OS X vs Windows: 8 reasons to switch to Mac

OPINION: The break-up has been less painful than I imagined. Indeed, it feels like trading in a Ford Mondeo for a Ferrari Enzo. (Find out if I think the same nine months on).

After 20 years of using a Windows PC as my main machine, I never thought it would end like this, but the Metro interface was the last straw.

Before you skip to the comments to accuse me of Apple bias, I'd like to point out a couple of things. I've owned two Apple products to-date - an iPad (3rd generation) and iPod mini, which was a gift. I've been a dedicated Windows man for the majority of my life and Microsoft and its OEMs have gobbled up more pounds from the Suleman family than any other tech company.

Over the last two decades our home has welcomed most iterations of Microsoft's flagship software, starting with Windows 3.1. I experienced the highs of Windows 95, which introduced the Start button, the vibrant colour and stability of XP, mediocrity of Vista and return to form with Windows 7.

My biggest misfortune was owning a Windows ME desktop during my teenage years. This bug-riddled pile of junk would taunt me with the blue screen of death at the worst possible times - mostly rebooting whilst working on a school project, but never when playing Hitman 2.

Even during the testing times, I believed Windows had the edge over Mac. Sure, the coloured case of the iMac looked cool, but my friend who owned one couldn't play games and it had one mouse button. I pitied him. Aside from those in the desktop publishing industries, there was, I felt, no real need for anyone else to own an Apple computer during the nineties and early noughties. Microsoft had everything you needed from Internet Explorer to Office.

But, in 2014, things have changed...