I’ve been contemplating switching to the dark side for almost a year now, and at long last the final blow came today and I am making the switch — I’m getting a Mac!
Today’s announcement of an upgrade to the line of MacBooks and MacBook Pros, has given me just enough of a push to dive in. Without the same fanfare as Steve Jobs’ recent announcement of the MacAir, this latest upgrade in Apple’s laptop series is definitely modest by comparison. And while it may seem humble by comparison, there is one key new feature that is sure to draw in a whole new swath of MacBook users: the addition of the Multi-Touch trackpad.
Using the same technology behind the iPhone and iTouch, MacBook Pros now come with a touchpad that lets you control your interaction with the content on screen like never before, my favourite of which is the feature that lets you zoom in and out of photos, graphics, or even your web browser in a pinch – literally. Check out this demo of Pinch and Expand.
So, why all the excitement? Well for me, I’ve been in the market for a new laptop for a while now. I almost bought a MacBook in December 2007, and almost again a couple weeks ago. But my gut told me something new would be coming for the MacBook line any day now so I played the waiting game – i.e. waiting for prices to drop or waiting for that next new round of updates or new feature releases.
For the record, I normally don’t condone the waiting game when it comes to buying any piece of technology. If you waited for prices to drop or new features to be released, you could wait forever. BUT, and this is the bigger point – my way of thinking now is that there really IS a difference in choosing when to buy these products. Think about it this way – had I bought my MacBook in December, I would have been “buying in” at the tail end of the rush. I’d be paying the same amount for something that thousands others have had a jump into and already gotten months of value out of whereas I would have really only gotten one or two months of value until the next upgrade.
Now that I’ll be buying into this new release, I’ll be getting the maximum value of the overall purchase. Sure, in a year or maybe even less Apple will come out with the next killer product or upgrade feature, but for this time span where I’ve been contemplating a new laptop purchase, now is the sweet spot when I’ll be getting the most bang for my buck.
Hence, my declaration of victory:
iWin!
Well, I guess since I’ll be giving my money to Apple, they win too. Make sense? Well, maybe not. But in my mind it does! So I’m stoked to get my MacBook Pro.
You can doo it!
Hmm, yes. And now the question is, which one? . . .