Dicing with the 'illicit temptation' of an Apple love affair

In the blistering London heat, sat in an poorly air conditioned Starbucks coffee shop with my good friend Elliot Harrison, in a fit of rage relating to the unbearable heat and an already poor internal heat distribution of which I blame on my regional upbringing, I blurted out something which I could never take back.

As Elliot typed away on our co-contributing project on my laptop, I lost my temper. I hit the screen with my first, forcing the tablet PC screen to flip forcefully back and twist slightly - though within its capabilities to do so. I then exclaimed, "I am sick of this crappy, bloody touch-screeny laptop with stupid Windows crashing and screwing me about. I want a Mac".

He has known me inside-and-out for three years, and he knew that I could not pull the "Tourette's card" on him this time. It had been said, and an eerie silence blanketed the room - a mug breaking as it hit the floor and one woman in the corner screaming uncontrollably as if she'd just seen a kitten get shot in the face.

OK that very last bit didn't happen - but you see my point. I am not a fan of Apple, and Elliot was taken back by what I had said.

Within minutes, still recovering from this haze I was in - the words sinking in while Elliot drags me to the Underground to the Apple Store on Regent Street. Before we went in, smoking the last inch of my cigarette, I looked him in the eyes and said almost mournfully, "I just want something to work?".

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I was in the Apple store for no more than two minutes. I clearly felt beyond my stretch and did not accept the culture I had entered. There is an Apple culture: a type of person, emotions on show, and a display of characteristics of which I was not comfortable with.

I walked out of the store with no Apple product in my hand. But two days later, I am toying with the idea of getting a Mac. If Apple made a smaller MacBook - something slightly larger than a netbook, but around the same width as my HP TouchSmart tx2, then I would seriously consider it.

It's not about the money, it's about reliability. And, though my opinions of Apple are not so positive, the one thing that sways me to their way of thinking is that their hardware and software work absolutely seamlessly. They are designed for each other, whereas Windows is designed to run on everything - and when I say "run", I actually mean "occasionally work".

Of course, this may not be much of a surprise seeing as lifelong Microsoft blogger, Mary Jo Foley, bought an iPad and that she "loves it". Many of course are expecting showers of molten rock, an end to worldwide capitalism or the appearance of one or more of the Four Horsemen in response to this unexpected news.

But I for now, believe that my closed-mindedness can open - blossom and develop, into a feeling of acceptance and non-discrimination for Apple products.

Though if Mary Jo can be charmed, wooed and seduced by the compact, sleek design and carefully developed devices, then frankly none of us are safe.