To Mac or not to Mac

My experience with Mac goes back more than 20 years back in 1986. At school, we are introduced to Apple IIe as PCs (ie DOS,Windows) were not as easily accesible. We learned programming for educational (and writing up some games along the way) purposes mainly and it was great, writing up codes and see it come alive on the screen.

After school, i did not have the chance to get reacquainted with Apple as its getting harder and harder to get my hands on such machines. When I started working in a financial institution in 1992, i was introduced to the world of Bill Gates. Working on terminals and servers, writing DOS programs and learning the intricacies of IT pose a new challenge for me (even if I actually work in accounting)

Fast forward a few years, while learning to troubleshoot in MS-DOS, the introduction of Windows 3.1 and the adoption of IBM compatible PCs as the standard computing platform have put Apple computers in the backseat as the platform of choice. That marks the start the Bill Gates effects. The rest they say is history as PCs currently take up of more than 90% of the market share, while Apple taking a measly 5%.

Unfortunately the general impression is that Mac's product are expensive compared to Windows machines but Mac fanatics would swear by their UNIX stabilty, almost non-existence of viruses and true out-of-the-box functionality with great softwares to boot. Taking that into consideration, Mac user would say that their price tag are justified. Macs are the machine of choice for the creative ones they say :)

Personally, I have fallen in love with Macs since 1986, but I have to admit that their higher price stalls me in my track. But with the introduction of Mac mini and now, Intel powered Macbooks would mean I could actually run Windows on Mac (not that I really need to). Dah lama sebenarnya simpan niat nak dapatkan Mac, dari masa Apple keluar ibook G3, to G4 and now Intel Core2Duo powered Macs.

So, i do think its a good time to get one. When? Nampaknya, kena tunggu duit saya cukup dulu la. Maybe I'll get a pre-loved Macs first and then, maybe then grow to a better system. We'll see how. Will post an update on my Mac adventure :)

Hence the question, to Mac or not to Mac?

The meaning of humility...

I was having a quiet dinner at a Japanese (sushi) fast food restaurant a few days back. While I was busy choosing which item to eat (the most item for the least money), the silence was shattered by a loud scream. Looking for the source, mana la tahu ada emergency ke, apa ke...

"Ko ingat aku ni baru hari ni ke makan kat sini?" shouted The Man. "Tiap-tiap bulan aku makan kat sini! KO BARU KEJE KE? KO INGAT AKU NI APA??". Apparently The Man was shouting to the cashier as he was paying. That girl was terrified and she could only give him a blank stare. That obviously riled him more. The whole restaurant was perplexed, what could have happened there?

"MANA MANAGER KO? PANGGIL DIA KAT SINI" The Man insists. The manager came and apologised profusely on behalf of the girl. The Man was complaining about something to the manager (nope, I did not eavesdrop, tak baik tau!) and he was pointing a lot to the girl. He left after paying.

The question is, is anybody any bigger that anybody else to publicly humiliate another person? Well, The Man could have had a bad day at work but it doesn't give him the right to humiliate another person, in public some more. That very day could be the cashier's first day at work, and she could be a bit slow as not to make any mistakes.

But then again, unless the girl tries to rip off the customer, I personally don't think anybody deserve that kind of humiliation. Whatever happen could be settled amicably between the parties involved, without rousing much fan-fare. Or maybe, The Man is doing it for kicks? To feel superior? Pity his lovely wife for that...

Its better to be humble, and have a bit of humility, methinks.

"What goes around, comes around"

Naik turun kehidupan... Pt 2

Update on the ups and down of my resolve during the puasa month... (with regards to food intake that is) up to the end of September on the 27th and 28th of the month.

Total lost for end of September from the early Ramadhan? A total of 3.8kg (which most probably is water. I am dehydrated this Ramadhan. Need to drink more during break of fast).