I'm not quite sure why it is, but among 75% alpha geeks that I know there comes a time, usually once ever three or four months, that causes them to question their operating system of choice. Like clockwork. There really needs to be a name for it.
My friend the Windows admin starts thinking about all the reasons he hates Windows (who can blame him) and blows away a laptop or desktop and installs Fedora, or at least runs Knoppix for a week or so. I have a panic for a few hours that causes me to shun my beloved OSX and a morning pricing out Dell laptops or Thinkpads and cursing the whole experience. I've had a friend who went full out, sold off his treasured Mac, and bought expensive x86 laptop and ran nothing but Solaris for a few months before switching back.
It's a common occurrence and it needs a name. It also begs for an explanation, a method to the madness.
I've had a number of reasons. It used to be all about the hardware. Much as I enjoy my Macbook I often wish I had something lighter and smaller. Then Apple went and announced the Air, which while a bit under powered for my taste does do most of the things I've wanted from a laptop, and will probably be my next purchase. That leaves the OS. Hardy Heron from Ubuntu looks really nice, very friendly, and is the most well integrated version of Linux I have ever had the pleasure of using. Better than OSX 10.5? No, probably not. On par with OSX 10.3? Probably.
It's not about that really. I know, in my head, that I prefer and will get more done with less effort on my Mac, that's why I got it in the first place. Ultimately that just means it's a case of wanting what you don't have. Testing to see if the grass really is always greener, or just looks that way. I think sometimes alpha geeks want a change, even if they know, usually through careful evaluation and consideration, they're already using what works best for them. Now I just need to remember to reread this next time I start thinking how nice Gnome can look and remember how Amrok, while surprisingly nice, still doesn't hold a candle to iTunes and gEdit, however modded, is no TextMate.
