Last Sunday the power supply on my *MUCH* beloved DevBox finally gave up the ghost.
Picasa Web Albums - xmlhacker - Dead DevBox
Death of the DevBox
As per the above photo, if not obvious, that’s a power supply half the size of my DevBox hanging off to the side. The machine itself is completely custom, right down to the screws that keep the sub-compact power supply and cooling system snugly fit inside. Finding a replacement is no easy task, and it was becoming more and more obvious that my last minute hack of desparation — ripping a power supply out of a nearby tower, pulling off the side of the DevBox, and plugging it into the motherboard — was not something that was safe and as such, something that I could expect to last for very much longer. Couple this with the fact that in its current state it was no longer a “portable” workstation (coupled with a flat-screen monitor and a reasonably sized ergonomic keyboard, you might be surprised at just how portable such a workstation can be) and it became all too obvious,
It was time for Timmy’s well deserved retirement. (< Yes, his name is Timmy. Long story… Don’t ask. ;-)
Anyone who knows me, knows that I have never claimed to be a Mac FanBoy. As per the intro to the photo collage of my first Mac purchase a year ago October,
Since I was old enough to know what a computer was, I’ve been obsessed with them. Since the moment I came to know about Apple Computers I have been obsessed with the idea of never giving them one cent of my hard earned money.
Well, I finally decided that it was time I set aside my “issues” with Apple (the company) and embraced the fact that to truly be a cross-platform software developer (and not have that mean writing everything in Java… blahhhh!!) I would need to have a modern-day machine loaded with a modern-day version of each major OS. Since, at least at the moment, the only “real” way to run the Mac OS is to own Mac hardware I finally had to give in and simply plunk down the cash to buy one.
Presented before your very eyes is a sequenced photo-log of the time I first opened the box of my new iBook, to the time I was first running the OS. Enjoy!
My, how times have changed. I first started to realize that I needed to pay more attention to LandO’Mac when about a year or so back began the defection of some of the more notable MacAttackers in the various dev communities of the world. Of course, one might ask,
“you were attracted to Mac because people started to defect?”
and of course my answer would be,
“Yep! When the die hards defect, that a sure sign that it’s time to start paying attention.”
You: Huh?
Me: I do everything backwards.
You: Yeah, but… You know what… Nevermind.
Me: Smart kid ;-)
So anyway, while I can’t say the reason I chose to make a MacBook Pro my new DevBox of choice had to do with the die hard defection, I can state that the moment I began to notice the defection was the moment I began to take better notice of what was going on over at Apple. I don’t have the time to write my usual 40 page essay, so I won’t go into each and every detail as to what brought me to the point of making this decision, but I will point out the final factor…
The day Apple announced the EMI deal was the day I knew it was time to make the switch. Which brings me to my open letter to the good folks @ Apple,
—
Dear Apple,
You’ve changed.
Sincerely,
Your Newest Customer
—
Quick-Note: A quick shout-out and thanks to Todd Ditchendorf who gave me some quick advice in regards to which screen I should go with. For the record, I chose the matte finish.
Also, thanks be to my business partners who immediately swooped into action to ensure I was properly equipped to continue doing what I do. From “My primary dev machine is all but dead” to the brand new MacBook Pro linked to above in a matter of less than three hours. That *ROCKS*! I’d suggest them as business partners in which you should seek after yourself, but,
Stand Back! > They’re mine! ;-)
On a related note, it certainly is a nice feeling when people place a high level of faith and belief in who you are, what you do, and the 27,672 ideas per minute (on average ;-)) I tend to generate by not only stating “Hey, I like those ideas. Let’s build a company around them!” but by also putting their hard earn money into action to back these same ideas up.
Thanks, folks! :D
