Monthly Archives: September 2007

Mac OS X Review

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Three weeks ago I acquired a brand new MacBook Pro. This is my first Apple product after having been a Windows and Linux user and developer since I can remember.

I will try to document my switching experience as objectively as possible. I will review the hardware, software, and the GUI experience as it relates to my work and leisure.

In short, there is a lot of work to be done from a usability standpoint from a maker that touts usability as their #1 feature, but overall I am relatively happy with the MacBook Pro.
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Installing PHP on Mac OS X

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I’m back from my surgery. Thankfully, the laptop from my new employer arrived just in time to keep me occupied during recovery. It’s a 17″ MacBook Pro with the 1920×1200 resolution screen (Sah-weet!). 4 GB of RAM. I must say, this is probably the only machine that could have EVER switched me to being a Mac user. I will write a comprehensive review of what (still) bothers the hell out of me (after two weeks of use) in OS X, and what I find really cool (hint: the Unix prompt is #1). Anyway, I digress…

I just had the pleasure of installing PHP on Mac OS X. It took me about 3 hours to compile PHP 5.2.4 with MySQL, GD, and XML DOM API. By 3 hours, I mean, to find all the libraries, download them, compile them and install. I know OS X ships with PHP 4, but c’mon — PHP 4 will be discontinued by the end of the year.
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Slice n’ Dice

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Today is the big day I go under the knife. I’m a little nervous, but I know everything will be fine. The surgeon is about 150 years old, so I know he has the experience. I just hope that I didn’t crush his hand when I shook it. Anyway, thanks to all my friends for the support, and I will see you in the recovery room.