Last weekend we visited our Grandmother in Pasadena. We were pleasantly surprised that she wanted to hand down her iMac to us, to which I now eagerly await. I was given a quick tour of the iMac and some of its goodness by herself and an Apple salesman (we later went to the Apple dealer to drool over the latest widescreen iMac running Leopard). Why is this important to you or anyone else?

I’ve long been a supporter of the PC, specifically, Windows XP. Since Windows XP, PCs have become much easier to use; however, less safe and harder to secure. I enjoy the versatility offered by the PC, including its vast array of applications, hardware, games, and generally speaking, the openness of the architecture. The problem is, using a PC on the Internet generally wreaks havoc (if you’re not a tech guru or have someone in your family who prepared you for the online buggers). The usual scenario goes something like this: You visit a website and click a few links. Next thing you know, you’re web browser has been hijacked, you have three additional toolbars, pop-ups appear when you’re not even browsing the web, and your computer is uncharacteristically slow to respond.

I have received many phone calls from friends, family, and clients describing their PC problems. I could almost immediately chalk up the majority to spyware, malware, or whatever they call it these days (I didn’t have time to read the latest Internet news yesterday, therefore, I’m behind technologically… chuckle). The problem I see with PCs is they require too attention to maintain and secure, which most people simply don't have the time, competence, or desire to do.

Enter the iMac and Apple’s OSX. What a beautiful operating system. What a sleek design. Amazingly, I learned to use a computer on an old boxy, miniature-screened Mac. That same design philosophy is being used today – package all the technology inside and behind the monitor. Anyway, Apple’s latest operating system, Leopard, is gorgeous, and full of great applications out-of-the-box. I particularly enjoyed the photo management and automated backup using Time Machine. I was thrown by how intuitive things were, the eye candy, and the speed and efficiency of the machine. Programs opened in a snap with minimal lag, if any.

I never really paid much attention to Apple OSX news until more recently with the release of Leopard. Leopard received an amazing amount of press and now I know why. It’s attractive to computer users and you don’t need to worry (as much) about spyware, virus outbreaks, and the rest of the threats. (I digress: I believe OSX is derived from the UNIX kernel, a highly stable and efficient backbone. Which brings me to Linux. Generally thought of for the geek crowd only, however, thanks to Ubuntu, that is changing. Ubuntu is being labeled the most user-friendly Linux distribution available. Linux is an open source operating system that is known to be highly secure. No more spyware worries. No more virus scans. No more hack attempts. For a really good read about a Windows fan boy’s defection from Windows to Ubuntu, click here. I installed Ubuntu on my laptop last month and agree almost entirely with the thoughts of this author.)

And then there’s the iPhone, iTouch, MacBook Air, Apple TV Take 2, Time Capsule, the list goes on (see MacWorld 2008 coverage). Apple has started a revolution and Microsoft should be scared. I’ll be an Apple convert shortly…

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