I’ve moved!

Just wanted to let you know you should follow me to: http://srstakey.com/blog/

About me…technologically and why I am a switcher.

Hello.  My name is Stephen Stakey.  Student at Stony Brook University, Valedictorian at Mattituck High School (Class of 2007), former Microsoft MVP (2004 and 2005 for MSN Encarta), and a beta testing fanatic who finds quite a lot of enjoyment out of fixing and building computers.  I’ve been using PCs for over eleven years and have become obsessed.  A hobby that has lasted very, very long and has fully engulfed my life.

So all of that brings me here.  To a blog.  Hopefully I can help readers learn some new stuff or at least see a new perspective on the ever-changing world of technology. Until recently, I have been solely using Windows.  I started with an HP Pavilion 5030.  I had free range on this system…all 75 MHz of its processor.  Good ol’ Windows 95.  And America On-Line.  AOL was one of those “cool” services that unfortunately did not keep up with the times, but that’s besides the point.From the time I got that first computer, I have since branched out and used every Windows OS since Windows 95 (and older ones) and got into the whole beta testing thing…which led to the Microsoft MVP Award; an award which I am truly thankful for.  The two years that I worked so closely with Microsoft were fascinating.  It’s a pretty cool company, I must say.  So that brings me to the present, more or less.

Now I mentioned being a switcher.  That can only mean one thing.  Yes, I am now a Mac user.  Of course, I heard the snickers when I decided to buy a Mac, but I think that it was a wise choice.  I have a  15 inch MacBook Pro and am fascinated.  And yes, I do have Windows Vista installed, the OS which I beta tested since July 2005.  I will always have to use Windows.  I’m sure of that.  But the fit and finish on my laptop is absolutely amazing.  Let me explain.It starts with the unboxing…a completely customized box…that even had customized Styrofoam!  But more about the laptop.  I was actually bored with it.  Five minutes after I turned it on, it was connected to the Internet and registered.  So it was time to look at the cool hardware features.  For example, the slot loading DVD burner, the multi-touch trackpad, the light and motion sensors, the backlit keyboard, the aluminum body, the iSight camera, and of course the Front Row remote.  Truly amazing!

The software was awesome, too.  Things like Photo Booth, GarageBand, iDVD, and iMovie HD are truly nice features. I’m glad that at least one computer company in this world cares about making quality products just make sense and are simple.  My last laptop?  Well I love HP, but I remember starting the laptop and having to deal with all of the trial software and the other useless drivers.  Do I really needseveral crippled DVD burning programs?  Or what about WildTangent games?  Or all of the web shortcuts on my Desktop?Yes, the Mac was just so much simpler.  In fact it reminds me of my first computer.  All of the apps are on the hard drive and it just lets me do what I want to do.  It was ready for contemporary technology.  That’s the problem with technology now…my original Pavilion had useful programs on the hard drive.  Now it just seems that you have to get on the Internet for everything.  Should I really need to connect to the Internet to something like Google Apps so that I can type a document?  I DON’T THINK SO!

Another thing that OS X seems to offer is connectability.  For example, just earlier, I wanted to test a printer on my laptop for a local charitable organization so that they could give it away for anyone who needed it.  Sure enough I plugged in the Epson Stylus Photo 200R and less than a minute later I was printing on it.  Without configuring a thing.  My Bluetooth cell phone?  Just happened to have it in the range of my laptop and it synced my calendar and contacts.  Thank you Steve Jobs!

The iPhone? Well that’s pretty cool…but I’m not sure I’d want to switch to AT&T…I’m quite happy with my Verizon-branded Motorola e815 and all the perks that I have, well, added The iPod–another wonderful device. I have a 60GB 5G model which has run everything from a themed Apple UI to Rockbox and even iPodLinux. It’s pretty cool when you can bust out your iPod and play Doom on it. And my 3-year Best Buy warranty acts as a way of future-proofing, if you know what I mean.

So that’s who I am.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love OS X, but I have no problem using Ubuntu or Windows Vista.  It just seems that OS X offers a very simple way to do whatever I want to. Still though, I long to see the day that Microsoft comes back and revolutionizes computing once again…but until that happens, there still will be competition.