Microsoft/Mac Monday
Last week in our MyFive article titled “Computers We’ve Owned,” we left out a “5th Generation” of computers that we’ve owned in the past because we hadn’t yet purchased them. In the article, we mentioned that we’ve been looking at different models and manufacturers to see what would be best. We finally made our decision after lots of research, and the purchases were made. So what kind of computers did we end up with?
After much contemplation and lots of going back-and-forth, we decided on MacBook Pros. Now, before the Apple fanboys start giving us high-fives and the Apple haters start saying “that’s it, I’m done reading CyberNet,” we wanted to point out that even after using the Mac computers for a week, we are still firm believers that both Mac OS X and Windows (whether it be Vista or XP) have strengths and weaknesses. That last sentence alone helps explain why we ended up with MacBook Pros: because with them, we get the best of both worlds! If we said one operating system was better than the other, we’d be ignorant. We can run OS X and have the benefits of using it, but we can also run Vista or XP using Parallels and take advantage of the benefits that they offer.
Today we thought we’d take the time to just let you know about our first impressions: what we like and what we don’t like, and what it’s like going from being a Windows user to an OS X user. After using Windows for so long, there have been lots of things that are taking time to get used to, so we’ll talk about those things as well. Just note that what we’re writing about is our “out-of-box” experience, what the computer was like before installing any applications.
First Impressions
Our first impressions started shortly after purchasing the computers. Without going into too much of the boring details, there was a problem with our order. It was our mistake, but a call to Apple had our problem taken care of within minutes. Later that day we received an email with a survey that Apple wanted us to complete for calling their Customer Service line, so we completed the survey. The next day, we received a call from an Apple Manager checking up to see how our experience was. He even gave us his direct phone number so if we had any questions or concerns in the future, we could call him. We were impressed at the level of customer care that they offered.
Once the computers actually came (we ordered online through the Apple Store online), our first impression of the appearance was “wow, these are pretty slick computers.” Apple did a great job with the design. It’s slim (compared to our previous computers) and really feels durable. Of course we knew there was only going to be one mouse button, but it was still weird to see one long button instead of two shorter buttons.
Set-up
Setting up the computers was easier than I ever expected it to be. Overall it’s not that much different from Windows — you go through a couple of screens and it’s ready to be used. One nice thing was that there weren’t a bunch of 3rd party applications that had to be uninstalled like what would happen if you purchase a computer with an OEM version of Vista on it. We always started with a fresh install of Windows in the past, so the 3rd party apps were never a problem for us anyways.
Keyboard
Another first impression was that we’re not a huge fan of Apple keyboards. Why you ask? Well, the positioning of the keys is different and the Alt and Command keys are flipped. Another “problem” is that instead of using the Ctrl key for shortcuts like copying and pasting, you use the command key which definitely takes getting used to.
We’ve always plugged-in a keyboard to use with our laptops at home because we type for hours on end everyday and need something ergonomic. In general we just don’t like Apple keyboards and so we decided to stick with our Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboards.
On the keyboard that we’re used to using, there are keys for print screen, page up, page down, and more. On an Apple keyboard, those keys don’t exist. Things like that can make transitioning between a keyboard on a PC and a keyboard on a Mac a little more difficult.
Surfing the Web
We’ve always been Firefox and Opera users, but we decided that since the computers came with Safari, we’d give it a try. All I can say is that we only lasted a few hours using Safari. It’s not that it’s a bad browser, it’s just that we’re used to Firefox and we’ll be using both Windows and OS X regularly. Because we don’t like Safari for Windows, Firefox will be better to use from a consistency and bookmarks standpoint.
For casual browsing, Safari works great. We did notice though that once we started our “heavy” browsing and pulling up lots of sites, the short-comings of Safari started to show.
Switching Operating Systems is like…
Switching Operating Systems to us is just like moving to a new city. If you’ve moved, you know that there’s some fun and excitement to exploring new places but there’s some discomfort because it is unfamiliar and it might take you longer to get to where you need to go or you might get lost on occasion. We’re excited and having fun exploring Mac OS X, but we can say we’ve gotten “lost” every now and then trying to figure out how to do something.
