The following are a few of the reasons I enjoy the PC, and thus Windows. While I also use Linux, it’s only a small part of my PC experience.

#5 Custom Build

Not long after learning what a computer was I found out how to take them apart, upgrade the memory and processor, and ultimately build an entire PC from scratch. It’s one of the great aspects of the PC market, as opposed to Apple, is being able to choose from a wide range of components and parts, which also means lower prices due to competition. There was fun in figuring out how powerful a computer my money could buy. It seems that this era of hacking together a machine is slowly coming to an end as the computers of today are becoming more specialized and built in smaller form factors.

#4 Inexpensive

Compared to an Apple computer of the same exact hardware usually the PC can be bought for close to half the price. It’s difficult for me to pay the Apple Tax, as many call it, when I’m a power user in the Windows world. This is definitely one of the reasons that I’ve continued to build and own a PC over a Mac. Some argue the quality of the Mac’s parts are better, and in some cases it’s true, however you also can’t get a top of the line component for the Mac since you have to go with the limited options Apple gives you.

#3 Gaming

Most computer games on the market are geared for PC, and more specifically, Windows and DirectX. This is a fact and any self-respected gamer will confirm this. I can still remember fiddling with the autoexec.bat file to get the Sound Blaster audio card working for the X-Wing Star Wars game. I remember getting Doom from Software Etc and being amazed by the graphics, leading me to reading 3D Game Programming books and attempting to make a video game. Thus gaming is a big reason why many including myself own a PC.

#2 Choose Your Own Programs

Once Windows became dominant in the marketplace, the application developers followed closely behind, eventually developing millions of programs – many of which were not very good and similar in function. This gave users a lot of choice, which we now know can lead to a lot of decent, but not great, products. Compared to the Mac where I can hardly find a program

#1 QBasic

In 4th grade I learned how to program a little turtle with a language called Logo, which sparked my interest in what I later learned was called programming. At the time we were just trying to make cool art. A year later I started learning QBasic, reading the help documents to learn the language which Windows was founded from, and have been a programmer ever since. After QBasic I fell in love with Visual Basic/C++/Interdev and finally, Visual Studio 2005-2010. I’ve always wanted to know how everything works, and this pushed me into learning to love telling a computer exactly what I wanted it to do.

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