Though I am not completely disagreeing with 'ya, you are making an incogruent argument.

For MOST end-users, a computer is just a machine they use to open their email, Word docs, web pages, and pictures. That's it. They are not setting up networks, VPNing into work, running an Apache server, using the machine as an MP3 server, accesssing their machines remotely, none of that...

So, s/he may have to learn to click "Start" > "Program Files" as opposed to opening the app from the Dock on OS X? Big deal! After the application is open (Word, Excel, IE, Firefox, Photoshop, even Outolook/Entourage), all the menus are identical! There is no learning curve. So, the user may have to learn that "Ctrl" in Windows is "Command (or Apple)." Again, big deal. I use Windows at work, and Mac at home. I have yet to find a Mac application that is a drastic departure from its Windows version.

My 12-year old has only used Windows machines; when he wanted to borrow my wife's iBook, it took him a whopping 30 seconds to figure out the concept. I think we're making too much of the argument that if a child uses Macs, then s/he'll be at a disadvantage later in file if s/he has to use Windows. I simply don't buy that. The concept is NOT that much different. Remember MS "borrowed" Apple's design for Windows 3.0. Before that, PC users were typing away at their DOS prompts. They certainly process things differently, but the actual user interaction is not that different.

Juan

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Whenever I text "Barack," my phone suggests the word "Capable." I guess my my phone IS pretty smart.