I now own a Macbook Pro after having left the Mac community in 1995 or so. During the late 90’s, there was nothing about the Mac that really moved me to own one, much less program one professionally.
From about 1986 to 1995, I not only used Macs, I wrote software for them, either on the Mac or on cisco routers (I used to do AppleTalk in IOS). And gawd almighty, were some of the people within the Mac community difficult to suffer.
The most fun I had when going to Macworld, or the Developer’s Conference was outing myself as a conservative/libertarian, pro-RKBA, pro-gun, pro-property, etc. And then when challenged by the typical smug elitists, taking down their arguments with a crushing wave of facts, as politely as possible.
Mind you, these folks often *had* to ask me questions, as I was a font of information often not available elsewhere on AppleTalk and all things networking on the Mac.
BTW - I like OpenBSD. A really solid implementation of BSD.
The reason I came back to the Mac? IMO, OS X has reached a point of maturity where it suits me and Vista has reached a point where it does not. I refuse to put up with the DRM crap now festooned upon Vista, (I still run WinXP on PeeCee’s), and OS X has a BSD-like infrastructure under it, much better IMO than Linux as a Unix target, and the GUI on top of OS X is far superior to anything in the “free”/”open” software world.
Add in VMWare+WinXP and as far as I’m concerned, an Intel Mac is now the perfect machine for a retired s/w guy like moi, who wants this crap to “just work” because in my ripe old age, I really don’t give a rat’s rear end about all the arcane BS that gets all the young punks in their 20’s all turgid.
I’m tool old and too tired to get a stiffy over which OS I used. Just can’t muster enough passion to give a darn any more. I’ve got only so many years left on this rock and I’ve got to use my time more wisely.
Outstanding. I'd have loved to have a seat at that table!
BTW - I like OpenBSD. A really solid implementation of BSD.
Absolutely. And contrary to popular opinion, I think Theo's a fairly nice guy. He was very personable when I spoke with him at a Black Hat conference in Vegas a few years back.
The reason I came back to the Mac? IMO, OS X has reached a point of maturity where it suits me and Vista has reached a point where it does not.
Agreed. I picked up the Mac Mini I have just before they started shipping them with Intel chips. It was a good price for a workstation and has performed exceedingly reliably over the years. The form factor is tough to beat, too. And with the Keyspan USB-PS/2 adapter, hooking it into my KVM switch was a breeze.
I refuse to put up with the DRM crap now festooned upon Vista,
I'm with you there. The only reason Vista is even in my shop is so I can keep ahead of the curve for my customers. If it wasn't for that and my occasional immersion into Battlefield 2, there wouldn't be any Windows boxes in my home.
I’m too old and too tired to get a stiffy over which OS I used. Just can’t muster enough passion to give a darn any more. I’ve got only so many years left on this rock and I’ve got to use my time more wisely.
Wise words indeed. I used to get all geeked out over this stuff, but since the birth of my son, I've got a whole new perspective on what's really important...and it ain't bleeding-edge technology! It's a little guy who furniture-surfs, claps with glee, and brightens the whole world with his giggles. :-)