So, I received my MacBook Pro today. It's a 15", it's the mid-range i5. I got the high-resolution glossy screen, and upgraded to the 500gb/7200 drive. This is my first mac.
So: wow. I literally spent a few hours just being short of overwhelmed by the device's opulence. I've spent the last few months primarily using a netbook*, with 15.4" HP entertainment laptops for many years before that. But this thing...
I'm just going to sort of freeformedly describe my psychological response cycle here and initial thoughts and impressions on using it.
1) Confusion. How do I install things? You mean I just drag and drop this shortcut into that folder? Wait, and now it's installed? I don't have to worry about distinguishing the binary image with the executable with the installer with the shortcut? Oh, hey, I need to unzip a file-- oh, you mean the unzipper opens, it unzips the file, the unzipper closes, and then a folder opens with the file I actually wanted? All in one step? Why did Windows never do this?
2) Shock. This screen is so brilliant and well-defined. The 17" external monitor I'd been using with my previous laptops, it just looks like crap now. Not nearly as bright, much lower PPI. Holy crap, this multitouch pad... I kind of hated it when using it in the Apple store, but now it's just brilliant and natural. I'll never need to use a USB mouse here, ever. The intertial scrolling as natural as on my iPhone, and the four-fingered and two-fingered scrolls are just brilliant and easy.
2) Numbness. I can't believe I spent two grand of student loan money on this. Why didn't I get the 13"? I'm not a graphic designer, I don't make videos. How can I ever justify looking at photos on this that aren't artfully taken with a DSLR or watching downloaded videos that aren't at least 720p? Why the hell can't I watch BluRays on this beautiful screen?
3) Adjustment, reconciliation. This is going to be a fabulous computer for years to come.
4) Sharp panic: I need to take out a renter's insurance rider on this thing immediately. And make sure it covers accidental damage...
---
Anyone, that's a good chronology of the past few hours. More informally, I love this thing. The engineering is fantastic, OSX has taken some adjustment, and I think I finally get the whole Mac thing. This is an exciting gadget.
I now just kind of look forward to getting on with my life, though. I want to use this gadget to accomplish other things in my life. To get my schoolwork done, to email friends, to store photos of Europe this summer and entertain me on train rides (though truth be told, I'll probably bring my netbook for that instead of this.) This gadget mania of researching new and better laptops, and lusting over this thing and then counting down the days until it arrived from Shanghai... it's really interfered with just living my life. Is this a common sentiment among other tech geeks?
Thanks for reading my rambling incoherence. This device is great.
--
(* - Surprisingly, a netbook's been a fine device to use as a primary computer for many months. It's nothing fancy, but it's done everything I've needed. It's just an insane adjustment to go from the bottom of the current personal computer market to the very top.)
So: wow. I literally spent a few hours just being short of overwhelmed by the device's opulence. I've spent the last few months primarily using a netbook*, with 15.4" HP entertainment laptops for many years before that. But this thing...
I'm just going to sort of freeformedly describe my psychological response cycle here and initial thoughts and impressions on using it.
1) Confusion. How do I install things? You mean I just drag and drop this shortcut into that folder? Wait, and now it's installed? I don't have to worry about distinguishing the binary image with the executable with the installer with the shortcut? Oh, hey, I need to unzip a file-- oh, you mean the unzipper opens, it unzips the file, the unzipper closes, and then a folder opens with the file I actually wanted? All in one step? Why did Windows never do this?
2) Shock. This screen is so brilliant and well-defined. The 17" external monitor I'd been using with my previous laptops, it just looks like crap now. Not nearly as bright, much lower PPI. Holy crap, this multitouch pad... I kind of hated it when using it in the Apple store, but now it's just brilliant and natural. I'll never need to use a USB mouse here, ever. The intertial scrolling as natural as on my iPhone, and the four-fingered and two-fingered scrolls are just brilliant and easy.
2) Numbness. I can't believe I spent two grand of student loan money on this. Why didn't I get the 13"? I'm not a graphic designer, I don't make videos. How can I ever justify looking at photos on this that aren't artfully taken with a DSLR or watching downloaded videos that aren't at least 720p? Why the hell can't I watch BluRays on this beautiful screen?
3) Adjustment, reconciliation. This is going to be a fabulous computer for years to come.
4) Sharp panic: I need to take out a renter's insurance rider on this thing immediately. And make sure it covers accidental damage...
---
Anyone, that's a good chronology of the past few hours. More informally, I love this thing. The engineering is fantastic, OSX has taken some adjustment, and I think I finally get the whole Mac thing. This is an exciting gadget.
I now just kind of look forward to getting on with my life, though. I want to use this gadget to accomplish other things in my life. To get my schoolwork done, to email friends, to store photos of Europe this summer and entertain me on train rides (though truth be told, I'll probably bring my netbook for that instead of this.) This gadget mania of researching new and better laptops, and lusting over this thing and then counting down the days until it arrived from Shanghai... it's really interfered with just living my life. Is this a common sentiment among other tech geeks?
Thanks for reading my rambling incoherence. This device is great.
--
(* - Surprisingly, a netbook's been a fine device to use as a primary computer for many months. It's nothing fancy, but it's done everything I've needed. It's just an insane adjustment to go from the bottom of the current personal computer market to the very top.)
