And I can agree with you on that point aenariele, Macs are really pretty. But I don’t tend to look at the outside of my laptop much, and since I’ve never really worked with Macs, I can’t really comment on the usability of the OS.

I agree with you about Microsoft’s marketing strategies – they are very smart, and, with the little I know about Macs and PCs, I would still choose to get a PC over a Mac. Recently though my sister got a Mac. Even though it is sleek as hell and probably the most attractive piece of technology I have seen, PCs are made for people like me who just want to use it for specific needs without breaking down everything that’s going on. It really is the common man’s computer *plays appropriate fanfare* as much as I admire and respect macs… I don’t see it changing for a very long time.

But I digress.

It’s true, I do have a huge tech-fanboy tendency, but I know when it doesn’t apply. And that’s something most techs don’t have. They assume that the regular person wants to know what latency their RAM is running at, whereas the person is more concerned about if solitaire comes pre-installed or if they have to buy it separately.

While I wish I could impart this knowledge on others, it isn’t likely to happen, the the genius marketing decisions that Microsoft seem to make continue to keep them ahead of the pack. You can point out the increase in Mac users, but the point is, for every Mac user in Starbucks, there’s a Tim Hortens full of PC’s.

To be honest I’d expect you, as a tech-fanboy yourself, to fall into that category of users that get a bit out of touch with the majority of consumers as soon as they know a bit about a thing or two

But, like I said this was very well written, I especially liked how you compared the major points that Lauren was searching for with those that your sister was. Because to be honest, that’s what I look for in a laptop too. Like I usually say when you tell me to try some new techy thing, I just need something that works, that’s easy to use, that I can afford, and that won’t end up being more complicated and annoying than it’s worth.

I agree that what works for a basic computer user, may be laughable to someone who knows about computers, but it seems to me that shows that many “good” operating systems lack the ability to communicate their attributes into something the average user can use. While working from the other direction, making something simple before it’s as technically sound as it should be, may not be the best idea… I think that it’s still helping more people than it’s hurting.

When it comes to choosing a computer, I stress – it just has to work FOR ME.

But like I said, very well written, and I also have to add that when you write something that’s relatable and pertinent to your readers… I completely forgot my need to complain when you turn your personal blog into a tech blog .

Well done.