Phil's Synaptic Misfires

I'm Alive and Blogging

So I took a little hiatus as the technology I use settled down. I went from literally no social networking to trying Jott, Twitter, Typepad, and a few other websites. I simultaneously tied this into my new N95, iPhone, MacBook Pro, and other tools. (Lest you think I'm rich, much of this was gifted to me)

Finally, things have settled down and I can use a consistent set of tools: MBP, iPhone. Yep, I'm pretty much an Apple convert now, but that's only to say I prefer using Mac -- I certainly don't mind XP or Vista, which get crapped on way too often to be fair. My XP and Vista experiences have been overwhelmingly positive, I just find the OS and usability of my MBP to be much more satisfying, especially with that new fancy OSX Leopard! Yowza!

So, yes, I heartily recommend Macs, despite the face they're a bit pricey, kinda like the Sony of the home electronics world (back when Sony != Sh*t, anyway).

Later!

More on the Mac

Second day at work, and I've discarded the old PC (well, not discarded it, getting it ready to give to dad). When I bought the laptop, I also grabbed a copy of VMWare Fusion, a virtual machine utility which I've used extensively on the PC. The main competitor on the Mac, Parallels, had been getting some flak in the press lately, so I went with my old standby. Good thing I did, VMWare runs perfectly.

So, my Macbook now has OSX running, and when I need to, I pop open my Windows XP vm for programming, or my Vista vm for email/tasks. (Mac doesn't have a very robust "enterprise" email app like Outlook; Entourage doesn't quite cut it)

Thus far, no major issues, and I don't have a single complaint. And it's true -- the more I use OSX, the less I want to use Windows. Windows XP anyway; Visa puts up a really good fight, I'd say Vista puts a PC nearly neck-and-neck with OS X.

Apple Guy

Well, I finally took the plunge and bought an Apple MacBook Pro. DAMN these things are nice. I grabbed a copy of VMWare Fusion and I was able to copy over my current WinXP virtual machine, and voila, instant developer environment. I have to admit, I'm duly impressed. Granted, these things are damned expensive, but I'm starting to see why -- it's totally focused on the user, and their experience with the computer. VERY good purchase for me.

Talk is Cheap

As I get older and a little more experience under my belt, my old lessons come back to mind over and over: talk is cheap.  Actions speak louder than words, and so on.

In the martial art I practice, actions are usually given favor over speaking, and for good reasons, IMHO.  Sometimes you can talk your way out of things, but if not, you'd best be prepared to deliver. 

What I'm finding is that as I take more action, I get more impatient with the sweet-talkers.  In fact, I don't necessarily hate talkers (I'm one myself), but I just find my patience wanes thinner and thinner. 

To prove my point, I think my classes this week will be silent.  I can't permit rationalization of things that people can only suppose about, including me.  Few, if any, of us have been in real fights, and even if we had, few are the same. 

I've known some great talkers, but they fell down hard when it came to acting.  Everyone skips a few beats, some more than others, but when it really counts, they step up to the plate swinging.  Let's see who fits that bill this week.