Initial Impressions of the MacBook Pro

Being a PC wanderer, I have jumped the fence to the other side, where everything white is cool, premium and the "in thing".

I'm personally not a fan of the features to cost ratio of Apple products but somewhere down the line, Windows based products were really letting me down in terms of features and execution. Windows Vista was nearly a killer but it was killing the systems it was running on and not the competition. Windows 7 and Windows Mobile have come and saved the MS world for now.

To mention that I own a product from every major platform including RIM (yes, I still love my Blackberrys) is a feeling where I get to evaluate each of the platforms' strengths and weaknesses.

Since this post is about the MBP (MacBook Pro) I will concentrate on it for now. The version of MBP I have is from the refresh cycle of Spring 2011 where they came out with Core iX series of processors from Intel and featured the new Thunderbolt technology. Honeslty, I do not care much for it for now unless it matures and you start seeing a plethora of devices which use this technology.

Build :
The build of the unibody aluminium is impeccable. I have not seen HP Envy but would assume it to be of similar quality if not better. Dell Adamo was another one, but it never caught my attention. Plus, the aesthetic value of an Apple product cannot be underestimated.

The otherwise minimalist appearance is something worth showing off. The build is definitely a 4 out 5 rating.

Hardware :

Intel inside with the GMA video option is something which will be bypassed in today's Windows 7 world with sigh. 1 GB and 2 GB dedicated video cards are the norm.

But the Apple world places a premium on everything. The Core i5 build in the 13.3 inch MBP does not allow any video card customization and still costs equivalent to a Wintel laptop which would include 8 GB of RAM, Core i7 and any of the above mentioned video graphics with a Bluray burner.

But as they, fastest is always not the best. The utilization of the resources in a optimum manner is what is desired today.

I would from a Hardware perspective, give a 2 out of 5 to Apple even though considering they are among the premium laptops irrespective of the OS world.

OS X Lion :
Coming to the OS, I have upgraded to the recently released OS X codenamed "Lion" which has brought in excellent features of the iOS platform and combined some neat multitouch features which nearly eliminate any kind of lengthy scrolling or navigation key strokes.

A swipe to the right with 2 fingers takes you forward in a browser, 2 finger swipe to the left takes you back. Changing screens between Dashboard and active window is a matter of 3 finger swipe to the left or right.

The scrolling is something you have to get used to. There are no scrollbars and flicking to scroll is the  opposite to what you do in iPhone or iPad.

The OS is a major change with introduction of built in App store and also introduction of iOS like architecture where now applications can be full screen without need of a menu bar or status bar.

It is a very promising move and Apple leads the way here, I would assume some novely from Windows 8 when it is released.

Software :

This has been my biggest disappointment. I also assume this would be resolved to a great extent since now the App store is integrated. I hope there are many developers attracted to make good and cheaper Apps for the Mac store so that more tools and utilities can be created for people to use.

A good example is blogging software. On a Windows, I would use Wordpad or Windows Live Writer to get some blogging done, however on the Mac, unless you use iWeb which comes installed with the OS. All other options run from $20 to $50 for a decent blogging utility. In today's world when every mobile platform has blogging tools available for free, it is really appalling looking at the Apple repository for such costly alternatives.

Software has been always premium on Apple platform due to small market share and targeted audience. I guess it will improve with the App Store arrival.

For a long time Wintel loyalist, I take comfort in the fact that whenever I would need to go to Windows 7. It would be a bootcamp click away on the MBP. This is one of the strong reasons for me to combine the hardware superiority of a Mac with software usablity of OSX and Windows on the same machine.

It would be really incredible, if Apple would release its OS like Windows to be installed on any machine without providing support for the hardware issues. That would help people like me to build and enjoy low cost Hackintosh and Win7 platforms on awesome hardware specs.

The Software unless bought and used for which Apple is famous for, gets a 3 out 5 rating in terms of cost and variety of choices.

I will possibly post an update to the software later this week.

What if today, you have to leave the IT field and earn your bread ?

This is something I would wish to ask everyone in the IT field. What if, today, you have to leave the IT field and earn your bread ?

It is something very relevant to the current economic situation, and also an eye opener to the labourers who toil away with their eyes, hands and brains sitting in a vegetative state for hours together, working for their IT overlords, who now have have been busy sorting them out for keeping their profit margins intact.

2001 was a preview of just how vulnerable IT was. 2008-09 has showed how resilient it has become. No more there are IT bubble bursts, even though the current situation has sent a electric jolt to those who had come into this line just for the greenbacks and a great lifetime opportunity to people who could really do something great apart from their IT skills.

Seeing the way people have come together in Bay Area after being laid off, to collaborate, to identify new ventures, new ideas and press on to initiatives which were on back burner due to various reasons. It reminds me that all we need sometimes is a gentle nudge to remind of what we are capable of.

Coming back to the title of the post. Well, my honest answer to this would be, anything to start off with to keep my home running, and then I would gradually draw up a plan to utilize my knowledge and channelize it to do something which would help to utilize IT to enable the common masses.

It could be anything from, teaching in a primary school to going back to school to empower you with the skills to really push for that goal, which you dreamt of, but never dared make an attempt at, for the fear of upsetting your routine 9 to 5 office life.

I come from a home of goldsmiths, a profession which was last practiced by my grandfather. The generation after that moved to businesses in metals, and I have a medico father. Although, it's a art which is being overwhelmed by precision machines, gold jewellery making is something, which is seeing tough times due to high prices and lack of expendable money.

Since, even I am not clear, what I would like to do apart from IT, I think it is imperative, that I give a deep thought on this and also continue to focus on my career. I hope, the reader of this post is also in the same mind frame and has a plan 'B' ready for the worst of times.