Last year, Mack-line enthusiastically embraced Chrome, Google's free browser system which was so different from anything else around, right then, that it needed to be used.
However, problems developed, not the least being the inability to access googlemail email after one go.
Also, the last pages shown became a bit tedious, especially when the favourites could not be brought up to view.
Firefox was returned to browser of choice but even that has proved difficult.
The latest version of Internet Explorer has proved reliable beyond anything else on the market for this writer.
Firefox has been slow to load, awkward to use and just painful some days.
IE, on the other hand, has been fast and reliable.
It has also introduced some very slick features that have made life on the internet, during the stretched times since the death of pop star Michael Jackson, a breeze.
Now it seems Google is hoping to gain greater control over how personal computers work, with its plans to develop a free operating system that will target Microsoft's long-dominant Windows franchise.
Microsoft has always come under fire for insisting some PCs be sold with only Windows as the operating system.
Sure, consumers can buy other PCs with Linux installed, but Windows is the browser with which most computer users are familiar.
Google's new operating system will be based on the nine-month-old Chrome.
Google intends to rely on help from the community of open-source programmers to develop the Chrome operating system (OS), which is expected to begin running computers in the second half of next year.
The early versions of the Chrome OS will be tailored for "netbooks", a breed of low-cost, less powerful laptop computers that are becoming increasingly popular among budget-conscious consumers.
That is a direct challenge to Microsoft, whose next operating system, Windows 7, is being geared for netbooks as well as larger computers.
Mack-line has been using Windows 7 for about a month and is impressed.
The pricing of Windows 7 had attracted much attention in the past couple of weeks, both overseas and in New Zealand, Windows business group leader Ben Green told Mack-line.
"The full pricing breakdown of the Windows 7 for New Zealand is in the final stages of confirmation and will be announced within the next couple of weeks."
Most people seem to agree online that Windows 7 is a step up from Vista.
If a computer is bought between now and the launch of Windows 7, consumers will get an upgrade from Vista for little or no cost when the new system launches.
The success of the Chrome operating system will likely hinge on its acceptance among computer manufacturers that have been loyal Windows customers for many years.
Most consumers think they get the operating system with their PC, probably not thinking too much about why it is Windows.
If enough computer manufacturers embrace Chrome, it could weaken Microsoft while opening new avenues for Google to persuade consumers and businesses to use its suite of online applications and other internet services.
That would give Google the chance to sell more online advertisements.
Getting consumers and businesses to switch to computers powered by a new operating system will not be easy, as Google has learned from the introduction of Chrome.
Google says it has 1.2% of the browser market with Chrome, compared with the more than 70% had by Microsoft's IE.
With the progress Microsoft has made with IE8 and Windows 7, it will take years for Google's gamble to deliver long-term results.
