Mac computing the same as Windows computing

Mac computing isn't that different from Windows computing anymore. OS X and Vista are pretty much on equal footing these days.

For example, Vista's GUI desktop is as pleasant to use as Mac's, if not more so.

And both Mac and Vista have their share of problems, sometimes the same problems! I cite three examples:

1. Occasionally, the machine fails to go to sleep on schedule (after 30 minutes of idle activity).
2. Occasionally, the machine fails to re-acquire the wireless network.
3. Occasionally, the machine fails to respond to the keyboard.
   

It would appear that, regardless of whether you're in the Mac camp or the Windows camp, power management and wireless networking remain technical challenges for design engineers.

It's also worth noting that while Vista may cause some headaches in supporting certain hardware (usually due to poorly written third-party drivers), this is balanced by the fact that some hardware receive no Mac support whatsoever.

So I seem to be drawn back into the Windows camp. BUT, I haven't give up on Mac OS X yet. The reason is this...

DRM. Digital Rights Management. Vista embraces it.

This may not be much in the public consciousness right now but it will be in the future. As Tom Merritt, Executive Editor at CNET, correctly points out, Vista and DRM are too new and it's too early for users to notice. But once these people realize they can't do what they want to do with their media content, once they see they can't play their music or their movies, they will cry foul. They will blame Microsoft and Vista. They will wish they had gone with Apple.

Just as I had predicted the disaster in Iraq four years ago and sat back waiting patiently for the inevitable outcome to unfold, I now sit back patiently and wait for the DRM storm to descend upon us...