How Apple Won Me Over

Once I left Linspire I was anxious to try Skype, Ubuntu and the Mac, all of which have, I must admit, been a welcome change from the last six-years' diet of start-up dog food.

Six months ago, my desktop computing looked like this:

Linspire/Freespire - 90%
Windows - 10%

Today, it looks like this...

Mac Pro Desktop & MacBook Air - 85%
Ubuntu - 10%
Windows Vista - 5%

I have a KVM that allows me to switch between my Mac Pro, Ubuntu and Vista PCs, and my MacBook Air goes with me everywhere when on the road or traveling. (To watch a video of me demonstrating Leopard and the Mac Pro, click here, or scroll down for a low-res version.)

So, how did the CEO of a Linux company, within six short months, wind up a die-hard Mac fan?

Here is my journey...

My first exposure to anything "Apple," was a few years back with iTunes and the iPod. Yes it was closed and DRMized, but I found myself not caring because it worked so brilliantly. I must have owned six or seven different iPods over the years, each more impressive than the last. I found the iTunes software to be easy to use, and buying music was just a click away, with even non-DRM MP3 files available today.

Next came the iPhone. Being so impressed with the iPod, I purchased my iPhone on day one when it came out, and have never looked back. I find the iPhone to be hands-down the best cell phone I've ever used, and by a long mile. It wasn't perfect, but it sure came closer than anything I had used before. I could, for the first time, REALLY surf the web on my cell phone.

Next, came the MacBook Air. We needed a Mac computer at our office to test our website's compatibility with Apple machines. So, I figured I'd buy a MacBook Air for the testing, and I could try using it when I traveled. Within a few days, I was completely hooked, so much so that I found my self avoiding my desktop computers running Ubuntu and Windows. In less than a week of owning the Air, I purchased a Mac Pro with 4 gigs of RAM and looped it into my KVM. I found myself using the Mac pretty much all the time. Unlike the first time when I moved to Linux, and had to force myself to use it, Mac was so smooth, easy, beautiful, and fun to use, it was hard to stop.

The Mac has everything I love about Linux (fast, secure, uncluttered, Unix-based, etc.) but the software and services were so nicely put together, not to mention how "beautiful" everything looks. The way everything integrates and works together, including the .mac services, is great.

I still appreciate the speed of Ubuntu, and how far they've come (for a free operating system, it's quite amazing), but for sheer joy in daily computing, I admit, I'm hooked on my Mac.

I'm sure some reading this will feel I've sold out and given up on the Open Source movement. Well, after six years, it's no longer my fight, and I just want a computer that's easy, fun and productive to use. I don't have the source code to my car, TV, Tivo, Sonos, microwave oven, refrigerator, or my tennis shoes, but because they just work, I don't need it. I'm no longer interested in using software to support a cause or movement. I just want to use software to get stuff done.

So, until someone comes along with something better, you can find me using my iPhone and Macs.

Kevin

PS: Yes, I know John, you've been telling me to switch for years! =)

Click the below video to see me demo my Mac Pro and Leopard. Once it's playing, click in the upper-right hand corner of video to view full screen. For a Hi-Res version of the below video demo, which looks a lot better than the embedded one, click here.

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My First Annual American Idol Predictions - Season 7 - 2008

This is just a little game I like to play each year by predicting the order contestants will be voted off American Idol. (OK, OK, yes, I confess to watching AI each week, but I know YOU do to, just admit it. =)

This year I'm even making my predictions BEFORE we're down to the final 12, so I could be wrong as early as tonight. (I'm predicting Amanda Overmyer, Kady Malloy, Chikezie, and Luke Menard are kicked off tonight.)

My predictions are the red numbers, with #1, David Archuleta the predicted winner, Jason in 2nd place, and so on. (You can click the image below to enlarge.)

PLEASE NOTE! This order is for my PREDICTIONS NOT for my personal favorites. My two favorites are David and Ramiele, but you'll notice I have Jason and Brooke ahead of Ramiele. I also don't care much for David Cook, Carly Smithson and not at all for Danny Noriega, but my PREDICTION believes they will make it to the spots mentioned. So, this is my order of how I think AMERICA will vote, not me.

Feel free to post or email me your prediction for the order of the final 12. We'll see how we do in the coming weeks.

Kevin

PS: Here are their names in text form, so you can easily cut, paste and move them around in the order you predict, if you want to post or email me with your predictions.

David Archuleta
Jason Castro
Brooke White
Ramiele Malubay
David Cook
Carly Smithson
David Hernandez
Kristy Lee Cook
Michael Johns
Syesha Mercado
Danny Noriega
Asia'h Epperson