Socialist or capitalist – which one are you?

Or are you a bit of both? Someone who likes to think they have a sense of social responsibility but is far from devoid of materialistic tendencies. You go on anti-capitalist demonstrations, but you take an EasyJet flight. Are you going to vote Labour or Tory? Or is neither quite right? There’s a cigarette paper between the policies these days. Maybe you’d like a cross-party government?

Football or rugby?

Or do you like a bit of both? Looking forward to this summer’s World Cup in South Africa, but there’s nothing like a bit of 6 Nations to whet the appetite.

Beer or wine?

Or does it depend on how the mood takes you? Perhaps it’s beer with a curry, but wine with pasta? Another choice – red or white? Or does that depend on what you’re eating? Lager or ale? Maybe that’s a summer/winter thing? Or maybe it’s not that clear cut.

Introvert or extravert?

Are you always the life and soul of the party? Or do you have off days when you’d rather bury yourself in a quiet corner? Or do you always bury yourself in a quiet corner, but sometimes find yourself a willing centre of attention?

City or countryside?

Definitely city – love the bustle. Well, except for when I want to escape to the countryside. Maybe a bit of both?

Art or science?

Come on – you must be one or the other? Right hemisphere or left? Are you more of an intuitive, perhaps visual person, or do you process everything in a highly analytical way? Surely, you always think the same way?

Mac or PC?

In a society so obsessed with choice, we seem strangely fixated on putting things in “buckets”; pigeon holing; pinning a proverbial flag to the mast. We seem uncomfortable with inconsistency – “this person always acts like this”, “BMWs are always well designed”. Perish the thought that behaviour is largely circumstantial and company x’s products might not always hit the mark.

The Mac/PC debate has been a constant throughout the age of personal computing. Generally (yes, I am generalising!), the protaganists – whichever side of the fence they sit – have blinkered views, verging on the obsessive. There’s rarely any reason or balance in the equation. The magnitude of love they display for their Macs or PCs is rivalled only by the degree of hatred they have for the other camp.

Like politics, things often start at the exteme edges but have a funny knack of converging towards the middle ground over the years. Historically, Macs have always stood out for their packaging, their simple operating systems and ability to handle serious graphics. PCs on the other hand were functional work horses – available in unsightly beige or cream boxes, but very expandable.

While there is inarguably some of the original DNA in their respective genetic make-up, both have converged on a middle ground which can offer the best of both worlds. In short, PCs don’t have to be ugly and Macs can be expanded. Not to mention operating systems which aren’t a million miles from each other.

Mac or PC? Guess what…there is no fence: you can be both.