The Software

Coming from the Win XP world and using Mac OSX is like going through some sort of dimensional wormhole that pops you out into another world where things are the opposite of our dimension. The close, minimize and maximize window buttons are on the left side of windows instead of the right (no pun intended). Even stranger is the way these buttons function. In the normal world the close button, you guessed it! Closes the instance of the application you are running, but in the land opposites it just closes the window. You see the application is still running even though the window is gone.. Scary!!! This because Apple has decided to base their window manager on MDI (Multiple Document Interface); which an application can host multiple windows in a single application instance and this mean that when you click the close button in OSX you are just closing an instance of a document. Next there is the maximize button. One would think that this would cause a window to fill the screen, but that is not always the case. Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Thankfully the minimize button works the same as Win XP. Also in the land opposites double clicking on a window causes the window to minimize instead of maximizing. I could go on and on about the differences, but to prevent you from tuning out I’ll stop. So based on what I’ve posted thus far you would think I hate Mac OSX, but actually that’s not the case. The more I use OSX, the more I like it. It’s not perfect and there are many things I don’t like about it, but the same is true for Win XP. Despite what the zealots will tell you, OSX is no better or worse than Win XP. Sure windows has its viruses and spyware, but honestly contrary to what the zealots will tell you. I don’t think it’s that big of a problem. The reason I say this is because the time that I actually got infected by Spyware was when I was going to some rather questionable sites. So basically no mainstream site is going to give you spyware and now that MS has released a free anti-spyware program it’s even less of a problem. So, if you want to look at pr0n on your Windows machine go ahead. Hey.. What’s the point of an operating system without applications? People run applications on an OS; the OS isn’t why people buy a computer, but the applications they can run. This is where OSX shines and bleeds all at the same time. The Mac Mini comes packaged with iLife 05; this suite of Applications is what makes OSX shine. iLife comes with iDVD, Garageband, iPhoto, iTunes, and iMovie HD. At a first glance, I was initially disappointed with iLife. I really felt after I opened iMovie HD that it wasn’t much better than windows movie maker, but after I started a little movie project for my son Cameron I quickly discovered that it blew windows movie maker away. iMovie is a wonderful, ultra simple video editing application that allows even a kid to make a professional looking video. I could stop there, but it gets so much better. Once you have created a super sweet video you probably want to watch it on your TV, so you click the iDVD button in iMovie and up pops iDVD with your creation already setup. All you have to do now is select a theme and click burn. That’s it!!! It’s so easy that my Dad could probably do it. iLife really makes the Mac OSX experience. Following suit with iMovie and iDVD there is Gargeband (part of iLife) which is a multi-track recording studio. You can plug a guitar into your Mac and start recording songs using the built-in loops and drum/bass kits. I’m not as fond of iPhoto, perhaps I need more time with it to come to a better conclusion. iTunes same as the Win XP version, but it works. So if iLife makes OSX shine what makes OSX bleed? It’s the unfortunate lack of software titles. There are several applications in the windows world where there isn’t a Mac version available. This makes it difficult for me to make ever consider going Mac only. This isn’t a problem for me because I didn’t buy a Mac to replace my Win XP machine; I bought a Mac as creativity device. I can honestly say that the Mac deliveries in this category. Our Mac is really growing on us… more to come.

The Hardware

It’s been 3 weeks since we got the Mac mini so I figure I’ve had enough time with it to give my first impressions of the hardware. It’s a thing of beauty! My expectations of what a computer should look like and more importantly sound like have been completely changed. The form factor of the Mini is great; it’s so hard to believe that a rather powerful computer can fit into such a small little box. With this little box I can edit digital video with easy and even burn it to DVD. The thing that is most impressive is the fan noise, or more to the point the lack of it. I wish my windows box was half as quite as the mini. Here are pictures of my setup.

I'm a Nerd! Please help me!

I’ve been playing World of Warcraft, I guess 1.5 million subscribers can’t be wrong? I’m currently playing on the Kargarth server as a Dwarf Hunter. I also have a bear and his name is Borat. He’s so fat!!! If you would like to enter the world of ultra-geekdome then go pickup a copy of this game at your local Target. Please be advised that this game might cause marriage or relationship problems, however if you are not currently in a relationship you can rest assure that while you play this game you won’t be in one. Rob, John and I have been going on quests in the game to prove our allegiance to the uber-nerds. You should too.