Paul Lester became a new Mac owner/user this week. There’s many reason for switching from Windows to the Mac OS X platform–Paul explained some of his here. Paul, as a Photographer and having many photography friends, was exposed to a higher percentage of Mac users then perhaps someone in the general population. It was almost inevitable he would eventually be lead to the light. I tried to contribute my part in that process. :-)
I’ve been a dedicated Mac user since 2004 but my experience with Macs goes back as far as the 1980’s. I had an Atari 1040 ST computer with a Mac emulator that ran Mac OS8 and OS9. That’s the old Apple Operating System, prior to the (Unix-like) OS X which all Mac’s now run.
I’ve always liked Macs, but it was hard to pull away from the “cheapness” of Windows PCs. Since making the jump I’ve never looked back and realize that “cheapness” comes with a price of its own.
I’m sure Paul will be very satisfied with his new MacBook Pro. With the passing of time he’ll realize how much simpler his computing life is now he’ll wonder why he didn’t make the jump sooner. ;-)
Earl, so far, so good. I was exposed to Macs back in the day. My first encounter with a Mac was sometime around 1991, or ’92. It was love at first sight. I remember the problems that Windoze users had trying to connect their computers to a network. What a nightmare. Our department, however, used Macs (I don’t remember which flavor), and we simply started them up, plugged in the Appletalk cables, and were up and running … without a hiccup. Sweet.
There were two things that kept me from upgrading:
1) A sense of not being able to use the software that I thought that I would need. This was true years ago, but now you can get most everything that you need for a Mac, save for some very specialized programs.
2) The high cost of a Mac as compared to a PC.
I’m glad that I made the switch. I’m already eying my Windoz desktop with a bit of disdain. :-) It’s next! Maybe it will become a Mac Mini.
@Paul: I hope Apple will upgrade the Mac Mini this year with faster CPUs and a better GPU. It would make them more capable as a desktop replacement. It’s also about time for an update to the iMac line.
The time I’ve saved by not having to trouble shoot and detoxify Windows has been amazing since both the wife and I have been on Macs. When she had a Windoze machine I was always have to scan, update, patch and troubleshoot her machine. Now she seldom has any problems…sweeeet!