Steve Jobs

Yes, I know, the blogosphere is inundated with personal tributes and memorials to Steve Jobs today, following the news of his untimely death late last night, and that this article is going to be mostly pointless. But really, can anyone blame me, or anyone else, for wanting to say something? Steve Jobs really was a huge personality in the world of technology, an industry I am completely immersed in, so it only makes sense that I have some thoughts on this situation.

So, indulge me for a moment, as I take a second to reflect on a man I once idolized, still respect, but also questioned in his final years at Apple...

Steve was always a character, I don't think anyone can deny that. Why else would the internet have exploded over the news of his death? One thing that was never in question is that Steve Jobs had an almost unhuman charisma to him, able to take mere objects, admittiedly great objects, but objects nonetheless, and make them transcend themselves, to become life changing, revolutionary, in his words "magical." There was good reason he had been cited for having a reality distortion field, whenever Jobs took the stage and pitched the newest, slightly tweaked iDevice, he still somehow made it seem like a total revolution. The best thing since...well...the last thing he talked about.

And I think this is where a lot of the criticisms for Jobs popped up. He really was, essentially, a master of making a spectacle out of nothing. New iPods, twice the storage, would somehow genereate massive waves of interest across all forms of media. New iMacs, now made of aluminum. Shocking. New iPod touch, now with a speaker and volume rocker. Game changing. iPhone 3G, plastic back and a better radio. Awe inspiring. Other companies made announcements like this all the time, because it's business as usual. But usually just with a quick press release and a site update. No one rented out a stage, set up a camera crew, and treated their new products like celebrities. Jobs knew how to play to a crowd, and forged an empire doing so.

But despite the rather hilarity of it all, there were of course there were also times when this hysteria was well deserved. Who could forget seeing the iPhone for the first time? It made every other phone up to that point look like absolute shit in comparison (and this is coming from an Android user). A point Jobs was not shy about pointing out, putting his newest baby right next to the now competing "smartphones," embarrassing multiple companies simultaneously. It literally was a magical, game changing device, totally reshaping the mobile landscape and carving out a whole new industry for mobile applications and internet connected mobile devices that otherwise may not have occurred for years, if at all. The same thing could be said for the iPad, while not nearly as stunning, it did forge a whole new product category that's taking the world by storm.

And it's here that my personal opinion on Jobs gets shaky. I had used Apple products since 2005. My first computer was an eMac all in one, at the time the best value Apple offered. I loved that machine, and by extension loved Apple. The just... pure win of blatantly announcing on your site that all of "our machines use dedicated graphics cards, unlike those weak budget PCs and integrated graphics." I found Jobs' every word captivating as he announced product after product that I gobbled up. However, as time went on, I realized that Apple's eventual financial success with the mainstream changed their course of direction from catering to artists and power users, to the average person (I wrote an article detailing this a couple years back here). All of a sudden Apple was using Intel processors with integrated graphics, glossy screens were on everything cuz people liked the shininess. The iPad was a computer stripped of all of its computing abilities, and became nothing more than a web browser and iTunes consumption device, leaving 3rd part developers to fill in the gaps. I understand that most people don't create comic books and 3D animations in their spare time, but the fact that Apple was making devices that catered to these endeavors was what drew me to them in the first place in '05, and I saw that direction shifting in slow motion.

It's 2011 now, and I'm posting this on an HP Elitebook 2730p, my main laptop is a ThinkPad x220i, and my workstation is a custom built AMD rig from Newegg, and I'm rocking an Android phone. Apple and I have parted ways. Our visions for what computing should be is no longer aligned. Part of me is saddened by that, because, as a designer, I still love the aesthetics of Apple products, I love the typography, the graphics, the streamlined precision. My desktop is a bulky mess of cables, my ThinkPad is full of vents and a bulging battery. Far from the sexy sleekness of an iMac + MacBook Pro combo. But alas, I use my computers to get stuff done, not look pretty, and PCs now do this far better, far cheaper.

But hey, this article isn't about the 2011 Apple lineup. It's about Jobs. A true visionary. A man who knew what people would want, and exactly how to pitch it to them. He may have lost my business near the end, but he never lost my respect.

Rest in Peace Steve, I'd say your legacy will live on, but I don't have to. Your legacy speaks for itself.

You're getting a little ridiculous here, Apple...

So, in case anyone isn't aware, Apple made this thing called the iPad. You may have heard of it. 10" tablet, basically an iPhone without the phone, single handedly reshaped the definition of tablet PC, and depending on your technical prowess, either streamlined or dumbed down the expectations of computer interfaces as a whole.

We all remember that, right? Good. Let's move on.

