Sometimes I just can’t resist amusing myself when talking in a public forum. My wife recently got a MacBook, which marks the first time I’ve ever had a Mac in the house. I actually like Macs, but I find the idiocy of platform wars so heart-warming that I like to troll play the part of a Windows afficionado sometimes.

This leads to unexpected consequences. Today, this story about the iPod’s influence on the perception of Apple, especially by non-Mac-users, is linked on the homepage of Macworld.com. It features some quotes that make me look like a drooling Bill Gates fanboy, but unfortunately has not yet inspired any real frothing at the mouth by commenters yet.

Here’s the best/worst of what I said:

To Dash, the iPod has helped transform his view of Apple “from a company that makes me roll my eyes because of all my zealot friends, to [one] that I buy things from regularly. Albeit begrudgingly.

The truth is, I’ve been around creative people or digital artists my whole life, exactly the people that have always been Mac diehards,” Dash said. “And the fact that they acted like zealots was completely off-putting to me. I don’t want a lifestyle change, I just want to use computers!

“The iPod acted as a great gateway drug to Apple usage. It doesn’t require a wholesale change of my daily digital habits, and I don’t have to throw away my experience as a Windows expert—yes, those exist,” Dash continued. “The best part is that the iPod can stand on its own merits; I don’t have to drink the Steve Jobs Kool Aid to recognize it’s worth having.”

Of course, the key here was working in the words “zealots”, “Steve Jobs Kool Aid” and worst of all, “Windows expert”. If I could have said “Windows just works for me”, it would have been a Mac-trolling perfect storm. I should mention, this is all in good spirits. If I can get into PC Magazine on a similar story, I’ll be sure to point out how Apple invented all of this 20 years ago. Just to keep everyone happy.