During my sabbatical, I rekindled my love affair with Apple, but I still felt as though Macbooks were pretty damn expensive - especially when it still possessed similar hardware to my year-old Dell Inspiron 6400. If I had a perfectly comparable computer right now, why consider a new one with similar specs?

That all changed one night, when I actually had a dream I was using iTunes in OS X, browsing through my albums with Coverflow (I’ve got weird dreams). There it was: Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith, It’s My Life by Bon Jovi - you know the rest. The dream was peculiarly vivid - and it really made me think: how can I get Apple’s OS X without going through a Mac?

Let me tell you something first: I’m not an advocate of installing OS X on non-Apple hardware. Personally, I think that it’s acceptable as long as it’s honestly just used to try the Mac experience - after all, the price jump really is a huge dissuading factor. With that in mind, I tried it just to see if I could really be as happy with a Macbook as I am with my Dell Inspiron 6400.

A friend of mine, who actually has a very similar computer to my own (we’re pretty close, so we actually bought computers together), took a jump and offered to trade laptops with me. He had previously turned it into a Hackintosh already, but I was able to ask him how the installation went: “a living hell,” he described it. “Installing graphics drivers made my mouse jump - something that I’d never seen with Windows, and so after three or four tries, I just decided to go with the native 1024 x 768px. Oh, I forgot to mention: he had a 14.1″ widescreen monitor. I really felt for him, because nothing really looked the same.

The Actual Experience

Let me re-iterate: I am not an advocate of installing OS X on non-Apple hardware. I wanted to really see how the OS X was, and if I thought it was worth it. Problem is, with the Hackintosh, the things that really matter just wouldn’t work:

• Sound: apparently, the included drivers didn’t freaking work. This knocks out my dream of playing Aerosmith and Bon Jovi on the glory of the Mac, but also negates the possibility of working with Garageband.  My two greatest aspirations, destroyed.
• Video: just didn’t look that great, due to the lack of graphics drivers.  Imagine 5:4 image on a 16:10 screen. It was brutal.
• Unresponsive: maybe it was the lack of compatibility, but OS X was actually slower and less snappy than Windows Vista when running on the same machine.  Disappointing.
  
• Boot: needed the DVD - and sometimes would go into endless boot loops.  Dear God.

So for all the hard work put into emulating Mac OS X on Windows - which my friend told me took him endless hours to figure out how to burn and then work out the technical issues - I find the results a bit disappointing. Some will think differently, and some will have much different results and thus be much more satisfied. Personally, I just want to leave you with this: don’t expect a real Mac experience.

What Now?

So your dreams, like my own, have been crushed. I apologize. Alas, hope is not lost - I have decided to refocus my efforts to produce the Mac experience by actually, officially, legally purchasing an Apple Mac Mini. Or a Macbook, depending on my resource fund. Either way, the idea here is to purchase a real Mac - sure, a Hackintosh can help emulate the experience, and it wasn’t totally non-worthwhile. But, it will only take you so far.

And in the end, with a real Mac, we get to decide whether the juice is worth the squeeze.

If you’re still considering turning your ordinary Dell into a Hackintosh, and my article still didn’t deter you, then I’ve got one quote for you: “Get busy living, or get busy dying.” Will you live your plan, or let it die? And no, for legal reasons, I will still not advocate installing OS X on non-Apple hardware.

Design Perspective

Let’s cut right to the chase - keyboard alone, minus the cord: I would proudly call the Das Keyboard one of the finest-looking keyboards in the industry.  The keyboard body is made of a glossy black plastic: no matter how much I admit to loving the glossy black, I would admit that it does attract finger print smudges as well as minor dust particles sadly easily.  You’re going to need that cloth Das Keyboard company included in the bundle to clean off the smudges and dust pretty often.

The LEDs the Das Keyboard uses are unique, to say the least: where most companies have a standard LED light, the Das Keyboard features unique icons that get lit up: for example, instead of just an LED light with “Caps Lock” over it, the Das Keyboard has an icon that says “A” that lights up when the Caps Lock button is pressed.  I definitely approve of this innovation because when the LED is off, it looks like part of the keyboard body - a good disguise for an LED.  Absolutely beautiful.

Caps Lock button off: wait, is there an LED?  Looks like part of the body to me…

Caps Lock button on!  Isn’t she purdy?

I can only find one real problem with its design though: the way the cord emerges from the keyboard is much too obvious.  For such a glossy, and otherwise heavenly keyboard, it’s a real eyesore to see the cord so explicitly seemingly erupt from the keyboard body.  I propose a solution for the next design: why not create a balcony to cover the cord, and have a place to attach the cord to on the right or left side to hide the cord more?  I expected such a simple feature to come with the Das Keyboard, seeing as how it came with my HP stock keyboard two years ago.  If I sound a bit upset, that’s because I’m actually very disappointed with such a design flaw.  The only benefit I can see to such a design is its durability, to which I will respond: my HP keyboard has not been treated kindly, and still has its cord stuck in it very tightly.  Besides, keyboards don’t seem to be the type that will have to worry about durability.

Look at that, it’s so blunt!  It just sticks out.  It’s gross - almost, unnatural to the design.  Shame, really.

An example of a design allowing for a well-concealed cord.  I see my keyboard everyday, so this is an absolute necessity - just because it’s not wireless, doesn’t mean it has to show off its cord.  And this design should be pretty standard - it came with my HP keyboard.

