The Gadget Tree

Ok guys, my geek life started with DOS and Windows 3.0 and I was quite a loyal Windows follower through Windows 95. Somewhere shortly before the release of Windows 98 I started to tinker with Linux, but was unsatisfied with it and merely kept it installed on a "test" system to play around with while keeping Windows on my primary machine.

I continued to be a loyal Microsoft follower through Windows 98. Windows ME and 2000 had me trying new OSes again (BeOS and QNX), but the release of XP Pro had me hooked again. That is until the Mac Mini debuted and I was finally able to afford a Mac. Being a geek that's just really into computers in general I couldn't pass up the chance to try something new. The "forbidden fruit" if you will, lol.

Follow up:

I was hooked, there was no changing my mind that Apple had gotten it right and Microsoft was "big brother" and were a monolithic evil corporation out to screw the consumer. Then Vista dropped, and my thoughts were confirmed. Instead of producing a sleek and modern OS Microsoft had instead opted to slap some fancy colors and shiny bits onto a really old idea. Sure it had Aero, and it had all kinds of fancy effects, but it felt like one of those cheesy aftermarket car stereos with all of the chrome, multicolored lights, and LCD screen with dolphins jumping on it. It was unelegant and down right tacky.

I felt extremely confident in my decision to mostly switch to Apple (I always kept a Windows PC just incase I needed to run Windows apps). There was one problem though, and that was Leopard. With the release of the aluminum iMacs and Leopard it suddenly seemed as if the wackiness had gone from Apple. No more were they a group of acid-taking art majors having a good time, suddenly it got more serious and that's when I started to see the flaws. You see before I had looked past Apple's flaws because I enjoyed the wackiness, the sheer zaniness of Apple's products and designs. Now being dull and grey, powered by Intel, and loaded with an OS that almost looked like Apple's attempt at copying Vista (of all things!) they suddenly lost their magic. Sure they still work well for my video work, but I lost the interest I once had in them as being different and quirky.

Skip to the present. I've been previewing Windows 7 since the Beta, and oddly enough I actually find myself liking Windows again. I like that they chose the name "7", a logical version number. I like how the system tray icons are no longer colored but instead look like white engravings on a glass taskbar, I love the superbar, I love Aero snap & peek, and I dare say I actually like the Aero look better than what OSX has evolved into. (I liked it when it was all colorful and pin-striped).

So here I am, just listed my iPod Touch 2g on eBay because I'm planning on buying a Zune HD when it comes out. How has this happened?

My iPod is a PAIN IN THE ASS to sync, plain and simple. I want a device that isn't tied into iTunes, which I used to think was great. I'm also tired of Apple's nazi-esque running of the App Store, I'm tired of them not supporting new hardware like blu-ray, I'm tired of them telling us what we want (oddly enough Microsoft has been the one this time to listen to consumers), but most of all I'm tired of the downward spiral into paying lots of money to buy more and more sterile, boring crap from the company that wanted us to "think different", while the "nerds" at microsoft are putting out stuff like the acid-trip wallpapers included with Windows 7.

Do I now dislike Macintosh computers? Of course not, they are great and I will always like them, but having lost their magic I no longer regard them as any more "special" than a Windows PC, just different. I will continue to work on Macs because of Final Cut Studio, but for daily activities my Windows PC, Xbox 360, and Zune HD will all play nice together and I won't feel as though I'm feeding Steve Job's ego every time I play with them.

--MaxSideburn