Josh Did What?! Pt. 2

Just a quick update on the lack of Apple hate. Read more after the jump!

First of all, I just want to say that I absolutely love my iPad Air; it seems as though I can’t go anywhere without it. As I got into it and fiddled around, the idea of the Apple ecosystem really started to interest me. Sure, there are connectivity programs like DropBox (which I started using in conjunction with my iPad), but even that requires that I write a document, drag the file over to my DropBox folder, and then open the file. From what I had read, that wasn’t the case within the Apple world - at least, not most of the time. There, one lived in a magical world of wizardry where documents synced with an iCloud drive (also known by its true name: The Freaking Internet!) and would “just be present” within a program. These rumors of wizardry proved to be true.

As I write this document in Pages, I’m not doing so on my iPad Air; I’m doing it on my new, 2014 MacBook Pro with Retina. That’s right, folks: the guy who downed apple for over twenty years went out and bought himself a Mac, and he now owns a total of four Apple products (with a fifth [iPhone 6] on the way in March).

Why did I buy a MacBook? Mainly to have the experience of learning an entirely different way of computing. I had actually used a Mac a little over a year ago in college, but that was only because we had in-class assignments for English class, and the only computers in the classroom were iMacs. At the time, I really didn’t think too much about it; Macs were the “enemy,” but I had to do the work, but we were using the Mac OS version of Microsoft Office. So once I actually got the program open, everything was familiar to me. I did my work; I moved on.

Portability was another reason for picking up a MacBook. My Windows 8.1-equipped ASUS gaming laptop is an absolute beast in terms of power, but equally as much in heftiness. It feels like I’m carrying around fifteen pounds whenever it’s in my bag. The MacBook Pro, however, is extremely light - not quite as light as a MacBook Air, but ten times lighter than the ASUS. That’s partially due to the fact that I bought a 13” MacBook, as opposed to the much larger ASUS at 17”. I’m not downing the ASUS - it’s a great computer - but I don’t play games all the time. I wanted an alternative that I could write with (as well as other tasks) that wouldn’t be quite so heavy. However, I still have a laptop with Windows whenever I need it.

So what do I think of the laptop so far? I’m not really sure yet, since I just bought it. So far, I can really only say that it’s very different. Having an iPad smoothed the transition a little, but it’s still different enough that I have that “fish-out-of-water” feeling. At the same time, though, it’s pretty exciting! Like I said in my last article, I just love computers. Getting to play around with the second most used operating system in the world is - I’m sure - going to be a trip.

So what crazy or radical thing am I going to do next in the wonderful world of technology? Am I going to try straight-up Linux? Am I going to turn my gaming desktop into a Steam Machine and run Valve’s OS? What about switching exclusively to Mac? To answer all those questions, I can honestly give a definite answer: no. 
1) I don’t really see the appeal in the Linux OS; 2) I also use my desktop for mixing music, so turning it into a 100% dedicated gaming computer is out of the question; 3) I don’t think I could ever go completely over to Mac; the facts there still haven’t changed. Not everything I use is readily available on the Mac, and I still like to upgrade the hardware in my PC. Changing out graphics cards and things like that are never going to be an option with Apple.

So there you have it - I drank the Kool-aid. I’m a part-time Mac user now. However, Windows will always be my preferred platform for a lot of tasks (namely gaming).

Of course, I also said I would never buy a computer with Mac OS. Yet here I am, a little over three weeks since the last time I made that statement (to Nic), typing an article on a MacBook Pro. 

-Josh