There is a certain poetic sense in which “I see” works. “I see him last night in my dreams” although not technically correct. However, generally speaking “I saw” is the right usage for past events. Much prose writing in English novels is in the present tense although they are about past events. The author superimposes himself however on the situation as if it were the present.

No, definitely not, as others have written.
It’s an extremely terrible policy to do so. I once worked for a company, that had the stated policy that security will escort you out of the building immediately upon you giving notice.
So what happened? I gave notice by emptying my office one night.
They had absolutely no opportunity to attempt to retain me. Crap policy, their fault, good riddance.
(They also had a non-compete that said you could never work for Microsoft. Made them modify that clause before I signed to only apply to the SQL Server group, but should have known they were screwed in the head then. Apparently they are still in business; this was 20 years ago.)

Your boss probably knows that this is new tech for you, and that your results take longer and are less robust. As you say in your comment, the real experts are just too busy – you’re all he’s got. Thus, don’t assume that you are performing below expectations, because you’re not expected to have mastered the technology.

Your boss might also think that the best way for you to master the technology is to dive head-first into it. A lot of people don’t realize that other people think differently, and learn differently! It’s up to you to let your boss know that you think a different way would be more effective.

Some good answers here, let me add:

I would definitely NOT apply and then try to avoid having your friend see you when you show up for the interview, like trying to schedule an interview when he’s out of town. Surely if you get the job, he’s going to find out sooner or later, and at that point it will be far more awkward than it would be if you told him up front.

I’ve had two times I’ve gotten involved in new business start-ups by friends, and both times it ended badly. Not horrible, we were screaming at each other, friendship ruined forever badly, but things didn’t work out, I wanted out of this deal but now it’s awkward badly. Any time something like this comes up, I find myself thinking, If this doesn’t work out for whatever reason, is it going to ruin our friendship? And do I value the job or whatever the deal is more than I value the friendship?

To expand a bit on my comment on @KateGregory’s answer, the problem you face with using your own computer is “who owns what?”. How is a line drawn between things that you do on that computer for the company vs. for yourself? If you work on other projects off the clock, can the company make any claim to those? Does the computer have to comply with all corporate standards & policies, including antivirus, web filtering, remote scanning for unapproved software, etc.? Who owns the software you’re using? Who’s responsible for the licensing?

You are going to have to wait a couple weeks before you can make any kind of pitch to get a usable computer. Otherwise, you come across as the new guy who wants everything “just so”, and that will not earn you any points.