a desire

25 Jan 2007 at 8:19 pm

Lately, I’ve been geeking out. I’ve spent a lot of hours in the past two weeks reading about different software, manipulating Quicksilver, studying Apple’s history, and a few other things I can’t even recall. It probably started because I’m bored and out of work (I start my new job Saturday, which I’ll mention later I’m sure), but it kept growing because I’ve been genuinely fascinated with computer things lately. Macworld and the iPhone announcement also helped a great deal with this intensity.

Yesterday, I started thinking about all of this and what it means to me. Ever since I was a child, I was interested in technology. I enjoyed taking toys and electronics apart, much to my parents’ dismay. I wanted to know how things worked, determined to figure them out.

I was twelve when my father bought me my first computer. It was 1993, and the computer was a Tandy i386, 33MHz, with 2MB of memory and a 107MB hard drive. It came with Windows 3.1.

I fell in love with it immediately and quickly became proficient with it. I spent lots of my free time playing games on it and teaching myself how to use a word processor and a spreadsheet. I was fascinated with how easily it was to organize and manipulate information with a computer, despite having very little information to work with. The point was I recognized its potential, and I understood how to apply it. I always wanted more out of the machine. I wanted to manipulate media and do things that were both practical and productive.

Eventually, we acquired another computer, and then when I went to college, I got my own. By that time, I was very good with those boxes: I frequently troubleshooted friends’ computers and was sought after for advice on purchases, upgrades, and software solutions. I eventually began building computers for clients and friends, and a couple of my jobs involved maintaining and administering them.

Then, in 2003, something happened that changed me: I discovered the Mac.

I was working at a small television production company, and all the computers there were Macs. I was out of place and confused for a while, stubborn even, but I had to learn. For the record, it’s not like that was my first time using Macs, but it was the first time I had to use them. I had been on a handful of them before but usually with disappointing results. Years prior to this job, I maintained the collective consciousness of a lot of PC users at the time: Macintoshes were stupid. As far as I “knew”, no one used them, they weren’t compatible with PCs, and there wasn’t much software for them. I’m not sure where this mentality came from: I hadn’t used any personally, and I hadn’t spent any time researching them.

I remember using blue G3 towers in college when all the PCs in the computer lab were in use, the Macs abandoned. I was quickly able to figure out how to check email and surf the web without much trouble, though I always chose the PC when offered.

Katie’s mother owned a PowerMac G4, and occasionally I found myself using it, usually frustrated because it didn’t work like Windows. Particularly painful was the Zoom button: I had no idea what the hell that button did.

Suffice it to say I wasn’t terribly excited about being forced to use Macs. On top of this hesitation, the new Mac ran OS X, which was completely new to me. Initially, things were difficult, and I didn’t always have answers for troubleshooting, but just like checking email in my college’s computer lab, I started to pick it up. I understood computers, and even though this one was really different, it was still a computer.

My days were spent on the Mac, and my evenings were spent at home with Windows. Shortly after full-time exposure to the Mac, I started having problems at home. I found myself pressing keyboard shortcuts that Windows considered meaningless, yet what I found more interesting was that the reverse wasn’t true: I didn’t press Windows commands into the Mac. Perhaps this mixup was just my brain learning new things and keeping them fresh in my mind, but it did hint at something deeper happening: I was being converted.

After years of asking, “Why did you buy that?” every time I saw a Mac, I started to fall in love with them. They were easier to use, and they were pretty! The simple truth is that they’re designed exceptionally well.

After being around Macs at work all day, I started to notice how much I was essentially fighting with my PC to get it to work; for years, I had accepted this behavior as normal and something that just came with using computers. Instead of dealing with conflicts, drivers, and endless configuration options, I jumped straight into getting my work done. The computer essentially melted away and became a facilitator; using a computer suddenly became exciting and rewarding instead of just being there. I felt transported back to the promise and potential I felt when I first started playing with computers; all the pain and frustration disappeared.

I don’t mean to say Macs are perfect or flawless, but to borrow from Gruber, they suck less than anything else I’ve ever used. I have fun with I’m using a Mac. The experience is actually pleasurable, and in that kind of environment, I’m more productive.

The products that Apple designs are almost always fantastic, and what makes them fantastic is really one simple idea: design the best product. Switching to the Mac has taught me a lot about design, and it’s taught me a lot about myself. I’ve realized how important good design is: all the time now I see appliances, electronics, intersections, and tools that are broken. I say they’re broken not because they’ve ceased to operate as designed but because the way they’re designed to operate sucks.

Why are my stove’s back burners so close to the back panel that pots hit up against it, blocking controls and preventing alignment with the burner? Why do so many doors with pull-handles open only if pushed? Why does my cell phone offer me a choice if that menu is going to disappear in roughly two seconds, causing me to press a button that activates something I don’t want activated?

These devices suck. They cause frustration and sorrow. I want to focus on living my life and getting the most out of it, not wasting time and energy on adapting to things just to get by.

But I don’t want to sit here and bitch about all the broken things: I want to focus on making things better. What I’ve been thinking about lately is how much I enjoy helping others find technology that makes their lives better. Today, I was struck with the desire to pick up a part-time job at an Apple store. I think I would be really good at it; I think I could make a difference in people’s lives. That seems like an incredibly lofty goal for entering retail, but it’s how I feel.

I want to help people switch to the Mac. It’s a product I believe in, and I think a lot of people could be happier if they made the switch. I know it’s a narrow field in this world of broken things, but it’s one I’m comfortable with and passionate about. The computer is becoming such a ubiquitous artifact that it affects a huge portion of our lives. That being said, the Mac isn’t for everybody: it’s advantages aren’t apparent to everyone, and a lot of people might not even care about them, but it’s probably downright perfect for a lot of people, especially those who actually want to enjoy their computers and who appreciate good design.

Those people, the ones who want something better, even if they’re unaware of that desire, are the ones I want to help.