I’ve spent a large part of the afternoon learning how to use a computer operating system I was previously a stranger to. Now that it’s almost time to start getting dinner on, I think I’ve pretty much sussed it. Not bad, considering the last operating system took me fifteen years and I’m still not really sure I get it.

I read Umberto Eco’s now classic piece about the Holy War between PCs and Macs years ago and I’ve been happily e-Protestant for nearly half my adult life.

Like most seasoned PC users, I have no qualms about getting under the hood and getting my hands dirty. I’ll quite happily edit the registry, make command-level alterations to various bits of software, and hunt out tips and tweaks online to make it all work better. Like most heavy computer users, the computer case is more often open than sealed.

But last night, I brought home an iMac. It’s very pretty. It’s not one of the new Intel-based ones with Boot Camp, so I’m stuck with the Mac operating system – but that’s kind of the point. It is the first desktop Macintosh computer that has crossed my threshold.

In less than 3 hours, I’d installed all of the software I was going to need any time soon. I’d configured the wireless network, set up sharing folders, installed codecs… and now, I’ve pretty much run out of things to do. Now all that’s left is to get down to the business of using it, rather than making it go.

I’ve always admired Macs from afar. Their sleek design and friendly user interface, coupled with their dedication to high quality audio and graphics has made them the choice of media professionals.

The desk space that used to be taken up with a large computer tower, a 17″ CRT monitor that was slightly larger than your average industrial microwave, a keyboard, mouse, assorted manuals, external mic and speakers, wireless dongle, various other peripheral USB devices and the ever-present screwdriver – now looks like this:

That’s it – everything. The screen is the CPU and hard drive, the wireless network connection, the speakers and the mic. It’s almost completely silent except for a slight buzzing, reminiscent of wet power pylons in the distance on a late Sunday afternoon.

In my search for minimalism, I’m very happy with it… but I’ll tell you one thing: I’m delighted to be coming to Macs this late in the piece. Had I started with Macs, I wouldn’t know a tenth of what I now know about computers.

It all looks a bit like a giant iPod – and like an iPod, you’re not allowed to see what’s going on underneath, and there are only a limited number of user-adjustable parts. With an iPod, you can’t crack it open and change the battery or upgrade the memory. Similarly, the iMac is entirely self-contained and un-tinkerable.

Like an iPod, it’s more expensive than its competitors for no easily discernible reason. Like an iPod, it’s all just so sleek and desirable.

I once read that the great thing about PCs is that you can be your own System Administrator – and the great thing about Macs is that you don’t need one. Certainly, if you want to use a computer effortlessly and have it just work – get a Mac. If you want to know about computers and have a useful understanding of them – get a PC.

I’ve put my time in. Next time I part with money for a new computer, it’s going to be a Mac. I think I’m sold.

But there’s a gamer in the house that’s not going to support a complete shift of platforms. In our three-person, four-computer household, there’ll always be room for a Windows machine. And its innards will be on display and in a permanent state of flux.