I've always loved computers, and operating systems are my favorite aspect of them. One day I'll write a long essay about my years of playing with computers, using operating systems ranging from MS-DOS 4.x to OS/2 to the Amiga to Linux to NT to the Mac... It will be a fantastic epic, for an amazingly small audience.

Until I write that, however, I'm going to slowly satisfy my need to talk to others about my computer obsession by writing in this blog. What a fantastic mechanism for achieving this- I can use a computer, and a cool application of the Internet- to write about how much I love computers.

Anyway, there are several prominent figures- writers, mostly- with whom I have traveled (read) over the years. I'd like to single out John Siracusa, a freelancer whos Mac-writing appears in Ars Technica, as the recipient of my first spotlight.

John's a great writer. He's a fantastic communicator and a very smart guy who can write about complex technology in a way that I think is very appealing and simple. Plus, he's so smart that he ends up answering many of the questions that I, as a reader, begin to form as I read his work. To me, reading John is like reading something that has been carefully constructed for me based on a series of physical and biological tests aimed at finding the ideal sequence of words on a page (or screen) to tickle my fancy.

I bring up John Siracusa now because he writes about the Macintosh, which is my favorite computer platform. (There's a lot that I want to say about my love for the Mac, but I'll save it for "The Essay.") For a number of reasons, these are exciting times for people who love Macs. And since Apple just released enticing details about Panther, the next version of Mac OS X, these are phenomenally exciting times for people who love Macs and love operating systems. This is a great time, then, for me.

I've been reading a lot about Panther, and I've never been more excited about an operating system. Not even close. But to truly understand and appreciate Panther, it's important to have a solid perspective on Mac OS X in general, and John Siracusa's writing on the subject is a fantastic resource.

Go to this page at Ars Technica, scroll to the bottom, and start reading his article entitled "Mac OS X DP2: A Preview." And then read all of the others, progressing chronologically forward in time through "About the finder..."

I love this shit!