$2.149

As we walked through CompUSA a few days after getting the iMac, Beck caught me lusting after an iPod, and she told me that I have a pattern. I get into something — like the Mac world — and I have to have all the “stuff” that goes with it.

At work, we have a phrase for unthinkingly buying into something hook, line and sinker: drinking the Kool-Aid.

I have drunk the Apple Kool-Aid.

Yesterday, I had a day off (for all this crazy work I’ve been doing this week), so Sio and I got together early, and took off for a day of errands and just wandering around town. Our primary mission was to get Beck a new HP computer from BestBuy. They had a pretty good deal on one, especially after the rebates, and after the parts we don’t need are sold off. Two BestBuys later (three, if you count the one at lunch on Thursday), we finally had a system for her, and a new HP Photosmart 8450 network photoprinter for me.

The new printer is a jewel. I set it up tonight, connected it to the network, applied the software on the Apple, and it just knew what to do with itself. I can’t wait to start printing photos off the thing. It prints at 4800dpi, uses eight color printing, and can print a 4×6 in about 27 seconds. Sweet.

So none of that part of journey was a big deal. Now enter the Kool-Aid.

Along the way, I stopped at CompUSA to pick up a new gadget for my iMac — an iSight. This is a really well designed webcam, built to last and accent the Mac lines. It’s got a fast, autofocusing lens, and seems to be a slick piece of hardware — 30fps at 640×480! Of course, it’ll work with iChat AV, but the thing I wanna use it for is typical webcam “This is what’s going on in the office” applications. Unfortunately, neither OS X nor the iSight come with software to that end, so I have a quest on my hands.

I also looked at an iPod Photo. Man, that’s a cool box… 60GB of music and/or photos. It’s very impressive, and now you can even import directly from a camera to the iPod Photo. Dunno if there’s limitations with that. The multi-functionality of this box is appealing to me though. Listening to themed music while shooting, and then turning around and storing that data back on the iPod sounds like a very cool path, and seems to suit me well.

The biggest competitor to the iPod Photo (to me) is the Epson P-2000. This little jewel only has 40GB of storage, but it’s got a huge screen, and can handle displaying Canon RAW images directly. And the price is about the same as the iPod Photo. The handling of RAW images directly is of real appeal to me, as that’s what I try to shoot most of the time. I guess the jury’s still out, and truthfully, I don’t have to solve that one for a while, not until at least November.

However, it appears I have indeed drunk the Kool-Aid, and am on the slippery Apple-slope that comes with it! 😉