Cherry OS has just come out with one of the coolest things to hit desktop computing in years. This software will allow those who don’t have a Mac to get all the benefits of OS X.

Basically (if they don’t get sued with extreme predjudice by Apple), this product has the ability to expose a larger group of people to what I believe is the best desktop operating system available today. As I have discussed with my geek buddies, there is plenty of room for skepticism here. Is the speed a put-off? Is the temptation too great to go back to the host (Windows) OS?

I still think the better push would be to get people to get an iMac and go from there. But for those with the know-how, I say fire up a session of Cherry OS and see what all the talk is about.

I can tell you, from my own personal experience, that I was very resistant to moving to the Mac platform for my main desktop. My main reason for this is that I dislike bandwagons. The Apple following is much like a cult, and I have always been repelled by the fervor with which many of the more dedicated zealots fans of the various Apple products push them.

Many respectable geeks are still in this mode and I’d like to reach out to them and send them a single message:

Think of OS X – not Apple.

In other words, just because there are sorry people using Gentoo, Postfix, or sporks doesn’t mean that to use these things makes you one of them. It’s harder to resist this feeling when dealing with Apple stuff, but it’s worth it to do so. It’s especially difficult to do what I am doing now (evanglizing Apple) when it is percisely this behavior that I abhor so much. But again, I’m pushing OS X – not Apple in general. I hated Macs before OS X, and I still hate everything about them before OS X arrived.

So, Chris Pirillo and others – I ask you to shed, or at least set aside, your distaste for Apple. Think more about the products themselves. OS X is a godlike OS, and iPods are utterly sick music players. Take this at face value, and when faced with a psycho Apple-fanboy who offers a secret handshake when he sees your iPod, school him on how you don’t swing that way. Similarly, when you see a PC guy who gives you the “oh, you’re one of those people” looks, take some time to explain the difference between loving products and being in the club.

Ultimately, don’t let your fear of being branded as “one of them” keep you from experiencing what FreeBSD with a awesome GUI has to offer. ::