January 2008 Archives

So, new machine, new OS - new software purchases!

I have very few packages that I rely on on my current laptop, more that I've bought and tried and never used much. So hopefully it won't be too hard to find alternatives. On the other hand if iTunes really is the peak of music management on MacOS then I'm probably going to want to bring at least MediaMonkey with me - it's not perfect but it does the job nicely. So this means I need to be running a Windows VM.

Which brings me to a choice between VMWare Fusion and Parallels Desktop. Now I did look at Parallels some while back when thinking about putting a Linux VM onto my Vaio - and concluded that the Windows version wasn't ready - it couldn't handle a wireless network connection for example - however on Mac OS it seems a pretty even fight at the moment. The most in depth comparison I found, from only a few months ago, is torpedoed by making a huge amount of the fact that only Parallels can hide the Windows desktop and mix Windows apps with your Mac apps, despite the fact that it VMWare can do that also (and appeared to be able to do so in the version they tested). In the end a) they seem to be pretty much equivalent and b) the healthy competition seems to be spurring development on at a pace.

So I'll probably pick up VMWare since we use this at work which means I can use work VM's easily, which may come in handy. Then all I need to is to find an unused XP license.

I looked at Office 2008 which might be handy, but apparently $399 translates to £349 in Microsoft world (cue David Tennant - what!... What!... WHAT!). Turns out that we have unused licenses from Joe's purchase of Office 2003 though so that's covered.

I'll have to decide what to do about image management. I'm still on Elements 3 on the PC, there's Elements for the Mac but Joe had issues with it so that's still open.

So it finally happened - I will finally, in a few weeks, own my first Mac. It will actually be the third Mac in the house after the MacBook I bought Joe year before last and the MacBook Pro he got for work this week. But mine will be a MacBook Air.

I actually ordered it (well technically Joe ordered to get the education discount) Tuesday evening straight after reading through the specs and hearing the demo. Unusually hasty decision making whose who know me might say. Well not really - I've been looking around at new laptops since my current trusty Sony Vaio developed a problem with its power connection last summer and when the rumours started floating that Apple might finally launch an ultraportable it deserved serious consideration.

For my new laptop I wanted

• An ultraportable - both my laptops have been Sony Vaios and I couldn't see myself with something the weight of the standard MacBook


• Good battery life - despite not actually being really a road warrior I want that freedom for the times I need it


• A larger than 11" screen - I have to face the fact that the Sony's small screen is starting to become tiring if I do a day's work on it


• Something where I could do technical work - ie not Windows. A low power laptop is not the place to be running Microsoft Visual Studio (although I have). On the other hand when I reboot into Linux it's perfectly useable for programming in. Unfortunately even the latest Ubuntu can't get power management working on a 3 year old Vaio which makes it unsuitable for a permanent switch.

What I didn't really want were

• Vista - I just haven't read anything good about it


• A power cable socket that breaks as easily as the Vaio's - seriously this is a design flaw that has always been there on many laptops, but especially Vaios. It's not really a deal breaker but it is a problem that Apple have solved.


• Mac OS - let's face it, it's not as clever as it thinks it is, but given that all OSes stink, it's still a million miles from the old Motorola days when we all made fun of it as the OS only for non-techies so maybe I should give it a try.
  

Anyway so when it was announced I could see that it pretty much met my requirements and had a very reasonable price to boot - despite the rantings of the the horde of ignorant Mac fanboys on Engadget, it is a good price, I was expecting to pay around £1500 for my next machine, and would have done if I'd bought another Vaio. So in that order went.

Two and a half weeks to wait.

Dum-de-dum.