I happen to be a dedicated PC user. My first computer was an Apple IIc (portable!*) but when the Apple II platform was rudely abandoned for the–in retrospect–much better Macintosh, my 10-year-old self couldn't handle the rejection and switched to a blazingly fast 8088 PC with a 10 MB hard drive and MS-DOS 6.22. Suck on it Steve Jobs!

But I work on a Mac all day now and I spent this past Saturday trying to install OS X on my PC. It's not exactly easy, but it's theoretically possible now. I can't run Final Cut Pro yet, but I did manage to boot up and get a webpage to load. Suck on it Bill Gates!

I have nothing against either platform. They both have their advantages: Macs have Final Cut Pro, and PCs have Civ IV. At this point I really believe that the differences are largely economic. I built a $900 PC this fall that would have cost twice as much at the Apple Store with comparable specs. And I got to stick the parts together myself.

I've preambled all this because Apple is reviving their snappy Errol Morris-style commercials with people talking in front of white backgrounds. Actually, it probably really is Errol Morris , who could direct this stuff in his sleep now, and probably does. But now they have two of my favorite nerd actors instead of "real" people. Justin Long and Daily Show "Resident Expert" John Hodgman. They're still using the same questionable conventional wisdom about being "easier" and "simpler" and the idea that Macs never need to reboot is just silly but if you enjoy them without trying to argue they're pretty great. The Virus one is definitely the best, and not just because it's true. They download extremely quickly too… even on my PC.

*it had a handle and everything!

There’s a small update on Jeff Whitty’s Web site. You know, the one who called out Jay Leno for his cheap gay jokes. It’s not as much a “here’s the dirt on the fallout” report, as much as it is a reflection on the whole incident. But there is this tidbit.

I spoke with Jay Leno yesterday, Tuesday, and we had a good
and feisty chat. I appreciated his call greatly. I’m not sure I was able to articulate my position well, and we both seemed to be gazing into a puzzle, to which the only
response is: comedy is tough.

The rest of the letter is a worthy read, too. I think.

Every once in a while I’ll look up from my tifaux-induced stupor, fed only by a select cadre of rigorously tested and approved television shows, and wonder what’s going on with the rest of the world. Is it true, I ask myself, that 11 million people watch Las Vegas? Seriously?

Yeah, I thought it was cancelled, too.

Who are these people? Do they watch good shows, too, or do they stick to Two and a Half Men and Las Vegas and Crossing Jordan and Invasion (if any of those shows are even still on the air)? Why would a person, when faced with the choice of, say, House, versus pretty much anything else, choose to go with the “anything else”?

During the last presidential election, I read some AP story about the television preferences of various voting groups. The favorite show among Republicans was Everybody Loves Raymond. The favorite show among Democrats was Will and Grace. The favorite show among undecideds was Everybody Loves Raymond. Which, first of all, seems to predict (or explain???) the results of the election, and, secondly, doesn’t reflect well on the American population as a whole.

Everybody Loves Raymond was a nice, quiet, character-based show, that I can’t in good conscience criticize. But it’s most people’s favorite show on television? And Will and Grace… again, I say, seriously? This show hasn’t been funny since… umm… well, I remember laughing once. Many years ago.

I don’t know anyone who watches these shows. And I’m a woman of the people; I fraternize with all types. So find me a fan of Las Vegas, one of the select 11 million. Maybe they can shed some light on the inexplicable success of all this bland crap — I’ll keep an open mind and won’t even call it bland crap to their face. And then I’ll introduce them to their remote.