TJ Manotoc

Here’s my good friend and fellow Mac user TJ Manotoc geeking out as he talks about everything Apple in a 2009 feature that I wrote for MAXIM magazine. Imagine what he’ll say if the iPad was already around then.

Photos taken from TJ's Facebook page. 

BIG MAC
By EDWIN P. SALLAN

HERE’S big news, Studio 23’s News Central anchorman TJ Manotoc is making headlines himself as a veteran Mac user.

When and how did you become a Mac user?

If I am not mistaken, it was either 2000 or 2001 when I first got a Mac. And who are to blame? My Mac ninongs, Elbert Cuenca and Teddy Manotoc, who else? Elbert convinced me Mac was the way to go, how much easier it was. Then what tipped me over the edge was my cousin of Teddy Manotoc. For one he wanted to buy a new desktop set-up for himself, and second he urged me to finally bite the bullet. He even lent me money so we could avail of bigger group cash discount.

How many Macs and Apple products have you owned or still own since then?

I had that iBook for quite sometime. In fact, regrettably, I didn't really get to use it well enough for the first few years maybe due to the lack of wifi then. Then I scored a second hand 15-inch Powerbook during a trade-in at a sale. Boy was that heaven! Moving from a 12-inch iBook to a 15-inch powerbook was an even more amazing experience since it also had built in wifi. After the Powerbook, I got a Macbook Pro 1.8GHz then got another second hand 2.4GHz Macbook Pro which is currently what I’m using. I also bought another second hand Mac Mini for use at home and for my kids. I just paired it with some basic keyboard an mouse and a simple LCD monitor.

In 2003, I finally bought an iPod and have been constantly upgrading it from a white 40gb to a black 80gb iPod Video then to that a 16gb iPod Touch. I also got my wife an iPod shuffle and my son had a long slim nano, then eventually the “fatty” nano.

As for other Apple products, I do have an apple wireless keyboard and wireless might mouse that I use at home on my desk when I put up my MacBook Pro on a riser to see the screen at eye level. Then I added an Apple Airport Extreme base station to be my wifi router. And I also have an Apple TV since they launched its 2.0 software. It’s been a joy renting HD movies (even cheaper than taking the wife out to the mall for a movie), watching free podcasts, and viewing photo slide shows on our wide screen.

Then just last year I bit the bullet again after a long wait, I got the official release of the iPhone from Globe.

What is it about the Mac that fascinated you? Why not use a Windows-based PC instead?

Initially, it is the cool factor that gets you into the Mac, the gorgeous design and sleek look. Other than that, Macs are simply much easier to use, never crashes, never gets trojans or spyware, terrific built-in software like iTunes, iPhoto, Safari, iCal, Address Book and more. I used to have a PC as a desktop at home and it was a constant nightmare of hanging, slowing down and more than its fair share of virus here and there.

I'm one of those guys now who would really prefer to use a Mac if given a choice of what PC to use, even if it is on gorgeous piece of hardware like, say, the Sony Vaio line. But then again, to be fair, Windows 7 looks great. and I wouldn't mind using it if I need to.

What are your favorite Mac applications? What do they do?

There’s iTunes and iPhoto that offer simple and seamless ease of use with an iPod, or iPhone, the iTunes store, and with any camera. They’re just so idiot proof and fun to use. I also can’t wait for iLife '09 where I can tag faces on photos and arrange them by name.

For browsing I enjoy using both Safari and Firefox, very stable, has had tab browsing even before IE figured that out. Firefox also has a convenient “reopen all windows and tabs from last session” feature so I can shut down the browser to boost ram and not worry about the gazillion tabs I had open.

Third parties, there’s Simplify Media, Appzap, Whatsize and Visual Hub.

What other Mac or Apple products are you still lusting for? Do you also have a wish list of products you want Apple to make in the near future?

I am lusting for an HD Cinema display and a one terrabyte Time Capsule.

Of course I am hoping for Apple to continue to improve on the iPhone. I hope (but I know eventually they'll do this) they put in a nice pair of stereo speakers like what Motorola did years ago, have at least a 5 MP camera with flash, a front VGA cam for video calls, cut and paste and SMS forwarding.

I'd love to see a 15 inch Macbook Air with more juice and storage capacity with a smaller price tag, and to have a twisting screen tablet function. And I also want a new Apple TV that can also serve as an HD cable box where I can record live TV too and have rentals that don’t expire in 24 hours once you start watching. For me, 36 hours would be fair.