A little over a year later, Apple commands over 90% of this new tablet market. Mostly due to Apple being well, Apple, and that there really haven't been any strong competitors to the iPad, at least none that were able to gain any commercial traction. Samsung launched the Galaxy Tab a few months after the iPad, but running on Android 2.2, it didn't really present an experience as optimized as the iPad. This changed when Google launched Android 3.0 Honeycomb, a tablet optimized version of their OS, and Motorola launched the Xoom, the first Honeycomb tablet. While priced a little too high to sell amazingly well, it set the precedent for all major Android tablets to come. And now, a year later, Samsung's second shot at Android Tabs, the 10.1, 8.9, and newly announced 7.7, are ready to take on the iPad full force.

Of course, Apple finds itself in a very uncharacteristic situation in the new tablet market of controlling marketshare equivalent to its mindshare. Unlike Macs, where they are typically considered the best by the average consumer but rarely purchased due to the high price, the iPad is priced low enough that everyone who wants one can afford it. This monopoly on a market of their own creation, along with Apple's boasts of the iPad moving the industry into the "post-PC era" allows Apple, if unimpeded, to do something its never been able to accomplish before: Have complete dominance in the computer industry as it moves away from the typical desktop/laptop combo, and to the tablet and smartphone.

This is a future I personally cannot fathom, as I couldn't do what I do without the power and flexibility of a true PC, but I can easily see tablets becoming the de facto choice for the average consumer, as they are simple to use, streamlined, portable devices designed with the consumer in mind, and if Apple becomes the number one choice here, fine. They're an obvious fit, with their obsession with sexy form factors and UI design catered to the tech-retarded.

But there needs to be choice. And this is something that Apple apparently will not allow.

Over the last few months, Apple has been suing competing electronics manufacturers left and right, attempting to prevent devices that would compete with the iPad from being sold. And for the most part, they've been largely successful. Just yesterday Apple was able to pull Samsungs newest tablet, the Galaxy Tab 7.7, from the IFA show floor in Germany. This device was announced at this trade show, it isn't even on sale yet, but Apple was able to have it removed from the show because the design apparently "infringes on it's design patents". They did the same thing with the Galaxy Tab 10.1 last month, and have been attacking Samsung, as well as HTC and Motorola on the phone front under similarly vague patent infringement claims.

Now, this is ridiculous. If you didn't bother reading all the articles I linked, I'll summarize. Basically, Apple is suing all these companies because incredibly basic qualities of these competing devices it claims to have a patent on, things like "multitouch" "scrolling menus" and the phyiscal design of the iPad and iPhone, which apparently means any device thats a rounded rectangle with a touch screen. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Apple didn't invent multitouch, it didn't invent scrolling menus, and is CERTAINLY didn't invent rounded rectangles. This is just a blatent attempt by Apple to shut down competition before these products begin to take marketshare from their "magical" products at a "revolutionary" price (or, in the case of the iPhone, take more, as Android now commands a full 10% more marketshare than the iPhone).

If there were legitimate infringement here I could at least understand, but there isn't, they're bending principle as much as possible to get what they want. Add in the high probability that Apple has been intentionally modifying product photos to make it look like these devices are more similar to their own, and we have a big problem on our hands. Twenty-six years ago, Apple launched the original Macintosh, on the idea that they were all that stood between IBM and a complete market monopoly. Where one company, in charge of both hardware and software, could dictate the direction and trends of the industry on a whim, where only they would come out ahead.




Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Ubuntu - A Future Uncertain...

by Tommy Oliver

As those of you that have watched the Broken Window Winter Keynote are aware, I have moved over to completely free software for the creation of my webcomic on Broken Window Studios, the New Reaper. However, what you may not be aware of, is that in addition to using completely free software, I've also completely moved over from Mac OS X (and Windows from time to time), to Linux.

Now, I've dabbled with Linux on and off for the last, oh, about three years now. The idea has always appealed to me ever since I found out about it in high school when my friend showed me all the eye candy you can have using Compiz and Beryl. He installed Fedora Core 5 on my ancient laptop (there about to release Fedora 15, so yea, it was awhile ago), and I was immediate scared away by the deep learning curve and bizarre user interface.

Fast forward to my first semester in college in 2007, and my far more computer-savvy self decides to give Linux another go when I learn about Ubuntu 7.04, a self titled distro of Linux "for human beings." I figured between my much improved computer skills and a distro designed with the n00b in mind, I may have a shot at finally embracing open source computing. Well, due to driver incompatibilities with my system at the time, my hopes were again dashed, but I've been trying out Ubuntu here and there as new versions come out, always hoping that I could someday make the switch.

