I had been using a Sony Vaio PCG-TR3P for the last two years and was very happy with it: it's small, light and fairly full-featured. But two years in laptop-time is pretty old and I was ready to get a new portable based on the Intel Duo. I quickly narrowed my choice down to the Lenovo X60 and the Macbook.

Even though I'm mostly a Windows guy, I was intrigued by the Mac and impressed by what I'd seen from other Mac owners. The two factors that pushed me to side with the Mac were: 1) Windows compatibility through the Intel chip, and 2) changes in how I use a PC over time.

The Wintel compatibility with tools like Bootcamp and Parallels seemed like a nice insurance policy, if I really needed to do someting in Windows. But the second factor was really more important. I typically use my home PC for four things which all work fine on my Mac:

1. Surfing: most websites look and work fine in Safari, Firefox or IE. No bug surprise there.
2. Email: we use Exchange at work but there are a number of ways to access it from the Mac: the native Mail app can work with Exchange, you can use Microsoft's Entourage (essentially the Mac version of Outlook) or you can use Exchange's web interface - Outlook Web Access. I've tried them all so far and Entourage seems to be the nicest way to go.
3. Development: my development "stack" is now all open-source tools that are available on Windows and OS X as well as many other platforms like Linux. I use Apache, Python, MySQL and Django and have found no issues in running my apps on Windows, OS X or Linux for that matter (case in point: this site).
4. Media: or more specifically, organizing and working with photos, scans, music and video files. Since the data formats themselves are portable and well-supported, it comes down to which applications you prefer. This is a case where the Mac probably has more to offer and certainly is a strong selling point for the machine.

OS X

I really like OS X. it's intuitive, responsive, consistent and slick. Most people rave about the user interface - which is great - but I was really impressed with the integration between the modern GUI and the Unix layer beneath the covers. Other attempts I'd seen at this on Linux feel like a messy collection of glorified "etc" file editors, with no commonality or integration between them. In Linux I feel like the GUI just gets in the way and I often don't even bother installing X. But under OS X, the Terminal is really there as an extension when needed, which I'm finding I need less and less.

I haven't had my machine long enough to comment on stability. I assume it's very good but to be honest, I've had very good luck with Windows XP in that respect, too, so it's more the type of thing I've come to expect in a mature, modern operating system, rather than be surprised by.

Hooked?

it's too early to say if these are the first few steps towards a shift away from Windows in my home, or if I'll be content to just have the one-off Mac that I use only for myself. ( Or if you'll be seeing my Macbook on eBay once the honeymoon is over! But that seems doubtful at this point).

I have to admit that I simply like using my Mac - something I haven't really experienced since Windows 95 shipped. Sure, I've been happy when I've bought new PCs in the past, but even though the PC might be new, Windows is getting fairly old ... and just a little bit stale. At this point I'm not missing my old laptop or Windows for my home and casual PC use.

it's impressive how Apple consistently seems to outshine it's competitors in the areas of design and usability. The iPod is a great example, but you can find it in large, complex products like the Macbook and OS X as well as simpler products like their AC adapter or the iPod's lanyard headphones.

Apple must have a culture that values great design as it's so prevalent in their entire product line. Whatever it is, I'm glad they have it. And I'm glad I bought a Mac.

Tags: mac