OK, so I’ve been looking over the shoulder enviously at all those Mac users for some time.  What is it that makes them gush, oooh and arghhh so much about their machines?  Why do I as a mere Windows users feel so second rate?  Why do i not LOVE my machine the way adoring Apple users do?
SO…I’ve ventured to the WHITE SIDE, to find out…My very first computer was an Apple IIe so i feel like i’m coming home…but i’ve been a Windows users for 20 years now…so can i do it?…painlessly?
Why have i ventured forth on such a productivity destroying mission?  Well my four year old PC is suffering from bloatware, it got decidely slower about a month ago when Bill downloaded the latest CPU sapping patch.  What’s more the writing was on the wall – while i was nice and comfy in WindowsXP and OfficeXP i wasn’t going to be able to stay there for another year.  So given the choice of Vista + Office 2008 or Mac + Office 2008 I’ve punted for the latter.
What i bought: 24″ iMac + MS Office 2008 (some things i just couldn’t let go of).
First impressions: for a week I tracked my new Mac online as it was delivered via China.  I watched with high expectations at around 8:30 the other morning when the courier tracking system proclaimed that it was “In Wellington and out for deliver” – time 7:30am.  Expectations rising, Mac likely to arrive through the door any minute.  Morning comes and goes.  Lunch comes and goes.  Early afternoon and still no sign…arghhh….where is it???  A call through to the courier….it’s on the road, it will be there soon…but i have to leave the office soon…panic setting in…where is it???  call from the courier, it well be there in 10 minutes…yee haa, start dancing a jig around the office (why? i don’t know, it must be a Mac thing?).  The courier is here, but he only has one box…that’s strange…sign for it and tell everyone in the office “it’s here!”…unwrap the plain brown box and find one of those pretty white boxes inside…a bit like Russian dolls…pull out the WHITE box, temperature rising, rip open the white box…oooohhhh, arghhh, my it is VERY PRETTY so very very much prettier than my tired old PC.  BUT, strange again, only one plug, where’s all the cables?  no need for a power box?  Turn it on….ooooggg arrggghhh…hello in 30 different languages flying across the screen…it’s just so pretty…heads turning in the office…a general cry of “i want one too”…well “you cant have it, it’s mine!”…
OK, I’ve turned it on, got it connected to the network and bugger me if i can’t figure out instantly how to get working…this is going to take some time…installed MacOffice and another very strange thing…even Microsoft can make their icons look cool on a Mac! fancy that.
OK, I’m back on my PC as i need to get some work done.  Clearly the holiday project is going to be unlearning everything Windows and learning everything Mac.  10 years of short-cut keys out the proverbial window…i guess that’s progress!
Stay tuned, I’ll let you know when I’m productive again!  Now how do i migrate 10 years worth of email?