Well I sit here typing this post on a laptop fully converted to Ubuntu 10.10, and I love it. I have a tweaked window UI that's fully to my liking, the default user interface powered by Gnome is the best I've ever used, and I even got a sweet dock to manage my open applications, my favorite feature from Mac OS X. I also have the newest Alpha release of Ubuntu on my netbook, 11.04 Alpha 3, and it's here where I have some issues...

See, Canonical, the company responsible for Ubuntu, has decided that their netbook user interface, called Unity, is a better fit for computers as a whole than the current interface. It's not bad, per say, but it kinda feels like Canonical is aiming for the "iPadification" of the desktop computer, or strip out lots of features in order to streamline the experience for the casual user. It's here where I take a lot of issue, because, as mobile experiences like Android and webOS have proven, you can have an easy to use experience without a mass removal of features.

Unity takes away a lot of the flexibility that currently works in Gnome. A bizarrely functioning dock always sits on the left of your screen, that cannot be removed or repositioned. This means that I can't use the dock application that I like, Docky, in it's place. Not only that, but as a designer, I hate having UI elements on either side of the screen because I feel it causes a visual imbalance.

Another annoyance is that Dropbox, in all honesty probably the most essential application in my life, would not install as normal in 11.04, because the Ubuntu Software Center said the package was "of bad quality." Thanks for the warning but I think I'LL decide what determines good quality. But no, it refused to install and told me to contact Dropbox and report the errors I was getting.

I'm sure they'll get right on it -_-...

Needless to say I was ready to ditch 11.04 right there, as all of my work is currently in the cloud, but I was able to get around it and install the package via dpkg, a command line program. It was hardly an intuitive process, and if I didn't have some Terminal experience I probably would have been scared off. I know my freshman self wouldn't have bothered...

Also, the awesome menuing system in Gnome, that allowed for quick access to your automatically categorised applications, locations, and system settings, has been removed, and replaced with simple, dumbed down options in the Unity menu such as "Browse Music" or "Look at Photos." Again, a slap in the face to anyone who actually KNOWS how to use a computer. Even viewing all of your applications requires a few extra clicks than it should, making the new UI feel clunky, even for its target audience.

Now, some caveats. First of all, I'm using an Alpha release. There are a lot of other small complaints I have with Unity that I'm not even mentioning because they're probably bugs that'll be fixed by the time the final release next month. Also, you DO have the option to switch to the Gnome environment, new renamed Ubuntu Classic Desktop, however, there are still some changes to the UI there, such as the removal of desktop effects, which I needed in order to use Docky, and having a Mac OS style Universal Menu in place, which kinda messes up the way the UI is supposed to work. Whether these are also Alpha issues that'll be fixed next month or not remains to be seen, but needless to say I'm a little concerned.

Luckily, the great thing about Linux is that there is no shortage of options. I'm not going to pass judgement on Ubuntu until I spend a few months with Ubuntu 11.04 and Unity starting next month, but if it does fail to impress me, there are tons of other distributions like Linux Mint, Fedora, and even Kubuntu that strike my interest. The problem however, is that none of them are as GOOD as Ubuntu is now in 10.10. Mint's graphic design isn't as well thought out, and I'm not the biggest fan of their adjustments to the Gnome menu, Fedora works a bit differently, and I'll miss the improved Software Center and other user friendly adjustments Ubuntu brings to the table, like having non-free software and drivers in their repositories for easy access. And Kubuntu uses the KDE desktop enviornment instead of Gnome, which means I'll have to learn a new UI, and give up the thing that attracted me to Ubuntu in the first place.

I dunno, I guess its just kind of disheartening to see this. I FINALLY get the motivation to really get down and dirty with Linux, learn all the ins and outs of Terminal commands, different windowing environments, package managers, and the like, and my distro of choice is now turning me off because its trying to make the experience too simple. Who would have thought...

"Higher" Education? Don't make me laugh...

School, my friends, is quite possibly the biggest deterrent to learning that I have ever encountered...not to mention a load of bullshit. How so? Allow me to elaborate...

The education industry is just that. An industry. They be out to make monies. Its interesting to look at things from a different angle than everyone else around, like I often seem to do. Everyone around me is all big on education and going to college, obsessed about getting everything they can out of their 4 years and throw mad $ at these schools to make it happen. Only to turn around and bitch and complain about how this and that is a load of bs. Everyone that I seem to talk to, both high school friends and fellow college associates, seem to follow this pattern. Of course, in the end it all pays of an is worth it, right? Well not really. The only one its paying off for are your loan providers and your school. The student gets mEGa_b0NED by college, and I will now explain why.

