I finally stepped into the world of Apple. While I thought it would be a new and exciting experience, I must say I’m somewhat disappointed.
I purchased a Black MacBook off eBay that came with many accessories. The auction included a laptop bag, 500gb Lacie external hard drive, the original box and restore discs and an Apple keyboard and mouse.
It’s specs aren’t the best, but I don’t need them. It has a 2.16 ghz Core 2 Duo Intel processor, 2gb of ram and a 200gb hard drive. I plan on upgrading the ram to 4gb once I learn all I can on OSX and need to start working with VM Ware.
I must say that the design of and abilities of my MacBook amaze me, while some aspects of it downright disappoint me.
The first issue I had was with it’s “slot loading” disc drive. This computer came with Tiger (10.4) so I purchased Snow Leopard (10.6.3), and my first task was upgrading to this OS. While I’m still not sure if something is wrong with mine, or if this is a design flaw; my particular machine doesn’t particularly like to load or unload discs. The only way I can get them to load is by pushing the disc in all the way using a foreign object. Ejection is similar, as it only ejects about 1/16″ out of the machine. I asked some of my co-workers about this and they confirmed that these drives are finicky at best.
My second issue is with the seemingly “closed” nature of the Mac OS. While I’m basically a newbie, it doesn’t seem as friendly to someone who likes to customize everything like myself. While there are options, they are limited. Luckily I have vast experience with Linux, the second cousin twice removed to OSX; this makes my learning curve much more shallow than if I had no experience at all.
Let me restate for all the fan boys out there, these are just first impressions. I haven’t had a chance to dig deep into this machine yet. I’m diving head first into the mac world and only using a PC when required or when I can’t use it; such as at work or when I’m doing some work for my business.
I transferred my entire music library last night and eagerly anticipate setting up iTunes and seeing how similar the Mac version is compared to the Windows version. I’m also going to start transferring all of my personal home videos using iMovie and iDVD. Two programs I actually need to learn for my job at IU.
Since I have went on a technology “spending spree” of sorts, I am imposing on myself a probation from technology purchases. The only caveat is if something fails and needs replaced. I think I’ve put enough financial stress on my wife for a year or so in that department regarding this and my recent HTPC purchase.