My first problem with Windows

In light of those recent Microsoft ads that show that Windows PCs are cheaper than Macs (without ever using the word "Windows"), here's my first problem with Microsoft Windows:

Three minutes and two seconds, how long it took to log into my Windows PC

Three minutes and two-point-six seconds. That's how long it took to log into an 18-month-old Windows XP PC, counting only from (a) the time I hit the [Enter] key after entering my password until (b) the time I could click my email client and get it to start up.

By contrast, my MacBook Pro, which is at least four years old by now, and whose operating system has never been re-installed, takes less than 16 seconds for me to log in and fire up its email client.

It's how much slower?

For those reaching for your calculators, I'll save you the trouble: My Windows desktop PC was over 1,100% slower than my Mac laptop for this simple task. (182.6 seconds versus 16 seconds.)

Don't get me wrong, when I first started working with Windows I really liked it -- and Macs aren't perfect -- but this is a huge, recurring theme for me with Windows systems.

As I've mentioned in previous posts (here, and here), I don't think this is a fight Microsoft really should have started. Their ads show people all the way up to the point of purchase, buying computers that are cheaper, and all Apple has to do to counter the Microsoft ads is show the user experience after the purchase.