Mélange: April 2008

I recently got an Apple MacBook Pro and people have been asking me why. "Why did you choose a mac?" "What's wrong with a PC?" "Why buy something so over-priced?" I decided I would blog about it so I could just have people read this. lol

First, a little about my history with a PC. I have been using a PC ever since I knew what a computer was. Nearly all of that experience has been in Microsoft Windows. I remember my dad being excited about being the first person on our block with a "Start" button when we upgraded to Windows 95. I have installed Windows 98 and 98SE more times than I care to remember (Bob, how many times did I install 98 in just that one night in college?). I beta tested Windows XP and loved the improvements from day one. Vista was a huge disappointment and I even ended up uninstalling it and reinstalling XP after a test drive of it.

Ever since college and the Windows 98 days, I have had a box running Linux also. The flavor of Linux has changed over the years and Linux has evolved a lot in the last 10 years, but I'm not at a point where it fits me for a desktop OS. I have a server at work I run Linux on and I have it on a box at home as well. I love it, but not as my primary machine.

I'll say right now that I have gotten bored with Windows. I've gotten sick of driver problems. I've gotten sick of programs crashing. I've been ready to move on to something new and different for a long time if for no other reason than it is different. I happen to think that OS X on an Apple computer is not only a refreshingly different experience, but I also think it is a superior OS.

So here I go with reasons in no particular order:

- Hardware bundled with software. I like the fact that OS X is not sold as a stand-alone operating system. It is amazing that Windows runs as well as it does given the infinite possibilities of combinations of hardware that it runs on. The few hardware errors or driver issues that come up are a testament to how good Windows is. Apple has it easy. They have a very limited hardware set to code around. It's easy to make a stable OS when you control not only the software, but the hardware. This is a negative thing for some people, but I'll take the stability that comes with it over more variety in my hardware any day of the week. This is the "it just works" cheesy saying you hear mac people talking about.

- Software. Now, I don't play many games. If you are a gamer, OS X is not the platform for you. Not only are the games not available for OS X, but even if you run them on Windows on a mac, you will be disappointed at some point with the hardware. Gamers upgrade their systems (mainly video cards) frequently to keep up with the latest technology. I'm not a gamer though, so that doesn't bother me. What I do like about software is I can run anything on my mac. I can run all native mac OS applications as well as Windows and Linux applications. Apple's BootCamp lets me dual boot Windows XP and OS X. Parallels lets me run Windows and OS X at the SAME TIME. Using virtualization, I can run OS X applications right next to native Windows applications with an unnoticeable performance hit. I can also run X11 Linux programs along side those applications. It's really amazing.

- Quicksilver. In short, Quicksilver is an application launcher, but it is much more than that. Instead of me try to explain something that can really only be explained visually, I'll link to a video. This is really worth watching. Quicksilver is simply amazing. Crazy good. I use it all the time now.

QuickSilver Demo Video (you have to download it to watch it, but it is well worth it!)

- The MacBook Pro. I love the size of the 15" MacBook Pro. It's has a beautiful 15" widescreen display that doesn't feel any smaller than my old 17" Acer Ferrari notebook. It's sleek, slim, and very lightweight. The battery life is incredible. The webcam is fun. The hot-keys are brilliant. The touchpad blew my mind. Every computer should have a touchpad like this one. One finger acts like any touchpad, but there's so much more. Tapping with two fingers does a 'right-click' action. Taking two fingers and moving them up or down scrolls up and down or left and right in a window. Three fingers left and right act as 'back' and 'forward' buttons in a web browser.

- Simplicity. Like I mentioned before, nearly all my computer experience has been on a PC. I have taught several people how to use a computer or do tasks on a computer. As I have been learning the mac OS, everything I have needed to do has been easy to find or figure out. It is very intuitive. Things are logically where you would expect them to be even not being familiar with the OS.

- Network. Wow. Where do I even start here? My MacBook Pro was authenticated on my domain at work much faster than a PC could ever be. Why? It didn't require a reboot. Almost nothing on a Mac requires a reboot. Wireless and wired network connections are simple. Here is an example: At work I am on a domain using a wired network connection and a static IP/DNS. At home I am on a workgroup using a wireless connection and a dynamic IP/DNS. On my Windows XP notebook, when I would go between networks I had to go into 'Network Connections' in the Control Panel and disable one network and enable the other and then 'repair' the connection for it to work. It was annoying and time consuming and initially it was a pain in the rear to figure out and setup/configure. With my Mac, setup was a piece of cake and now I don't even think about it. When I get to work, my network just works. When I get home, my network just works. No manually doing anything. It doesn't even alert me it's doing anything, it just does it and it works.

I'm sure I'll post more about the Mac in a later post, but this at least got some of the thoughts out of my head and a beginning to my reasons for using a Mac.

Do you use a Mac? Tell me why in the comments or send me an e-mail.

~ Bill