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An Apple Next to Dell
First impressions are important. The packaging and presentment of the PowerBook when it arrived was of such quality that I felt like should have some sort of ceremony or theme music playing - I kept the box. The quality of the keys, the finish of the anodized aluminum skin, and the bright, sharp monitor were impressive. Many coworkers complimented the looks and appearance of it, some threatening to take it home with them if I left my desk for more than five minutes. Modern day squatters rights!
In contrast, I took delivery of a brand new Dell this week. The grey skin was obviously plastic, and the keys felt tinny. The monitor felt flimsy and wasn’t as crisp as the PowerBook. And no one thought it was a beautiful machine. Functional yes, ego boosting? No. And the box has already hit the recycling bin.
But with Windows XP, the Dell definitely booted faster than my PowerBook, although the difference is negligible after I updated to OS X 10.3.3.
When Windows XP first came out, I disdained the color scheme as it reminded me of the big buttons that have plagued GM cars combined with bubble gum colors. The interface has grown on me, especially if you use the silver color scheme rather than the default blue. But as a user who quickly has acclimated to various PC OS’s over the years, I found XP maddening.
It seemed that every action launched a wizard of some sort. And even trying to add items to the Programs menu required switching to the Classic menu as exists in Windows 2000. Combine this with the difficulty of adding shortcuts to the Program menu or other tasks where you need to address the system directly were frustrating. I’m sure in time I’ll figure it all out, but XP was too in-your-face for my liking.
Compare this to OS X which for me, improved its usefulness and performance with each update. Mac OS X just gets out of my way so I can get to what I want. And the colors are much more muted and classy. The interface remains responsive and intuitive even when running six applications and watching a full screen DVD on a 19” spanned monitor.
The Windows world that I live in requires that I have a Dell and it will no doubt earn its keep running the PC-only software that cannot or poorly runs in VirtualPC.
But for everything else, the PowerBook is my laptop of choice.
| Discussions? --- Interact with the writers and other readers... |
| Re: G4 is too slow | anonymous |
| Re: G4 is too slow | Gary Freedman |
| G4 is too slow | Jd |
| Re: Re: Elegance vs. Complacency | |
| Re: Elegance vs. Complacency | |
| Elegance vs. Complacency | |
| well done | |
| Enjoy your PowerBook | JadisOne |