My computer is not working and for some reason this is a source of tension for my boyfriend and I. Not in the fact that we have an online relationship and are unable to communicate (we have an offline, real-time relationship). This tension is in the form of a war between Mac and PC. Yes, it's like the Cardinals vs the Cubs, Mizzou versus KU, Liberals vs Conservatives (haha). My boyfriend and I disagree in that I am a Mac lover and he is a PC lover.

My computer can be easily fixed. This is where the tension/argument started - he said that Macs are an inferior product that they are overpriced. I then tried to explain to him what exactly went wrong with my Mac and then compared it to my past experience of PCs. The source of my computer not working is not the computer itself but it was ME. I am hard on my laptops. My Macbook suffered incredible damage before finally throwing in the towel. The operating software on it just needed to be re-installed (a two minute process at that). I accidently scratched my reboot disc across my dusty, hardwood floors therefore I need new OS software (upgrade!). The adapter broke after years of wrapping it inappropriately around my macbook instead of the handy little prongs that apple puts on their power adapters, new adapter, no big deal. The casing is cracked after years of spilling Diet Coke and dropping it on the hardwood floor (strictly cosmetic but I want it fixed nonetheless). After three years of use it needs a new battery, which is pretty reasonable. However, all these repairs/products are going to come at a cost of about $300-$400.

However, I love my Mac, and I am going to pay that money to fix it. Buyology, a book about why we buy certain products and engage in certain consumer habits - equated owning a Mac to owning to a religion. They found that the part of our brain that lights up on a fMRI when people are thinking about religion lights up the same when Mac users are thinking about their Macs or other Apple products. Interesting what you learn on NPR.

I realize that I am unable to change my boyfriend's opinion on why my Macbook is not working right now - even explaining the above to him. It seems to me that it is just going to be one of those rivalries like the Cardinals and the Cubs for cohabiting baseball fans/computer lovers.

Maybe Apple is a religion for me. Maybe if I were to get into that fMRI it would light up the same in my brain. All I know is that I am a true Mac fan, I love programs and the little itty bitty remote that fakes you out thinking you got a free iPod Shuffle with your computer. I love it and will be a Mac customer for life and my boyfriend is just going to have to deal with it. I guess though, I can consider myself lucky that he is a Cardinals fan.

-L