By Adrienne Martini

Contributing Writer

There is a bitter divide in the heart of my household. No, it is not about politics. No, it is not about discipline or food or money, which is usually what parents with kids argue about. No, my husband and I can’t agree on computers.

Admittedly, it’s a small conflict. But like so many issues that divide this globe, our conflict is bipolar, where each party thinks his or her position is the only way to live.

Our 38th parallel is the doorway between my very small office and the rest of the house. On one side of the line is a PC world. On the side of the line where all things good and decent reside, sits my Mac laptop, on which I am writing this story. It is my firm belief that his PC is, in technical terms, "stupid." He feels the same about my beloved Mac.

Such divides aren’t uncommon. The quickest way to start a rumble in a circle of computer geeks is to state a firm preference for one platform or the other. If you really want to see some chips fly, bring up Linux. That, however, is another story.

If I may be so bold, there are broad generalizations that can be made about each user _ and they aren’t the ones in the popular commercial with the older, glasses-wearing, pudgy "PC" and the young, art student, lean "Mac." Instead, PC users tend to view their computers as a pragmatic tool, much like one would describe a wrench. Mac users, on the other hand, tend to view their chosen as a piece of electronic whimsy, which also happens to do some useful things.

At least, that is how Knoxville, Tenn.,-based blogger Randy Neal describes his relationship with his PC. He has been using PCs since "the very first IBM PC with 64K of RAM, PC-DOS, and one floppy drive," he says.

"I wouldn’t say I’m a PC/Windows `lover’ (any more than I love my toaster, although I’m awfully fond of the bagels that come out of it)," he said. "But the current Microsoft desktop and server operating systems are pretty good. And they are a lot more reliable and easier to work with than in the past."

Most computer users start on whatever type of machine is the most popular in their chosen field. Business and education tend to rely on PCs that run Microsoft products. Most creative fields, such as design and publishing, run on Macs.

Educational computer systems _ like the ones on the State University College at Oneonta and Hartwick College campuses in Oneonta _ tend to be PC-based.

"Back when the decision was made to go ahead an offer a laptop to the students, mostly what you saw in business was all Windows based," said Bill Beyer, Hartwick College’s director of technology services.

Faculty and students do have the option to use their Mac on campus, but the support services are limited. Beyer and the Hartwick tech support staff generally directs Mac users to the Macintosh User Group of Oneonta or MUG ONE.

"One of the reasons we shy away from supporting both systems is that support staff need to know both systems," he said. "People tend to chose one system over the other and develop vertical knowledge in one system."

As for Beyer’s personal platform preferences, he said, "I am not a Mac user. I use Windows."

He does admit, however, that this choice is largely one made by default. "I’m kind of indifferent about the whole thing," he adds.

Elsa Travisano, president of MUG ONE, which meets the first Wednesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. on the SUCO campus during the academic year, is a bit more adamant about the benefits of her chosen machine.

"Put simply, Macs are a pleasure to use," she said. "The Mac is largely free of the virus and spyware problems that plague the Windows platform. This advantage alone has brought a wave of new and returning Mac users in recent years."

Travisano is also the chairwoman of Apple’s User Advisory Group Board and has been a certified independent Macintosh computer consultant for the past 20 years. She speaks highly of the Mac’s ease of use.

"As a consultant I’ve worked with many people who never used a computer before, or were switching from using a PC, and who found themselves happily up and running within hours. Yet, although it’s easy for beginners to use, at the other end of the spectrum, it’s got plenty of horsepower for serious number crunching or high-end photo and video work," she said.

Travisano, in short, loves her Mac "for its power and its ease of use. It feels like an extension of myself."

Macs and PCs can accomplish the same tasks _ and even run the same software _ with relatively equal ease. But Mac users find that the system’s small, human touches are what continue to win them over.

Like longtime Mac lover and ad designer Ian Blackburn.

"The Mac’s an extravagant platform," he said. "Take, for example, the humble little clock widget _ the second hand vibrates just a bit every time it snaps into a new position, behaving remarkably like a second hand on a real, physical clock. Some programmer spent a lot of time on that one detail.

"I don’t even need a clock thingy on my computer, but I keep that one sitting there, needlessly sucking up processing cycles, just because it’s so nicely done. It’s like a Robert Graves pizza cutter _ you feel a bit silly for even owning such a thing, but you enjoy it."

It’s that enjoyment factor that keeps me, at least, returning to the mighty Mac. My husband, who works for SUCO, finds solace in knowing that his computer will play nicely with most of the networks he is likely to encounter.

Choice is almost always a good thing _ even if your spouse’s choice is the wrong one.