Temptations from the Devil
I'm a Mac guy. There's no two ways about it. I've been using a Mac at home since 1986. On the other hand, I'm a tech guy – and that means I know how to use most operating systems out there. Given my new setup of Mac, Windows, and Linux, I'm in pretty good shape to tackle just about any problem. Tonight, when I booted up the XP box for the first time, the little evil mini-me on my left shoulder started whispering, “Hey, take a look at that. Not bad, eh?”
Nooooooo!!!! It couldn't be!! I was tempted by the speed of a fresh XP box. It was so fast, so clean, and so…Windows??
Now, let's set the record straight. I have used Windows professionally for years. I just came home to my Mac box at night. I'm perfectly comfortable using a Windows machine, until it breaks. Then, folks, I'm up a creek without a paddle, boat, or life jacket.
So many times, we are tempted by the fresh and new gadgets and gizmos. This new box is nearly two years newer than my PowerBook G4 (my primary machine) and obviously it is going to be faster. What brought me back to reality was knowing that as I installed more and more software, configured things just the way I wanted them, and began getting Windows just the way I wanted it, I KNEW that I'd catch a virus that some Malaysian college kid threw online, a service pack would corrupt my drive, or I'd be so bogged down by the standard, eventual degradation of most windows machines that I'd throw this piece of hardware into my neighbors pool.
Sigh. It wasn't really XP that I was yearning for after all – I'm just jealous of my cousin's new dual 1.25GHz G4 with dual 17″ flat-panels. It's not that my PowerBook G4 is a bad machine, it just isn't the speed demon that it used to be. Then again, neither am I.