Monthly Archives: August 2010

I wrote about my move from Windows to a Mac Mini a few weeks ago and now is the time to summarise my feelings after five weeks with a new computer, and a new operating system. It is never easy to move to new hardware and software, but I have been surprised at how natural the transition has felt.

Let’s be honest, there are not too many differences between Windows 7 and Mac OS X in terms of day to day usage and both offer a quick and simple experience which can flex around the needs of the user. Where they differ, at least in my experience, are the performance levels over a period of time. I have noticed that the Mac plods along at a consistent rate no matter what I throw at it; there is no drama when updates are required and it just seems to work. My experience with Windows is that continual looking under the bonnet is needed to keep it running smoothly.

I am considering that this computer is new which offers a stability and speed benefit, but the feeling that it will work every day without fail is hard to ignore. I quickly got over the differences between the systems and have grown to love the dock and the shortcuts that make almost every task twice as quick as they would be without them. There are highs and lows on the software side which I am working on addressing over time, but on the whole the experience in like for like software is much better under Mac OS than Windows-

Microsoft Entourage: I use an MS Exchange email account and found the standard Mail software to be very poor. After much time spent looking for solutions I eventually gave up because its performance was unreliable and basic to say the least. Entourage is better, but still does not offer the same level of experience I am used to with Outlook under Windows. I am also not a big fan of iCal or contacts. This is probably because I am used to everything being in one place and not having to run separate apps for each task.

Firefox / Safari: Internet Explorer has been the most unreliable piece of XXXX I have had to use over the past year and the move to Mac made me finally keep it off my computer. Firefox works as well as ever and I am starting to appreciate the benefits of Safari as well. Some of the extensions are incredibly useful and the combination of the two is remarkably fluid.

Imaging: iPhoto is a great piece of software and works seamlessly with my iPhone to manage my photo collection. It can be a bit slow at times, but I suspect this is down to the fact I have a bottom of the range Mac Mini. I have used a few image manipulation programs so far, but none comes close to Paint.net under Windows which is by far the best paint style software I have ever used. I will continue to search for a solution and hope that Paint.net gets ported to Mac OS one day.

Almost every other application is either comparable or better than its Windows equivalents in my experience and so I am fairly happy that I have moved to another complete solution for my needs. There is something reassuring about the entire Mac experience which I do not feel when using Windows. The entire look also helps to offer a sense that the working of the software is hidden behind a sweet looking veneer that emphasises what you need to do rather than how you need to do it. I fully understand why people love the look and feel of Mac OS, but still don’t understand why some obsess over fonts and menu styles. I guess, however, this obsessiveness is why Mac OS works like it does.

The hardware is nice, but being a Mini it just sits on my desk and I have no further interaction with it. The materials used obviously come together to make the experience work, but the aesthetics are of little consequence here. I do use an Apple keyboard for no other reason than I find it to be the most efficient one available. I tried to use a Mighty Mouse, but it was just awful with the Mac Mini. I tried everything from new drivers through to third party software through to tweaking all of the settings, but still it was unresponsive and just felt unnatural- it was as if what was happening on the screen was not quite what I was doing with my hand. Ironically, I have been using a mini Microsoft mouse with the Mac Mini and it works flawlessly. It is a wireless model and requires one AA battery- the same battery has been in this mouse for 3 years and it still works. I also bought an external hard drive for Time Machine to back up to- with no real experience of using it in anger so far, I do feel reassured that it will save the day should something ever go badly wrong. The thing is that I am not expecting the day to ever need saving.

So, it’s almost all good so far and I have no regrets at all about moving from Windows to Mac. I really cannot see myself moving back either, but will probably need to upgrade the Mac Mini in the future to cope with what I throw at each every day.