Those precious wasted moments…

Are you kidding me? Microsoft just launched a website to help users decide between buying a new PC running Windows 7 and buying a Mac. I realize I shouldn’t expect an impartial comparison of the two systems from the same people that brought you Vista, but the reasons they give are just ridiculous. Full disclosure, I’ve been a Mac user for almost two years now, but I have plenty of experience with Windows, from 98 all the way through to 7. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of reasons to buy a Windows PC rather than a Mac. A few of those reasons are even listed on this site:

1) If you’re a gamer… buy a PC!
2) Apple insists on using their own adapters and connectors for everything. So be prepared to have cables that don’t fit.
3) Security through obscurity. Apple’s much smaller market share has protected it from the fury of the hacker community. As the market share rises, so will the number of viruses.
4) Some specialized programs are only available for Windows. Usually, you can find a Mac alternative, but sometimes the only solution is VMWare Fusion… and general slowwwwness.

As for the rest of the reasons they give… well, they’re just silly!

1) Macs can take time to learn.
Really? That’s your argument? Sure, Macs take time to learn… so does Vista! So does my new Camcorder! So did my Combi-Oven! Is that the reason we should never use newer or better technologies? Because they “can take time to learn”? And where is the evidence that learning Mac takes longer than learning Windows 7? Are they basing this on users that have never used either platform or are they assuming (and yes they are) that these users have used XP and Vista for years, so they are already used to the idea of a Start Menu… and a Blue Screen!

“Things just don’t work the same way on Macs if you’re used to a PC…” goes the argumentation. Again, really? You know, things don’t work the same way with a Microwave if you’re used to a convection oven! Ergo, don’t buy a Microwave! Things don’t work the same way on a DVD player if you’re used to VHS! So, don’t buy a DVD player either!

And another thing, the way this whole site is presented, they make the reader think that buying a PC running Windows 7 will allow them all these extra features, like DVR, Touch screens, fingerprint readers and much, much more, without specifying that this depends on the hardware… and price of the machine. An entry level PC won’t support these features, so why mention them? Maybe an advanced user knows the difference and will buy the more expensive, specialized hardware, but then this website reads as if it’s targeted at 3rd graders and grannies, so my guess is they wouldn’t know how to configure a DVR or notice the difference between a DVD or BlueRay film on their 15” display.

2) Macs don’t work as well at work or at school.
What? Is that why 70 percent of college freshmen are choosing a Mac over a PC? And my Mac is my work PC! Sharing documents? Just save your documents in the .doc format or (like I did) install MS Office for the Mac.

3) Macs don’t like to share.
What! Mac has the easiest sharing possibilities ever! Mac has a Sharing Preference Pane where you can choose to share using any of an assortment of protocols, such as FTP, SSH, SMB, AFP, BlueTooth, sharing your screen, your internet connection, etc. just with a click of a button! Does windows have remote login via SSH or an integrated FTP server… survey says NO! And I just love this. They are bragging about the fact that you have to manually turn on sharing on a Mac, but with Windows 7, it’s automatically on… Well, I would contend on Windows you have to manually disable sharing, but on a Mac it’s automatically off.

4) Macs might not like your PC stuff.
Again, Windows won’t open iWork formats. I had the idea that this had already been mentioned, but whatever. Solution: MS Office could offer compatibility (yeah right!) or Mac users can save their files in .doc format or… the best option… just install MS Office for Mac.

5) Macs don’t let you choose.
Seems like a rather harsh blanket statement… but in some regards, I completely agree. The basic Apple philosophy is “We looked at all the options and preselected the best choice for our users.” There is very limited hardware diversity and most programs offer very little customization. This is true. But the streamlined hardware and lack of legacy support allows Macs to be much faster and much, much, much more stable than their PC counterparts. Oh, and I’m not exaggerating. You know those Blue Screen of Death and Ctrl+Alt+Del jokes… yeah, with a Mac you don’t have that. None of that rebooting nonsense and none of those “my computer crashed” silliness. Apple controls the hardware and software with an iron fist. An iron fist that produces amazing results, that is! Limited choice is apparently the price we pay for having fast, stable machines.

Several times a day, I look over my shoulder for signs of velociraptors… just in case.

“I have better things to do than worry about a case!”

