The Best Mouse. Period.

I’ve always been perplexed by people who are satisfied using the default keyboard and mouse that came with their computer. Except for Apple, almost all PC manufacturers “include” the absolute cheapest, clunky keyboards and mice possible. Even if you spend a couple thousand dollars on a really high-end machine with a fast processor, upgraded graphics card and hi-res monitor, Dell and HP typically include a keyboard and mouse combo worth less than thirty bucks total. Conversely, iMacs come standard with an excellent keyboard/mouse combo. Were you to purchase them separately, you’d be out $150. Now before you naysayers start screaming about Apple’s overpriced hardware, I will admit their retail price is a little steep, but not at all out of line with comparable products. It’s just that Apple refuses to make or sell cheap junk.

To my original point, what sense does it make to spend thousands (or at least several hundred) on a computer and then skimp on the input hardware. That’s like buying a new Mercedes and driving off from the dealership on retread tires.

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Retina Display. Apple’s Ploy to Make Other Computers Unusable

Something I read very little about is how absolutely stunning an Apple product with retina display looks. Sure, sure, there’s tons of Windows machines, Android phones and tablets all sporting super high pixel densities, but somehow no matter how many pixels these other devices manage to cram into their displays, few (if any) manage to provide the eye-popping experience of an Apple product.

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The Best Operating System Gets Even Better

Updated on Wednesday, July 1, 2015 at 1:46PM by Joseph Kelley

The most enjoyable aspect of being a Mac person is using OS X. When I got my first Mac in 2006 it came with OS X 10.3 (Tiger). It was a bit of a homecoming for me. In the late 80s my career as a developer started when VMS and HPUX were dominant operating systems on professional workstations and mini computers used by petrochemical companies for supervisory control and advanced business systems. I wrote many custom applications in ANSI C for both platforms. Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) machines ran their own operating system called VMS. Hewlett Packard workstations and minis ran a flavor of UNIX, HPUX (HP UNIX). C was the programming language of choice because of its portability. If a programmer strictly adhered to the ANSI C standard, source code would compile and link on either platform. Well, any platform for that matter. I spent my first five years as a developer working on these platforms before Windows NT came along and virtually swept everything else aside. Like most people in my field, I spent the next 15 years in Microsoft hell. So, when I got my first Mac running UNIX-based OS X, it felt like I was re-kindling an old friendship.

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Where's the TV Going?

I’ll start by saying what an TV fan I am. Well, there’s a revelation, right? OK, OK, I get it. I’m an admitted (and unapologetic) fanboy, so what the hell else would I say? Well, this may be hard to believe, but I do try to evaluate Apple hardware, software and services with an objective eye. To that point I’d like to start with what I don’t like about the TV…

First, I see the little “wait” spinner way too much. Now, I’m the first to admit I don’t have the speediest Internet connection in the world, but even when streaming video from my home network the TV makes me wait a lot more than other devices like ROKU or Amazon’s Fire Stick. I know what you’re thinking, “MacTexan, your home wi-fi is messed up.”  Wrong! I’m not using wi-fi. My TVs are both connected to a wired Ethernet gigabit LAN. I can hook my MacBook Pro to the same connection and transfer files at over 100 MB/sec. (that’s a big B, as in Byte, not bit) When we built our house I wired the whole place with Cat 5e cable and it’s all connected using Cisco gigabit switches. So, if the network ain’t the problem, what is? Gotta be the TV, right?

Second, the TV’s GUI is getting dated. This is a little harder to put my finger on and may just be a matter of personal preference. The channel “tiles” or icons, or whatever they’re called just pile up on the home screen. There’s no way to logically organize them save moving them around one at a time (which is clumsy and time consuming) or hiding them altogether. Some kind of folders or categories or separate pages would be helpful.

Third, the remote is 1) too tiny and 2) virtually featureless. I have been an Apple fan long enough to understand the minimalism infused into every Apple design, but c’mon. A person could lose an TV remote in their own pocket, much less a coin and Cheerio hungry sofa. I’ve seen people tape TV remotes to the back of their TV remote and various kitchen utensils to give the thing enough heft to keep it from disappearing. Also, the addition of just two or three more buttons would make a huge difference without destroying the minimalist vibe. The one that immediately comes to mind is a “Home” button to take me back to the main screen when I’m  seven or eight layers deep in some channel’s menu. Next, I’d like a “Sleep” button to turn the TV off. Now, I know there are existing button combinations to do these things, but do you remember what they are? Well, neither do I. Besides, Apple’s users shouldn’t be required to climb such a steep learning curve to use the TV.

Now the positive.

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10 Reasons Why I LOVE My  Watch

Before I tell you why I love it, let me tell you about the one bad  Watch experience...buying it!

I set an alarm for 1:50AM (central, midnight Pacific) the morning pre-orders for the  Watch began, giving myself 10 minutes to wake up and shake off the cobwebs. I already had my 42mm stainless steel model with the Milanese loop band pre-configured and saved to my favorites in the on-line Apple Store. So, I got up in the middle of the night, drained my lizard, sat down at my iMac, logged into the Apple Store, opened up my iPad and launched the Apple Store app. (Belt AND suspenders. Just in case. Having had difficulty getting Apple’s on-line store to cooperate in the past, I took the advice of iMore’s Rene Ritchie who suggested the iOS Apple Store App works better for big launches like this when the web store can get choked with traffic.) Anyway. By this time it was 1:57. I called up my favorites on both devices and tried to pre-order my  Watch. The button was still greyed-out on both. Well, it was still a couple minutes early. I tried again at 1:59. The same. I watched the seconds count down to 02:00. The iPad app…no luck, grey. iMac, the same. Back to the iPad. Grey. iMac…I got a button! It’s now 2:04. I clicked. Nothing happened. Clicked again. Nothing. It’s 2:06. Back to the iPad. Refreshed. Got a button! Click! BINGO!!! 

Estimated delivery: 4 – 6 weeks.

Whaaaaa?

But, it’s only 2:08!!!????

Do I dare try another model? A different band?

Sigh…

Click “Confirm”

I go outside on the patio deck and have a smoke. I’m thinking, “WTF?, I get up in the middle of the night to be (at least) close to the front of the line to no avail. Instead of getting my new, shiny  Watch on release day, April 24^th , mine isn’t coming till sometime between May 13^th and May 27^th. I look to the stars and ponder this mystery of the universe. (Not really, that’s bullshit. I just yawned, had another smoke and went back to sleep, pissed off.)

Sure enough, I didn’t get my watch on release day, but it did arrive a little sooner than the web site originally predicted. On Friday, May 8^th 2015 at 11:14AM I took possession of my version of Apple’s latest world changer. OK, that does seem a little melodramatic, but signing the UPS or FedEx handheld device upon receipt of a new Apple product is always exciting. That’s especially true when the product isn’t just new, but also the first of a new category like my original iPad in 2010 or the original iPhone in 2007. It just doesn’t happen that often. No, I wasn’t the first to own an  Watch, but I was the first of anyone I knew and probably the first in my small town.

I’m not here to do a detailed review of the device. If you want a review just Google “Apple Watch Review” and pick one of the thousands of results. Generally, for product reviews I like Macworld, Mac|Life, 9to5Mac and The Mac Observer, but your experience may vary. Like every newly-released Apple product, the  Watch has generated millions of words of descriptions, reviews, critiques, analysis, scrutiny, complaints, bashing…

Well, you get the picture. If it’s a feature-by-feature analysis of the  Watch you’re after, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding one or thirty.

But like I said a few minutes ago, I love it. Here’s 10 reasons why:

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