Apple Inc - fascinating!

I so regret not having learnt more about Apple Inc., in the past. I so regret not having used Apple's products in the past. Man! What a company! What a portfolio! And what class in the way its products look (and feels)!

I have always used the good old Microsoft products - for lack of other options, low awareness and the easy availability of pirated versions of MS products, contributing to my usage. But, Apple is something else. I have been reading a lot about this fantastic Silicon Valley company for the last couple of years and am increasingly in the process of migrating my computer usage with Apple's products - be it an iPod or its web browser, Safari.

More than the products, I am fascinated by the manner in which the Apple folks think about their market, think about their customers, and try to identify newer and newer areas where Apple loyalists can become even more loyal. And, in the process, they have managed to get me more than intrigued by what they have to offer to me as an IT user. Phenomenal thinking!

I just got an iPod, and that possibly triggered my very gradual migration to Apple's products in the last couple of weeks. Simple concepts of using software to meet a human being's day-to-day needs - look at that harmless little gadget called iPod. It sure has become my companion in my drives around town, and has become the source of great entertainment when I am stuck in traffic and need to listen to some old favourites of mine, that will de-stress me in that strenous (and pollution-filled) environment. It looks good too - to be sporting that white cord on my eardrums and drive around town - quite different from the regular noise of the FM radio!! Ok, I love the radio (but have just become an Apple fan, in a big way!).

I came across Safari today, Apple's web browser. And even there, the level of thinking in can be offered to a consumer is mind-blowing. The layout, the functionality, the tabs, the search options, the speed of the browser, the great design, the ease of use, the behaviour of a browser not hanging/misbehaving (I have been suffering that with MSFT for so long now!) etc.

A few months ago, a good friend of mine bought the iMac- that white, classy laptop. The first glance I had at that machine, made my heart skip a beat. And a couple of weeks ago - when my NRI brother-in-law came to India with his Apple laptop- I actually touched it (the laptop, I mean!). I wonder if that's the same feeling (thrill) that one would experience, if one were to touch a girl - I don’t know, am single you see! What a machine! What features! What clarity in operation! What a range of things to do & still be left with so much to do!:)

Man, the Apple is becoming my apple pie (IT darling!), by the day. And given that there is no human darling to write home about in my life (ok, not meaning that in a depressing way at all, but only tongue-in-cheek!), I think the set of Apple products is going to play a greater part in my life, slowly & steadily!

I need to seriously look at the iPhone now - though it costs a bomb!