Hello, I'm a PC...

Growing up the first computers that I learned to use were the PCs that we had at my preschool. Eventually, my family bought our very own PC that ran Windows '95 on it, which I used solely to play games. This was the extent of my contact with computers until my first interaction with a Mac 3 years later in elementary school. As I recall, I found them very easy to use, and specifically remember learning how to save by pressing the "swirly button" and then S. At the time, I thought nothing of the fact that I used a PC at home and a Mac at school, because I didn't understand that there were significant differences between the two machines.

But soon enough, the great PC vs. Mac war began and people started taking sides. At that point I was in middle school, and although I was using only PCs at the time, I still didn't have a preference as to what I used; I could not however, remember how to use a Mac. By the time I got to high school I owned my own Dell computer, and had gotten caught up in the PC/Mac war. For no reason, I had acquired an intense distaste for Macs, and had come to the conclusion that they were difficult to use and served no point unless you needed Final Cut Pro, Garage Band, or wanted to be a graphic artist.

That attitude lasted for about 3 years, until my own Dell PC started crashing like the piece of crap it really is. So when it was time to buy a laptop for college, I made the decision to purchase a Macbook Pro so that I could get the sweet free Ipod touch and printer that came with it. At the time of purchase, I planned to dual boot it because I thought Windows would still be necessary and easier for me to use, and was afraid to learn a new operating system. So I bought this software called Parallels for $80 that allows you to run Windows from within the Mac operating system. Now I realize that it was a totally unnecessary purchase for the time being, and still have yet to upload Windows (another $90 purchase I'll have to make). The only reason I'll ever even need Windows is to run games, and even then I'll have to worry about buying antivirus software to protect against the vast amount of PC based viruses that are out there.

I think that more people would switch to Mac if they weren't afraid to try something new. The second I plugged in my Mac, I was able to connect to the wireless network set up in my house. When I tried to do that on a PC laptop that a friend let me borrow, not only was I unsuccessful, but I actually ruined the internet connection that my home computer had in the process and had to purchase new software to fix it.

In my honest opinion, Apple is the only computer manufacturer that is ALWAYS trying to make technological progress that is useful for the average user. Any cool functions that PCs DO manage to set up are always breaking (such as the screen flipping over into a tablet). With Macs on the other hand, I have yet to encounter a significant user error. So when WAS the last time a PC made a useful upgrade? My answer would be when the switch to flat screens was made about 5 years ago.

When I bought my Mac, the guy at the store said, "Welcome to the family." At the time, I didn't understand what the hell he was talking about and thought he was kind of creepy. Now however, I know exactly what he meant: Once you go Mac, you never go back. So kudos to all of you who have recently made the transition from PC to Mac, and my thanks to Apple, for making me remember exactly why I loved their products in the first place.

New Photos

Just got back from Tahoe. Very tired and sore. New photos are up on the slideshow... more details and photos to follow soon!

Cooties!

Ladies, we were right from the very beginning... boys really do have them. And now I have proof! I recently subjected myself to an experiment with the hopes of finally proving once and for all that boys carry the cootie virus. The following data is taken from the results of my experiment.

Day 1 - Jackie kisses a boy.
Day 2 - Jackie wakes up very, very sick.

The end. That is proof enough for me.

Either that or God was trying to teach me a lesson. Oh well...

P.S. - I ate some grits today... they tasted like corn and the texture was like finding something in your food that's not supposed to be there... like the time I found a rock in my beans (apparently that happens sometimes). Needless to say, I won't be eating those again.