First off, I visited the new Apple Store here in the Cleveland burbs yesterday (at a ridiculously trendy open air, architecturally diverse shopping center with stores normal people can't afford). Very simple, and not as insane as some of the others sound. It was so different from what you're used to in a computer store. The young woman that answered some questions for me was an early 20-something, fairly cute and clearly an alt chick when not working. This is in stark contrast to the average CompUSA where you'll find a fat, smelly, know-it-all guy with no social skills.
And she knew everything. I mean she really knew her shit. How weird is that?
I love Mac OS X, but being a Microsoft developer I obviously can't use a Mac on a daily basis (unless that film career takes off ;)). The hardware, and especially the LCD monitors, are absolutely beautiful. For some reason, the Viewsonics I have at home can't compare.
The software is cool too. Final Cut Pro looks pretty killer for video editing, and I'm someone spoiled with Avid (which does have its bugs and problems, I'd add).
Last night, Stephanie ordered an iBook for herself, because it's small and functional and she needs something to cart around to her schools. With a couple of upgrades and an iPod mini, her bill came in under $1,500, which isn't bad for Apple products.
I've now had my iPod for about four months. It has saved my life in this job. It's one of the most functional and useful devices I've ever owned, and was worth every penny.
iTunes has finally converted me. Because the way I listen to music has changed so much, I really don't miss having a CD with cover art and such. As of last night I've purchased 109 songs on iTunes, including five or six albums. I've bought a lot of singles, some current, and some to fill out my playlists that correspond to various years. (Music helps sustain memories for me, and every last song reminds me of a period of time... jobs, people, places.)
Apple is good at two things: Innovation and marketing. They have a fairly good track record of living up to their own hype (with obvious exceptions like the Newton, which some argue was just too far ahead of its time, see: Palm). I like everything of theirs I've touched. Now that we'll have a Mac in the house, I wonder how long it will be before I only use Windows machines for development!
We use it at MSU in our media department on dual G4 macs, with some insane size hard drive in them. A group I worked with last year had a ton of footage saved on there, and it still ran very nicely. The render feature can get a bit messy at times, but makes a pretty good end product. I've got that video file around here somewhere...
If you have any OSX questions once the iBook arrives, feel free to drop me an IM and I will do my best to offer advice (even though I know I can't compete with the girl you met in the store).