So my laptop’s motherboard died, but thankfully I had done a backup a few days prior so no data was lost this time around. Seeing as replacing the motherboard would be just as expensive as buying the same computer on eBay, I opted to spring for a new ‘puter seeing as I could desperately use the extra processing power and RAM. I went first with a sexy little Toshiba with Vista on it, thinking I could just install XP on it instead. Twelve hours later after Nuking the hard drive, attempting various methods of slipstreaming, I gave up in frustration and went to bed.The next morning after weighing my options before I got out of bed I did a few scenerio-based researches online and figured the way to go was a Macbook running Bootcamp so I could still run all my Windows programs, along with a PCMCIA to ExpressCard adapter to run my sound card and EVDO card. It would cost more in the beginning but I felt I’d be happier in the next 3-6 years I’d own my next laptop, since the long term Wintel solution would either be to trudge along with XP or dual boot with Ubuntu or a similar Linux distribution. Seeing as I am heavily dependent on music and graphics software I was hesitant to rely on drivers for Ubuntu, and was wary about future device support for XP. I hated Vista before I met it (DRM issues, handholding, slow performance, making their OS serve content providers and not the end user, etc), and the little time we did spend together didn’t alter my opinion.
And I have had more than one friend over iChat offer to throw a party in my honor for “seeing the light.” That’s promising. 
Reader Comments
Vista? You mean Windows Vista? Never heard of it. But there is a Vista something with some kind of windows attached to it with SP1 coming out next year. (I made the same decision waiting for XP Service Pack 1 and loved it. I sure hope SP1 has the same quality and sexy value).
But I’m glad the macbook is making your life a lot easier. I often get criticized that my computer is like my wife. But the only thing that sucks is that my 5 year old computer doesn’t has as much power or big parts as the computers of today. Yep, call me a player. But I need something that can run my tools fast.
The mac is a pretty good platform – I use it amongst many, both professionally and at home. I don’t get the people who only do their “graphics work” on the mac – I’ve found photoshop to be great on Win 2000 and XP (earlier vers were unstable.) And *personally* I like the audio software available on windows- Call me crazy. The drivers for soundcards are a nightmare, but for production work, I love Adobe Audition 1.5 (or 2.0) aka the newest revs of Cool Edit Pro.
Love your mac – I love mine! Just don’t go too “cult of mac” – I have an apple 30″ display that’s set up on my home-built Windows XP/Ubuntu machine that drives some ‘cult of mac’ folks nuts. I use what works well. When a platform starts to frustrate me, I avoid it. When it works well, I embrace it. Windows has a lot of annoyances,(lack of built-in-unix-client/server tools, sanity)… but I’ve yet to find mac audio software that does what I want.
Oh no- platform rants? Bob help us.
That’s a iBook.
umm, im pretty sure adobe audition is obsolete and replaced with something else. also, Protools runs wonderfully and is industry standard for recording. Garage Band is great for podcasts. then there is acid, audacity, cakewalk, nuendo. all on a mac. so yeah there are things out there that are amazingly better than audition.
I’ve been a convert to the mac for a while now (I’m on my second 17″ laptop – I just had to have the intel machine), after being heavily involved with windows through my early computing years.
You mention Boot Camp as your software of choice to give you your Windows experience on the Mac. I have another alternative to run by you. Have you heard of Parallels Desktop? Now, I haven’t used Boot Camp, but I am assuming that it allows you to dual boot the laptop and run a full Windows environment. Where Parallels Desktop differs is that Windows is run in a virtual machine. It’s just like using Windows normally, except that instead of having to close down and reboot to get into Windows (and vice versa to get back to Mac) it runs in “parallel” with your OS X, meaning that you can simply “switch” between the operating systems in real time.
If you have hot corners running (which I do) then you can simply take your Mouse pointer to the hot corner and have “all windows displayed” and go back into OS X at any time.
I don’t use the Windows OS often (it is Vista Ultimate) but the solution works for me. You should do some research on Parallels Desktop before going solidly with Boot Camp. It might not change your decision, but it does give an alternative that might be more to your taste.
Awesome Photo !
Had had a good number of Mac leading up to my new MacBook Pro with a glossy screen. They have all been fab.
I jumped ship to the Mac after visiting a local college campus to find a audio/video broadcast lab full of powerbooks. I was struggling to make a wedding dvd on my old home made PC and was fed up with blue screens and lockups. 2 years and an iMac and Mac Book Pro later I have never been happier. For audio I still use Adobe Audition on Parallels in Win XP pro. There is nothing like it on the mac but with Parallels I have the best of both worlds! Check out the “typicalmacuser” website for a great forum and podcast for new switchers. The host switched and has 2 shows a week on programs and tips! I’m more of a slider between OSs than a total switcher these days. I pick the best tool for the job and my Mac can do it all.
Dude, that’s an iBook. Either you got ripped off, or that’s not a picture of your MacBook.:shock:
Try Parallels Desktop for your Macbook. It is much better that Boot Camp as u can run a XP or Linux (or even Vista) instance in a separate window in the Mac OS without rebooting. I have been running it for the few apps I have that aren’t available for the Mac and I love it! If you already have an XP license, you can’t beat it.