“Yeah, but you still need a case,” I tried to reason with the producer of the documentary. “You can’t just distribute this thing in a… cheap, pinkish… demo-looking case. It’s a professional production, or at least that’s the message we want to convey to our sponsors. Think about it, they just paid between 50 and 100 euros and then they receive this nice DVD in this shitty, afterthought of a case? That’s not right.”

“I really put a lot of thought into that case! It’s different from all the other DVD cases out there, with their photos and text. Who needs that anyway? It’s about the content, not the case!”

“True, it’s about the content… buuuuuuut, the case makes the first impression and this gives the impression that it was made by a high-school student for an elective course. Is that how you want to represent yourself? After all, this DVD is a kind of business card for you. It’s the fruit of your labor. When people see this, they see you! Is this what you want to look like?” As the words left my mouth, I realized why his hair was never washed or combed. Perhaps he really doesn’t care what he looks like. It explains the half-shaven peach fuzz on his chin and his generally shoddy appearance.

“I have better things to do!,” he insisted. “There are limits! Do you know how much time it takes to design and print and cut and fit a case? And how much money each case costs? At least a euro a piece!”

“Oooooooh,” I sneered. “So this this actually about the money? Okay, then we’ll pay for it. We’ll buy the cases and pay for the printing… what, something like 200 euros in total? I think we’ll survive.”

“… but this is my vision!”

“Oh, so this is really important that it looks like a half-cooked production? Because that’s how it looks. All the time and energy and people involved to produce this and you can’t be bothered to spend an extra day to make a case? Your vision is ‘half-cooked production’ then?”

“There are limits!” he wails, after a short pause. “There just only so much that I can do! I’ve invested enough time as it is. I’m not going to spend even more time and more money. There are limits and I’ve reached them!”

“Can we please clarify this? Is it a question of time and money? Then, we’ll take care of it. You won’t be bothered.”

“But this is my vision! This is how it should look. There’s nothing wrong with it!”

“You’re… you’re proud of the way it looks? The cheap, demo-looking… 10 cent case with no inlay, no photos, no text… just a translucent pink case. You’re proud of this? You stand behind it?”

“Yes! There’s nothing wrong with it!”

Man, this guy is difficult. I suppose producers/directors have to be stubborn and he has been stubborn enough during the last year. During the filming, during editing, during everything. He’s very defensive and can be very nasty. But here we are, after two years, the damn thing is finally finished and all we need is a nice case, with the regular stuff: title, photo, credits, etc. But this is just too much for him and if we offer to do it for him, he insists that the current (lack of) design is crucial to the overall picture. Yeah, right. You’re lazy and you’re too stubborn to admit it. On top of that, you’re embarrassed that we would point out how childish and unprofessional the damn thing looks, so you pretend that this is your grand vision. There is no vision, you just forgot to design a case and when we offer to do it, you get defensive and throw out stupid excuses about time, costs… and then back to the “vision.”

But this cheap, crappy case doesn’t just make him look bad, it also makes us look bad. How can we, with a straight face, hand this thing to our sponsors… or to important contacts… or to possible customers? It looks like a half-cooked production and it’s such a shame because the film is really good, the recording, editing, everything is really good! Why would you come so far, just to quit? Why would you run the entire marathon, just to stop 10 feet from the finish line? Lazy? Stubborn? Embarrassed? Why?

Why would you seriously think to place your baby, your blood and tears of the past two years, why would you place this diamond, this cherry, this most precious work of art… in the cheapest, ugliest case you could find? And then why would you defend this action so vigorously?

In most civilized countries a non-smoking room at a hotel means either that no one has EVER smoked in the room or it has been a very long time since anyone has. Perhaps there was even some professional stream cleaning involved with hapatapatic filters and xaxybudopalus thingamabobs.

In contrast, a non-smoking room in Italy is a room in which no one is CURRENTLY smoking. An hour ago… Who can say? But right now, right this very moment, no one, or at least not very many people are smoking.

Another interesting fact, a non-smoking restaurant in Italy is a restaurant in which you have the option of not smoking. Yes, not smoking is also permitted!

A black and white cat ran across my path on the way to my car this morning. I wonder if I’ll get half bad luck. Or half good luck? Is the cat half full?