I use a computer, but I'm still a human

Thankfully, the insidious rivalry commercials produced by Mac and PC camps that depicted people claiming either "I'm a Mac" or "I'm a PC" have all but vanished probably since the introduction of Intel-based Macs in 2006 blurs the distinction. I always found the notion that we are what we compute with irksome. Perhaps we humans have gotten lost in the notion that all of our productive power must be augmented by computers and technology. But, personally, I'm uncomfortable with my ever-shrinking capacity to remember phone numbers and appointments without reminders from my phone or email interface.

My first computer was built to play games on it, and it didn't come with an OS; I had to install Qbasic just to get limited functionality. Even then, I had to learn how to make the thing do what I want, which was basically running command lines in DOS to find and run executables. I grew out of any need to play video games on my thousand-dollar 486 pretty quickly because going outside was still a prettier and more immediately-gratifying option that staring at a 24 dot pitch monitor running 8-bit graphics.

Eventually, I was so heavily involved in music, I barely touched the keyboard. Instead I got lost in making music with friends as loud as possible without police intervention, and this was enough. In fact this was plenty and exciting, and practice made for hours of socialization and camaraderie - if not perfect.

But after the birth of my first son, I had a lot less time for practice, and I needed to find a way to continue making music with limited time to do it. So I invested in my first recording device, a used Tascam 424MKII which allowed me to layer tracks as time permitted. Eventually, I grew out of this, and needed more tracks and processing power without a ton of expensive outboard gear.

Hello again, computer!

If you use a PC in your recording environment, surely you've come across Mac users who question your intelligence. I've heard a ton of remarks that imply that there is no way to be a professional recording engineer and use a PC because Macs don't hiccup, work perfectly, are more intuitive, never get viruses, have excellent compatibility with high-end gear, etc. I'm sure that pc-using graphic designers have heard the same things. That being said, when these folks brought in their Macs to my studio there would be hiccups in performance - nothing major, but very similar to my own experience with my PC setup. Therefore, I was never particularly motivated to make such an expensive investment.

Later down the line, I got a job in IT (on account of my studio work, mind you) and I was issued a brand new Mac laptop. It was the non-unibody 2007 15" Macbook Pro. Macs have always carried with them a notion of limitation - harder to program, impossible to reconfigure, small software catalog. Where was the freedom to tinker like one has with a PC?  - For those of you jumping up and down with arguments against this characterization, I admit I was wrong. This machine was elegant - really really elegant. It felt nice to type on, it was the smoothest operating machine I had ever used, and it ran like a dream. The Intel-based chipset provided an ever-expanding catalog of software and the introduction of Open Source software introduced many free downloads that opened up the OSX system to deeper personalization (such as TinkerTool). Because it was a laptop, it didn't have the expandability of a desktop for PCI upgrades and such, but the DAW market expansion into USB interface equipment and Mac's legendary compatibility with MIDI devices in programs as basic as Garageband made that point moot. The only real limitation was my wallet.

However, catastrophic failures of machinery are no respecter of brand, and this machine, after three years of heavy use, died due to the infamous Nvidia graphics chip failure. I received a used Unibody Macbook as replacement through my job, and it was a dreadful machine. It was slower than the Macbook Pro, despite a faster processor, the glossy screen made it almost impossible to see what I was doing in nearly any lighting situation, the keyboard felt far less satisfying, and the "hidden" trackpad button made such an annoying sound EVERY time I pushed it. I hated it. The previous owner hadn't abused it, but had put it through it's paces, so I had to break it down to do some maintenance and cleaning. The construction, in my opinion wasn't nearly as well thought out, either. One particular headache with the unibody was the power management system which resulted in false battery readings and periodic shutoffs in the middle of work - inexcusable and frustrating to say the least. I will say however, that the ability to remove the battery cover to access the hard drive was a very nice design, but this sacrificed the ease of accessing the RAM - probably due to increased RAM capacity in the models when they shipped versus ever-increasing HDD demands and reduced storage costs. In recording environments, it stuttered and spurted and exhibited all sorts of weirdness that made me lament the death of my first machine. But if I wanted to repair the Macbook Pro, replacement parts, and, go forbid, apple store servicing carried astronomical costs. In addition, replacement Macbook Pro models from the same year remained cost prohibitive, and carried the same graphics chip risk, so I was stuck with this junk.

I want to take a time-out to comment that paying over $1000 for a laptop should carry with it some golden protection plan that if your machine dies for any fault of manufacture it will be fixed or replaced, because it is absurd that such an investment comes with such risk. Apple's answer was a recall that protected the machines that were within the original warranty. Ideally, expensive devices like this work like they are supposed to and don't have major flaws in design - that's why a person pays so much more than a lower-cost model.  My better half has an HP laptop that she paid nearly the same price for as a comparable Macbook and it has worked flawlessly for six or seven years. My $1000 Fujitsu tablet issued by the same job had no issues after 5 years of heavy use and, to my knowledge, is still going strong. Also, when a PC desktop (perhaps a Mac-based tower as well) suffers a catastrophe, any of the internal components can be replaced or upgraded for a very manageable cost, and you're up and running as long as you were performing regular backups.

When it worked, the 2007 Macbook Pro was a brilliant machine that was extremely well engineered, extremely predictable in function, and beautiful in ergonomics - but it broke. So, in the familiar words of the band Fugazi's Merchandise, my contribution to the Mac vs PC debate is this: "You are not what you own." Instead, both Macs and PCs are machines that present a mirror of their makers, an elegantly made, yet flawed, piece of circuitry.