What it really boils down to is that the whole higher education system is a scam. There, I said it. I know a lot of people who follow my (few) posts on YouTube are young and still in high school, and my younger sister just entered school last week and already wants to vomit, so I feel its my responsibility to demystify the college experience to those who are unfamiliar with it. Its not glorious like people would have you believe. Colleges are not Meccas of higher learning. They're the same damn thing as high school, just with less rules. Just as many cliques, (albeit the fact that they tend to leave other social groups alone) with even more pointless partying. My god the partying. Remember all the popular people going out to get drunk and fuck each other every Friday night at Bret's house? Well imagine that happening every day, in the room right next to you, and you start to get an idea of what you're walking into. It doesn't matter if your school has a dry campus. Booze is everywhere, and everyone is drunk and sleeping around. The people that filled you with rage in high school with their oxygen wasting lives that you were lucky enough to part ways with at three o'clock are now your neighbors and, more than likely, your roommates. And every night, they assemble en masse to do what they do best. Dorm life can be great at times (usually after all these people have passed out from drinking too much), but more often than not it feels like being trapped in a mental institution with people who have drunk their brains away, and the only thing left is their instinct to copulate with each other. Its like drowning in a sea of stupidity. 24/7.

Oh, and did I mention that you get to be CHARGED for these brain deflating conditions? The institution of higher education won't hesitate to empty your wallet whenever you are stupid enough to stop thinking about your finances. But that's OK, they're just teaching you Finance 101, right?

Seriously though. Meal plans, books, supplies, transportation. You get nickeled and dimed (or, in this case, jacksoned and benjamined) on absolutely EVERYTHING. Books for this semester cost me $400. It's insane. You can't come to school without at least $1000 in the bank each semester. You'll be spending every last penny. Have a car? Parking costs a few hunderd dollars a semester. Meal plans, while probably rolled into your loans (which I'll get to in a second), can run you anywhere from $300 to $1000 a semester. Public transportation is stupid expensive, and there are other fees around every corner to steal your hard earned cash from you. If your finances were mostly your own throughout high school, prepare for MASSIVE sticker shock.

But all of this is excusable, right? After all, your mind is going to be expanded and enlightened in ways that your simple high school diploma can't even begin to fathom, right? WRONG AGAIN! The college curriculum is just as bullshit as the fees. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that classes ARE a fee, more than anything else. Why? Well lets take a look at it...

If you go to a school that offers a bachelors program (and, lets be honest, you're wasting your time even more if you aren't), your schedule will be divided into 2 main sections, classes for your major, and bullshit-uhh, I mean, general education. I'll say it right now: GENERAL EDUCATION IS NOT ONLY THE WORST ASPECT OF OUR COLLEGE SYSTEM, BUT ALSO THE BIGGEST MONEY MAKING SCAM I HAVE EVER BEEN A PART OF.

Don't believe the hype. People will tell you that General Education classes (or Gen. Eds, term may vary depending on your school) are there to "deliver unto you a well rounded education, and make an overall more educated person." SUCK. MY. BALLS. If anyone feeds you that line, ask them how many times they've used what they learned in Western Civilizations Since the Renaissance, or Conversations with the Earth: An Introduction to Geology. But be careful! They may follow up with "The material makes for a great conversation starter!" (Yes, someone really responded to me with that line).

Gen Ed's are an excuse to double the price of a college education, nothing more. We live in a specialized society. Our workforce is built around people having "careers", aka, doing a certain set of skills really, REALLY well. This is why students pick out a major in the first place. You pick a field you want to pursue, and take four years preparing yourself for said field, learning everything you can in order to to be the best you can be at it.

Of course, you COULD take those four years of schooling and finish them in two, thereby not only cutting your college expenses in half, but start making money in your field 2 years sooner, but that would rob your school of their precious dollar bills. Whatever shall they do? I KNOW! Lets make it mandatory to take classes that have (mostly) NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT YOU WANT TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE! That way, you get to waste half your time in college jumping through uesless hoops, and they not only get to charge you for every BS class you take, but they get to double your housing fees, because now you have to stay in school twice as long! But at least you get your "well rounded education," right? Nope! Because since you're only dealing with the material for one semester, you pretty much forget everything once the class is over, usually before the end of semester break! Hooray wasting money! Hooray wasting two irreplaceable years of my life! Hooray college! Fuck me in the ass!

Not only that sad, pathetic fact, but your teachers, you know, the conduits for which all the knowledge of the universe flows (for $XX000 a year). Guess what, they SUCK TOO! Yep, more often then not, your #1 complaint about a class will be the piss poor performance of your instructor. Whether it's mindlessly reading off a typo-laden slideshow they prepared over 20 years ago, sexism, racism, favoritism, political bias, self centered "holier than thou" attitude, lack of enthusiasm or clarity, not being able to speak proper English, or just plain old being a bitch, there's an educational defect to push anyones buttons. Act now, and you can get an extra defect in another one of your classes for FREE (well, actually, its not free, its the same price as all your other classes. Deal.)

