First Impressions

I survived my first day on the iMac. Everything seemed to go pretty smooth but I performed relatively light work duties. I am fully expecting some challenges ahead.

Anyway... on to my initial impressions.

I am still trying to find where everything is. There are some UI elements that don't make a lot of sense to me and others that I am just not used to. For example, navigating the file/folder/documents/images structures is different than Windows. There are similar things but my eyes are just not drawn to the right spots or I don't know the best place to click. Oh .. and why do I need/want coverflow for my documents folders? Not sure about this UI "enhancement".

Honestly .. OSX kind of feels like using iTunes a little bit. I hate iTunes. Haha.

I finally figured out that the red x closes the documents but that the application continues to reside in memory. This is a change from Windows ... at least visually and not necessarily technically. What are the best practices? Should I close an app (or is it called quit an app) when I am done everytime or just let things reside in memory unused. Will OSX auto close them if it needs the space? Is there an inactivity timer to autoclose?

Other notes: I setup VMWare today and can now run Windows XP virtually. I have not really looked at it but so far it looks slick. There appears to be some really nice integration points between the two systems. I think it is BS that I cannot just run OSX virtually on Windows but Windows can do either.

A quick list of the software I have setup to use so far.  Ideas, suggestions, and thoughts are very much welcome.

• Mail app that comes with OSX (MacMail?)
• iCal
• Spaces (I love spaces and don't know why MS has not implemented)
• Firefox (Safari a little)
• Adium (I tried ichat but Adium seems better)

In conclusion .. based upon a day, maybe day and a half, of usage ... I prefer Win 7 hands down. Will this change? I don't know. I am really trying to stay open minded. I have no intention of using my Windows XP virtual environment unless necessary.

I have been keeping a list of my thoughts in a file and plan on putting them into a blog post soon.

... oh yeah ... getting used to "command-?" vs "ctrl-?" ... is a huge change. My fingers are so trained for windows style copy/paste/cut/bold/undo/all etc... that it is proving a pain in the apple. I can't seem to figure out how to place my fingers to quickly do back to back actions really quickly. Control (CTRL) just seems like a much better key for this activity.

First Day

Today will be the first full day of using the iMac at work. Speaking of which what is the right term? What does the community say? Am I using my mac, Mac, iMac, OSX, Snow Leopard, 10.6.4, Apple or can I still just call it a PC.   :) 

Anyway, I am still working on file transfers and setting up the virtual environments but for the most part I will be working as normal.

I am not totally sure how I am going to update the blog yet with my experiences. For example, should I make lots of little posts throughout the day with my thoughts and then a summary or just try and keep track of it all and then make a couple posts.

I am leaning towards having a draft post and making notes of things I want to say and then publishing once a day or so. I imagine that as time goes on that I will have less posts.

Something keeps bouncing at me ... what is that thing .. stop it! ...

The Leopard has Pounced

Taken with my Droid X

Well folks. The leopard ... or rather snow leopard has pounced. I have had it on my desk for the last few hours.

Fun note: This is my first blog post on the iMac.

However, due to meetings and work, I have not had very much time to actually play learn how to use the new machine.

So far I will admit that there are some very different things and some very similar things.

I am having hell with the spacebar/keyboard typing this message but it is probably something I just have to get used to.

Also .. why don't applications close when I click the red 'x'? Some of the UI elements kind of baffle me.

Okay ... first order of business. I need an inexpensive (preferably open source) SQL editor that will connect to Informix or via ODBC. Thoughts?

More to come....

Random note ... the blinky cursor in blogger doesn't play nice in Firefox.

Arrived!!

The machine finally arrived to IT today. Now I just have to see how long it takes before it shows up on my desk. Very soon ... the experience begins ... welcome!

Quick Update

The iMac still has not arrived. It was ordered on the 10th so I would have though it would be here but I guess with school starting and the back to school marketing promotions that Apple is a bit behind on their orders.

Will update again when it arrives.

The Replacements...

No iMac yet. Maybe today. 

In doing some reading it turns out that MS Visio and MS Project are not available on a Mac. I have not found replacement products for these items yet. Since, I rarely share the source file and usually provide summary details or .jpg/pdf outputs then I think a replacement product would work. Have to search.

However, I did order the iMac with 8gb ram so that I could run virtual Windows. I would like to avoid getting in the habit of relying on virtual Windows. If anyone has suggestions then feel free to comment below.

Software & Specs

The iMac should arrive tomorrow.  Okay. so what kind of software do I use everyday.  Here is a quick list ... not in any order.

• Web Browser (Firefox, Chrome, IE). -  I have some tools that are IE only .. this will be interesting. 
• SQL Development/Database tools - Mostly for writing quick SQL reports. 
• MS Office - Yes. I use each one of these. I have some complex spreadsheets and some Access DBs.
• Word
• Excel
• PowerPoint
• Visio
• Access
• Project
• Email/Calendar - MS Outlook
• Text Editors - Notepad++ is a favorite
• Music Player - MediaMonkey, WMP, Pandora
• IM Client - Trillian Pro
• FTP Client - Filezilla
• Adobe Products
• Acrobat - I create many pdfs some with forms
• Photoshop - I do some basic photo editing for various reasons

Those are the big ones. There are also some specific tools for our ERP that I use ... not sure how that is going to work either.

Lastly. Computer specs for the nerd in all of us.

Current:

• Dell Optiplex
• C2D - 2.13ghz
• 2gb Ram
• 3 LCDs spanned (2-19in, 1-17in)
• ATI X300 .. I think

iMac

• 21.5in Screen (plus one 19in from old system for dual monitor)
• Core i5 3.6ghz
• 8gb Ram
• ATI 5670 512mb

The Beginning

Hello and welcome to the iSwitch Experience. The goal of this blog is to outline my thoughts and experience of switching from a Windows based PC to an iMac in my daily job. This blog is intended to capture my thoughts until I get tired with it ... at which time I will probably write a conclusion and then just let it live on the web for some indefinite length of time.

So what is the deal? Why a Mac? I act as a liaison between business and IT functions. I write specs/requirements and I also do some coding. I used to be a full time developer and still code in my free time. However, I have since obtained an MBA and now focus on the hybrid of business and technology. 

In recent years there has been a surge of Mac users from internal and external users (30%+). I evaluate and provide a wide range of services that increasingly must be more Mac friendly than they are today. 

Thus we are left with the switchover to an iMac. This allows me to fully engage in the OSX experience as a user. I will still use Windows 7 at home and will therefore be living in a mixed environment. 

Alright. Some other details. I do not like Apple. That is right .. let me repeat. I do not like Apple. I do not like their business models, overpriced/inferior products, closed systems etc... I could go on and on but you get the idea. Despite all this ... I am entering this arrangement with as open a mind as possible and believe that logging my thoughts will assist in providing an honest assessment. This is long term switchover. I do not plan on jumping back to Windows in a week or a month etc... I fully intend to learn, use, engage, and fully understand the OSX experience. 

Keep a lookout for more info to come soon. 

-B!