G4 goodness!

Ok, for all of you Mac haters, just move on, cuz you’ll not be interested in this post! I just have to give some blog lovin’ to my spiffy new G4!

It’s not a very fast system by today’s standards (450Mhz) but lemme tell ya, moving from a beige G3 433 to this system is a big speed jump. The bus is faster, the ethernet is 100bT, the USB is native and OSX Panther is SWEET! All the networking and file transfer functions are noticeably faster.

In addition to the groovy hardware improvements, the new OSX is faboo. Just when I think that Macintosh couldn’t possibly get any more powerful AND easy to use, they bring out something better. It’s astounding. Really. I transferred all my user crap (prefs, mail, addy book, favourites, etc) to this new system en masse, plopped them into the system and it never bobbled. Nick about had a heart attack when I told him what I’d done!! [DISCLAIMER: You are not supposed to bring in old system prefs from a different set of hardware as well as a different version of the OS with OSX. Do NOT do that! I can afford to run rampant since I am a tech and I can recover from stupid shit like that. Do NOT email me if you drag all yer old shit into a new system and it blows up, ok??]

Anyway, I did it totally wrong and the system rocked on. Again, I’m astounded at how robust OSX is. I tell ya, every single setting from my old system was here. EVERYTHING. It’s like I simply took my drive and put it into this G4, but I didn’t!

This, my friends is why I love my Mac. This is why it’s such a pleasure to work with Apple products. Despite the idiotic things Apple does sometimes, I’d still not trade my Mac for any other PC on the planet. Nothing, and I do mean nothing can hold a candle to the Mac OS. Winblows is a joke compared to the ease and beauty of the OS I use daily. Linux’s various flavours is robust and configurable, but it has NO ease of use at all. Unix is for propellerheads only. I refuse to do command line. It’s the 21st century fer chrissakes, there is no reason in the world to have to memorize commands!!

I know I’ve said it many times before, but it bears repeating: Mac OSX is the top of the line. Hell, even the old Mac OS was top of the line, IMO. The hardware and software work together flawlessly to offer the user a non-stressful, enjoyable way to work and play! I think it’s tragic that so many people buy Winblows systems simply because they don’t know any better. They walk into CompUSA or BestBuy and the pimply faced boys tell them that they have to buy a Windows system because “there is no software for Macs and they cost waaaaay more than this [insert the PC they are hawking that week]!” We educated people know that there is nothing that I cannot do with a Mac, but the uneducated PC buyer just does what they are told. They walk out with a $500 shitty PC built with generic parts that they will have to replace in a year or two. They struggle to use clunky old Winblows, constantly futzing with drivers and downloads and virus software and adaware to keep the ad programs off. They develop a hatred of the computer and they think that Windows is the only way to use a computer.

It’s odd to me that people stay with Windows at all. Everyone says that they hate it, yet when you say “Get a Mac!” they recoil in horror that you’d say such a thing. What gives? If you detest something, find a better solution! WHY does 95% of the PC market think that struggle and anger is the normal way to feel while using a computer? It’s insane!

Yes, my Apple hardware costs a little more than your Windows box, but you know what? My “expensive” hardware will outlive yours by about 5 years. That’s right, I was using a SEVEN year old beige G3 to run the current Mac OS (well, 10.2.8 anyway, not 10.3). My “new” G4 is about 4 years old and it will run the current OS for a few more years. So, with longevity like that, how do you figure that Macs are more expensive?

As for software, I want for nothing. I have MSOffice (it’s better than the PC version, too). I have games. I have browsers and email. I also have iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iCal, Mail, Safari, iDVD, Garage Band and Font Book – ALL of which come WITH my OS and work flawlessly. I don’t have to bother with camera drivers or printer drivers or camcorder drivers or a new virus every day. I also don’t have to reformat my harddrive every time a preference file gets cranky. I also have proper color space so my photos and other graphics don’t look like ass when I print them.

So, don’t tell me about how expensive Macs are or how little software there is. It’s bullshit. I use the best computer on the planet – no matter what the market share.