The Reverse Switch (Mac to PC)
March 14th, 2007 | Published in Business, Technology
I did something a few weeks ago that I would have found unfathomable just a couple months ago. I did the reverse switch, moving from a Mac to a Windows machine. This is the first time since 1987 where my personal computer isn’t a Mac.
But I have to admit the choice to switch wasn’t that hard and I couldn’t be happier.
A couple weeks ago the video card went out on my iBook. After making some phone calls, trolling some Mac boards for help, and visiting my local Apple store I learned it would cost about $700 to get it functional again.
That was not something I could justify, because my iBook was two years old and my needs had changed to more memory intensive programs and I needed to upgrade.
I priced out a MacBook Pro with the specs I wanted and it was close to $3,500. That just wasn’t going to happen.
Now I should say for the past 15 years I’ve always had a Windows machine at work and the for the last four years I’ve worked out of my home with at least one Windows machine sitting on my desk. Windows isn’t a foreign entity for me.
After a lot of searching I ended up ordering a Sony Vaio. 5 GB RAM, Windows Vista (not installed it yet), 15.4 inch monitor, upgraded to a 240 GB drive, and all the other fun stuff. It also has a built in camera, memory card reader, and a S-Video port. Priced right at $2,100.
Now I was a little worried about software as I waited for the Vaio to arrive. With the Windows machines I’ve always used for work, well I just used for work. Microsoft Office and few other applications here or there. But in my personal life I use things like Photoshop, Ecto (for blogging), Cashbox (financial management), and of course the iLife suite.
My only concern was if I could find the suitable applications for the Windows machine. I am a fan of using applications that do one thing right. For example, I hate Microsoft Word cause I don’t need mail merge and a thousand other features. I just need to be able to write, spell check, and save documents.
Well from an application point-of-view I am even more happy with the switch. Audacity (audio editing) is wonderful. AbiWord is a nice, small, and slick replacement for xPad. FileZilla is a great FTP program. Picasa is a nice replacement for iPhoto. And apps like Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Firefox, Thunderbird, iTunes, and Yahoo! Messenger are so interchangeable at this point that I can’t even really notice they are not running on my iBook. Plus, I can now run Microsoft OneNote, which I have to admit is the only MS application I am proud to say I use. And finally you have services like Basecamp and Stikkit (my GTD application) that are platform neutral.
But as with all things I do have a couple issues with the Vaio laptop. The speaker volume is lacking. And why they’d put the audio input/output on the front of the computer is beyond me. Using earphones while also using the standard keyboard sucks. And of course, as with all laptops, the keyboard leaves a little to be desired. I’ve had some issues getting my monitor to render colors in an accurate manner and also had some bizarre DirectX issues trying to play Civilization IV.
But the switch is complete and I am not regretful in the least.
NOTE: Just a little related info from a recent Fortune article that is just amazing about the power of Apple Stores. “And not just the architecture. Saks, whose flagship is down the street, generates sales of $362 per square foot a year. Best Buy stores turn $930 - tops for electronics retailers - while Tiffany & Co. takes in $2,666. Audrey Hepburn liked Tiffany’s for breakfast. But at $4,032, Apple is eating everyone’s lunch.” I mean I still like and will follow Apple (I have some stock), just not paying more than $1,400 for basically a computer with the same, if not better, physical specs!
March 14th, 2007 at 1:07 PM (#)
Great to read about someone Mac-educated who isn’t PC bashing.
Bye for now,
David Airey
March 14th, 2007 at 2:03 PM (#)
I hear you David. Because I’ve lived in a dual Windows/Mac environment for so long I often wonder if the Mac Windows “haters” have spend enough time with XP to really have a feel for it.
Now I do prefer the Mac OS, but there are trade-offs to everything. And all in all, if I am honest with myself Windows XP is a pretty darn solid and powerful OS.
And as soon my VP of Technology tells me he has had Vista installed for three months (loves it at this point) and it is a superior OS I expect the differences between the system will narrow even more when I install it.
March 14th, 2007 at 2:18 PM (#)
Best laptop keyboard by far is on the Thinkpad.
March 14th, 2007 at 3:05 PM (#)
No doubt there Felix. My firm’s EVP of Sales son works at IBM. About six months ago he bought the most amazing laptop I’ve seen, with that 20% employee discount he could get.
At our annual conference last November we used it as one of our “back-up” machines in case we ran into a tech issue (of course we did). It was an amazing machine to say the least.
March 14th, 2007 at 3:19 PM (#)
I don’t know what you thought about the recent Mac ads, two men acting a Mac and a PC and having a conversation. People in general loved them, but personally I just thought it was like a politician’s speech, talking down the opposing party rather than focusing on themselves.
March 14th, 2007 at 3:36 PM (#)
From a “creative” POV the Mac ads are amazing. Visually stunning. Funny. Well thought-out and acted.
But they were not factual. Before I went to the corporate side I worked as an Account Supervisor at a high-tech b2b ad agency. My clients were Lucent, HP, EDS, PeopleSoft, Unisys, and Oracle.
We could have never got those ads through these firm’s legal departments. Never! I mean pick any ad and there are things that are not accurate.
Built in camera. I got one, don’t need to tape one onto my head. Plug and play out of the box. Got that. Hardware upgrades for Vista, true, but when Apple has a massive OS upgrade you almost need to purchase a new computer.
Now with that said, my first Mac SE I still use. I have mounted it under a cabinet in my kitchen. I run one program, Hypercard, which is like an electronic note card program. I use it to save instructions for food or other stuff.
IMHO with the price point of much of Apple’s stuff they need not misinform. Cause people that “know” will sniff that out. But just MHO.
March 14th, 2007 at 5:13 PM (#)
Good luck with that. I find that the initial experience with a PC is acceptable for me and then degrades quickly. Might be a malware thing, or a DLL thing, or a kitchen sink software install, but slowly but surely things progress to OS reinstall and I don’t get that on a Mac. I’ll chalk it up to a preference thing though, I’m sure if you keep up with it and are actively involved in learning the tricks of the trade things’ll be smooth.
March 15th, 2007 at 1:32 PM (#)
I have to admit that is a major concern Dale. I’ve had the same experience with my work PC. At times things just seem to stop working (and know that isn’t technical) well and it is easier just to reinstall Windows. I am hoping, as you said if I keep up with everything this won’t be an issue.
April 14th, 2007 at 1:31 AM (#)
oh!!!!!! nice laptop to handle!!!!!!!!! how nice inventor……