Of Apples and Windows

this year, i've made an important switch in my life: from Windows to Macs. yah it ain't that much for some people but for someone in the computer industries, it's a life-altering move. it began when i acquired my first mac system: a G4 mac mini (thank you haf ko!). well, it's kind of new to me but i must say that it took me a lot of time getting used to another system aside from windows. as a software developer, i've done most of my programming in a windows system. sure i've been to red hat and fedora and BeOS and other linux operating systems but i'm not that all impressed. windows was still the poison of choice, until baby mac (yup, mac mini has a name) arrived.

well, basically Mac OS X is unix-based, meaning that it doesn't differ that much to other linux systems. but one thing that impressed me is the integration of hardware and software. "Innovation and Elegance". that's what Apple computers (and iPods) motto, and indeed it's a hell of a machine. baby mac was, in fact, an obsolete system by the time it was bought, and yet it out-performs most PCs that i handled, in terms of booting up, shutting down, ease of navigation, as a web server, every little thing that an IT person could think about. and it was a blast showing it off to other people, calling it my iPod DVD (because it plays DVDs hehehe)

i am a converted Mac user. other people would attest to that, especially to those who are buying a new computer system who asks some advise from me. i'd say "get a Mac". why? well, here's my experience:

- say good bye to pirated softwares. no more pirated windows xp. Mac OS X is free when you get a new system (it costs around Php 6,000 for the retail) and it has everything you need, well, of course it doesn't come with the office application. i have the OpenOffice equivalent for Macs

- well, good bye pirated games, hello to more productive activities. still, Warcraft III or Dota is still available for macs

- good bye to high maintenance. free software updates for the Mac OS X. no virus - well, i can't say that there are no viruses (virii, for politically correct people, viruses IS a term for collective computer virus) for macs, but they're not as vulnerable as the windows system

- huh? windows vista? have you seen the MINUMUM requirements for that new operating system? you'd be well of using windows XP and still have a high end system rather than have that vista as a dead weight on your processing power.

- elegance. you get that "wow" factor, however old your mac system is, it's still a mac.

- expensive? i beg to differ. yah you could get a new windows pc unit with a Php 12K budget, 20 - 28K if it's legal. a mac costs Php 40K cheapest (mac mini) but i'll tell you you'll get what you've really paid for. remember, budget PCs get budget results. there are no budget Macs.

well, baby mac have served me well but sad to say she must be replaced by something more mobile. and yes, it's a mac again. i left my baby mac mini to the care of an ADB IT specialist. bye bye baby mac, hello baby mac jr! she's a macbook intel core2 duo: a reincarnation of baby mac from a neanderthal to a homo sapien. well, we still have a lot of work to do in order for us to be more productive.

i don't despise windows people user. the only problem is that people are afraid to experience something new. they'll keep on using what they know, even if it is illegal (most people are not aware of that). piracy is the main issue. i don't see microsoft as evil. yup they do make a lot of money - don't you want that too? and yes microsoft is the bully of the IT industry, but some are standing up against them and acually winning (like the Google guys, my idols!). thanks to the iPods, apple computers are now gaining grounds to that computer market.

my advise to the people getting yes it'll take time to get used to something that is not naturally in your comfort zone, but to do things right (and sometimes do it better), one must take the road less traveled. get a mac