A mammoth new mall opened here a few weeks ago, and I heard last week that there was an Apple Store in it, so I managed to make my way over there yesterday. I figured out why I keep buying PCs instead of Macs — because I don’t know anybody who has the latest Apple hardware. I mean, I’ve seen old-style iMacs all over the place and I’ve seen plenty of Apple ads, but you really have to behold Apple’s hardware to see how beautiful (and usable) it is.

The PowerBook and iBook are both marvels of design, and the new iMac is really nifty, but to me, the two most impressive things that I saw were the Cinema HD display and the iPod. I honestly didn’t think that a display as beautiful as Apple’s gigantic LCD existed. Even at an absurd price like $3499, I wanted one desperately. I had read plenty of reviews of the iPod’s controls, but you can’t really understand how sublime they are until you use one yourself. You just look at it and understand exactly what you’re supposed to do to make it do your bidding. It’s truly a wonderful toy.

So now my wish list includes a PowerBook G4, a beefy Apple desktop system, a Cinema HD display, and an iPod. Oh, and an iMac and second iPod for my wife. I may never buy another Windows PC again.