Not switching, am I?
by Volker Weber
Jake Howlett writes today:
When I bought the iBook last year I said I had no plans to switch from Windows and I still don't. Having said that, I do find myself turning to the Mac whenever I can.
The same is true for me. Lucy is by and large my primary computer when I am at home. I am still using Charlie throughout the day when I am at a client's office but eventually that may be replaced by a PowerBook as well.
So what is drawing me to the Mac? It is mostly visuals and applications. I can't remember whether I compared screenshots here. Can't seem to find them anyway. Most of the times I am using Safari. Look at this screenshot to get a better understanding and take into account that you will see a compressed JPEG image that has already lost some clarity.
Applications are somewhat harder to explain. They just work the way you would expect them to. You have to actually use iPhoto or iTunes to get an understanding how easy and at the same time powerful they are. I have never seen anything like them on the PC.
I have been using PCs for 21 years now. I owned dozens of them for 20 years and I know my way around DOS, Windows and Linux ever since they have been created. But Apple had to get to version X (10) of their OS, until I started using their gear. How does it feel: Imagine you have been driving Yugos and Ladas for years and you finally get to drive an Audi. Ah, and don't get me started about Woodstock.
If it were not for Ute, I would still be oggling a Macintosh instead of taking the plunge. Thank you.
Comments
First-thanks for your site. I check it daily and I found it by accident and I enjoy your viewpoints. I am in the same boat as Jake Howlett. I laughed off Macs for years as my early career was working in a local everything computere retailer that was the area's only Apple reseller/repair shop. I tried to fix a MacTV about four times before Apple called and wondered why I requested three motherboards in the same month under the customer's AppleCare agreement. I thought MacOS whatever was a joke compared to Windows 95. I tried every OS I could get my hands on between 1995 to 2002 and I was finally gripped by the potential to have Open Source applications available on a portable that I could easily purchase valid commercial productivity applications for in addition to having in essence a free development environment. All that said it still took alot for me to purchase my first Mac. I could never seem to justify the cost. I waited to buy my iBook until Apple offered Jaguar as the OS and Microsoft Office X for $199. I am now hooked. I wish as you do that Visio and Groove would appear so that I could ditch my IBM Thinkpad/XP Pro/Office XP anchor. Maybe.
