MacNoob

Being a longtime IT professional and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, the last thing I expected to happen to me was to fall in love with a Mac.  As a matter of fact, I’ve been wrestling with computers for so long I didn’t think there was a machine in this world capable of stirring my emotions again.  If you’ve read this blog at all you’ll know that [as of 19 months ago] I’m a “switcher”.  I used to detest the term.  I really thought it was a none-too-flattering label that long-time Mac users pinned on us noobs.  Now I wear the moniker proudly.  To me it says that, even while I was late to the Apple party I at least had the good sense to show up.  After more than a year and a half I’m not sure it still applies, but whatever you call me I’m a Mac guy now.

I do still own a bevy of Windows machines and am quite proficient with them, but I’ve sworn they will be the last.  Why, you ask?  Well, I just happen to have compiled a list…

1. OS X and the MACH/BSD kernel beneath it make for one hell of a fine operating system. It is stable, secure, responsive and a real pleasure to work with.  Its ease-of-use is well touted, and all the problems I had with it early on were mostly my fault.  You see, the biggest hurdles I had to overcome to be proficient with it were in my head.  I was continually over-thinking it.  Once I realized the engineering behind OS X is largely focused on ease-of-use then the UI became natural and fluid.  In short, I had to quit thinking like a Windows dope.
2. Sometimes, less is better. Because Windows has been so dominant for so long, there are literally thousands of applications available for any given task.  Finding the right one for me was often an exercise in searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack.  On the Mac, most everything you need is included or available for less than a hundred bucks.  Simply adding iWork to the standard offerings is all most people will ever need (I write this blog using Pages).  Unlike Apple, Microsoft doesn’t include much “out of the box” functionality with Windows and most of their consumer productivity offerings are total crap.  If you need quality applications from Mr. Softie prepare to spend $200+.
3. The creeps haven’t targeted us yet. Maybe it’s because Macs comprise less than five percent of personal computers worldwide, but so far the very organized world of bug writers have mostly ignored our platform.  I’d like to credit OS X’s superior security model but the reality is [as this year’s Pwn2Own competition exemplified] all platforms are exploitable.  For now though, I’m really enjoying the absence of antivirus and anti-spyware apps bogging down my system with never-ending sweeps and updates.
4. All my “i” gadgets work better with my Mac. My iPod, iPod Touch and iPhone are all designed to work with OS X and Windows.  It’s pretty apparent the iPod never really took off until Apple released the Windows version of iTunes thus multiplying the available user base fifty fold.  That’s how I got started with Apple as did countless thousands of others.  When I moved my iPod from my Windows machine to my Mac I discovered how seamless the original integrated environment could be.  The “halo effect” generated by my first iPod has expanded to the extent that I have completely abandoned the Windows world and publicly declared that I will no longer purchase anything but Macs.
5. Apple design is second to none. I currently own a 17” Macbook Pro that I purchased from Apple in October 2007, just as soon as I could get one with Leopard (OS X 10.5).  Although it’s a previous generation model, it is the most beautiful piece of hardware I’ve ever owned.  My first iPod was a fifth-gen 30 GB video model (Q4 2006) and I’ve expanded my collection to include both first and second-gen iPod Touches and a 3G iPhone.  Each is an example of first class industrial design and tower above their competition in both physical design as well as user experience.  Of course, they’re not perfect, but they absolutely blow away everything in their respective categories.  In short, Jonathan Ive is the man.  I am absolutely drooling over the new “unibody” 17” Macbook Pro, but I have decided to wait for Intel’s “Nehalem” processor which will be a step change up in performance.  If things go according to script, that should happen sometime this year.

Mainly because of reason #3 (above), I’m hesitant to be too loud with my Mac evangelism but sometimes it’s just too irresistible (and Windows bigots often make it very easy).  Some of my co-workers have caught on and preempt me.  I’ll walk in on a conversation about the latest worm, spyware threat or BSOD incident and get told to, “…get that smirk off your face!”  I’m really not trying to be a smart-ass most of the time, but often the best answer to someone’s computer problem truly is “Get a Mac.”

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