Oh, but we haven't even gotten to the best part yet, boys and girls. Yes, it can, and indeed does, get worse. I'm pretty sure most of your aren't in the amazingly lucky position of having someone standing by, ready to fill out a check for you to deal with all these wonderful conditions. So, how exactly are you going to pay for all of this? Welcome to Student Loans! The final state (or privately) provided, 10 inch dildo just itchin' to be shoved up your college bound ass! Don't have any money for school? Don't worry about it! Just a signature here, a date there, and your school is all paid for! Well, at least until you're finished, at least. Then, you got 6 months to get your still hurtin ass in gear, get in the system, and start working your life away, cuz we are gonna charge that ass monthly, for the next TEN YEARS. Oh, and don't forget, those four years of hittin the books gave us plenty of time to accumulate interest on your education cost, so prepare to pay back nearly 50% MORE than what you borrowed! You can thank us later.

Happy Studying!!!

Simplicity is the Name of the Game

If anyone has ever seen my drawing style as of late, to most people, its probably pretty unimpressive. I've gotten to the point where I use virtually no detail at all and just do the bare minimum as far as definition of form is concerned. To most, my work would probably be seen as simplistic, childish, and lazy. And while that all may be true, there is a distinct reason as to why I draw the way I do, besides the obvious "I like the way I draw" argument. There is a logical reason for my method, which I will now try to explain.

First of all, lets take a look at this:



Can you tell what it is?

Its an apple, obviously. It took you...what? A second to look at it and figure out what it is, right?

Now, lets take a look at this:



I know haha...but what is also in this picture that was in the previous? An apple. And it took you what? A second to figure out what it was?

Now where am I going with all this? If we look at the 2nd apple, its barely an apple at all right? I mean, from a technical standpoint, its like, a few curved lines. While the first apple is a plethora of line, shape, color, and tonality. Far more intricate.

And yet they're both read as apples, the same basic object.

It was no more difficult for you, as the viewer, do decipher the cartoon as an apple then the realistic rendering as an apple. In fact, it's the exact opposite, as your brain needs more time to take in the extra detail and put it back together as a recognizable shape.

So, if I can draw a few lines and make you see an apple, why bother taking the extra time to make it look more real, when you are still going to get the exact same thing out of it? I mean, sure, the first may look more impressive (though as a cartoonist I'll take b&w lineart over colored pencil any day), but take a look at the second apple in its context. Its not meant to be a gallery piece, its a character in a comic. A story. And in this light, its all it needs to be in order to serve its purpose. Sure the first apple could easily have that caption thrown on it and have the same effect, but then thats a lot of superfluous effort, not to mention the fact that a comically rendered object in a comical situation makes a lot more sense then a photo realistically rendered object in a comical situation.

But the point is, in the first apple, the apple istelf is the star of the show. The whole point of a fine art piece is the look of whatever is being put on canvas. Its an entirely visual experience. So lots of detail is understandable. But theres more to the 2nd apple. Obviously I don't mean more detail. So what do I mean? I mean that the visual element isn't the whole story. Because its a narrative piece. The visual is only part of it. There's a voice, a statement, a purpose. Take away that purpose, and the illustration becomes meaningless. It becomes the gallery piece. The cartoon apple isn't just a drawing. It's a being. A vessel to deliver the true star of the piece. The message. The story. The narrative.

And to me, thats what narrative art should be. If you're working on a story, your main focus as a creator should be on the story. Your art can be extravagant, but pretty pictures aren't going to make up for a weak narrative. I prefer to have simplistic art that is detailed enough to let you know what it is, and then have it blend into the story itself, and let what it's doing drive your interest, not what it look like.

Images from golfiscool.deviantart.com and markstivers.com, respectively.

Brand Loyalty

A few posts down, I talked about how, after a lot of consideration, I have decided to abandon my rather long history of purchasing Macs, citing the fact that, despite their current position in the industry, Apple as a company has really decided to shift their focus from the creative professional to the average consumer willing to pay top dollar for good looks. As someone who considers themselves an intelligent consumer and a digital “artist”, I can't in good conscience go along with the crowd on this one.

So my next logical step was to think: What do I buy now? Apple has been my go to place for computers for awhile now, and even though I own a sweet Windows based desktop that I love to death, the Windows portables I own have all been “no other choice” purchases. The Dell Latitude d630 was a requirement from my school, and my laptop before that, an old HP Pavilion, was a cheap purchase from a friend that I bought simply because I needed to do a presentation my senior year of high school. So Windows notebooks, while I know a lot about both the OS and the hardware manufacturers that produce the actual laptops, isn't something I'm very familiar with. What brand will I buy? What model? The landscape of PC notebooks at this very moment is larger than Apple's entire personal computer portfolio. From giant multi billion dollar companies like Dell and HP, to bargain names like Acer and Gateway, to overseas brands like Toshiba and ASUS, to smaller companies with specialized products like MSI and Saghar. Narrowing it down to the perfect machine for me isn't going to be an easy task.

