TOC - Linux, Apple, and TOC - Linux, Apple, and MS
We all know that Apple is by far the most expensive system to buy. Going near the local Apple store turns my wallet into an instant ATM, and that's before I even consider purchasing. But, having become an recent convert, I have to ask myself, is Apple really that expensive?
A cold day in hell
That's when I thought I would switch to Apple. Let's face it, all of the Apple hardware is way overpriced, and there just doesn't seem to be a way to be bleeding edge even if you could afford it. Sure, there are the brave souls who have managed to get OSX on "normal" hardware, but I have a family and $599 for a Mac mini was way cheaper than being one of them. So, yes, I am writing this on a mac, watching the silly little bar at the bottom for when my email comes in on a mac, all so that I could build software for the iPhone. But this article isn't about me switching to Mac, it's more a dairy entry, detailing my experiences upgrading to Snow Leopard.
It's official, I'm a traitor
No stolen state secrets here, so those who found us looking for a conspiracy, this is FAR worse.
I was a Windows user for - when did Windows 3.0 come out? You know, Windows 3.0, 3.1, 3.11, bleh for Workgroups. Basically since I was a child. Not only have I used Windows since pre-puberty, but I have on a number of occasions championed it's cause. This included a rather tense corporate battle replacing dumb terminals with Windows work stations, Novel with Windows Server, and a host of Sybase running on Aix machines with MS SQL. I have in deed lived the MS life.
A few years ago (10ish to be more correct), I started experimenting with Linux. Eventually using it extensively to replace Windows servers. I found a great love for PostgreSQL, Samba, and Apache in all of it's glory. Still, my desktops have always booted up to a familiar logo, good ol' Windows.
As of Friday, this has come to a sudden halt. My thick black plastic laptop case has been replaced with a thin aluminum shell with a silly little apple carved out of the back. I spent the next few days feeling as though I had just killed my brother's dog. I am a little different.