Over the years as my work has been more and more involved with "Software as a Service”. This really only means that my work is hidden behind servers and available on the web. There’s no software to install on your computer. Instead, you have to access the website/service from your computer to ours. And typically, the computers we use are Linux based for the main reason of them being easily remotely managed and availability. We need our computers to be usable 24 hours a day every day. They can’t take a day off.
When I first started using computers, it was during the time of the IBM XT and compatibles era. But that was still more expensive that my family could afford. Instead, I learned on TRS-80s. Then after I was able to save enough, I bought a clone. And that brought on endless peripherals and upgrades in the pursuit of building the next dream computer. I have always been in the PC camp and even worked on compilers for DOS and Windows. Back in those days, Apple computers model II and early Macintoshes were considered “educational” and not very friendly to low-level work.
Times changed. When I started at PIX in 2010, they gave me a Macbook Pro. Was my first and I had to get used to working with it. Migrating to OS X from Windows wasn’t too hard. One thing that I really liked was how much easier it was to develop for Linux from a Mac. Even though Windows has traditionally been more open, the platform itself became very closed. The tools were very Windows centric. It was cumbersome to take scripts / programs written in Windows and easily take them to a Linux box and have it work the first time. I was trying to do this even though I had a Mac, because I also still had my Windows laptop. Eventually I embraced the Linux/unix way and moved my every day tools over to Mac. Sure, I still have a Windows server and Windows desktop, but these days, everything else is Apple based.
The ecosystem is what I like most. I really appreciate how easy it was to share pictures and videos with my mom and my parent-in-laws. We got them iPhones and it has helped make things easier for them too. My mom uses her iPhone to help her learn English. Even at home, the pictures we take on our phones show up on our iPads and TV.
I still have my work Macbook Pro. But this weekend, I finally got to buying a Macbook Pro for myself. And I’m using it to write this entry. The one from work has gotten older and it is starting to feel that way. Yes, my work will get me a new computer, but I also want a Macbook Pro for myself. So my migration is complete. I don’t see myself buying another Windows box again. The only things I have working on Windows these days are games. Otherwise, everything else has moved to either Linux or Macs. I generally find tools that are multi-platform perform better and work more comfortably for me.
