As a creative person in advertising, attempting to do anything remotely 'creative' on a Dell Optiplex was counterproductive to say the least. WIthout Quark, I would spend hours designing layouts in Word; and without Photoshop I would waste even more time using a five year old version of Photoshop Elements. I spent four years pestering the DDB IT department for a Mac, so imagine my surprise when they finally agreed to equip me with the latest 15" MacBook Pro (I would have preferred the 13" MacBook for it's portability but, after that long, who was I too argue?)
Well, exactly a week after I'd been given it, I was made redundant. Four years I'd waited! Four years!! I used the notebook during my notice period as I rushed to get get my book (advertising lingo for portfolio) together and update the website. Yes I did consider not giving it back, or at least nicking the hard drive or a strip of RAM, but as I was hoping to get some freelance work from my soon-to-be past employer, I wasn't going to risk it.
From my two weeks of using the MacBook Pro, I conclude that it's far too heavy to lug around in your bag all day - a precision aluminium unibody enclosure isn't so light when you're also carrying the adaptor, a phone charger, a couple of magazines, a jumper, a wooly hat, a wallet and an 'old-school' Black and Red notebook... the back ache was a killer; it also had an annoying habit of not connecting online to the internet - probably due to the over-cautious firewall settings.
On my last day I returned it to the IT Department (even they said 'but you've only just received it!') along with the Tucano sleeve and lock and key. It was a short and bittersweet affair but I've come to realise the purpose of the slightly underpowered, port and drive deficient but 2.5Ib lighter, MacBook Air.
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