Make Mine Macbook

A few months ago I lamented about officially being a mac convert. And not only that, but that I was really excited because, come December, I would get my own illustrious mac with which to drool on and (hopefully) work from.

This changed a few weeks ago, when the head bossman of the company said, "Oh, by the way, I got you a new computer."

O RLY? as the kids say.

"Yeah, our publisher got a Macbook Pro, fully spec'd out, and decided she didn't like it. It'll be here sometime next week."

So for a week or so I sulked. I really wanted that new desktop machine and all that that implied. The raw horsepower! The dual operating systems! The big, metal case!

But when the new laptop arrived, all was forgiven. Holy cow. What a geeky dream.

A 17" notebook, 2GB of RAM, 120GB Hard Drive, Pentium 2.3Ghz, in and of itself, is pretty damn ridiculous. The screen is almost as large as my home desktop monitor (21" of CRT goodness) and instantly I was brought back to old laptops I've seen and used myself, none of which feature the bright screen, the backlit keyboard(!), the DVD-R packed inside.

Quite simply, it 'twas a geeky dream and I woke up with the machine still in my arms.

A few reasons it rocks above your basic <Insert Dell/HP/Compaq Laptop here>:

1. It runs OSX and Windows XP. Flawlessly.

Yes my dear friends, Boot Camp really does work and it really does rock. My Windows XP SP2 disc installed like a champ, though it took awhile to really get it to stick.

Turns out you can't eject a disc on the mac in the windows setup screen (The original, DOS looking ones where you copy files and partition/format drives) unless the keyboard driver is loaded. Guess which one isn't. So this ruled out XP upgrade scenarios that needed a previous version on the hard drive or a CD of a previous operating system. The latter I had in spades, just no way to take one out and put another in.

I also had the issue of "Hal.dll is missing" when trying to install Windows XP. This was apparently a holdover from my previous install attempts. The solution: Repartition your drive with Boot Camp to its full capacity, then repartition it again with an XP partition. Install went great.

2. Apple's software suite is just mind-boggling.

First up is GarageBand, which is so awesome it hurts. Whenever I get bored, I fire it up and create a little techno track of my own devising. You can also, of course, create your own music and layer the existing presets, drumkits, and synths to your liking or to enhance your music. All in all, a very exciting and surprisingly easy to use piece of software.

Another hit is Photo Booth, something that the kids are huge fans of. Let me share you a few pictures of Annie my wife took with her yesterday (click for the full version):

 
My baby's momma and said baby (Ericka & Annie)

 
She'll take over the world people, for reals.

And finally, my favorite:

I so want to honk that nose. Too cute!

3. It's a mac. It makes you cooler just by existing. The edges are smoother, the metal is sleeker, and it says "Hey world, this is a lifestyle choice." Or something.

The point is, if you're thinking about buying a laptop, and I know they're pricey, but the MacBook Pros really are the best of the best. They do run a little hot, but this has fluxuated and isn't really a problem as long as you don't run it on your bare legs (wear shorts or pants, ya weirdo).

And, personally, this laptop lets me hang out with the fam and do my necessary computer work. So impromptu Photo Booth and drawing programs crop up here and there to keep the kids entertained. It's fun, fun stuff.

I'm so glad someone else made this decision for me (i.e. the primary work machine I'll use for the next few years) . And I never thought I'd say that.

Bang! bang! goes the night.
All wrapped up in the firelight