The cord can hook right on to that latch, allowing for cover.  If I can’t see it, it’s not there, right?  As good as wireless.

I rest my case.  On one hand, you see the Das Keyboard’s cord stick right out - and near the bottom, you barely see the HP’s cord stick out.  Where one blatantly emerges, the other relatively naturally connects.  I’d prefer the HP design to the Das Keyboard one any day.

Ignoring the imperfect small detail, the Das Keyboard’s design would’ve been near perfection.  If anyone questions the practicality of the cord, I will justify Das Keyboard’s inclusion of it: they claim it’s for better response time, which I can’t really attest to - I play Counterstrike: Source just as badly with it (haha, I guess it’s a matter of the player and not the keyboard, eh?), but what I really appreciate is the integration of the two USB ports on the side.  Without the cord, such a feature could not be implemented, and the Das Keyboard would be…well, just another keyboard.  Right now, I can plug my Logitech G5 in there and I can’t see any performance issues.  However, I still would’ve liked for something to be implemented to make the cord much less obvious.

Typist Perspective

Let’s put it this way - the Das Keyboard is a joy to type on.  With every push of a key, you get an extremely rewarding and unique clicking sound.  It’s not like the click of a mouse, but rather, more comparable to that of a typewriter.  Although I’m not from the typewriter generation, I can appreciate the feeling.  However, I got a few complaints of that loud, obnoxious typing - when I was on the phone with a friend.  This thing is nearly as loud as the crowds at a Bon Jovi concert.

It sounds great, and boy, the Das Keyboard sure feels great.  There is hardly any resistance when the keys are being pushed on, in comparison to my HP keyboard, which is a relative pain.  In fact, I think the Das Keyboard can give Logitech keyboards a run for their money (I’m also the proud owner of a Logitech MX 3000 keyboard, which is nearly as fun to type on).

Human Perspective

Which brings us to the final portion of our review: my personal human experience with the Das Keyboard.  I can say without a doubt or a second thought that the Das Keyboard provided the most unique keyboard experience I’ve ever had the pleasure of using - no boast.  With the clicking (which makes it seem to respond much faster and be much more snappy), the fun-to-push keys, the LED’s, and the glossy black design, this isn’t the kind of keyboard I’d use once and end up tossing it into my closet.  I’d flaunt this baby every time someone came over (as long as I polish it a bit earlier with the included cloth - hey, it’s really useful).

I didn’t kill many more people in Counterstrike: Source (in fact, I think I got worse at it, shockingly), but it was much easier to write this review and change my blog’s design, and do ordinary tasks with such an extraordinary keyboard.  I felt like I was driving to work at McDonald’s while cruising on a Harley Davidson or a Ferrari.  It’s a beautiful thing.

As of today, I was able to connect an iPod Video 5.5-gen as well as a Logitech G5 mouse to the two USB ports on the Das Keyboard without running into any performance or power issues.

Conclusion

If typing means anything to you, you absolutely have to consider the Das Keyboard.  I’ve been droning on and on about how great it is, I realize, but it’s really just that great!  I can’t stress how fun it is to type on this baby.  It looks great (except for the cord thing), sounds (arguably) great, and types excellently.  Although the USD $129.00 price tag may discourage some mainstream purchasers, I recommend the Das Keyboard to each and every single person that uses the computer relatively extensively or for a large portion of their day.

If you’re looking for even a more unique experience, you absolutely must take a look at the Das Keyboard Ultimate: dig this, a keyboard without any letter engravings on it!  I haven’t had the opportunity to personally review this, but if it’s anything like the Das Keyboard, you can’t miss out!

Shout out to Sarah Lambie, I couldn’t have made this review happen without you!

That’s why I’m taking an announced break, so you readers can have a chance to explore older content, and I’ll be able to reflect on what I can improve upon, and how to apply pieces of advice I’ve recently received.

I hope you stick around to see the new CutEdge (and no, I don’t think I’ll be redoing the theme just yet - but I won’t count that idea out).

With computer makers stepping the form-factor up, I think that this can only be a positive for the integration of computers into living rooms - something that I thought would have happened a lot sooner.  It started with PS3’s and Xbox 360’s being “media centres”, but Dell steps it up by connecting an actual PC to the TV.  However, I’m certain that I missed something - where is the TV tuner card?  Without it, the Dell Studio Hybrid certainly misses one major convenience - the ability to schedule and record TV shows onto your computer.  Asides from that, I can see few appealing reasons to house a computer in the living room.

Starting at $499 USD and $529 CDN (reasonable dollar matching, I suppose), the Dell Studio Hybrid is an affordable and interesting product.  It’s extensible, but only through Dell - after all, you’re taking a huge risk if you’re going to personally try fitting something in such a tiny and unique machine.  And although I don’t guarantee its commercial success, I’m certain that it’s a step in an interesting direction.

Press Release: http://www1.ca.dell.com/content/topic…&s=corp

Users that have never tried Windows Vista were introduced to it under the disguise of Windows’ next operating system, codenamed Mojave.  Surprisingly enough, the users trying Vista for the first time actually liked it - and were then told it was Windows Vista.  They still liked it.

I think this was a great idea on Microsoft’s part, but I don’t want to come off as a Microsoft fanboy.  So I’ll stop endorsing Vista, and just leave you with a link and a few words: stop letting other people decide what you think, and decide for yourself.

Enjoy:

http://www.mojaveexperiment.com/#