After an entire lifetime of using Windows (and DOS) based PC’s, I’ve purchased my first Apple Mac, a MacBook Pro 15″ laptop. My beloved (and very long lived) Thinkpad died recently. I’ve had one IBM Thinkpad or another since 1999. I thought long and hard about getting another Thinkpad, but for two reasons, I could no longer pull the trigger.
First, IBM sold the Thinkpad line to Lenovo a couple of years ago. Lenovo is a Chinese company. The two instances where I’ve needed support since the Thinkpad sale to Lenovo have fallen short of IBM’s previous impeccible standards. Although I personally like China, I also figured that enough of my money goes to China in so many other purchases. I know my computer was still manufactured in China, Taiwan, and/or Mexico. But at least some of the purchase price went to one of the few remaining innovators left in the American market. The American economy is in deseperate need of vision/innovation. See Detroit, SUV crazed Auto-Industry for examples of lack of innovation/vision. So I decided to reward a company that once struggled severely but has risen again through vision and innovation.
The other reason is much more practical and direct. Although for years I enjoyed the challenge of tweaking and customization that Windows-based PC allowed, I no longer have the time (and thus the patience) to spend coddling an operating system. When I’m on a computer now, it’s to get something accomplished, not to mess around adjusting settings and answering a never-ending stream of prompts and queries. Quite simply, the Mac is a machine built to get things done. Sure, I lose a little flexibility, but at the end of the day I believe I will be more productive on a Mac.
So far, I’m thrilled with this laptop. To help the transition, I’ve installed Windows XP natively using the Boot Camp option. Other than to install Windows, I’ve yet to use Windows at all. The transition has been remarkably easy and satisfactory. The LED screen on this laptop is stunningly beautiful (by far, the best screen I’ve ever seen on a laptop). While no laptop screen is good enough for critical color work, this one, after calibration, at least appears to be somewhere in the ballpark needed for fast in the field tweaks. Apple’s attention to detail and design really makes using this laptop a pleasure. Something as stupid and basic as a cleverly designed power plug that makes traveling easy puts to shame every other laptop I’ve seen and used before. After a long day of travel to stormy Wisconsin, I can’t begin to tell you how such a small detail as a functional and cleverly designed power plug can make a difference when you’re already carrying 25-pounds of photography gear. I’m still working on learning some of the keyboard shortcuts, and dealing with a new keyboard layout (where’s the backspace button!? Oh, use the fn key with delete, etc.) But so far I’d give the switch nothing but the highest praise. More updates on the switch (and Wisconsin) later…
