Switching from Windows to Macintosh - Chapter 1

Howdy, Friends;

Well, I've decided to take the plunge. I've purchased a new Macbook Pro laptop computer. I have never used a Mac before. I plan to record here the fun and the ordeals I experience in making the switch. This may turn out to be useful to others who are contemplating doing the same.

First, a bit of history. I first became involved with computers before there was DOS. My first two computers were Kaypro machines running CP/M. I believe my first DOS machine was running DOS 3.0. My first Windows machine was Windows 3.0. In short, I have used as my daily OS various machines running CP/M, DOS, the original Windows, OS/2, Windows 95 & 98, NT, and XP. I've been using XP since it's introduction, both at home and at work. I have installed and experimented with Linux and BeOS as well, though I didn't use them for my primary system at any time. I could go into a lot of discussion on the pros and cons of these various systems, but here I am only going to address the question of why I am now trying the Mac. At one time I had a triple-boot system with Windows NT, BeOS, and Linux installed at the same time. So I've been around where operating systems are concerned.

So, I have a history of looking for better operating systems and computers. My drive has always been to use the computer to augment my own abilities, in the most efficient manner possible. This does two things - I can work more efficiently, and I learn what I need to know to help other people.

So, Microsoft is releasing Vista at the end of this month. I'm encouraged by that, but I keep reading about the constant need to respond to permission pop-ups. It takes a lot of computer to run Vista, as well. Microsoft is hampered by the need to be back-compatible with the existing software base, and yet they need to be able to handle new technologies as well. I suspect that Vista will be similar or worse than XP in terms of the amount of hassle involved in using it.

Meanwhile, I keep coming across articles about how easy the Mac is compared to Windows.

In the past, I have held off trying Apple's offerings because:

1. I have such an investment in Windows software (programming and web development) tools.
2. I was writing software to sell, and the Windows market was (and is) so much bigger.
3. In the past, at least, Apple hardware was much more proprietary, and expensive compared to Windows hardware.
4. I couldn't afford to buy a Mac just for experimentation.

Now, things have changed:

1. I am no longer doing custom Windows program development at home. What little I still do, I can do on my old computer, or possibly on the Mac in the emulator.
   
2. I may think about writing software for the Mac; we'll see.
   
3. Mac has moved to Intel hardware. With the new emulator, or with a dual boot situation, I can still have Windows if I need it.
4. Happy discovery - Mac versions of Macromedia products are on the CD's I already have.
5. Happy discovery #2 - Quicken for the Mac.
   
6. It's time for a new computer.
7. It looks like the only major thing I will not be able to do native on OS X is Borland Delphi.
   

My current computer is a home-brew desktop with a 3.0 GHz P4, 1 GB Ram, around 180 GB of disk, and it's about three years old. I am running XP, of course, and everything is current. I plan to keep this computer, as it is paid for and all of my software remains in place. If I was to upgrade this computer to Vista, I would have to add a lot of memory and replace my video card.

My new computer, due to arrive next week, is a laptop, a 17" Macbook Pro 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 3 GB of ram, 160 GB disk. This machine, configured like this, sells for $3453 before taxes. Please note that this is about as top-of-the-line as you can get in a laptop today, from any manufacturer.

Just for fun, a couple of days ago I went to the Dell website and configured one of their laptops as close to the configuration above as possible. It had 2 GB ram instead of 3, but I think it had a faster hard drive. Same size screen. It did not have the little camera, or some of the other little nifty things that come on the Macbook Pro. The Dell configurator priced this machine at well over $4000 before tax. It was quite a bit more expensive for similar specs. Mind you, the Mac has somewhat better specs - little things like the built in camera.

With the Mac, if I need to run Windows software, I can do it two ways - the emulator, Parallels Desktop, or I can use the free dual boot utility. If it turns out I just can't stand OS X, presumably I could even directly install Windows Vista. This gives me a feeling of assurance that I'm not going all that far out on a limb switching to OS X, because I can bail for the cost of a copy of Windows. All of these are the advantages given by Apple's switching to Intel processors.

Without that assurance, I probably wouldn't have been able to justify investing this much money on a Mac. Thanks, Apple!

On my current computer, I have NOD32 antivirus, ZoneLabs ZoneAlarm, a couple of anti-spyware programs, a registry repair utility, various other utilities, and a spam blocker (Qurb). Most of these are subscription-based. On the Mac, I don't expect to need any of these things, except just possibly, a spam blocker. This fact is going to save me a couple of hundred dollars a year just as soon as I feel comfortable ditching my Windows machine. Not only that, but I save the computer resources it takes to support all that stuff. Several of those programs run constantly to protect the computer, and you must have them if you're on a broadband internet connection. These take away horsepower that could be used for doing the things I want to do.

I also bought an Airport Express base station when I bought the Mac. I plan to have wireless internet anywhere in my house.

In preparing for this change, I read the book "Switching to the Mac - Tiger Edition" by David Pogue and Adam Goldstein. It's a good book, recommended. I am wowed by the capabilities of OS X, at least so far.

And that's about where it is now. Next installment will be when the computer arrives next week.

-Pop