what a consumer wants in a computer. Ooh, you want to do movie editing and flash videos and graphic design? Get a powerhouse PC desktop.

You just want to do word processing and Internet surfing? Then get a low-end PC for cheap!

You want a computer designed for heavy-duty stuff like Adobe Creative Suite programs and video production made by a computer corporation with an irreverent company policy?

Then get a Mac.

I guess I’m just trying to say this: don’t fall into that whole “PC sucks, Mac rules” guinea pig treadmill: it never ends. And I’m saying these things as a current soldier of the Mac Army. We’ve got great hardware, but those pervasive PCs are everywhere! Maybe that’s because they’re the industry standard (evidence that PCs are not worthless).

So nowadays, I try to come from a more moderate perspective. I grew up on Windows, but I choose to use Mac. And I realize the faults and strong points of both operating systems.

It’s important that we purchase computers for the things we will do on them. I mean, if I was a hardcore gamer, I’d definitely own a PC, because, as anyone with a Mac knows, the machines are not ideal for games. Most computer games are developed for Windows only.

Furthermore, if I would have wanted to still have money left in my wallet leftover from buying a computer (money? who needs it?), then I would have definitely bought a Windows machine. Macs are quite expensive. A bit too expensive, if you ask me ” Or if you ask ANYONE.

And finally, if I had known how easily those freaking MacBook Pros get scratched up (like the one I’m typing this column on), then I would have bought a Windows machine. Or I would have dipped my new Mac in molten plexiglass. Yay for third degree burns!

I have a Mac, I like it, and it’s a good computer. But I don’t really – HEY! Steve Jobs, get out of my room!

“But Levi, the new third generation iPod Nano plays videos in addition to photos and music! Don’t you want to watch a movie on a screen so small that you’ll need eyeglasses by the time you’re done watching Spider-Man 3?”

But I don’t like those Spider-Man movies, Mr. Jobs.

“Who cares? You can watch one on the new third generation iPod Nano!”

See what I mean?