nicksollecito.com

I did it. I took the step over to the other side and I don’t see myself going back.
Although I had long been curious about the obsession from die-hard Apple fans, I never thought I would become one. I had many reasons, but primarily I’ve been very comfortable in my environment… Windows just suited me, and my work, rather well.

Every now and then, I used to drop into an Apple store and play around with one of the MacBooks or an iMac and think “this would make a neat toy, but it’s not practical for everyday…”
Well, after a lot of deliberation, I went to my local store and challenged the salesperson to talk me out of buying a 15″ 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 duo MacBook Pro… he failed miserably.
I’ve been using it for 4 days now, and have to say that it’s been a rather pleasant experience. The learning curve wasn’t as steep as I thought it would be, and there are only a couple of (minor) annoyances which I’m sure that I’ll work around. To make up for those, there are huge improvements in performance and productivity…

I’ve come across some great resources and have had a bit of help from Jeff (another recent convert) as well as a well-seasoned pro.

Some of the sites that have been a big help:

• Switcher’s Guide
• A Switcher’s Guide to Windows and Mac Differences and Equivalents
• 10 Apps Every New Mac User Should Download

Some of the annoyances so far:

• Time Machine offers no configuration… I have a Linkstation 250GB NAS drive which would make a perfectly suitable backup device, but I am unable to configure Time Machine to use it. I’m guessing they want me to buy Time Capsule
• Inconsistent line-highlighting… This may seem trivial, but I habitually highlight full-lines of text using SHIFT+HOME/END on Windows… This easily allows me to cut-and-paste full lines of text or code and move them around without the use of a mouse. I am finding support for this inconsistent… looks like most of the time I can use APPLE+SHIFT+HOME/END which is a little more cumbersome.
• I also really like to use APPLE+TAB (ALT+TAB on Windows) to cycle between active programs… On my Mac, though, if the program window is minimized, selecting the program using APPLE+TAB does not maximize the window… I still have to go down to the dock and click the window to bring it up

Just a few minor things that I think I’ll eventually get used to or figure out some other method that works.

Overall, I have to say that I am quite pleased with my new laptop and hope I can keep myself from becoming addicted

I found a solution in regards to using a network drive with Time Machine.

Filed under: Apple, General by nsollecito