You might buy a Mac to get away from Microsoft, but it can be hard to avoid Windows.
Take the iMac I'm typing this on. It has the Windows XP Start button at the bottom left corner of the screen. Above it, Apple's Safari Web browser sits next to Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7. While I read a message in Mac OS X's Mail program, a message from Windows pops up, asking whether it can install Microsoft's latest bug fixes.
It's all a jarring sight -- and visual proof that you no longer need to choose sides in computers.
Until two years ago, buying a computer meant picking Mac or Windows. If you bought a Mac and later needed a program only available on Windows, you were pretty much stuck having to buy a PC.
