It’s impossible not to know about Apple now thanks to their amazing use of the media and their fan base to hype the products out of all proportion, or is it out of proportion at all?? I used to think so, but I’m slowly being turned…

So it started years ago with an HP 486 DX2 66, it cost nearly £2,000, it was my first PC and I still see the guy who sold it to me in Oxford occasionally. He was a very distinctive looking guy and I’d gone in with a friend of mine and we bought 1 each, I still remember his face as he came running over trying to help us spend our money, you could have been forgiven in thinking he was receiving a commission !!

From that day on I’ve bought PC after PC, I’ve build my own, I’ve used every version of windows with varying success and all the time I’ve ignored Apple, to the point where I didn’t even know what they made.

It was while I was visiting a friend that I saw my first iPod. It was massive! A 1st Gen before the click wheel. Now I have to admit I do have a mild OCD problem, I love shiny things as much as (more) than the next person, but I can’t stand finger prints and smudges etc. So I picked the iPod up and immediately started to clean and polish it, it felt fantastic to handle but I still didn’t really understand what it was or how to use it.

No more than a few months later, on a whim, I bought a new iPod 2nd Gen with click wheel. It was 40GB, more than I’d ever need and I only bought it because a friend of mine told me too, it was that simple. And so my love of the “Apple Experience” began

I remember the box, the unpacking of the product, the way it felt opening all the little packets inside for the power lead, dock etc.

Not only do Apple make their products desirable from an aesthetic point of view but the whole purchasing and un-boxing experience is second to none. Sure they spend too much (and charge for it) on the packaging, and no they aren’t the greenest of companies, but when you buy one of their products it feels like they’ve made it especially for you and that they genuinely care about you.

Anyway, time passed, I bought an iPod Nano, I bought a Shuffle for my Dad for a birthday present, my Dad bought my mum a Nano for a Christmas present, but I never once considered actually buying a Mac, I still didn’t even know what they did or how I would benefit.

Then came the iPhone. Being addicted to gadgets I was caught up like so many in the hype, I had to have one. I didn’t get it on launch day but maybe within 3-4 weeks or so. Again the un-boxing was an amazing experience, the ease of use reminded me of how simple old school Nokia phones use to be although the iPhone is far from basic.

The 3G was released and I gave my old 2G to my girlfriend. She turned from someone who would tease me about having it in to a complete addict buying apps from games right through to a contraction monitor for the birth of our first child. She has since upgraded to a 3G.

So it all brings me to now. At Christmas this year I bought a 13” Macbook Pro. I did it because I love Apple design so much and had to have one, but right up to the point I bought it, I was still fully intending to run Windows 7 on it. Now, having used it for a month I have to say that nothing could be further from my mind.

Yes there have been people mocking me, people reminding me of the Sunday nights at the cinema where I was sit and laugh at the I’m a Mac / I’m a PC adverts that used to run before the film, where I would slaughter Mac for being completely useless without ever having tried one, and yes I’m sure I’m more excited about it because I paid more than you would for the respective PC, but honestly, since that day I have wiped my Dell XPS laptop and I fully intend to sell it.

I am currently eying either a cinema display built with the Macbook in mind or an iMac. I don’t know which; I guess it depends on the deal at the time. But I WILL be buying one. It has made web development fun again, the software is not only a joy to use but great to look at, and again most of the design packages look and feel as though they’re been designed with me in mind.

People will always love PC’s and hate Macs, but there will always be those brave enough to try both. It doesn’t mean you’ll suddenly switch to a Mac and forget about your Windows past, blue screen of death, crashing, driver issues etc. etc…. who could EVER forget how bad using a PC can be sometimes, But with a bit of luck, it might just make working more fun, now that’s worth paying a little extra for isn’t it ?

I’ve been meaning to blog for a long time, I’ve always fancied somewhere to muse over latest technology or design trends or just family life but never had the forum to do it until now.

One Kingdom Studio is dedicated to design solutions but behind the company are real people and it’s important for new and existing clients to know this, to know who they’re dealing with, and to realise there are no barriers at all.

Ideally we’d be friends with all of our clients, but in such a vast world where business is conducted over the interflop this isn’t always possible. This blog will hopefully allow everyone to catch a peek at what makes us tick.

Enjoy…