Our New Child

Melissa is fond of saying that in our apartment we don't have children or pets, we have technology. Well, add another one to the roster. This weekend we upgraded my 5 year old HP Windows XP Media Center PC to the shining, 24" iMac you see to the right. It's a thing of beauty. The old PC was great for several years, but it was to the point where it took 20 minutes to fully power on and we turned it on no more than once a month (using my Macbook as our main computer). The new iMac starts up in a matter of seconds. I can have it up and running Photoshop in the amount of time it takes for Windows to even start loading on the PC. Plus, the PC's main feature- built in DVR -isn't as necessary as it was before I got a DVR from the cable company. And it doesn't work at all with DirecTV or HD broadcasts, so it's a moot point. Anyway, it was certainly time to upgrade.

I don't think the picture really illustrates how big a 24" computer is. It dominates the room. It's nearly 10 inches bigger than the monitor it replaces and only 6 inches smaller than our living room HDTV. And it gets a beautiful picture with very high viewing angle. I've transfered all of the files I need on to it, and it's backing up automatically (through Apple's wonderful Time Machine) to the 1TB disk on the corner of the desk (added bonus- my MacBook can backup to the same drive as long as it's on the home network). All in all, a killer setup.

What's perhaps most significant is this is the completion of the Macification of our home. We have kicked John Hodgman out and are surviving solely on Justin Long. As a side note, I think it's interesting that Justin Long (portraying the young, hip "Mac") has become something of a standard movie actor (no offense intended, I like his work), whereas John Hodgman (supposedly the stodgy ol' PC) has become sort of a King of the Hipsters, the exact people Apple is targeting. Maybe I'm the only one that thinks that's funny. Anyway, I don't want to start any kind of flame war here; I simply prefer Macs. I have extensive experience on both operating systems and they're both good in their own ways. I just find Macs to be more pleasant and that they maintain their performance longer. I'm willing to pay a little (but when you come pare the specs, not that much) more for a higher quality product, no matter what those Windows ads say.

Speaking of those ads, they bug me a little. First, they're ads for Windows, but they make no reference of the operating system itself. "PC" is not a unified product the way that "Mac" is. Second, their claims are dubious, and often outright deceitful. The computers that people pick out may be cheaper, but they pale in comparison to the nearest comparable Mac, or are at least missing several key features. The girl who says she is a video editor? She must just do it as a hobby or there's no excuse for not getting a Mac and Final Cut Pro. I know MANY professional video editors and they ALL work on Mac. It's just better at that sort of thing. To be fair, the kid looking for a good gaming laptop with Blu-Ray should absolutely go with the PC, that's not Mac's strong suit (though whether the Sony he chooses is really cheaper is debatable). Throw in the fact that the first girl featured was a professional actress ("real people," Microsoft?) and the company that makes the ads produces them entirely on Macs (this is a true fact, you can look it up) and you've got ads that really irritate me.

And they're part of the larger problem. I'm seeing this trend in car commercials, too- "Hey, the economy's bad. Our stuff is cheaper!" I've already gone on about the economy here, but I'll say it again- there are PLENTY of people (probably most people) who are doing just fine, not matter what the cable news shows say. I don't think people should use it as an excuse for buying shittier stuff just because it costs less money. But, that's what the commercials are telling everyone to do, anyway . If you're paying less money, you're probably buying an inferior product. That's fine, but I'm sick of seeing Chevy comparing themselves to Toyota. A lower price and a measly 1 mpg more don't make your car "better." You can say, "Our cars are cheap," just don't go around pretending like that makes you a BMW.

Wow, I really got off on a tangent there. Sorry about that. Anyway, I have a new iMac and it makes me very happy. Keep tuning in to learn how I spent my Memorial Day weekend and for the long-awaited/teased Knott's Berry Farm trip report.

Cheers,
Eli