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Have you seen the new PC vs. Mac ads?  No, I'm not talking about those ads by Apple, but Microsoft's latest commercials.  Without taking sides in this war, I have to admit that Microsoft is finally doing a good a better job in their marketing. Of course, just the fact that Microsoft is no longer mentioning Vista by name can be enough to improve sales on PCs.

We can debate all we want to about whether Linux will ever beat Microsoft's Windows or Apple's OS X on the computer's desktop.  To be honest though, the opinion that matters to me the most is my own opinion.  Except for the occasional hardware compatibility issue, Linux is the operating system I have found to be the most dependable.

I know what most of you are thinking and let me address what is on your mind at this very moment. No, I'm not blinded with nerd goggles.  In fact, I'm currently writing this post from a Windows Vista PC while my wife in the next room is on her MacBook Pro.  Windows and OS X have earned their roles on the computer stage and I would be the last person to dismiss these great operating systems.  However, these days I'm finding that Linux has just as much of a right to this stage when debating the value of operating systems.  

Perhaps, I'm just saying this after finding a new variant of the Vundo trojan on a PC with Windows XP.  A trojan that even some of the better anti-virus software can't detect or remove.  That trojan took 25 working hours to analyze and remove from the infected Windows PC.  Or, perhaps I'm favoring Linux because after being mandated to install anti-virus software on the Linux boxes, I found not a single piece of malicious software on the systems.  I am also filled with joy because I'm nearing the purchase of a laptop with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed knowing that the entire laptop is likely to cost me far less than the MacBook Pro I bought my wife last year.  Linux, you are a sweetheart in my eyes.

Ironic how the world can change so quickly.  Yesterday, the CIO of my organization began enforcing the use of anti-virus software on all of our Linux clients and servers.  Today, I read that Apple is telling its Mac users to purchase anti-virus software.  Something nasty is brewing out there.

Apple encourages the widespread use of multiple antivirus utilities so that virus programmers have more than one application to circumvent, thus making the whole virus writing process more difficult.

Initial reports by Brian Krebbs, Security Fix and The Register.

ComputerWorld has put together one of the greatest # Best lists I've seen in a long time.  Check out 15 great turning points in tech history.

In every industry there are key milestones that mark a change in the course of history, and the fast-moving technology field has more than its share. Presented here are 15 turning points that shaped the computing world as we know it today, including some that still continue to influence its direction for years to come.

I can't decide which is my favorite moment in computer history, but as someone that was fascinated with then ousted Steve Jobs's company NeXT this rang true for me:

In 1996, with no release date for Copland in sight, then-CEO Gil Amelio made one of the toughest decisions in Apple's history. Abandoning the Copland money-pit, he acquired upstart NeXT, which not only had a Unix-based operating system that could be modified to run on the Mac but also Apple co-founder Steve Jobs as its CEO.

Whatever your favorite turning point in computer history, I think you will enjoy the list as much as I did.