Looks like my next computer will be a Mac

As I write this, my old reliable Ruby iMac stares at me forlornly from a corner, abandoned in silence due to a bad video card. I actually own 4 other computers, all running Windows XP, but none of them give me the excitement of using my old Mac: the Mac OS is elegant, powerful, and just WORKS. The problem is I live in a Windows world: I've tried to make it with a Mac before, but the translation always introduces a level of instability I can't handle with business.

After many years of encouraging Windows users to just "Switch," Apple has decided on a new take: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. The new Macs are based on Intel chips: basically, the same as a PC, but running the great Mac OS X. Since the chip switch was announced, people have been asking: could you run Windows XP on it? Not emulated; really RUN it? Apple played coy, and outright denied it for a while, but this week, all that changed, as Apple introduced Boot Camp, a free program to allow you to boot your Mac up with OSX or Windows XP.

From all reports, it seems it's amazingly elegant, and, like all Mac things, it just WORKS. Now, with once computer, you can switch back and forth from Mac to PC, as needed. This means the Mac becomes the most flexible computer on the planet. So: flexibility, elegance, reliability, and extremely good quality...why would my next computer be anything BUT a Mac?

Comments

Loyalty Review: Kohl's Yes2You

As some of you know, I've spent over 15 years in the customer loyalty space. So, when I come across a new retail loyalty program, I can't help but see the pluses and minuses. After this many years, it's kind of ingrained. Periodically, I'll share my thoughts with you. Today, it's Kohl's turn under the scope. Let's have a look, shall we? I've divided the review up into three sections: what's good about the program, what's bad about the program, and what I'd change about it. That last one has some actual value: I charged hundreds of dollars per hour for loyalty program consulting, and had over a dozen clients, before I moved to JustAnswer FT. But, being a pandemic and all, I'm giving it away for free here. Kohl's, you're welcome. Here we go! The Good Sign up is opt in Seems odd to praise Kohl's for this, but in department store loyalty, this is a rarity, and a smart one. It means the customers who are opted in are already prime...

Revisiting Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season 1

I recently started rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation from the beginning. I have nothing but fond memories of the original run in the 1980s, given how excited I was for a new Trek series in my lifetime (I had only reruns and the movies to stoke my Trek interest), and it recently occurred to me that, while I diligently consumed every TNG episode, I had not experienced the series since it's original run. Why did I do this? Well, a few reasons: With the triumphant return of Sir Patrick Stewart to the smaller screen as the venerable Jean Luc Picard , I thought it would be interesting to contrast this version with the previous, and see how far he has come. It would add color to the character, as well as Sir Patrick. Frankly, with the COVID19 lockdown, the series I have binged upon have been intense, dark, and disturbing. Combined with the activity of the world, including insane politics, homicidal police who seem to view people of color as "prey," rather than their ch...

The Icarus Effect

This morning's news started with the latest grim proof of overdevelopment in a tough sector: SkyBus Airlines shut down , less than year from when it started. Never heard of Skybus? Not surprising; they chose to focus on trips from Ohio to the West Coast for ridiculously low fares. Yes, you read that right: the airlines' unique niche was that they focused on trips from Ohio . Was air travel such an amazingly profitable business that we needed that much segmentation and focus? Of course not. A year ago, when Skybus was just getting off the ground (har har), fuel costs were at an all time high. United was still in bankruptcy; Delta, a fellow airline with a major hub in Ohio, was just exiting Chapter 11. And yet, "irrational exuberance" led investors like Nationwide Mutual Capital, Huntington Capital Investment Co., and Battelle Services Co. to ignore the obvious signs of risk, and dive into what was a dubious investment. Today, they, and the passengers who were lured by ...

Tretakoff Musings

Search This Blog