2010
03.01
03.01
So, after months of chasing Microsoft for my ‘shill cheque’, that all the FOSS advocates assure me that I will be getting, I have decided to become a ‘switcher’ and get a MacBook Air.
*dodges thrown rotten fruit*
Actually I want to punch anyone that uses the term ‘switcher’ in the face – why do you have to choose a platform anyhow? I didn’t ‘switch’ to pizza, I just eat it sometimes. Anyway my reasons…
- It’s half the weight of a normal laptop.
- It looks sweet.
- SSD – Most wait time on computers is for disk IO these days.
- I’m not paying for it myself.
- I want to look like a pretentious cock cool.
Hopefully Apple will be more prompt getting my shill check out to me, or I’ll put Windows 7 on it. I may just put W7 on it anyway just to annoy the Mac faithful. But only once my cheque has cleared.
I have an intense aversion to having to reboot to do anything from my days of freetardism. If you do install Win7 in bootcamp if you are willing to pay a little more for Parallels you can boot a VM using the bootcamp installation.
I have to reboot Ubuntu on a regular basis just to keep it running.
I haven’t used Parallels since the early days, but VMWare Fusion is the shit if you need multiplatform. A coworker has Windows and Fedora going at once plus some testing VMs on occasion. VMWare Tools still works in Linux and has the crazy effect of making video work better than any hardware solution. You can also assign VMs to their own Spaces if you want.
I’m getting a Mac too, either an iMac or a Mac Mini. I’ve always wanted a Mac, and I’m getting close to the Mac Mini mark after about a month of saving up. I wanna shoot for that iMac, but I’ll probably just not be able to wait and I’ll get a Mac Mini.
Congrats on your purchase.
@Thomas B, its going to make Linux feel pretty antiquated when you do. Just thought I’d warn you.
linux > *
Suck it winbreds.
Is winbred really a legitimate insult on a blog discussing switching to Mac and 4/5 comments prior to yours also discuss Macs?
I’m sure according to him, Apple is shilling for MS.
Proprietary software is all the same. Your life in exchange for some crappy software with lots of security holes.
Well, Apple did bake in support for Exchange 2007 in Snow Leopard. I’m sure that drives sales of Exchange 2007 since everyone with Macs can be happy again.
@Thomas B, does that mean you’re trading in your Linux Youth membership for Mac Hipster status? What about all the $tallmanesque teachings you’ve been parroting all this time? Finally realized Linux is a colossal waste of time?
@Adam King,
*yawn* You Linux zealots are the ones who are expected to exchange your lives for software, and “freedom” evangelizing.
Well I just got a lot less interested in your blog on the basis that everyone *I* know personally who bought a Mac won’t shut up about it just because it’s different. And by the way, we “choose” because there isn’t much of a choice other than Windows if you’re getting serious work done. That is, if you have a *job.* Some places use Macs, but they’re typically hippy/hipster places (designers). Been using computers for 20 years and that includes every major OS (*BSDs, Linux, MacOS (classic, 7-9 and X), Solaris, etc. Windows is the only one that you can truly say “does it all.” That’s why we choose our platforms. Now go choose to stop eating before you infect the world with more bullshit about how something that’s just trying to be different is so good. I’m all about competition, but drinking your own urine is not a substitute for good wine.
Have fun with your piece of shit. It *was* a nice blog.
Don’t forget to bitch about UI designs daily and start up discussions about how Apple does everything perfect, even when there are plenty of people perfectly happy with Windows and nobody asked your opinion. All hail Steve Jobs, survivor of cancer, the true messiah!
-Anon
in b4 being called out for posting anonymously on the Internet. That’s so 1980! Go design some Facebook icons with your $800 software ‘cuz you know there aren’t a thousand already.
@Anonymous ^
Being a bit pre-emptively rough on Kerberos, aren’t you mate? I doubt he’ll start bleating out Mac Hipster slogans just because he wants to try something different. I’m sure his wit and writing style won’t be affected by his choice of machine/OS.
Out of all the Macs you could have got you chose to get the Air?
@Thomas B,
What about all your über-L337 Linux boxen and RenderStations(TM)?
And why are you crying on your “blog” (which is pretty empty, replete with tumbleweeds, etc.) about the supposed lack of a GUI for Debian’s package manager? You’re so l337 you can’t install one?
What are you going to install on your Mac, Thomas; OpenSolarisOSX?
Eddie Winslow,
I could tell you how I really feel!
Point taken, but I’ve seen it happen so many times that I have no dirt on my conscious for writing him off already. It’s not like I work with the guy or even know the guy 
I’m sure he can ‘handle’ a bitchy comment from a Mac-hater.
-Anon
*Remembers to close this tab hehe*
@Anonymous
I said I hate the term ‘switcher’ mainly because it implies a ditching of the old platform. I do have valid buisness reasons for getting one (including lots of my clients now have them and expect compatability) but I’ll still be keeping my PC and probably running a VM (if required). It’s just another tool in the box as far as I am concerned. I own 2 CentOS dedicated servers after all but that’s never stopped me bashing Linux.
@Roogie
My main priority for a laptop is weight, I hate this ‘portable desktop’ 17″ laptop crap and the Air is in the netbook weight category, only not quite as gutless.
Plus if I turn into a trendy macfag please feel free to come here and slap me about a bit.
