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The One Reason NOT to get a Mac

Every year Macs are becoming more popular. Windows users are flocking switching to Macs rather that attempting to try and update to Microsoft’s interesting operating system known as Vista. But if there is one reason not to switch to the Mac, I have it.

On a Windows computer, I have found it to be the perfect place for getting work done including school papers, blog posts, and even just checking/writing my email. With a Windows computer you’ll start something and usually finish it in a respectable amount of time. I would like to say I could do the same on the Mac, but I can’t. Writing an English thesis paper on my Macbook will look promising at first, but then I’ll find myself navigating through the iTunes Store or reorganizing the files in my documents folder. No, I don’t have an attention disorder, but maybe I’ve psychologically made my Mac a computer for “fun stuff” and my Windows computer for “work stuff.” Is it because I grew up on a PC during most of my childhood education? I thought it to be true until I noticed that I wasn’t the only one with this problem.

Searching through the pages of (the now hacked) MacApper, I found dozens of “Getting Things Done” or GTD applications specifically to end my problem. The only problem with these GTD applications is that they take more time away from your work, especially when trying to set them up. I’ve spent a couple hours on a GTD app only to delete it the next day.

I then (now wasting time) tried to give this condition a name. Mac Attention Deficit Disorder, MADD, is already been taken. Any ideas?

Back on topic, if you’re going to get a Mac you need to know that you won’t get as much work as you once did on your Windows machine. Why? Mac OS is too pretty, has animated everything, and it could even be a psychological thing. They say creative people use Macs, possibly because the Mac can be the doodle on the side of your page or writing on your hand.

Writing this post I have replied to five Pownce messages, downloaded a new song on iTunes, attacked a zombie (and lost) on Facebook, and emailed an old classmate. 

Tags: , apple, applications, funny, GTD, mac, time, wasting, work

GlennWolsey.com HACKED!

The Apple and Photog blog known as Glennwolsey.com has recently been taken down by internet douchebag, “Malcor.” The site now displays:

Notice

This website has been flagged for excessive Apple fanboism, and has been taken down for 24 hours.

This is a message to the rest of the Mac community, so listen up. Ever heard of hubris?
Tone it down, and you will not be attacked. Everyone else is open game.

~ malcor

Hey Malcor, it’s called freedom of speech and you don’t have to read it. The hubris hacker’s blog is here.

Chumby Reviewed

Most people have never heard of a Chumby, and usually think it’s something to do with (the old children’s TV show) Gumby or might even think it’s a type of dinosaur, but it’s none of the above. The Chumby is a mixture of an alarm clock and, for better words, a widget player, all enclosed in a “cute” leather pillow. At first glance the Chumby looks like a children’s toy, and it could as well be, but it has quite a bit of power for its small size.

Setting the device up easy. Turn on the Chumby, follow the on-screen steps, connect to the Internet, match the code on the Chumby website with your Chumby and then you’re ready to add widgets. To own a Chumby, you HAVE to have an Internet connection to use any of Chumby’s online widget features. Putting widgets on the Chumby requires no syncing with a computer, it’s done all through the website. When you find a widget you like (on the Chumby site) you simply add it to one of the “channels” you’ve made. In about a minute, the widget you added to the channel appears on you Chumby.

Currently, the widget selection is small, but the product isn’t on sale to the public and when it is, I expect it to grow. On my Chumby, I’m running the Chuck Norris fact widget, the PandaCam, TechCrunch feed, Google News feed, Rotten Tomatoes movie ratings, Pendulum, and Facebook. The Facebook widget, which is my favorite, simply shows status updates, pokes, notes, and friends. The Chumby also runs flash and will play online videos from sites like YouTube. I referred to the Chumby as a widget “player” because that’s what it is. I’ve yet to see a widget with the ability to input information. Want to see what my Chumby’s playing? There’s an embeddable widget for your MySpace or blog, here’s mine:

The Chumby isn’t all about the widgets, it also includes two usb ports, speakers, and even an accelerometer. The usb ports and speakers are for syncing and playing your iPod. The speakers are pretty low quality and depending on the size of your music library, it could take a while for the Chumby to recognize your iPod. The accelerometer was unknown to me until I added the Pendulum widget, which takes advantage of the hidden feature.

The Chumby team is constantly updating the gadget’s operating system with bug fixes, optimizations, and new features. A quote from the Chumblog:

“Remember, the chumby’s open for further improvement and we’ll be pushing significant new functionality to everyone’s chumby over-the-air as we go — so let us know what you want chumby to do and that will help us make it even better for you over time.”

With the hope of future updates and features, I want to see a sleep timer, easier navigation when playing music through, and the ability to input information into widgets (Pownce updates?).

The Chumby is a innovative product. The only thing that will bring it down is that it’s unheard of by most. My family and friends had never heard of Chumby and although most thought it was cool, they didn’t really understand exactly what the gadget was. The Chumby will be on sale to everyone late this year or early next year for $180.

What do you think of the Chumby? Do you want one? Leave a comment.

Want to see more pictures? Check out the unbox.

Procrastination and a looming cold have delayed this review. Sorry.

Tags: Chumby, hardware, review, tech