You may remember that I am not a fan of Apple. I dislike their business practices, I dislike that their rabid fanbois refuse to accept that they make shiny toys in sweatshops and that their kit does in fact also break.
I dislike that when I asked for help fixing my father in laws MacBook Pro I was told "It can't be the mac, the router must be broken. Macs just work." You now what, they don't. They are a computer and they are just as annoying as any other computer! And believe me I have tried a number of them over the few decades! And now I feel old!
Anyway, getting back to my subject a little. After all that I say I dislike them (you could even say hate...) I am also not a Linux or MS fangirl. Linux annoys me, it's fine for my geek side - but I don't want a geek machine at home, I want a machine I can easily use. MS is just MS. Windows 7 is great, as long as you have a blank install without the standard bloatware you get when you buy a new machine. XP wasn't bad. 2000 was good for the time and the less said about ME the better!
Every time I have looked at machines I have given some thought to trying a Mac, but the sheer cost of them to other machines (for no benefit other than an Apple logo) has sent me back to either Asus or Sony Vaio machines. For example when I replaced my DTR earlier this year it would have been 800 euros more for the Apple for something with a generation older processor, less memory, a smaller slower drive and no BluRay writer.
Well, this is being written on a MacBook Pro 13.3" entry level machine. The reason - cost! It is +/- the same price as the Sony or the Asus equivalent and has a metal case. The specs are slightly less - but it's close enough for me to take the plunge. Especially with 100 euros off :)
So far my feelings of boot up and upgrading the OS to Lion are that of this is indeed another computer. We'll see how I feel later, but for now it's nice. But just as nice as my other machines.
Oh one last thing... Mac minutes are the same as MS minutes it seems :) Installing Lion was going to take 33 minutes. I don't know how long it took but the minutes went up and down like a yoyo. 14 minutes stayed on the screen for a few seconds and 'Less than a minute' for about 5 :)
Here is the new, same as the old ;p
I've dabbled in computers ever since I mastered the glorious Windows 98 which became a glorified WindowsME. Dealing with contstant BSODs and constant rebooting pushed me to Mac and I've never looked back. My desktop is an Alienware gaming rig with Win7, which I must say is the best OS Microsoft has ever created. But it looks and feels a LOT like OSX. If Windows 8 builds upon the functionality of Windows7, MS might finally have a worthy contender.
ReplyDeleteThen again, I can run both Windows7 and OSX simultaneously on OSX, thereby eliminating the need for another windows machine. Why can't they just both get along? And bring Linux and Ubuntu with them!
Generally mine does just work but have to say that safari has been a bit twitchy since Lion was installed, most odd.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the transition to Mac is all part of a greater transition...
Every time I go shopping (sometimes I can't get out of it) I stop by the Apple store to look at the shiny objects, look at the shiny Macs and sigh, then look at the price and freak out! One day they'll be on offer, one day, maybe...
ReplyDeleteYour comment on Mac minutes Vs MS minutes reminds me of the XKCD cartoon on the Windows file copy dialog :)
Lori: I had the luxury of needing a professional OS since early in my career and so managed to avoid the Win ME fiasco! I switched from 98 SE (the original 98 was also a mess) to Windows 2000.
ReplyDeleteThankfully I have never been cursed with lots of BSODs (maybe that is why I don't hate Windows quite som much?)
As for 7 being OSX... I must admit coming from Windows to Lion I don't see it. It's completely alien to me, and things that would take me 2 seconds in Windows I just can't figure out how to do in Lion. But I'm willing to see that is a learning curve that will take quite some time to catch up on 20+ years of using the DOS Prompt. I can use it as a normal user fairly easily though.
Why they can't get along is beyond me. As I said I (hope) I am not a fangirl... Computers are tools no matter what they have installed in them. If anyone catches me saying OSX can't do any wrong please tell me in very unflattering terms that I am no longer me :)
Caroline: I can see that they generally work. As does Windows (apart from me doing dodgy things as a developer I have not *had* to do a reinstall since 2001). It's comments like 'they never go wrong, it is never a Macs fault' that rile me :)
I don't think that I will ever completely switch. As a .Net and SQL Server 2008 developer I need Windows (and after all I still like it). Love the comment though!
Phil: They are beautiful machines to look at. When I got my DTR earlier in the year the one thing i hated about it was the looks. The Sony Vaio F21 is angular, weird and and just plain plastic and ugly. But the internals are amazing. The 17" MacBook Pro is entirely the oposite. It's sleek and sexy, but no where near the performance I need from a top of the line machine.
That said the 13.3 was the same price as the competition - ergo no contest in what to buy. if the Sony Vaio had been a solid machine with a serious screen there is a good chance I would still have brought that. But it's not, and so I didn't... I was not looking for a cheap machine, more something that is portable, but will do what I need whilst on the go.
The chipset in this machine is actually better than the awful laptops they give to our BA's in the office, and still comes in cheaper! Actually it's also better than the workstations we use as developers - but then they are 4 years old now.
Stace
Hm, I speak and write three languages and speak but don't write a fourth but mastering 'this' language of yours will most likely have to wait till my next life. I am so envious.
ReplyDeleteI wish that I could speak four languages. I struggle with English, and that's my native language!
ReplyDeleteI can get by in Dutch, but only in reading and talking. I can't write it at all!
I'd love to learn Italian - but I know that I do not have a clue...
Stace