Contemplating Mac
I’ve been using my current laptop for a 2-3 years now. It’s an old Dell Inspiron 6000 that I got for about $1,000. It works fine for the most part, but the wireless is flaky and dies on me randomly which kills it for me. I need my wireless to be rock solid and reliable. Then there’s also the fact that it’s getting a bit hard to multi-task with some of the newer, more demanding applications. It’s only packing a 1.6 GHz Pentium M, 512 MB of RAM, and integrated Intel graphics. Not much, I know, but it’s gotten me through high school. Keyword: high school.
I’ll be off to college this fall and I figure this old clunker isn’t going to last me another four years. Originally I was planning on getting another Dell. But recently I’ve been playing with the idea of getting a Mac instead. Scandalous. Those who know me reasonably well know that I’ve been a self-proclaimed Mac hater for years. (I’d like it to be noted Mac does not equal Apple. I’m quite happy with my iPod touch actually.)
The reason I’ve been considering switching to Mac is three-fold. First, I don’t want anything to do with Vista. I personally don’t like the new Aero design and when die-hard Windows fans start complaining about problems, I get worried. Moreover, I find it interesting that the successor to XP actually has higher system requirements. Call me crazy, but aren’t revisions supposed to be leaner and faster rather than more bloated and demanding?
My second reason is just personal curiosity. I have never actually sat down and used a Mac extensively. I used them in elementary school, but those were pre-OS X days and I’ve used them infrequently in the library computer lab at my school. With that said, I’ve never really had any problems with it besides not knowing how to do something on my part.
And finally, my third reason is that some of the programs available only on Mac just look damn cool. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve wished Quicksilver, Adium, Growl, or Coda were available for Windows too. Yes, there are Windows alternatives, but none do it quite the same or as elegantly as the Mac apps appear to do. Looking at the programs I have installed on my Windows laptop, I realized that all the apps I use daily like Firefox, iTunes, Office, and the Adobe suite are on Mac as well. I’ll also admit that some of the features built into Mac OS X like Time Machine look pretty nifty.
The way I see it, I wouldn’t be losing much if I switched to Mac. If I really need something from Windows I can always Bootcamp. So I started looking at the different Mac laptops: the MacBook, the MacBook Pro, and the MacBook Air. The MacBook Pro would be my first choice because the MacBook only has a 13 inch screen, which I think is too small, and the Air does not have an Ethernet port, which I think is still necessary at this point in time. BUT, the Pro has a base price of $1,800 even with an educational discount. That’s a lot for a college bound kid.
At the moment, I’m still evaluating whether I really want to make the switch. There’s nothing really compelling about Windows that I feel like I couldn’t live without, but on the other hand, are there any problems with Windows that would drive me to switch to Mac? I haven’t really decided yet. I’ve used Windows all my life, but I can’t help but be curious what Mac is all about. I still have some time to think about it and according to AppleInsider the MacBooks are slated for a design overhaul. Maybe they’ll come up with something that will make me a convert when Q3 2008 comes around.
Posted on April 17, 2008 / 3:27pm in Technology
