Here are some of the more popular blog posts that I made in 2008:

Hands down, the most popular post I made was How to Make Fire in Photoshop.

In March, I made a controversial post about Macs, PCs, and Linux.  I should probably do a follow up on this.

I found a solution to my Outlook / Google Calendar synchronization issues.  Actually Google found a solution.  Thanks Google.

I listed my top ten free applications.  I plan to do another version of this post in 2009.

I made a few submissions to shirt.woot derbies, but never won.  I have no problem admitting that the competition over there is pretty stiff, and the technical ability of some of the artists surpasses my own by quite a bit.

In December, I started doing contests for shirt.woot shirts.  I’ll probably change this up in the future to offer other things.  This just seemed like a great place to start.

I know I also did some things wrong.

By far the biggest thing I regret doing in 2008 was taking a break from blogging from May to September.  I think that really hurt my readership, and I’m going to try and refrain from doing that at all this year.  My blog also lacked focus.  I’m still having trouble breaking my topics apart.  Right now I think my lack of focus leaves readers wondering what I’m talking about half the time.  I’m really passionate about Woot, but a lot of internet marketers probably don’t care, and when I’m talking about internet marketing and programming, Wooters probably get bored.  Interesting perplexity.  I will try to address this in 2009 as well.

I have some pretty exciting plans for 2009 that I will follow up on later.

Originally posted on jtGraphic.net: A review of 2008.

Alright. I’ve finally decided to break down the pros and cons of Macs, PCs, Linux, Windows, etc. First off, I’d like to say that none of these platforms are apples to apples. Each one has advantages and disadvantages. There are also some interesting dynamics to some of the rivalries that some people just don’t think about. Every side in this debate has its elitist fanatics, which is fine by me. I like to play neutral. Each platform has its benefits and drawbacks. Finding the right combination of benefits and drawbacks is what will ultimately satisfy end users.

Macs

Macs are great stable products. For those of you that say they never freeze… you’re full of it. They do freeze, just like any other computer. They are probably LESS likely to freeze than something like Linux running on a top-of-the-line laptop, but fundamentally, you can expect the to freeze up periodically like ANY electronic device.

Macs run so well because the hardware and software are developed by the same company. This lends itself to a great end user experience, but winds up much like AOL (don’t get me started). Users are confined to the user experience outlined by apple, unless the occasional developer comes along and expands the experience (go Adobe!).

Unfortunately software is less prevalent on Macs for a few reasons: the first being the cost of the developers kit. Developing on the native Mac platform costs developers money, which doesn’t foster the kind of interest you see in other communities, such as the Linux community. The secondary reason software is less prevalent on Macs is simply a function of market share. Many developers just don’t see the right ROI from the Apple platform.

The function of market share that stifles development on the Mac platform also makes it less lucrative for hackers and other malicious deviants to develop harmful software targeted at Mac users. This helps increase stability on the platform, allowing for a better user experience. Trust me. If Apple had as much of a market share as Microsoft, they would have just as many problems with malicious software.

Overall, Macs are a great hardware / software combination, not unlike a cell phone or game console. Due to the lack of software available on the platform, they aren’t great for large business environments or niche users, especially in the accounting and legal fields.

PCs

As far as I’m concerned, a PC is just hardware. It’s a collection of standards that collectively make a “PC.” Windows, Linux, and yes Mac OS X (albeit glitchy) can all run on these systems. The debate between Macs and PCs is somewhat superficial in that it’s not apples to apples. It’s apples to potatoes. They’re not even in the same food group. Macs are essentially made up of the same standards based hardware that PCs are, but the scope of the hardware is much narrower and tested much more thoroughly to work with Apple operating systems.

Because the PC is an open platform, development is much more prevalent. Operating systems optimized for the open PC environment are much more flexible and consumers have more choice over where they would like to purchase their hardware. As a consumer, I can chose to buy hardware from Dell, HP, Gateway, or build a machine myself. If I want a Mac, I get one made by Apple. Sure, I can buy it from a reseller, but Apple made and distributed it.

Windows

Windows is a great operating system – despite what some may say. Windows XP is a great, stable operating system. Windows Vista, although it had a rough start, is coming along nicely. I like some of the new features in Vista, such as live switching to Administrator, the new performance monitor, and their integrated indexing / search. Now that driver support has gotten much better, Vista has my stamp of approval for home users. I almost trust it enough for businesses, but not just yet. As a general rule, I don’t recommend something for business until 18 to 24 months out.

Now this is where people tend to over generalize. Microsoft doesn’t compete directly with Apple – in that they don’t create hardware for Windows. I think that is an anti-trust thing, but I’m not sure. Microsoft actually benefits from some of the recent changes with OS X Leopard. When people run Boot Camp, they must purchase a copy of Windows to run on it. Microsoft still collects those revenues. I’d love to try out a an Apple running OS X Leopard with Boot Camp and Windows Vista, but alas I’m still too poor.

Linux

Oh Linux. This is probably the operating system with the most elitists (look in the comments), the most distributions, and the most bugs. It’s still not quite user friendly enough for home use, although Ubuntu comes close. Driver support sucks too. How is it that Linux thrives so well then? It’s free. It’s open. When configured correctly, it’s the most stable operating system for ultra specific applications.

To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of Linux, because when ever I try to do something it’s like pulling teeth. I usually try to do the “learn by immersion” thing every once in a while, but end up switching back to Windows because something just becomes impossible. That being said, I understand that it has some huge benefits. I use it for my web servers. It makes a great platform for Oracle and MySQL. It’s also great for creating specific machines that complete unique tasks on an on-going basis. I have one customer that has a machine that just checks an email box periodically and prints out what ever it receives (don’t even get me started on the paper waste thing).

Conclusion

Basically I think comparing all of the aforementioned is like comparing apples, potatoes, steak, and air. They’re all food, but after that, they all have benefits and drawbacks, but fundamentally they’re completely different. Please shoot holes this theory. Why is one better than the other?

Originally posted on jtGraphic.net: Mac vs. PC vs. Windows vs. Linux vs. Huh?