I'm in iLust

I was in Atlanta (well, close enough) this past weekend visiting my mother-in-law. She's a delight, and we always get to shop while I am there. This time, DH went along and we hit the Best Buy (larger than the one closest to our home). I was meandering around the store while DH shopped with MIL. My teens were looking at cell phones and MP3 players (should I have guessed anything else?), so I took my four-year old (who was happy behind the wheel of her race-car shopping cart) and browsed around. Then I saw it.

The display.

A large table... a large gray board behind it. One white logo - an apple.

And on the table was my virtual playground - the iPad. I fell in lust immediately. For anyone that has just crawled from under a rock to read my blog - you can go here http://www.apple.com/ipad/ to learn more about it. Here's a nice little picture:

There were multiple iPads for customers to touch, feel, play, caress... oh I am getting carried away. Suffice it to say, after a few minutes whipping around that touch screen I was hooked.

Now, for most of you this could be "so what?". But you do not understand the full significance. The last time I touched an Apple was as an undergraduate (we won't specify just how long ago that was, but the comparison between a newly launched Windows and the Apple was the hot debate). When I say Windows, I mean a version prior to 3.1 - which itself was long before Vista. I had eschewed all things Apple and starting with an "i" before the name. I kept thinking how nothing is compatible with a Mac platform - I would never find programs, I wouldn't be compatible with any of my friends, and so on and so forth.Then there's the DH - a computer geek that has spent many an hour (even day) building and rebuilding all the computers in our house (do you know how frustrating it is to turn on your computer only to realize you must reload all your programs because your loving husband just upgraded your computer for the eighth time in one week?). Talk about having an iAttitude. I knew I had a greater chance of sailing with him on the Titanic than I did taking home an Apple. We all know the Titanic is a little less than seaworthy these days, so that should clue you in to my chances of success. So, compatibility with the DH would reach all-time low should I even consider an Apple.
After today's date with an iPad - I don't care who or what I am compatible with or what programs are available. I found plenty on that little device to keep me happy for a long time. And if I get bored? There are about a million more applications that I could download from iTunes.

I am a good little iSheep... I have been assimilated.

And that was before I found the grandbaby of them all. A nice 27" Mac... it had a gigantic screen. So glossy. So high-def. It was gorgeous... then I remembered. The screen is the hard drive and is the whole computer. No bulky box at my feet. And then there was that straight from the Enterprise deck keyboard and mouse - totally wireless, sleek metal gray. It was beautiful and bliss all packaged right up.

So I was still worrying about compatibility (the way I consoled myself since I was already reconciled to the fact I would not be driving away with one of these beauties).  DH was still wandering in other parts of the store but headed my way - so compatibility was definitely a concern. I still had a two-hour drive home with him in front of me. Like magic, there was the representative. And guess what he could mind read? You got it - and he erased all my concerns about compatibility.

Did you know today's Mac can run Windows programs?

Did you know it can even let you view Windows documents and spreadsheets and all that jazz?

Let me just put it out there, since there are some things you can't view.... Did you know it can even run Windows?

Yes, why yes it can. I am there. All I need is the Mac, the Mac Book and the iPad, and I am a happy little momma at home.

Fortunately, my DH loved the sleek design too. He said we would see what we could do for Christmas.

I love that man.