I’m apparently a rarity in the volatile world of technology. You see, I’m a multi-platform nerd. I’m equally at home on the Mac as I am in Windows and Linux. I’m pretty skilled with DOS, Solaris, NetBSD, OS/2, and I could even handle AIX again if I had to. I’ve spent time with Amigas, I was in the BeOS developer program, and I started my computing life with a TRS-80 and a TI-99/4a. Finally, I’m deeply familiar with Palm OS, Windows CE, Newton OS, Psion’s EPOC/32 and the later Symbian OS. I guess you could say I’m pretty familiar with a wide range of platforms.

So, why is it that its so easy to find so much platform hate on the internet? Its like there are all these little Nazi-like hate groups out there directing their intense loathing at computing platforms instead of people. Sure, I’ve clearly illustrated my distaste for Microsoft and their marketing practices for years and I’ve even stated that it will be a very long time before I start using Windows Vista, but I still use Windows XP (in Boot Camp) and Windows 2000 (in VMware’s Fusion). I’m just wondering why, like its automotive counterpart Road Rage, people engage so blatantly in what I am calling OS Outrage.

Depending on where you look, and its not that hard to Google this stuff, you can find platform-specific hatred spewing from almost every internet orifice. The most common groups seem to love Windows and really, really hate the Mac. The second most common group really, really hates Windows and loves the Mac. What I don’t quite understand is why. I dislike Microsoft for its business practices. I have issues with Windows, but I also have issues with Mac OS X and even Apple.

Pull down a menu in Mac OS X and if you don’t click right on the item, the menu disappears without doing anything. In Windows, if you miss, the menu stays there for you to try again. Is this enough for me to publish a diatribe against Apple and condemn Mac OS X as the worst tripe on the planet? No. Not in the least. Its an issue, and that’s all it is. You get over it and you move on. Should I blast Steve Jobs and Apple for dropping the 4GB iPhone and the 8GB iPhone’s price by US$200? Sure, and I did.

There are, however, others who apparently feel the need to take it much, much further. Some of the results are funny, even for Windows users. Take a look at someone’s idea of Windows Really Good Edition. Others take a realistic look at it with an edge of humor, but clearly someone isn’t happy with Microsoft. Check out the Windows Truth Zone, and be sure to click on the Oh! BSOD link at the bottom of the page. Even more have taken out a Jihad platinum card on Microsoft loathing, as evidenced by Microsuck.com (formerly F@#$microsoft.com).

Apple haters can be quite creative. In fact, this first one (warning about some of the language) on YouTube even credits a Mac for editing the video. Take a look at MacReality for an educational view of why Macs are so bad. Then there are truly angry that just ooze OS Outrage such as iMac Hate, a site brimming with anti-Mac information. There’s even a page on the site which singles out the news headlines about Apple which shed poor light on the Mac. Finally, you have to be a FaceBook user to view it, but there’s the I Hate Mac OS, Macbooks, and basically anything Mac! group page, which has 281 members.

Again, I’ll ask the question. What exactly is it that injects so much hatred, bile, and spite into an argument as simple as what operating system people use? Maybe its a simple psychological aspect of human behavior which suggests they must denigrate what they don’t use to make themselves feel better about what they do. Maybe humans just can’t resist starting a war, no matter how small the source of the friction may be. At least with Road Rage there is a perceived reason, no matter how unrealistic it may be, for the intense emotions to come to bear.

It is in that where the truth may truly lie. Could just being human be the cause of all this heartache? In fact, how much real heartache is there? Try as I might, I had to try really, really hard to find Mac hate sites. There were a lot more Windows hate sites, but there weren’t an unlimited number. All in all, I submit that there really isn’t all that much hate out there. Most people apparently just get a computer based on whatever reasons they had at the moment and they use it.

So, the moral of the story is that there is no real reason why anyone should espouse hatred of an operating system. Those who do are simply being human and expressing their own personalities. It’s my suggestion that we all just try to get along and not worry about what OS a person chooses to use.

EXTRA FEATURE: In case you were wondering, here are some sites which engender hatred in other operating systems. There’s I Hate Solaris, which is a rather small site. There are no Linux hate sites, as far as I can tell, so here’s the Google search results. The only hate I could find for Amiga was a game called H.A.T.E., an acronym for Hostile All Terrain Encounter. I was able to find an interesting diatribe on DOS hatred. Finally, I came across a page which took statistics from Google searches and compiled it into a Love/Hate chart for a few OS.

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