This is a counterpoint to The Three Mac Features I Want On My Next PC
PCs suck. They’re underpriced, underpowered, and nothing more than disgusting commodity hardware stuck into a box with no regard for usability and peripheral compatibility. But I still want one. Well, sort of. I don’t want to give up OS X my Mac’s performance record or, well, my freedom. So I guess really what I want is a few PC staple features in my next Mac notebook.
First, I’d like the range of hardware that can run Windows to also be able to run OS X. Having a maximum of four laptops to choose from is a bit off-putting and whenever I need upgrade I feel like a doofus essentially buying the same laptop, again and again. That said, I wouldn’t miss OS X’s ability to handle most hardware with aplomb. Although I still get Grey Screens of Death now and again due to a hardware incompatibility, I’ve never had the horrible “week of pain” that I had with Window machines over the years where a memory upgrade has reduced my PC to a quivering hunk of metal.
And I know that I could feasibly Hackintosh a standard PC and I’d probably be happy. However, I’d like to return to the days of the Power PC and commodity hardware running Cupertino’s best.
Second, I’d like more cooling options. My Mac Pro is great in 80% of cooling situations but recently it got hot in my attic and the fan started running like a Camaro with a stuck valve. Ditto for laptops – if I run my Macbooks for any period of time they start to cook my legs. I’d love a little liquid cooling or maybe sacrifice a little high styling for more air circulation? Too much to ask?
Finally, I’d like the option to tweak OS X a bit more. Tools like the excellent QuicKeys and Divvy offer a bit of a refuge to the power user but there’s no real way to change the way you work with OS X. While 95% of the time this isn’t a big deal – there is a rich command-line interface, after all – it would be nice to skin OS X a bit now and again.
Would I ever switch? Probably not, but these few things might make things a bit easier to take the plunge.
Be sure to read the other side in Matt’s The Three Mac Features I Want On My Next PC article.