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I have very vivid dreams and I remember them rather well and in detail. Last night I had a dream and it involved Steve Jobs, let me explain …

A group of people and I were traveling on a bus through a nice forest like country side high on a hill when we came to a very large waterfall. The bus went near the edge of the water fall on top of a large sheet of glass, enabling the bus to get close to the edge and for all the passengers to enjoy the view. The bus started to slide on the glass and it plunged off the edge of the falls and lodged between some trees and a cliff with the front of the bus in the air and the back of the bus closer to the ground. No one was hurt but we had to get out quickly because the trees holding the bus were creaking and we felt the bus could plunge further any minute. Everyone got off the bus including me or so we thought, until a few faint squeals came from a boy in front of the bus too scared to move. I went back onto the bus and grabbed him and took him to safety.

We mustered together and walked through the forest for a while and came upon a large house with nice grounds and a tranquil feel. There were seats on the ground and in front of them a banquet and we all sat down and started to eat. In front of me only a meter away was a separate seat and to my amazement sitting at it was Steve Jobs and his wife. Steve stood up and said he would rather sit with all the other people and he came and sat opposite me. I was rather excited by this.

I asked Steve what he was doing in this place and he said he was searching for someone to help him build the next big thing at Apple. I then asked how he would know when he found that person and he looked at me calmly and said, “they will have a white ball”. I have always been excited at the prospect of meeting and working with Steve Jobs and Apple and looked around me quickly to see if I could find a white ball. To my amazement I was sitting amongst thousands of them which I had previously thought were lotus leaves, so I picked one up and handed it to Steve, who looked back at me with a confirming grin. A tear came to my eye.

I was hired.

I’m at a loss to say what this means and if you have any ideas, please let me know.

Yesterday I bought an Apple Macintosh Mini and before you think this going to be a “Mac fan boy rant” just keep in mind that I also run Linux (Ubuntu) and Windows XP at the same time (on different computers). I wanted a Mac because there are so many advances in the user interface and advanced tools like Quicksilver that make the experience something to marvel at and something to absorb to make the interfaces I design better. I also need the Mac to test web applications and to try it out as a Java workstation. Not to mention that it also looks fantastic and fits with our decore, a fact not lost on my wife Melissa. Note to the fellas, this helps with the purchasing decisions !!

So I got the boxes home and put them on the desk for Melissa to unpack and connect and as expected in very little time the Mac was connected and powered on. Only a few minutes after that the machine found my wireless network and wanted to join it. If it wasn’t for the fact that I don’t remember the password I would be writing this entry from the Mac but instead it’s from Linux. Don’t fret ‘billyware’ boys, I’ll be using Windows later today as I try out Windows Vista Media Center edition.

When I told a friend that I bought a Mac he said, “Welcome to the cult” and I can see why he says this, the experience engendered by the Mac is second to none. Yes other operating systems and windows managers can do ’similar’ things but they are just ‘functional’ and don’t create emotion. If emotion from the design of a product wasnt important then I guess we would all drive around in the same shape car and wear the same clothes etc etc. We would also have a new and faster version of Windows XP without a face-lift but instead we have Vista. Coincidence, I think not.

I’m happy with my purchase but there are a few things that could be improved with the hardware and these are:

1. The wireless keyboard and mouse have fiddly buttons on them for turning the wireless on and off. The buttons are to be expected but it’s a little annoying to lift the keyboard up and turn it over whenever I need to turn it on or off. The mouse is much simpler because it’s lighter. Maybe the keyboard could have the button ontop next time?
2. The Apple Cinema Display I have is simply the best monitor I have owned but it and the Mac have large power adaptors and so there is a mass of cables and I thought it rather strange that there wasnt a connector for the monitor power supply on the Mac power supply. This would require just one adaptor and one cable to the outlet. Less cables is cleaner and simpler. And less for my dogs to chew.

I’m happy with my purchase and when I get a chance to use the Mac more I’ll report my findings.

Update: I just saw my Melissa blowing kisses at the Mac. She finds it so simple to use and is really liking the experience. Yes - I’m just a little jealous.