I’m a Machead, I’ll admit it. I have an iPhone and a MacBook Pro and have bought my wife a MacBook as well. Earlier this year, I became chief IT guy at our small office and successfully moved our office staff of seven over to an all out “Mactopia” - replete with a 1TB Mac Mini as server, four MacBooks, three iMac’s, an Airport Extreme base station, and a partridge in a pear tree. Thank heavens for Apple’s business leasing program!
Three years ago was a different story, I thought the Mac hype was just that. A bunch of anti-establishment folks who like to think that they are cooler but really they just don’t get the need for solid productivity tools, the type that can only be supplied in a Microsoft environment. It took a move by my boss to his MacBook for me to begin to realize just how much hype I was already buying into with my anti-Mac mentality. It was like I finally took the red pill and now I knew the truth. The proof is in the pudding, three years with this same MacBook and not one virus (and no anti-virus software), only one service call and it was because the video card needed replacing, which they did at no charge and had my computer back to me in one day.
So my next purchase is easily the iPad, right? Wrong. Honestly, I was super excited about this new device (even began dropping little hints to my boss). I still believe it will change the way people manage their lives (work, school and play). Yes, I wanted one, until I played with one. This experience helped me to realize that the iPad was not built with the business executive in mind.
For those already using laptops every day, all day, we are used to having a portable device. Our complaints about laptops have primarily been about their weight and battery life. Two issues which were certainly solved by the iPad, but also two issues which have squarely been addressed with the newest breed of MacBook. Really, there is no existing problem I have right now that the iPad solves (see Mike Hyatt’s blog on this very topic). I do believe there are many, many people whose jobs are not tethered to a computer who will find the iPad a perfect solution, an easy way to manage their lives, but I am not one of them, nope, my sights are now set squarely on a new MacBook Pro (and hopefully the new iPhone 4G too:-)
