I spent a happy hour last week in my “local” (most accessible) Apple Store. It was really quiet, so I managed to snag a passing “Genius” to answer a long list of questions. This was a pleasant change from my previous visit to another nearby store, where they couldn’t answer some questions, and I ended up showing a sales person how to turn off the translucency in the menu bar. I must say I now have a much clearer picture of what I will need to do to handle the transition from Windows to OS X.
I’m pretty certain that I will be buying a Mac as my next computer, most probably an iMac. Which model depends a bit on the finances. I still need to save a few more pennies, however, so it’s still possible that second thoughts will steal over me in the dead of night. In fact, waiting a little while makes very good sense. There seems to be good reason to expect that the iMac range will be updated soon. While there’s never a right time to buy, buying just after an update is always more satisfying than buying just before one. I’ll use some of that time to seek advice and reflect on which of the virtualisation options to go for, Parallels or Fusion.
I must say that I hope I don’t become one of the Mac cultists who live within Steve Jobs’ reality distortion field. If I do, please hit me hard over the head, and remind me that I have always quite liked Windows, and genuinely enjoyed XP. Since I will find myself using a virtual machine on a regular basis for the first few months, and booting the Mac into Windows from time to time, there will definitely be room for active comparison. I may end up making a whole bunch of switching posts.
March 17th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
I switched to an iMac a year and a half ago, after almost 20 years with a PC. It took me a little while to make the transition and reach a level of confidence, but I am sure glad I made the switch! I have no regrets. It’s an easy machine to work with and maintenance is low. With my PC I had a weekly maintenance schedule–defrag, clean the registry, etc. With the Mac, I don’t have to worry about any of that. Once a month or after installing a new program or system update, I run “Repair disk permissions,” but beyond that I have nothing to do. With my Macbook I run the kron scripts on a monthly basis, but that is because I have the Macbook configured to go to sleep when it’s not being used. But I keep the iMac running 24/7, so the Kron scripts are run automatically in the middle of the night.
You won’t regret the switch!
March 17th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Thanks. I have no idea what a Kron script is or does! Is there a whole new world of geekiness awaiting me?
March 18th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Have you seen Lingamish’s pre-emptive strike at your head? It’s not too late to follow his good advice, stop trying to be cool, and flee from “Steve Jobs’ reality distortion field”. See also my comment
March 18th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
[...] will be persecuted” says the good Book, and I have barely reached a decision that I would be better off (though not financially) with a Mac as my next computer when David Ker [...]
March 22nd, 2008 at 7:43 pm
[...] have noted before that I expect my next computer to be a Mac. I think that’s probably the most rational [...]
March 22nd, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Doug, Loving the blog and The Passion analysis.
Having made the switch back in the Autumn (though never quite got around to migrating everything off the old PC), I’m very happy with Parallels (using it to run an OEM copy of XP). Seems very stable, and performs ok on my MacMini.
Happy Easter for tomorrow - guess you’ll be busy!
Alan