Dichroic Reflections

the newest and coolest, plus some same ol' - same ol'

I just spent an hour scrubbing baseboards. Ugh. I have got to get a job, so
I can feel less guilty about not doing housework. (And maybe hire someone else to
do it, thus helping the economy even more.) Not that there's anything
intrinsically wrong with scrubbing baseboards. It's hard on the knees, but there
are certainly chores I mind more. It's been clear nearly from my infancy, however,
that home-making is Not My Proper Job. (Well, neither is anything I've gotten paid
for yet, but it comes a lot closer, and I'm better at it.)

Today,
though, a recruiter told me that the interview she thought she could arrange this
week is at least 2 weeks off, because the company has to post it internally and
jump through all sorts of hoops first. Blahsuck.

I happened to be in
the local Apple store today just in time to see a live broadcast of Steve Jobs'
presentation at MacWorld.

Opinions:

• If the new Mac OS
  X, 10.1, is as stable as they say, it's got to be considerably less frustrating
  than Windows Me (which is currently in the running for my least favorite home OS
  ever).
• the iPod may turn out to be great-- too early to tell -- but
  the despot iTunes software doesn't appear to be any great leap over most other
  computer media players -- except that it will make it easy to download music to
  the iPod.
• the new href="http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2002/jan/07iphoto.html">iPhoto software
  has some killer features, but the most impressive part isn't so much the
  photo handling -- though that looks good -- but the partnerships that allow you to
  order prints from Kodak or a hard-bound book of your photos -- all at reasonable
  prices -- with just a few clicks. How all this plays out over time, with
  improvements and business changes, will be interesting.
• the new
  iMac is absolutely stunning -- just look at
  it. In addition to the flat panel screen you can see, it's got two great
  features you can't see -- a G4 chip in every one (so does this mean they'll stop
  selling other desktop G4 machines?) and a price tag ranging from $1299 to
  $1799. The biggest thing stopping people from buying Macs, pre-iMac, was the
  pricetag. (Well, and a lack of software for it, but that's a chicken-and-egg
  thing.) Then the iMac was just too fruity for powerusers. This one may bridge the
  gap -- serious power, way cool styling, and not too pricy. You can get a PC for
  cheaper, but it can't do as much.

Yes, I'm a Mac person,
even though my current computer is a PC laptop. It's on the desk, right next to
our Mac.