You know, I’m reconsidering my feeling towards Macs.  Perhaps they really are the coolest things ever!  There’s just a few problems to overcome to make them really attractive.

1. The first is processor power and battery life.  Even Apple has recognized that Intel has the industry beat here, and is moving Macs to Intel processors by 2007.  In my dream Mac I’d have a Pentium M (Centrino) chip to give me great performance and a healthy battery life.
2. The second is a large number of applications that will run on Macs.  I’d like it if any program available for Windows ran on my Mac.
3. The third is the most advanced improvement in user interface design since mice and graphical user interfaces - a truly usable tablet interface.  This capability can fundamentally change the way you interact with your computer.  I’d like the best in class operating system with this capability, which is Microsoft Windows XP Tablet Edition.  (I’m not the only one who thinks this might be possible.  Apple has even joined a Windows Benchmarking program.)
4. And last of all, I’d like the neat apple logo to show off how cool I am.

Well, why wait for Apple to get all this together?  For the last year I’ve been working with all these pieces, and just needed to tie them all together into the whole package.  Here’s my recipe:

• Step 1: Take a Toshiba Techra M4 with 15" display and 1.9GHz Pentium M, with all the bells and whistles, throw on your favorite windows applications including Microsoft Office and Adobe CS2.
• Step 2: Apply an Apple sticker to it (they cost about $150 but come with a free iPod ;-).

Then bask in the envy of any Macficionado friends you have left.

[Update 4/15/06: Charlton asks some good questions about the future of Macs.]