Nigel Kendall swaps his Mac for a Windows PC for a week

I am typing this on an impressive new Toshiba laptop running Windows XP Media Center (XPMC), the new version of Microsoft’s globally dominant Windows software. XPMC is available only to those who buy a new PC with it pre-installed, and is designed to simplify the task of organising digital content such as photos, movies and music. It can also receive and record television pictures when connected to a household aerial. Generally speaking, it works well.

However, its very existence seems to me to be a tacit admission that standard XP is getting it wrong, that the existing interface is too difficult to use in the first place. This latest system, after all, offers nothing that you cannot do already if you are proficient with Windows and PC hardware. Which is a big "if".

I write as someone who has been spoiled by simplicity for years. I’ve been an Apple Macintosh user since 1993 and have never had any serious contact with Windows. Since I don’t play games on computers — that’s what consoles are for — the four Macs that I’ve owned have always done what I want them to do. I can write, surf the internet, pick up e-mail, and, as the concept of the computer as a digital hub has grown, I’ve started using them to edit movies, store music and photos and even design entire magazines. None of my Macs has let me down, and all the computers that I have owned are still in daily use.

Coming to Windows for the first time is therefore a bit of a heart-stopping experience and, though I’ve been pleasantly surprised by XP’s apparent ease of use, there’s always the feeling that something nasty and utterly incomprehensible is lurking just below the surface. This, for instance, is the message that I received when trying to install my first piece of Windows software: "A read-only file c: inetwh32.dll was found while attempting to copy files to the destination location. To overwrite the file, click the Yes button, otherwise click the No button." I do not doubt that this means something to someone. I, however, am not that someone.

Other frustrations that I’ve encountered are largely the result of things that I take for granted on a Mac not transferring to another platform. Why do the applications always quit when you close a window? Why can’t the system display Japanese and Russian properly? Why do the bubble messages designed to help irritate me so much? After a week with a Windows machine I get the feeling that this system is designed by people who know a lot about computers. Macs, on the other hand, seem to be designed by people who know a lot about people. If you like Windows and are comfortable with it, keep using it. There’s very little to choose between the two systems in terms of what they can do. But if you find Windows a chore, think about a change. Now can I have my Mac back, please?

Why buy Windows?

1 Everybody else does
Windows is installed in around 90 per cent of PCs worldwide, ensuring that nearly all external devices are compatible with Windows.

2 Easy to upgrade
Most Windows machines are designed to be taken apart so that the components can be replaced.

3 Cheaper initial cost
The cheapest no-frills Dell desktop PC costs £372. Apple doesn’t do no-frills systems, and its cheapest desktop offering is £649.

4 You use it at work
If it’s what you use at the office, you’ll probably want to use it at home.

5 You like to tinker
Thanks to the plethora of devices available, Windows PCs can be tinkered with like no other, leaving you to sort out any resulting problems.

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