I started perusing various company webstores, already being rather familiar with the bigger companies offerings, having read Engadget and Gizmodo everyday for the past 2 years. My initial draw was to HP, as they were the manufactures of my first laptop and it was a very pleasant experience. My favorites in their portfolio were easily the Pavilion HDX 16 and the TouchSmart tx2, both around the same price range (when spec'd to my liking, that is), but offering vastly different experiences. Moving on, I quickly looked at Dell's offerings warily, as my Latitude experience has been pretty much the exact opposite of the Pavilion. While offerings such as the XPS m1330 and 1530 piqued my interest, Dell for some reason has yet to really update the offered hardware to match the competition, so Dell as a whole was quickly ruled out.

Gateway was next, as a visit to CNet revealed the Best Buy exclusive P-7811 FX gaming rig, with ridiculously high end components at a bargain price. The machine was quite bulky, but quickly rose to the top of my list of options for raw power, edging out the previously mentioned HDX. A quick Newegg search revealed that nearly every current ASUS notebook had merit, and it was really only a matter of price and size when it came to considering their machines. And getting over the rather garish design sense.

A conversation with a friend of mine turned me on to the ThinkPad line, a series of notebooks I hadn't even considered due to their longstanding business linage. However, a quick trip to their product page revealed the ThinkPad w series, a whole line of notebooks specifically made for the digital artist. Dollar for dollar, these things decimated anything Apple could throw at them, and ThinkPads not only have a great reputation, but a following that could give the Cult of Mac a run for its money. I soon found myself chatting it up online with fellow ThinkPad enthusiasts, which were quite a different breed then the Apple faithful, but no less enthusiastic about their machine of choice.

Fast forward a month, and I'm a ThinkPad nut, and I'm waiting for an eBay auction for a ThinkPad x41, a old but reliable ThinkPad convertible tablet to end. There are a few things I'm not really liking about the x41, such as the old as hell GMA 900 intergrated graphics, slow as hell 1.8” hard drive in a nearly proprietary drive bay, and slow RAM, but the people I've talked to, and reviews online have all sang the x41's praises, so I figure it'll be a great alternative to a much more expensive Wacom Cintiq, as well as a way to ditch my Latitude until I can afford a more suitable replacement.

I again was having a conversation with my friend about the x41, voicing my concerns, when he linked me to an auction for a discontinued HP business tablet. It was only a little more expensive, but remedied all my concerns with the x41, and then some. My gut told me to ditch the x41 and go with the HP (tc4400 for anyone interested), but I had fallen in love with the ThinkPad brand, and didn't want to abandon it. I ended up purchasing the tc4400, but still kinda wished it was a ThinkPad.

After purchasing the tc4400, I decided to take a look at HP's notebooks, now a month later, to see if there was anything that could beat the w500, my current favorite ThinkPad, since that I had gone with the HP tablet instead of the x41. Their consumer line was relatively unchanged, but I had forgotten to look at their business line of notebooks last time around. Taking a peek at their suit portfolio, I stumbled upon the EliteBook line, a series of notebooks I had only last month talked my friend out of buying in favor of the ThinkPad w series. They weren't as good as the w series of ThinkPads, but they looked a lot nicer, and there were good reviews about them on the web. I was wrestling with myself, trying to get my brain to like the EliteBook more then the w500, when it hit me:

I was an idiot.

I was about to do the exact same thing that I had done with the x41 and ThinkPads, and now the tc4400 and EliteBooks, that I had just recently condemned myself for with Apple: Brand Loyalty.

Brand loyalty is the single worst thing you can do to yourself as a consumer of electronics, or any product for that matter. The single greatest strength of the Window PC market, and the single reason they are a better bargain than a Mac, is the fact that the landscape is so diverse. Sticking to one brand of computers, whether its Apple, Lenovo, HP, Dell, or whatever, is limiting yourself, and cutting yourself off from a potentially better solution for your needs from a different vendor. I was an Apple fan, I was going to spend hundreds of extra dollars for a sleek aluminum case and underpowered componets. I was a ThinkPad fan, I was going to buy a now gimped tablet for a solid black chassis and a god reputaion. I was an HP fan, I was going to buy a more expensive and technically inferior notebook because it's logo matched a prior purchase.

Am I the only one who sees the idiocy in this?

