Dan Gilmore: “This machine is a Macbook Air, a 13-inch model that came out last year. It is a stunningly fine combination of size, style and power. And Mac OS X 10.6 “Snow Leopard†is a terrific operating system. I’ve customized it for my needs, and have truly enjoyed using it.
Because so much of my work depends on having a reliable and up-to-date computer, I buy a new one each year, using the older one as a backup in case of trouble with the newer machine. In recent years, that has meant owning two roughly equivalent Macs.
The latest Macbook Air went on sale this week. As is always the case with technology, it’s even more powerful than the one I have. I crave it. I won’t buy it.“
He loves his MacBook Air, he loves Snow Leopard, so he’s not going to purchase a new MacBook Air because Snow Leopard won’t run on it? That just seems… odd.
Dan, you could use your current MacBook Air for another five years and have a better experience than you’ll get on modern hardware running Linux because the Linux crowd doesn’t care about UX.
You mention lack of tools you use on Linux.
“…not least of which is my inability to replace several must-have tools, notably sparse disk image bundles and several superb applications I use for my blogging and other media creation.”
There is a bright spot. Linux is open, and free! You can write your own tools to match your current Mac workflow. No problem. Who knows, once you become an emacs, or vi, expert and learn to write Bash scripts like a pro and add in a dash of Perl, Pyhon, and Ruby, you’ll probably come to appreciate the power and freedom of Linux. Just remember to share your work with the Linux ecosystem so everyone can benefit.
Yeah, I’m being serious about that. If you are a complete computing bit head Linux can be a terrific experience. Maybe Dan can find his inner geek?
Is this an experiment?
Here’s another thought, maybe Dan is conducting some sort of experiment? Maybe he’s trying to see how much power he has over his followers? Could it be? Is this an evil plot to destroy Apple?
It could happen.
Yeah, yeah, whatever.
None of this matters in the end. I find it odd, some will agree with his viewpoint, others will hate Apple because they can. Some will even hate Apple because they’re no longer the underdog.
Bottom line, I’m an Apple fanboy.
Most of my development life has been spent on Windows and I’ve always used as much horsepower as I could get. When I started doing iOS development I didn’t have a computer, but my wife did. She has a white 13-inch MacBook. When I ordered if for her I upgraded it to 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive and it’s proven to be plenty good enough to develop iOS applications. She uses it during the day, I get it at night and on the weekends. Not a bad deal, and we’ve only managed to consume 100GB of the 320GB drive.
