Welcome Back to the Cult: by Victoria Bell
July 15, 2009 by Mark Taylor
Welcome Back to the Cult: (a guest post by Victoria Bell)
“Welcome back to the cult”, someone merrily Tweeted the afternoon I won the Mac. “The cult?” I wondered. A couple of hours later, another Tweet: “Welcome to the cult!” I knew Apple was way cool, but the fans seemed even more jazzed than I was. What did they know that I didn’t?
The box lay quietly on the dining room table, waiting for me to overcome my fear of the unknown. It seemed too light to actually contain a computer. Several thoughts ran through my mind: Was it going to be confusing going from PC to Mac to PC? What about all of my documents, spreadsheets, email, contacts? Would I have to use my PC for business and my Mac for play? Ugh. It made me tired just thinking about it.
Until I opened the box.
The notebook’s soft, silvery luster was smooth and cool to the touch. It felt solid and reliable. As a former electro‐mechanical drafter, I fully appreciated the work that had gone into the design and manufacture of the aluminum unibody chassis. Elegant is the only word to describe it.
“Even the power adapter is cool”, I noted. Two enclosed booklets, Everything Mac and Everything Else, would prove to be of actual value.
Literally, within minutes of turning on the computer, I was up and running. OK, I was up and playing. My step‐daughter and I were soon hamming it up for Photo Booth ‐ ‐ riding a roller coaster (hands up, of course) and warping our faces into aliens. Big, big fun. We happily wasted a couple of hours exploring just how silly we could be as virtual talk show hosts and video bloggers.
The two days at WordCamp had turned me into a Far Side cartoon character: a not‐the‐brightest‐bulb‐ in‐the‐box kid raising his hand: “May I be excused? My brain is full.” It was late Sunday evening and time to vegetate.
The Marine and I decided to test the Mac’s proclaimed battery life (up to seven hours, the Apple website promises). Experience on long, international flights had taught us to carry an extra battery if we wanted to watch a movie on the PC. Figuring I would drift off early, I told him to choose the films. It was no big surprise when he returned with Lethal Weapon and Lethal Weapon 2. Yes, I’d be asleep in no time at all. Zzzzzzzz. Side note: I was awestruck by the simplicity of the Slot‐loading Super Drive. Again, what superb engineering!
In the morning, I awoke to find my new electronic pal on the nightstand. I checked the battery life and pleasantly discovered there was plenty of juice remaining. I wandered into the kitchen where the Marine was making coffee. “Did you make it through both movies?” “Yep.” He replied. “I like that Mac. Maybe I’ll take it with me on my next trip.”
Hmmm. We’ll just SEE about that. You’re talking to a cult member, now, buddy.
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