Macking Around

This is a first for the Addiverse: this post is being written on a Mac.  The wife's Mac, to be precise. We'll know what I think by the time the last sentence is written.  You'll have an instant review, as I write the blog off the top of my head and am done when I am done.

I bet you are on the edge of your seat, brimming with anticipation.

My beloved laptop's monitor took its last breath a week ago.  Since that fateful day, I've been fretting about what to do.  You would think it's simple: my laptop is five years old, which is like 150 years in computer years.  I love and use my computer a minimum of once a day.  I do everything on the computer-- bills, buying, selling, shopping, reading, banking, socializing, communicating, streaming, working, blogging.  PCs are cheap.  Simple: go buy a new laptop for about $400 and add a few programs.

Well, it's not that simple and thus the fretting has begun.

The wife, who is like a walking advertisement for Apple, has a Mac and adores it.  She uses a PC at work, but other than that, she has an iPhone, iPad2, two iPods and a Mac.  They all talk to each other.  Whenever she does something on one, they all go "Ding! ding! Ding! DING! ding!"From the corners of the house, iProducts reach out and feel the love.  She voted I get a Mac.....

....and, I admit that I covet my iPhone and love my little iPod shuffle, and so her vote for a Mac is duly noted....

....except I can't use if for work and that's basically a deal-breaker.  I do a lot of work on my home laptop while at home.  The IT god set it up so I could use a remote log in.  I get all my paperwork done between 6-7 AM.  It's awesome--I sit at the kitchen table, drink coffee, wait to poop and do my work.  Although he's a god, he's pretty sure it would just about kill him to set up the remote access on a Mac.  (I thought he was kidding and just didn't want me to go to the "dark" side, but my own research confirmed what he said).  Even so, I asked the wife if I could try her Mac, just to see what all the hype is about.

And, here I am, using the Mac, despite this glaring issue.

So, you are astutely wondering, why not just go get the PC and be done with it? After all, I can't keep using the TV as my monitor and there is lots of work to be done.  Well, all the newer computers are now equipped with Windows 8.....

....and, that's basically a deal-breaker, too.  That program is so full of bugs and problems that it basically crawls away from the table.  Here's my conversation with the Best Boy at Best b.u.y.:

Me: "Do you have any laptops that have Windows 7?"

Best Boy: "No, they all come with 8."

Me: start to walk away.

Best Boy: Quickly follows the trail of a seemingly loss sale. "Is there something about Windows 8 I can help you with?"

(Obviously this guy does not recognize my computer prowess.  Probably thinks I'm too old or something.  Piss on him and his tiny boy jeans.)

Me:  "Windows 8 gets horrible reviews."

Best Boy: "Let me show you some of the features.  It's very intuitive, based on touch screens like other products."  Goes through a dog and pony show, supposedly educating me on the merits of 8.

Me: "That's great, but I"m talking about the program itself, not how to use the home screen."

Best Boy: "That's the perception--that there is something wrong with 8.  I love it."

Me: "Aren't they coming out with an 8.1 later this year to fix all the bugs?"

Best Boy: "Yeah, in December."

Me: "So, why would I want something that is proven to have all sorts of issues and needs an updated version in order for it to work better?"

Best Boy: "Oh, it's an easy fix."

Me: "But, it is still a fix.  I don't want something that needs a fix."

I walk away, quite to his dismay.  To add insult to injury, I go stand by the Macs.  Take that, Best Boy.

(Side note: the guy who helped me at the HH place gets points for muttering in agreement that Windows 8 sucks and that I should wait until they get 8.1 out)

Upon return home, I do a search and find I can easily order a laptop just like the one I currently have, loaded with Windows 7.  The price rocks, the programs are what I need, the IT guy could easily hook me up....

....but, WHY would I get the exact same thing I already have (albeit with a working monitor) and need to pay a couple hundred to load it up with programs I already have?  Oh sure, it'd be a newer model, but really?

You might be asking yourself why I don't just get a new monitor screen.  I did that once before and installed it myself.  (Pretty impressive, eh Best Boy?)  I did it after Lucy stepped on my computer and cracked the screen--this after less than a few months of me owning it.  I bought the screen on line, watched a couple YouTube videos and changed it myself.  Back then, the price of a new screen was much cheaper.  I have no idea why, but it's $30 more now.  I refuse to pay anyone to do this but don't really feel like doing it myself and don't think it's worth the cost....

....I could use an external monitor, like I use on my desk top at work, but that would cost just as much and certainly wouldn't be portable.  The wife says I can't keep a monitor on the kitchen table.  See? Not so simple.

Right now, I use the television as my monitor, which is fun because the screen is so large, but I have to perch on the ottoman, closer to the TV than is comfortable, balancing the cord on my thigh so it stays plugged in, keeping the wife from watching her parade of reality TV shows.  When I take my lap top places at work, I just plug into whatever monitor I'm closest to.  Although this method is free, it really does suck.

I go cross eyed sitting so closely to that big screen.  Being cross-eyed is a deal-breaker, too.

So, here I am, typing on this Mac.  I love that the key board is lit up (not that that means anything beyond looking cool), the screen is super-clear, the thing booted up within a milli-second, it is certainly portable and it's like doing things on my iPhone, so I get it. The battery life is ridiculously amazing.  I hate the mouse but I can get over that.  It's easy enough to use the Internet and I know it would be kick-ass for all my music. As I type, I'm thinking if I were to get a Mac--and, that would be at least three times more money than the PC I am looking at--I'd basically turn it into a PC....and, I'm not sure what the point of that would be....putting me back at square one.

One thing I forgot to note is that the IT guy at work suggested that I get a Mac for myself and keep the screen free computer for work....but, that doesn't solve anything as I'd still have to use the TV to do work at home or squat on someone's monitor at work.

World famine. War.  Poverty. Computer decision.  On the same level, don't you think?  Sigh.