Vast and Infinite

People like to think of Bill Gates and Microsoft as the devil, but if the devil was real, he’d be pushing Macs.  You see the devil is suave and seductive, not lame and clunky like Microsoft.  The digital devil makes offers like the hot new MacBooks, the iPod Touch and the sexy, sexy iPhone 3G.  Tempting.  Very tempting.  And “everybody” is using Mac.  Especially people who are hip and happening, like our President-Elect.  (Who is not the devil-give it up, haters.)  But there’s a nasty catch in this Faustian bargain, and I’m not talking about the price premium: it’s DRM, in all it’s sundry forms.  Of course there’s iTunes.  But don’t forget that Apple decides what you can run on your iPhone and can and does deny applications that might compete with their own.  The latest gotcha is what Apple’s done with HDMI.  Now studios can decide which devices you can and can’t use with your HD content.  Devices that work today may not work tomorrow: no guarantees.  The devil giveth and he taketh away.

So as much as I covet a Mac Air slim enough to fit in a manilla envelope or a MacBook milled from a single seamless block of aluminum, I’ll pass for now.  My computer is mine and the data on it is mine to do with as I please.  I’ll be very reluctant to give money to anyone who thinks otherwise.