[huskerlug] Re: DenverPost.com - "Hi, I'm a Mac. I am way cool."
- From: GreyGeek <jkreps@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: huskerlug@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2006 19:05:46 -0600
Charles Leslie wrote:
> Being a gizmo fanatic, I broke down and bought a new MacBook Core 2
> Duo last week... and wow...
>
> The Mac on Intel hardware is going to be a serious force to be
> reckoned with. It does exactly what Linux distros have been wishing
> they can do. It provides end users with a simple, slick, and gorgeous
> interface that is so simple and functional, anyone could use... but if
> you look under the hood, provides geeks with pure Unix bliss, now with
> the Standardized PC hardware they crave to develop on.. It's like a
> bombshell blonde just walked into the room, and everyone is invited to
> come and get her.
>
> My MacBook experience was like this...
>
> Unbox MacBook, plug stuff in...
>
> 5 minutes, up and running. All of my hardware just works, including
> USB peripherals, wireless internet, external sound card, printer, and
> digital camera... no configuration needed, no drivers needed... no
> software even needed to use them. I've never experienced anything
> like it.
>
> 30 minutes marveling at OS X, and all the default Apple software
> installed, half of which I deemed useless and promptly removed to save
> disk space. :)
>
> 2 hrs... I installed the dev tools, GNU compiler, and have been
> playing with "Linux" apps on it. Using the Fink project...
> http://www.finkproject.org/ It's quite fantastic really. I've even
> got X running on it. Other than flashy DirectX only games, it easily
> runs most apps from the Mac, Unix, and Windows world with ease.
>
> To say that I'm highly impressed, doesn't even cut it. I used to
> think people who bought Macs were either idiots, or artsy fartsy
> graphics designers. Times have changed.
>
>
I went to the Circuit City website and checked out the cost of a Mac
which could replace this Gateway m675prr laptop, which has a 17" screen,
80GB HD, ATI 9600 Radeon, 3.16GHz CPU, 512MB RAM, DVD+-RW, built-in
Broadcom 4306 wireless chip, and all the Linux software I use, which in
proprietary costs would be well over $2,500. Total actual cost: about
$1,800. (But I got it for $1300, counting warranty).
The Mac sold for $1200 plus about $1,000 for software, warranty and
additional hardware. Total cost: about $2,200.
My wife's naked Acer 3404Li laptop with a 15" display, 1.9 GHz, 80GB
HD, wireless chip and CDROM cost $695 at Circut City. The MEPIS 3.4.3
which it has run for almost a year cost $0. It doesn't play DVDs so she
won't be making movies, but she never has in the past and leaves that
chore to me. It doesn't have accelerated video, but it plays about
every video she encounters on the Internet. When I got home it took me
all of 45 minutes to install MEPIS and download upgrades and additional
software using the repository. I haven't needed to service or even
touch it since then, and she stopped asking questions on how to email,
browse, use OOo, etc., about a month after she got her hands on it. She
even turns on and off the wireless and printer network when she wants to
use her laptop.
Running Windows apps on either of our laptops isn't a requirement. She
doesn't have XP on hers, and on my XP side (which came with the laptop,
but which has been squeezed into the smallest HD space possible), which
I keep for a single program (IQAN) for a farmer whose tractor
drive-by-wire guidance program I wrote. When his need goes away XP will
go away.
I am about 18 months away from retirement. After nearly 40 years of
writing software (since Fortran 64 in 1968) I am almost sure I won't be
writing any apps after I retire. We have yet to decide if we will
continue using the Internet. A Mac just doesn't appear to be in my future.
--
GreyGeek
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