As of right now, Macs arent for me, so Im not buying them. I shouldn't have to “hate” Macs and Apple because of that. I bought an HP tablet instead of a ThinkPad, that doesnt mean that I can't buy a ThinkPad w500 down the line. If its a better choice, why segregate yourself from it? Thats just bad spending.

All of my life I've had this problem of brand loyalty. Starting with TV shows and video game consoles, and continuing with computer vendors. Well, I'm glad to say I've had my epiphany and its never going to happen again. It just isnt logical. If, when I'm ready to buy, the ThinkPad w500 is still the best choice for me, I'll get the ThinkPad, HP tablet be damned. If the EliteBook line catches up and outpaces the current ThinkPad, sweet, EliteBook it is. And if Dell or Gateway or ASUS come out with something that tops all both of em then thats what I'll go with.

And if Hell freezes over and Apple makes something affordable, then I'll have to get that. I'd get 2 actually. It'll undoubtedly end up a collectors item...

Apple has abandoned us...??

As my 2nd year of school begins to wind down, and thoughts of summer break begins to emerge from the dark recesses of my mind, I can't help but look at my current hardware powering my creative endeavors and ponder if they will be enough to fuel my ideas for the coming break. While most everything currently in my possession is adequate for now, one glaring omission to the equation bothers me: my Dell Latitude d630.



Oh how I loathe you, sir Latitude. Not so much that your hardware is bad; your T7300 and 2 GB of RAM, not to mention your Quadro NVS, while not mind blowing by any standard, easily keep up with my projects during my late nights in the comm cafe. It's not that your 14" panel, with its rather odd 1440 x 900 native resolution, is too low, or your screen itself too dim.

It's that you're a F*CKIN DELL*.

Seriously, there's a reason "Dell" is only a few letters away from "Hell".

Anyways, my Hell is crapping out on me, after a mere 2 years of use. It's been in the shop about 4 times in the past 10 months alone, and that was only for hardware problems that I couldnt solve myself. I've had to reinstall Windows another 3 times, and do countless othere menial tasks to get this thing running smoothly. And it's probably going to head back to the ITS Service Desk at my school again soon, as the WiFi card is acting up.

But this post is supposed to be about Apple (though I could do a Dell post triple this length if I felt like it), so I digress..

So, needless to say, a replacement to this 5.1 lb. bundle of joy is in order, if for no other reason then to keep my blood pressure down.

Now, in case no one has figured it out yet, I'm a digital artist. So, where does the digital artist look for a new laptop, or a new computer in general?



Apple of course!!

Now, I know Apple's current product portfolio like the back of my hand. With the crazy amount of press Apple gets, any tech-obsessed nerd can't help but be well aquainted with the Appleverse. So, while perusing my options for a new notebook, the MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro, I realized something. Something really obvious, but something I hadn't noticed until very recently:

Apple has abandoned the creative professional.

Depressing, but true. How you ask? Just take a good hard look at Apple's lineup. What is there? I mean what is really there? Nothing but consumer products, and glorified consumer products.

Now, what do I mean by that? How can a computer be merely a consumer product? Isn't a product's purpose detirmined by its use? Well yes, I suppose one could make an argument for that. But just because you can use something for a specific purpose, doesn' mean it's designed for it. I mean, even though you can cut a cake with your laptop, that doesn't mean you're gonna keep it in your utensil drawer...

So lets examine the nitty gritty of these products: Starting at the bottom and working our way up: The Apple MacBook. Here we have a really odd product. It is currently split in two variations - the white polycarbonate MacBook of yesteryear, and the new, sleek and shiny unibody design we all know and love. Now, perhaps this is wrong to look at, because, the MacBook isn't intended to be a Pro product, its meant for the consumer. But with a feature set on the unibody MacBook nearly matching the MacBook Pro, I think its safe to say that a good portion of prosumers will be at least considering it. So... the Apple MacBook. What does it have going for it? Well...it has a glossy screen, very not perfect for the digital artist, as it throws true color value out the window, not to mention the annoying glare. caused by the edge-to-edge glass. The white MacBook aliveviates this issue slightly by using a plastic display, but its still glossy. Also worth mentioning is that both of these displays are WXGA resolution (1280 x 800), not very suitable for large image editing.

The MacBook unibody also lacks any sort of FireWire connection, meaning anyone into audio, film, or just someone with a FireWire external hard drive is outta luck. Ironically, the white MacBook, which is a lot cheaper and really meant for consumers, has a FireWire 400 port. It also has a miniDVI port, unlike the unibody's miniDisplayPort, which takes away the option of hooking the computer up to that sweet color calibrated external display you have.

