Must...Resist...the Mac side.

I never thought the day would come. I am actually considering switching sides. As a long time Windows PC user and even enthusiast (yes I subscribe to Maximum PC ), my defenses are ever so slowly being worn away.

It all started about a month ago. I was starting to look for a new phone. These days, you can't help but think of the Iphone when looking for a new cell phone. The closest thing Sprint has is the HTC Touch. My buddy Tino recently got one, and after playing with it a bit, it was definitely one of the best Windows Mobile phones I have used. I started thinking that this would be my next phone for sure. But then...

Last week, we had some friends in town, staying with us for SxSW Interactive. They are both industrial designers, and both big fans of Apple products. They pulled out their Iphones and what struck me was how easy it was for my wife to figure out how to use it. I think my dear wife will be the first to admit that she is no techie, and that was when it really hit me - "Apple products just work." My epiphany? People buy Apple products because they work out of the box. No need to tweak or install 3rd party apps to make things work. People are not just paying large amounts of $$$ for the pretty looks and design, but more so for the usability of the whole platform.

Okay, so you may be saying, "Well, duh, of course. Average Joe does not want to mess with his computer, he just wants it to work. Like a dumb toaster." From a usability standpoint, I would argue there is nothing wrong with wanting your toaster to be able to make toast, easily and effectively, without having to tweak it or install a third party "toaster" app. You may then say, "Part of the fun of PCs is found in installing, configuring, and tweaking your system to get it to run the most effectively!" I would say yes, true. I have built my fair share of desktop PC systems and I did and still do enjoy it. It is great to see how many 3D Marks your rig can pump out after you've dropped in that new Nvidia card! But I would then argue that with Apple switching to the Intel chipset, a lot of the things that once could only be done on Windows based computers can now be done on Apple systems, especially with the ability to dual boot both OSes.

You may then say, "PCs are cheap". This is probably the strongest argument for not switching sides. Seems like every week Best Buy is advertising a decent system for $500 or less. The PC definitely wins in that regard. For the price of a MacBook Pro, you could conceivably get 3 equally powerful PC laptops. Since I am nothing if not cheap, this too has always prevented me from going Mac. But then you could argue about quality over quantity.

Finally, the other factor that is making me consider the Mac more, is simply peer pressure. I have a very good friend, Alex, who has been working with Windows PCs as a web developer/programmer for the past five years and he is planning on making the switch soon. I greatly respect his opinion, and if he is seriously considering the Mac side, it makes me start to wonder as well. He was in town for SxSw as well and he said he was almost embarassed to pull out his Lenovo at some of the panels and be the lone PC among the sea of Apples. See photo above for an example of this new phenomena.

We went to the local Apple store a few days ago, and I will be the first to admit, the MacBook Pros are beautifully designed and aesthetically pleasing. They work out of the box. They work with the Iphone. My friends are going Mac. Help! What am I going to do?! Thoughts? Comments? Do tell...

PS. A few links to some blogs of those who have taken the plunge...

A Hardcore Windows Guy Gets a Mac..
Reflections on a month of Macbook experience
and, finally, a whole site devoted to changing platforms -
Switchingtomac.com

Super Two-sday!

Our wonderful boy turns 2 today! Goodbye baby blues, and hello terrible twos! We threw him a little birthday party this past Sunday in San Antonio, with family and a few close friends.

As usual, he received a ton of gifts from his proud grandparents. The gift that he will be using the most in the near future is his new Fun-to-Learn Potty! See the look of dread in Benjamin's face in the photo to the right.

Here are the lyrics to one of the happy songs it plays after a succesful #1 or #2 -

Look at me!
I can use my own potty
And it makes me feel so very proud
When everybody cheers out loud!

I will be the first to admit that I don't think proud would be my first feeling if people started cheering after I walked out of the bathroom at Starbucks. Hopefully Benjamin will not be too traumatized by this toilet.

Today also marks the day that Texas and Ohio will decide who will be the Democratic candidate. A couple of weeks ago, the University of Texas hosted the CNN debate between Obama and Hilary. We decided to check out the scene on campus that day. It was pretty crazy, like a political College Gameday! The Obamicans and Hillarites were going at it!

Later that night, we went home and watched the debate. Most pundits believe the Texas debate was a draw, with neither side landing a knockout punch. In other words, a waste of time.

But now, onto the real question of the day - Who is the birthday boy's choice? Who will Benjamin endorse? The video below reveals what he thinks of the candidates...

Cover models!

Found this neat site that lets you upload photos and turn them into magazine covers. I found a cute recent photo, uploaded it, and it seemed to match this magazine title the best. Looking forward to seeing who will make it on the cover next!

Oh No...the Big Three-Oh!

Guess who turns 30 today? My lovely wife can no longer say she is in her late twenties anymore. She was a little sad about that, but I told her she should be happy that people still mistaken her for a college student. Believe it or not, she's even been mistaken for a high schooler on a few occasions! Not bad for a mother of a two-year old. Yes, I am a lucky guy.

I gave Vanessa a surprise birthday party this past Sunday, and it turned out great, if I do say so myself. I couldn't have pulled it off without the help of Tiffany and Diana, who came over to "babysit" so I could take Vanessa out for an afternoon date.

While we were out, the girls set up all the party decor and got everything ready for the big surprise. I was in continual contact with Tiffany via text message to find out how things were progressing, and to see if guests had arrived yet. I was pretty confident that Vanessa had no idea what was in store for her, but when she kept on asking me who I was texting, I began to have my doubts.

After stalling for time by taking Vanessa to the Sprint store to look at phones and then to Randalls to buy groceries, Tiffany texted me that the guests had arrived and that everything was finally ready. We pulled into the driveway and entered the house. As we came into the dining room, everyone shouted "Surprise!" and the tears began to flow from Vanessa's eyes. Okay, I made that last part up. But she was quite happy and surprised that I was able to pull something like that off without her knowing about it. "He shoots, he scores!" Can you say "major brownie points"?



On a different note, this was my first post in about two weeks. Vanessa has turned into quite the blogger, with a new post just about everyday. I think she is a great writer and am glad she has found a way to express herself. However, I am slowly but surely being left behind by her in the blogosphere. She has been exhorting me to pick up the pace, and I will do my best to comply, if only to get some more brownie points. ;)