Okay, I mentioned last post I was gonna get a Mac Mini...
It is done. I did it. I crossed the line now.
I heard Macs were over-priced. This one, arguably underpowered (1.4G G4) was priced right where I could take that chance. For a bit under a kilobuck ($ 1k) I got the fast(er) processor, the big(er) hard disk, DVD burner upgrade, 802.11? "Airport" networking, integrated Bluetooth (for KYBD and Internet access via cell phone) oh, yes, and some extra memory. More memory, more better.
Macs are for artists. Too bad. I'm an engineer. What I was interested in was another cool tech toy and I can scrounge around for some old keyboards, mice and a screen. (the DVI to VGA adapter ships gratis with the Mac.) If I am half as happy with this Mac as I am with the iPod I bought from a friend last summer, I'll consider it money well spent.
Its a closed system. Maybe that's what hurt their market share in the past. But from what I can tell (see engineering remark above) Darwin strongly resembles BSD. Panther understands X11. The GUI is compatible with Javascript, Java and the terminal is compatible with Applescript. I'm expecting to be writing small code pronto. And in the next rev of the OS (codename: Tiger), there will be further support "widgets" for small programs. For a preview, do a Google search for Konfabulator. I think writing nice looking apps like a QSO manager for Field Day will be straightforward.
There isn't any software. I've found software for ham rig control. Software for satellite pass prediction. OpenOffice is there. iLife probably isn't too bad either. Oh, yeah, Mozilla Firefox.
It ships early March. We'll see.
Back to running laundry and cleaning house. Girlfriend's at work.
73
Scott
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