Many of you are aware that I have been a Macintosh user since birth (my bio at http://nathantremmel.com shows the progression of my Mac life).  However, I am not sure how much longer this will last.

Apple’s next big cat, Lion (the next release of Mac OS X) is incorporating many of the features of the iOS platform (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad).  I think these iOS devices are solid devices, but I don’t want a 15″ version of them.  The motto on Apple’s site for Lion is “The power of Mac OS X. The magic of iPad.”  I feel as if it’s more like, “Let’s dumb down OS X to become a large iOS machine.  Lion includes a layout that shows all of your applications in little boxes exactly like the iOS devices.  You can make an application full screen as if it were the only thing running.  They have already implemented a Mac store to purchase applications from one single program.

I have always used Mac OS because I was born using it and have found it to be fairly simple to use.  However, it is getting too simple and that is taking away it’s appeal to me.  I own an iPhone, I know how simple it is to use.  But, it’s also locked down in too many ways.  I can see the reasoning behind this, but Apple is becoming a company that is far too locked down for it’s own good.  I’m all for ease of use, but ease of use via restrictions on what can be on the machine is too far.

What will keep me on the Mac?  The apps.  People who develop apps in Mac OS X strive to make them look good and function beautifully.  I don’t think I could move to an operating system that doesn’t have Skitch,  TextExpander, TextMate, 1Password (though already on Windows), Adium, and even Apple Mail.  There are competitors for all these applications on Windows and Linux, but they are just not the same.  It really is a case of form over function: the alternatives work, but they don’t work the same or as well as the applications listed above.

So that’s my dilemma.  Windows 7 is not as bad as many of the previous versions of Windows.  I’ve been using Boot Camp and another computer with Windows 7 and do not really have any complaints other than not having the applications listed above.  I have always been a Linux fan too, but I am not sure I could make a full transition because it is not as intuitive and can be too problematic to diagnose and resolve issues.

And what am I gonna do with all my handles that say macaddict in them?