Introduction

In high school. I wanted to become a computer person. Sure, I had dabbled with HTML/CSS before. However, in my mind a computer person had 3 things:

1. proficiency in a real programming language
2. a powerful laptop
3. strong opinions

Already a Holder of Strong Opinions, I eagerly pulled up an online Python class on Udacity. Armed with the free time of spring and summer break, I charged through the class at a pace of one day per one week's worth of material. Soon enough, I could write cool (i.e. badly structured, generally useless, really just all-around non-Pythonic) Python programs!

PC

Now I just needed a powerful laptop. I conducted hours of laptop research. Hours! With the diligence of a true computer person, I pulled up multiple top laptops lists and cross-referenced their rankings. Despite considering so many options, however, one thing stayed clear in my mind: I would get a PC, not a Mac.

Knowing myself, I can trace my preference to a strong aesthetic distinction between PC and Mac. I thought of Macs as expensive, pretty black boxes and PCs as cheaper, tinker-able white boxes, the first for suckers and the latter for compuer persons. Stepping back into that old mindset, I would criticize Mac owners as loyal beyond practical.

However, in hindsight that criticism applies more to me. For my first laptop, I bought a Dell XPS 13. It broke within a year or so. For my second laptop, I bought a Dell XPS 13. It broke within a year or so. My mom joked: “are you eating these laptops?” And still yet, for my third laptop, I bought a Dell XPS 13. It recently stopped charging.

Mac

Finally, after three XPS 13s over four years, I have dropped my spurned loyalty and bought a MacBook Air.¹ From the ashes of my trio of broken XPS 13s, I have evolved into a neo-computer person! A neo-computer person casts their strong opinions aside when pragmatic. A neo-computer person evaluates alternatives in good faith, and by that I mean actually tries owning a MacBook to see how it works out.

I still have lingering doubts, however, about owning a Mac. The strongest goes back to the black box nature of the Mac. Having run Linux for so long, I find myself fighting macOS to express my style of customization. Beyond customization, I have never quite liked Apple's black box ecosystem. I worry one day I will find myself locked out of my favorite programs with no recourse except to leave the black box entirely.

Conclusion

However, the principle of exploration rises above the rest. Maybe upon examination the black box will have greater transparency than I imagined (I hope so!). At the very least, I hope this Mac doesn't start smoking.