I’m Having a Mac Attack

The last time I fell in love with a machine was back in the ’90s, when Borg-babe “Seven of Nine” joined the crew of Star Trek:Voyager. I shuddered to think what our kids would look like, but other than that I was in nerd nirvana (I believe the Klingons call it Stovalkor, but that’s another story).

Anyway, I’m in love again, and this time she’s all machine. I’m in love with my Mac.

I still have my PC, but my Powerbook G4 is the new apple of my eye. Macs rule. And it’s not just the computer, but all things Mac — old MacDonald, Bernie Mac, Fleetwood Mac, here a Mac, there a Mac, everywhere a Mac Mac. Don’t look now, but I think I’m having a Mac Attack.

Why am I so Mac Happy? Because Mac — specifically Apple — inspires innovation. Microsoft creates and/or steals technology, Apple creates culture. And Apple isn’t afraid to share its knowledge, learn from others and let the market be its guide.

Consider the now ubiquitous IPod. Conceived as a digital music player, the IPod is now being used as a broadcast medium called Podcasting — even “mainstream” news organziations are “Podcasting,” as noted in an article from Cyberjournalist.Net. “Car commuters are a huge market that TV and print publications haven’t made many inroads into, and this could be their ticket,” the article says. The IPod is not only new technology, but a new revenue stream.

People are also using IPods to create mini web sites, via the device’s “notes” feature. These sites are simple but allow Podders to download very targeted, very local information, such as where to find a nice restaurant.

Apple encourages people to “look sideways” and use modern media in new ways that even the creators never envisioned. And where does this vision come from? It starts at the top, with CEO Steve Jobs.

Jobs’ keynote address this week at Macworld was a technology and culture geek’s Sermon on the Mount, albeit without the festival seating. It was a religious experience up there with a Springsteen concert or eating your first piping hot glazed Krispy Kreme. He seemed proud, even smug, and perhaps he was entitled.

I Hope Apple continues to innovate, inspire, and push the limits of form and function. Sure, I still would love to have been assimilated by Seven of Nine, but my Mac is the next best thing.