nathandemick.com

Where’s the freakin’ Mac?

Sometimes I disgust myself. I have (personally) owned one Apple computer (G3 iBook) in my life, yet still follow Apple product announcements like a blind, gibbering sheep. This is in spite of some pretty decent reasons not to like the platform. For one, Macs’re expensive — and the “added benefits” of included software like iLife don’t really apply to me, since I don’t use ‘em. For another, when I tried to buy a “refurbished” MacBook Pro last year, both units Apple sent me were physically defective… I was on the receiving end of some crap customer service there. Plus, Steve Jobs is kind of a douche. Still, though, in spite of everything, I do like MacOS X. It’s got a familiar Unix shell under all the eye candy nonsense, and there are a lot of great programs for it… I would love to use TextMate and Transmit or Coda. And to be fair, for the extra money you pay, you do get the benefits of a closed hardware/software platform… everything usually just works, which is what I’m desiring now-a-days.

The big thing, though, is that there’s a gap in Apple’s product lineup: a huge gap between the Mac Mini and Mac Pro. I need two monitors for development work (which nixes the Mini), but don’t need the two dual-core CPUs that drive the price up on the Mac Pro. Some dude wrote an article about the issue, which I endorse wholeheartedly. When I went into the local Apple store for a “hiring event,” I was the only person who didn’t own a Mac — I cited the fact that Apple didn’t offer what I needed from a professional standpoint, but it didn’t go over well with the zealots at the store.

Until something changes at Apple, I’m sticking to the tried and true platform of Wintel.

No comments · Written by Nathan at 10:41 am ·