Previous readers will have read my opinion of Vista and Microsoft in general since I became a Mac user.

So, what happened?  Well, a friend sent me a link detailing the upcoming release of a new series of Monkey Island games.  To your average nerd, this is the best news since, well, the last Monkey Island game!  This presents a problem to the Mac user.  A productive, stable machine it is, but a games platform it isn’t.

So, Bootcamp was installed, and then Vista was dusted down and installed.  I am slightly concerned to say, that Vista appears to run quicker and more efficiently that Leopard.  I know that I need to install Anti-Virus etc, but I was expecting to install a great big turd of an operating system, as I remember it on my laptop, but it just doesn’t seem to be.  Maybe the service packs and general updates have improved it, but I am actually enjoying using it again.  Plus, I much prefer Photoshop and Dreamweaver on the PC.  They just seem to work nicer, however I’ve been using video capture recently, and also iDVD, and these run nicer on the mac than the PC…

“Why do you say that?”  I hear you say.  Well, because I’ve determined that HP laptops are actually programmed to self destruct after 14 months.

Now.  I’ve always been a fan of HP laptops.  I had 2 of the older generation, which lasted me for over 3 years, and as far as I know, are still going now.  So where does the problem begin?

A member of my family bought one of the newer HP DV models, one of the last models to be sold with Windows XP installed.  It worked perfectly for 14 months, and then, just failed to work.  I determined that it was a graphics card problem within minutes of looking at it.  Unfortunately for him, the computer shop in question that looked at it for him, are (I have learnt) incredibly stupid, completely ignorant, and entirely un-interested in everything they sell, unless it’s an iPod.

To keep them anonymous, lets call them WNES.

Anyway, the computer was sent away repeatedly, only to discover that it was indeed the GPU at fault, and he was charged an obscene amount of money, as the computer was 2 months out of warranty.

This was about 3 months after we purchased 2 HP DV6000′s on the same day.  Both identical, pre-installed with Vista Home Premium.  Fast forward some months, to guess what, month 14.  Laptop number 1, which was absolutely immaculate, lost it’s screen.  Again, a fault that had to be paid for by the new owner as it was out of warranty.  Only 1 week later, laptop number 2 has lost its wireless network card.  Completely.  It doesn’t physically exist on the computer anymore.  The switch on the front shows an orange light, whatever position it’s in.

So there we go.  3 HP laptops, all pronounced dead at 14 months.  My theory is based on conclusive proof, and I’d like to hear from you if you’ve had the same thing happen to you!

It’s something I’ve always been against, but I’m finally about to make the move to Apple.

I’ve been comparing it to ‘getting old’ in the computer world.  Gone is my desire to play games on the PC, I just want a computer to do what I need it to, without any issues.  I think this has come about due to Windows Vista.  On XP, making a computer do what you wanted was easy.  It’s (comparatively) simple and streamlined.  You put hardware in, you download the latest drivers, and you play your games, or do whatever you need to do.  Vista just seems to complicate things, for no good reason.  All the programs you might have got used to don’t seem to work the same, and due to the way technology is going, it’s even more difficult to build a futureproof computer.  Also, I HATE, when you buy a new windows machine, and it has been customised for the manufacturer, and there’s rubbish software all over it.  Dell for instance, you buy a new work machine, and the first thing you need to do is uninstall more than half of the software that comes on it.

So, enough about Windows…

I’m looking at the higher specced of the 20inch iMacs.  I had a play with the 24inch the other day, and while it would be nice, I can’t really justify the extra money for a very similar spec machine but with a bigger screen.  I’m currently selling anything in the house that’s not been used in a couple of days to buy it.

I can’t wait!