You'd think that the prospect of a resolution to this issue rivals "peace", "ending starvation", "curing AIDS" as worldwide focus topics go.

The reality is that a computer is a computer. If you play games, get a PC. If you want simplicity and stability, go with a Mac. If you want extensibility and choice, buy a PC. If you are the kind of person who never changes the oil in their car, buy a Mac. People will argue that you have choice in a Mac -- choice as to what software and, in some cases, what hardware you buy. Others would argue that PCs are stable and reliable. The reality is that they are both right and wrong.

And who really cares, anyway?

I think that the biggest barrier to acceptance between these two people is the realization that it doesn't really matter in the end. Corporations are either evil or good, depending on your viewpoint, and the belief that Microsoft, Intel, Apple, Dell, etc. are somehow above each other in their corporate philosophies and practices is pure bullshit. For every monopolistic move Microsoft makes, there are lawsuits from Apple against whoever it is leaking the information of the day. For every Apple "market research" study they tout that is inevitably biased, there is a countering Microsoft-backed study that is just as specious.