How I Learned to Stop Being so Platform Specific and Accept the OS X. Right, so let’s just lay it down. I haven’t been a ‘mac guy’ for well over 10 years now. Most people know me as friend of Windows; but did you know- back in the day I knew mac all too well! I knew how to support and fix them. I was making websites in text editors, e-mailing my friends with telnet, and using that hip new browser Netscape. Yes, it was a long time ago. It was the way of things- from grammar school to college, all they put in front of me was mac. I suppose I was raging against the machine when I switched majors and platforms, and eventually became an IBM certified technician. I dropped mac like a prom dress and rode off with Windows.

We have a somewhat new ‘cross functional web-team’ at work, combining the powers of Public Relations and Web Development. For good or evil? Remains to be seen. Nevertheless, my department was given the opportunity to spec out any nice hardware we thought would ensure we could do our jobs to the best of our abilities. We had IBM T60’s on tap, so I was free to decide. Indeed I did- I decided to order a MacBook Pro. 17″ wide-screen, 3 gigs of Ram, Intel Core 2 Duo CPU. I went for it all. The machine is handsome, and well thought out. Even the box it came in was sexy.

I’ve now spent over a week getting to know the latest, greatest laptop from Apple. I found a hype-free view on what it’s like to move to a mac in my internet travels, and it sums up what it means to be using mac once again. The author lists out a few items, some of which I’ll bullet here to help with my experience write up. (Do check out the article nonetheless.)

• People will ridicule you for having a Mac
  True. Especially people who are just like you, and liked you when you were on the windows side. I’m not a fan of brand support- I believe in buying what works for me. I used to tell everyone to just get a PC. This weekend, for the first time in a decade, I told someone they would be happy with a mac. Look, for all of you who want to call my a hypocrite, relax. I would never tell anyone to buy anything I wouldn’t buy and try myself. If I told you to forget mac before, it was because I had no point of reference, but at least knew you could get what you needed from a PC. Times change my friends, and so will your platforms. Get what you’re comfortable with, what will work for you. OS is irrelevent to need.
• You’ll feel like you’re in a little club
  It’s like a cult with those mac people. I think there’s a level of trendy that comes with being a mac user. Like I said, don’t be a brand lover. Don’t join the cult, break it. There’s leaders and followers, my friends. You must decide.
• People will help you for no reason
  It’s nice. Years of being a technician really made me bitter about helping anyone… with anything computer related. Macs seems to make people more happy. I think it’s all the glowing stuff.
• Fewer people will try to attack you
  Not true.
• You’ll be able to ignore most viruses
  Maybe so- but then, I was able to do that as an experienced user of Windows. I haven’t run an anti-virus program on a PC in years. Common sense people. If computers are a NY subway, don’t lick the chairs.
• You’ll have some compatibility problems
  Not yet, for me- but I’m sure it will happen eventually.
• The Internet will be mostly the same
  Exactly the same. I didn’t care for Safari when I was a Windows person, and I still don’t. Put it in the IE bucket, and keep running Firefox for now.
• You’ll be continually amazed at the fit and finish
  It is one sexy computer. No doubts there. Everything Apple makes has an undeniable style.
• You’ll have a few "damn it!" moments
  Definetly. Starting over and figuring out a new OS all over again is a pain in the ass. It gets easier- rather quickly in fact. Thanks to the internet, there’s really no good reason to live in wonder.
• You’ll have some "ah-ha" moments
  This usually happens when I google a problem I’m having.
• Keyboard shortcuts will drive you nuts
  Actually, I was fine with these. Sure, it’s different, but not ridiculously so.
• You’ll regret your purchase, but you’ll get over it
  Regret is harsh, but the first weekend I was bit shaken by the new unknowns. It does go away quickly.
• You’ll be amazed at how little there is to modify
  I don’t know if it’s because I know Windows like th back of my hand, but I don’t believe this one. Don’t get me wrong, there is seemingly very little to modify, but I’m cynical. I think there is stuff to change, but I just don’t know enough about OS X to tell you what it is yet.
• There isn’t much stuff to buy for a Mac
  It’s a PC world. It’s not a big deal.
• You’ll spend more money than with Windows
  If you feel so inclined, anyways. Apple stuff can be costly, and you’ll be annoyed by it.
• Random strangers will stop to talk about your Apple
  Which is why I refrain from talking to strangers. I barely talk to the people I know, so it’s working out. It’s true though.
• You’ll get more things done
  Remains to be seen. I was a power user on Windows, so I’m slightly slowed down on a mac right now. When I set my desk at work to truly embrace my new mac, this might change. By the way, Trackpads suck. I prefer the IBM nipple. I’m getting really good at moving that Mac mouse around by the day though. Ch-ch-changes.
• You’ll play pretty well on a Windows network
  Agreed. Networking is easy.

Mac is nice. If you’re ready for something new, have some fun. It’s pricey, and I wouldn’t own this if work hadn’t opted to purchase it for me. I will tell you this: if you were a well versed, Windows ‘power user’ you will not be entirely impressed. I’ve said this for years, and it’s still true: there’s nothing you can do on a mac that you can’t do on a PC. Arguments will be made that one machine is better than the other, but I disagree. The problem is Windows takes some geeky know how, where mac (seems) to be smooth and ready to go out of the box. The common consumer market should know: macs are better for regular folk. Macs are also better for network administrators. Maybe they’re better for guys like me too, but so far it’s the same. When an Apple cult member drools over how ‘fast’ macs are, laugh at them. I see no significant power over a well configured PC running Windows. That’s real world talking people- I’ve tried a wide variety of things, and it’s all relevant.

So what am I saying? This: I give Apple 2 thumbs up for making a damn good machine with the MacBook Pro, that works well for just about anyone. You can easily run Windows on it with BootCamp or Parallels. Are you missing out by living in the PC world? Not at all. The geeks tearing Windows apart only have a fair argument if you take into account the level knowledge required to effectively run Windows. Of course, that’s really the point of personal computers isn’t it? Nevertheless, WindowsXP is still a damn good operating system, especially when tweaked out. For professionals, I would still lean towards PC for a default machine. If you have the money to burn and the ambition to learn, however, Apple will not let you down. It’s got style, power and the ability to do what you need. So all in all, my MacBook Pro is awesome- but I am not converted to a cult member. Not just yet.

Filed under: Geek