Again, I apologize for my absence of late.  A wonderful week-long vacation in Southern California which provided my body much needed outdoor time left me renewed and ready to code.

Just before leaving, I began the switch in my company from Dell hardware to Apple hardware.  This was a decision I really labored over.  All of my pro's and con's could be distilled into the following list:

• (Con) I really don't know UNIX, and maintaining a hetrogenous set of OSes in my network scares me more than a little
  
• (Pro) The MacBook Pro is the fastest laptop running Vista on the market
• (Con) Entourage is no substitute for Outlook, which is my Killer App
• (Pro) I can not only develop Windows-based apps, but Mac and iPhone apps too
• (Con) I'm an old dog
• (Pro) I like learning new tricks

So there you have it, it's tied.  Well, actually not so much; to conserve cash, I like to lease my computers.  Sure, it may cost a bit more in the long run, but in the short term I don't have to lay out $1-2k per seat, but rather ~$70 per month per seat.  So when I started looking into Apple's corporate financing, I was confused.  Although I eventually got it worked out, Apple's online information proved to be out of date and just plain wrong.  (Specifically?  Don't click on the link to fill out a lease application online.)  Hmmm... not a good way to start out a B2B relationship.

My other fear is Apple's pure lack of on-site support.  I'm coming from years of owning Dell hardware, and say what you will about their offshore call center, every time I've really needed assistance, Dell's been there and provided me top-notch service.  Apple on the other hand makes me go to them.  Again, not a great model for B2B and only passable for consumers.

Why switch?  Simply this: the iPhone.  No, no, I don't have one, but it's arguable that the iPhone is the greatest tech consumer appliance in the marketplace.  If Apple gets Exhcange integration right, it really could be The Killer Device for all corporate types, and that's impressive.  So, if I ever dream of even touching a line of code for the iPhone, a Windows-only box simply won't do.  In short, Apple hardware provides me flexibility that a Windows-only box can't.

So this is the start of the Grand Experiment.