I sold my MacBook Air last night and replaced it with a Vaio TZ2500. That puts me back to PPC-only Macs--I still own a 12" PowerBook and a 600mhz iMac G3. I have to say, I've become pretty disenchanted with modern Macs. I usually find the people on LEM to be a bunch of wackos, but I really have to agree that the old Macs were the best.
I think Apple has just gotten complacent and is no longer being run in the competitive "startup"/underdog mentality. After years of getting awesome hardware and software releases on a regular basis, we're not left with much of anything these days. I think the last Mac Mini and iPod shuffle updates are what really drove the point home.
Granted, I still thought the MBA was an amazing machine, and probably the only innovative thing Apple has done in a long time. Unfortunately I can't justify keeping around two ultraportables.
After looking at pricing on the TZ that I'm typing on now, it just became too obvious that modern Macs aren't worth what Apple charges. I paid $1100 for this TZ, which came with a 64gb SSD as well as a 250gb HDD. It also runs about six hours on a charge, as opposed to 3-ish on the MBA, and has a gorgeous carbon fiber lid.
The sad thing is that I'm more productive on my PPC Macs than on the MBA, because Office runs so much faster on the PPC platform. Office 2004 launches instantly on a G4, yet both 2004 (via Rosetta) and 2008 are dog-slow on modern Intel Macs.
Anyways, that's my rant. In a nutshell, I love PPC's. In the Intel age, I think it's just a better value to get a PC.
I think Apple has just gotten complacent and is no longer being run in the competitive "startup"/underdog mentality. After years of getting awesome hardware and software releases on a regular basis, we're not left with much of anything these days. I think the last Mac Mini and iPod shuffle updates are what really drove the point home.
Granted, I still thought the MBA was an amazing machine, and probably the only innovative thing Apple has done in a long time. Unfortunately I can't justify keeping around two ultraportables.
After looking at pricing on the TZ that I'm typing on now, it just became too obvious that modern Macs aren't worth what Apple charges. I paid $1100 for this TZ, which came with a 64gb SSD as well as a 250gb HDD. It also runs about six hours on a charge, as opposed to 3-ish on the MBA, and has a gorgeous carbon fiber lid.
The sad thing is that I'm more productive on my PPC Macs than on the MBA, because Office runs so much faster on the PPC platform. Office 2004 launches instantly on a G4, yet both 2004 (via Rosetta) and 2008 are dog-slow on modern Intel Macs.
Anyways, that's my rant. In a nutshell, I love PPC's. In the Intel age, I think it's just a better value to get a PC.
And I 100% agree. What we've been getting for the last several years, Mac-wise, have been iterations on the same product lineup. Slicker, sleeker, faster each time - but still essentially the same lineup. I've heard it argued that there's not much room for improvement left, that you can't revolutionize what's already perfect... but that's tunnel-visioned crap. This is technology, and these are computers we're talking about here, the most general-purpose device ever invented. Of course there's room for improvement, there's room for a revolution. And what better company than Apple to do it? The question is, do they still have it in them?
