Some companies constantly disappoint, and others do something special. Throughout my career, the products from Microsoft have been consistently mediocre. But as realist, I know we're pretty much stuck with Microsoft because of its stranglehold on the industry. They made some very shrewd deals.
My first experience with products that "just work," as Jobs likes to put it, was a U.S. Robotics Palm Pilot. It was a glimpse of what was to come for tablets. Microsoft tried to emulate the Pilot's success by cramming Windows CE into similar devices, but they were awful.
In 2009, I bought a used 2006 MacBook. After getting used to the keyboard differences, I stopped using my Windows notebook at work and took the Mac everywhere. I found I could do all of my work on it, including managing users, server switches and routers.
I later bought a used iPhone 3GS, which started my love affair with iTunes, podcasts, apps and the whole Apple culture. At work and at home I have MacBook Pros, and my wife and I own iPads. In our IT department, where seven employees run a large Windows network, four of us have switched to Macs.
I will never buy another Windows PC or notebook. Apple products really do just work. I was saddened to read that Steve Jobs resigned, and I hope Apple can continue in the same vein without him. I am not a particularly wealthy man, and my MacBook Pro cost a chunk of change, but I feel like I own something from the luxury class. It will have to be my workhorse notebook for several years to come, but that's a good thing, because I love it!
I'm a rational 45-year-old man and I'm having an affair: with a MacBook Pro.
As Steve Jobs steps down, Tim Cook takes over a tech giant in the best financial shape of its 35-year history.