@Anonymous,
: ^ D
@Kerberos,
Please don’t put one of those fruity “Made on a Mac” banners on the site! Let’s see, what else… don’t start to write “Mac” in all caps; “MAC”, as so many Mac Hipsters do. Don’t work the word “Mac” into every sentence; “I was browsing ON MY MAC”, “I’m downloading something ON MY MAC”, etc. I’ve never understood that, I don’t say “I’m checking my email ON MY LENOVO”, or “I’m writing code ON MY LENOVO”, etc.
Also; hopefully you don’t start wearing scarves and turtlenecks in the summertime and start ending all your sentences with a question mark, as the hipsters are wont to do.
@Carl
That’s Open Solaris Linux to you.
It’s funny how those ‘made on a mac’ site labels usually accompany a godawful mess not worthy of MySpace. As if buying an arty computer will somehow imbue you with talent.
The only time I’ll probably mention it is when it does something to piss me off to be honest.
I have created a new term: slavebreds. Inbred slaves to proprietary software. Linux > slavebreds.
“My main priority for a laptop is weight, I hate this ‘portable desktop’ 17″ laptop crap and the Air is in the netbook weight category, only not quite as gutless.”
Oh I agree. Although weight isn’t the issue for me it’s the physical dimensions which is why I’ve been going with 14″ laptops. For me the hassle of carrying around a USB hub, optical drive, and ethernet port, off-set the benefits of the size.
In some respects its like Linux. A lot of the time you can do whatever it is you need to do but then there are those times where you’ve got to jump through some extra hoops that annoy the piss out of you. To me, nothing would be more frustrating than going to a hotel that only had wired internet and finding that you forgot your usb ethernet adapter.
nothing would be more frustrating than going to a hotel that only had wired internet and finding that you forgot your usb ethernet adapter.
Yeah, I hate this kind of design policy. The old Macbook Pros had a DVI port built right in, but now they’ve replaced it with their proprietary “Mini-DVI”, which requires a dongle, so they could shave like 1/8th on an inch off laptop thickness. Now you’ll jump on a plane to give a presentation, get to the conference and–fuck–realize that your dongle is still attached to the monitor at work/home. Anyone here have one? No. Even the other Macbook toting guys forgot to bring theirs, as usual, even though they know this type of shit happens all the time. DVI cables are easy to come by if you forget that. In fact, chances are you don’t need one given the intended setup already includes it, but only Macbook owners have Mini-DVI cables. Similarly, they’re pretty easy to lose or forget, so you’ll have to buy more. Having multiples can alleviate the forgetting problem, though. Surprisingly, Apple doesn’t assrape customers on the adapters like they do with everything else (I’m looking at you, purposely faulty $80 power cords). The Mini-DVI to DVI cable (and all others, I think) are like $20. Still, I’d rather have the damn DVI port built in and eschew this nonsense altogether. I don’t remember anyone ever complaining the Macbook Pros were too thick.
They did something similarly frustrating with the iMac line. It used to be that loosening three Phillips head screws on the bottom and lifting the back panel off granted you access to the entire machine, but now you need a giant industrial strength suction cup (not exaggerating) to yank the display cover off, all the while praying you don’t drop it. It wouldn’t be a huge deal except that the hard drive, the #1 most problematic component, is behind the screen. Macbooks suck at this, too. Apple engineers would rather have “no screws” on the body rather than give the end user easy access to replaceable components.
@Thomas B,
Your inane trolling has made you even more confused; if you get a Mac you’ll see that it is the epitome of proprietary.
@Thomas B,
Why are you so concerned about things being proprietary or not? You don’t pay any bills! Do you complain about proprietary food, proprietary car companies, etc? To paraphrase someone from LH a while back, if someone prefers a Kenmore washing machine over Whirlpool, do you yell “Kenmore $hill!”?
Quit following the rantings of a bunch of delusional hippies; that’s way before my time, and definitely waaaaaaaaaay before yours.
@ Max and Waldo and everyone else.
I LIKE PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE. JUST BECAUSE I USE LINUX DOESN’T MEAN I DON’T.
@Thomas B,
You want to worry about “evil” corporations? Look up Monsanto; then tell me about your crusade against Microsoft and helping people with “freedom”.
The combination of a Mac laptop and a PC desktop is pretty much unbeatable. You only really lose two things when using a mac – hardware flexibility and games – which you can’t do on a laptop anyway. Well there’s specialist software too, but rarely anything that runs too slow in a VM.
Hell, I can’t run absolutely insane games on my MBP, but I can run pretty nice games that I am entirely happy with in Boot Camp.
But I’m also one of those crazy people who doesn’t use WASD or the arrow keys for movement in FPS games.
The combination of a Mac laptop and a PC desktop is pretty much unbeatable.
“But! But! The price!” the loonz say. Guess they weren’t around when low end computers cost thousands. Nowadays slightly north of $2500 gets you the dream setup of two computers with all the features you want. If computing is what you do, this is a drop in the bucket. Going cheap here is like buying a 1978 Chevelle for your 75 mile daily commute.
Exactly. Considering that as an IT professional your product is your time you want to waste as little of it as possible doing non-essential stuff that you are not getting paid for. Plus if you consider the hardware a business expense it is really practically nothing in the greater scheme of things. This is something often missed by FOSS supporters – The cost of Windows is utterly negligible from a business standpoint and the time cost of Linux is massive. I reckon my annual client lunch bill easily eclipses my annual hardware bill.