As a Mac user I’m told that one of the disadvantages I suffer is that I don’t have access to industry standard software or the sheer range of applications PC users enjoy. The fact that I’ve never, not once, been unable to find software to help me achieve whatever I’ve needed to is immaterial.

Anyway, much of my work involves PDF files. A man in Germany emails me a few files every month or so and I add comments and layout suggestions, mark-up the copy – that kind of thing. I do this in an Apple application called Preview; it’s fast and does exactly what I need. Imagine my surprise, then, when I double-clicked on my PDF file from the continent to be told that I couldn’t open the file, as there wasn’t any software on this machine capable of opening it.

Now, before you all start shouting at your monitor telling me that I can get Adobe Reader for free, I know, but it was a surprise to me that it wasn’t: a) pre-installed; and b) there was no Microsoft equivalent that could, at the very least, open a PDF file. If I’ve missed an application in Windows 7 that can open PDFs you may now commence shouting at your monitor. Like I said, it was only a mild eyebrow-raising smile, but still it was the PC I had to upgrade to get the tools for my work and not the Mac.

The fact that a modern operating system doesn’t support an industry standard file is, to me, a touch weird. Now, getting a PDF reader isn’t the world’s most difficult task and it took maybe 20 minutes to get one installed and updated so it’s hardly a major drawback, but it was nonetheless a hurdle that many users could do without. (I should also point out that I had to install Windows 7 from scratch on my HP; I realise that HP et al may well install PDF readers by default.)

But still, I can easily print to PDF from any application without installing anything just like in the Mac OS, right? Erm… what’s this XPS Document Writer nonsense…

For the next month I’m putting away my Macs to use Microsoft Windows 7. For the record, I do use Windows XP on a monthly basis, but it’s never tempted me to sell on my MacBook. I’ve used Vista fleetingly, and have to say I’m surprised at the bad press it’s received, but again it wouldn’t encourage me to drop the Mac OS.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not your stereotypical frenzied Mac nutcase who takes every opportunity to argue the toss over who invented what and which OS in more intuitive than the other. I’m just a Mac user because that’s the computer I learnt on. I have flirted with Mac evangelism in my time, but I’m no fanboy. You won’t find me criticising XP as difficult to use, for example, as I know it’s only because I don’t use it all that regularly that it feels unnatural to me.

Obviously, I’ll need a PC and I’ve gone for a HP Pavilion DV3-2055EA. Not quite as snappily named as the MacBook Pro, but I can live with that. I’ve never really looked at PC hardware as it’s not been on my shopping list, but I tried to guess how much the laptop was before I found out the price.

Much like my MacBook this PC has a 13.3in LCD screen, 2 USB ports, built-in webcam, remote control and DVD burner. Unlike my MacBook it has a HDMI connector, an eSATA connection and a digital memory card reader, oh and a D-SUB connection. The HP also has a 500GB hard disk and 4GB of RAM.

I guessed that this laptop was probably in the region of £1,000 to £1,200. Turns out I was very wrong. The HP Pavilion DV3-2055EA is available for about £800. However, I’ve always known that PCs are cheaper than Macs and if at the end of this month I’ve used the HDMI, D-SUB or eSATA connections I’ll be surprised.

Design wise it’s very nice, but do computers really need stickers to proclaim that they have Intel Inside and GeForce with CUDA? What’s CUDA anyhow? Am I supposed to know?

I’m not going to cheat and ask my many learned friend who do use PCs to help me out when I’m stuck. I’m going to try and work things out for myself. If this leads me to make some elementary mistakes I hope you’ll forgive me and perhaps point me in the right direction in the comments section.

I’m really hoping to have as open a mind as possible with this month-long experiment and if at the end of that time I’ve decided to switch you can be sure it’s not a decision that’s been taken lightly.