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.
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