But lets move on to the next "step up" in Apple's lineup: the MacBook Air. As a pro product, this thing just utterly fails. I'm not saying its a bad notebook (though I'm sure others would), just a bad notebook for pro customers. Lacking FireWire, only 1 USB port, no Ethernet, no upgradable RAM, no upgradable hard drive, no removable battery, a slow Core 2 Duo CPU, and a still WXGA glossy screen (albiet one of better quality). Also worth noting is the MacBook and Air use an Nvidia GeForce 9400M GPU, and while its a good GPU for its class, it will still struggle under heavy creative workflow.

Now the MacBook Pro is in a different class. With it's 15" or 17" screen, a Core 2 Duo chip starting at 2.4 GHz, and the added GeForce 9600M. Of course, with a starting price of $1999, it also is in a completly different price range. While these options are a lot better then the previous MacBook offerings, the problem here is that, despite the name, none of the hardware is really "Pro". Sure the CPU choices from Intel are solid, if not exceptional, yet, in typical Apple style, the price for the hardware is far too high. Another problem is the GPU in the MacBook Pro, the 9600M, is not a prosumer graphics card. The GeForce series of cards is for gaming (ironically, someething the Mac does not excel at). Nvidia's Quadro line, as well as ATI's FireGL series, are cards specifically designed for CAD and other graphics apps specifically for digital artists. Why Apple chose mainstream cards for it's mobile workstations over these is beyond me, though its nothing new. Apple has NEVER used a CAD card in any of their notebooks. In addition, these pro level laptops STILL USE A GLOSSY SCREEN. And only the 17" MacBook Pro, which starts at over $3000, has an option for a matte version. Of course, this once free choice is now a $50 upgrade... Also worth mentioning about the 17" Pro, is that, despite its price tag, does not included a Blu Ray drive. In fact, no Mac does, Steve Jobs is against it, which I'm sure is in an effort to drive iTunes sales. Not only that, the 17" STILL only uses a 9600M. Contrastly, ASUS makes laptops for under $1000 that have 9800M GTS cards in them, which, as the numbering would imply, blows the 9600 outta the water...

So pretty much every Mac portable is ruled out. If we look at desktops, its the same thing. The iMacs are too expensive for the hardware you get, have a glossy screen thats bad for art, and the only real Pro desktop, the Mac Pro (which thank god uses workstation-class Xeon processors) has too crappy a GPU (an Nvidia GT 120) for the price!

So if these Pro level Macs are so bad for Prosumers...why do we buy them!? The answer, again, is obvious, but not so obvious:

The design.

Yes. We, as artists, appreciate good design. We are in the business of making pretty things, and as such, our inner designer orgasms with glee when we look at an Apple product. Those perfect lines, those sleek tapered edges, the beautiful sublty of form, oh my god I HAVE TO HAVE ONE!!!

Stop.

Seriously, are we that stupid? I mean, are we really going to drop $1000+ on a Mac just because Apple hired some guys who can do OUR jobs well!?

Apparently yes, because I've done it a few times myself...

I'm not saying that Mac OS X is bad (as I'm sure Apple fans would be very quick to point out how amazing it is when faced with any negativity about El Jobso's babies), I'm saying, that $2000 for a $1200 laptop in a pretty case isn't smart spending.

We as artists need one thing in our computers: Power. And a lot of it. The more horsepower we have, the faster our stuff gets done, and the more productive we are. Graphic designers need a high resolution screen and a kick ass CPU, which most Mac portables don't have (at least not cheap). CAD and 3D animators need a bitchin video card, preferably workstation-class, which Macs dont have. Audio and video people need high res screen and lots of FireWire, which most Macs don't have. And everyone can always use output to an external monitor, which, because of Apple's switch to miniDisplayPort, is a lot harder to do. And don't even think of using Dual DVI without an uber expensive adapter...

Let's face it. The iPod killed the Mac. As soon as it became cool to like Apple, Apple turned its back on the industry that single handidly kept it alive over the past ten years, and succumbed to the average consumer, appealing to the lowest common denominator. Now, theres no denying that that's good business, (Just look a any recent Apple marketshare values if you want to debate that). However, I can't see why they couldn't have kept a strong Pro lineup going. Anything with an Apple logo on it these days will sell. High end Prosumer products would've still sold to hip consumers trying to be cool, and Pro customers would still be served with valuable tools for their work. It would have been a win-win. But now, their turn to the average person has caused them at least one sale, as I cannot in good conscience buy a new Mac when there are simply better options out there...

*And no, this isnt my only bad experience with Dell machines. I have an Optiplex 745 and it also craps out on me constantly. I had to reinstall Windows after it decided it didnt like my video card anymore. The thing is actually currently sitting OS-less, waiting for yet another reformat, for reasons I don't even feel like going into...