A great demographic shift is underway in American society. A once powerful majority, thought to be in power forever, is almost at a minority status and beginning to suffer the consequences of political and economic might. Unfortunately, what this means is a rise in discrimination and hate.

I’m talking about Windows-users.

Back in the ’90s, Microsoft was so powerful and successful that no one could challenge it. “Windows-compatible” was a must for any program that wanted to be successful. Thanks to a strong dollar Bill Gates was the richest man in the world. The company’s initial public offering in 1986, according to the New York Times, resulted in 10,000 millionaires by 2000. It was the Google of the decade.

Apple, Microsoft’s only real rival in business, was left far behind. The first computer I ever used was an Apple IIe, complete with two-color monitor and dual seven inch floppy disk drives. I remember seeing a commercial for the iMac G3 and thinking to myself “Apple is still around? I didn’t know that.”

But then, things began to change. Several governments sued Microsoft for allegedly monopolistic practices regarding Internet Explorer; Linux started receiving more publicity as a “better” alternative; and the rise of cell phones and the internet drastically changed the way we thought about how computers should work. Aesthetics, high-speed internet capability and integration between all your hardware became the goal. Microsoft’s business model had always been focused on PC’s and workspace computers, leaving laptop development to hardware manufacturers.

But in the early part of the last decade mobility became important and laptop capabilities grew dramatically to compete with desktops. And Apple had good laptops and they were good-looking laptops, with good internet capabilities. After nearly a decade, Steve Jobs had struck back against Bill Gates.

Then there came the knock-down blow: the iPod. Apple won the kids and therefore the war. Brand loyalty begins young – if your parents buy Coca Cola you’ll probably buy Coca Cola, regardless of anything Pepsi does. My generation overwhelmingly switched to Apple, following up iPods with iMacs and Macbooks when we got to college, or for the lucky few, in high school.  

Microsoft has fallen behind – almost no one uses Internet Explorer now, in favor of Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome; the Zune was an utter failure; Windows 98 and Windows Millennium were poor follow-ups to Windows 95; SkiFree’s source code was lost for 12 years.

Apple’s resurgence has led to a rise the amount of discrimination faced by Windows-users. There are jobs where Windows-users are asked not to apply. Few people seem to understand the stress or shame experienced by us victims of “Windowsphobia.”

A few cutting remarks, like “Vista sucks” or “I bet the Windows tent outside the Student Union crashes before it does what it’s supposed to” can ruin the self-esteem or sense of well-being of any Windows-user. Or those “I’m a Mac and I’m a PC” commercials. Those nearly bring me to tears. Worst of all was a picture of the anthropomorphic form of various operating systems: Vista was depicted as a man in a leather harness.

Words can hurt, people. Words can hurt.

Well, I like Vista, and I’m not going to let anyone make me feel bad about my Operating System. I’ve owned a Vista-capable computer since 2007, and I have never, never, never, ever had a single problem with it. I came close a few days ago when I downloaded Audacity, but that turned out to be a problem with the program, not Vista. In fact, the last a version of Windows I was using crashed and I got a Blue Screen of Death, it was the mid-90s and the computer was running Windows 3.1.

Windows-users: be proud, walk tall and don’t let the hate get to you. Mac-users: stand-up for dignity and fight Windowsphobia. We’re no better than you and Mac has no inherent superiority to Windows. It’s all just a matter of personal preference.

End the hate. Be the cyberlove.

Matthew M. Robare is a Collegian columnist. He can be reached at [email protected].