When you live in a city for 10 years, you know where to find the best deals and you know all of the back roads to get from point A to point B. Similarly, when you’ve used Windows for 10 years, you know all of the best software that’s available and you know all of the shortcuts to get tasks done as quickly as possible. We’re starting fresh in a “new city” and things are good, but a little confusing too.
Features we like
- Configuring multiple monitors is much, much easier:
We both have a dual monitor set-up and so we were curious what the configuration options would be. They are so nice! You’re shown two configuration screens, one for each monitor, and then you’re able to drag and drop each monitor in the position that you want it. Along the same lines, Ryan uses his 24″ monitor in a vertical orientation. With Windows he had to either install the graphics card software or download a 3rd party application to successfully rotate the 2nd display. With our Mac computers, there were absolutely no issues and no software had to be installed.Another nice thing is that you can drag and drop the Dock/Menu Bar to the screen where you’d like it displayed. At one point Ryan wrote about a “trick” that could be used on Windows computers for choosing a primary monitor and all kinds of people said that it was so helpful. If Microsoft made managing monitors as easy as Apple, tricks like that wouldn’t be necessary.
- Spaces:
Ahhh.. Spaces. We’re already in love with it. You can set-up multiple virtual desktops and drag windows from one virtual desktop to another. I have one desktop set-up with all of the applications I use for blogging, and another one set-up for the applications that I use for personal things like my address book, or photo editing - Installing Apps is easier:
Typically you just have to drag an icon for the new app you’re installing into the applications folder. Uninstalling is just as easy, you just drag the folder you no longer want from the Applications folder to the trash - Spotlight Search:
We’d say the Spotlight Search is better organized and slightly more powerful (you can get dictionary definitions and calculations right there on-the-spot) than Vista’s built-in searching feature
Getting Used to…
There’s a whole list of things that are taking time for us to get used to so we’ll just bullet them out.
- Command key – it’s driving us crazy using it instead of Ctrl for most shortcuts
- Resizing of most Windows can only be done on the bottom right corner, we’re used to resizing from anywhere on the window
- Start key/menu- I miss it, I really do! I used Vista’s built-in searching capabilities all the time and therefore got used to pressing the start key. It’s no longer there…
- Keyboard shortcuts – they are all different!
- Quitting an application
If you click the X in the upper left-hand corner and think the application has closed, you’re wrong. You actually have to go up to the menu bar and click the menu for the program you’re running and then click “Quit.” Alternatively, you can press Command+Q - Maximizing a screen works differently – instead of filling up the whole screen, it only enlarges the window as large as it needs to be to fit the content of the Window
- Forcing a quit is no longer Ctrl+alt+delete – it’s Cmd-Alt-Escape — just a bit different
- Menu-bar location can be inconvenient when you’re using multiple monitors (it would be nice to place the menu-bar on both monitors for someone who has a dual monitor set-up)
- Customization options aren’t as abundant – with Windows there are seemingly endless amounts of customization options by diving into the registry and all kinds of hidden tweaks. With Mac, not so much… While there may be tips and tricks for Macs as well, it seems as though they are harder to come by…
Overall
We’re not giving-up on Windows entirely – we still have a Desktop computer running Vista Ultimate. It serves as our Media Center machine and will continue to back-up all of our important files and documents from the computers on our home network. We’ll also be running Vista using Parallels for certain things on our MacBook computers.
Overall, the out of box experience with our MacBook Pro computers is pretty impressive, but with the price you pay, you’d expect that. We’re happy to now be able to bring unbiassed news and tips from both sides of the spectrum This leads me to the next bit of information we wanted to share. Starting this week, our Microsoft Monday will now be Microsoft/Mac Monday and we’ll end up talking about both Windows and OS X.
In the past we’ve been called “Microsoft Fanboys” so this should go to show that we are open minded about how we view different operating systems. We’re sorry to anyone who is disappointed that we are now using Apple Hardware but we’re sure if you stick around, you’ll notice that we’ll still be covering plenty of Windows news and tips as we always have. Nothing has changed, other than the fact you might see a Mac article sprinkled into our daily writing every now and then.
What we need from you…
This is all so new to us, so if you’re using a Mac computer, let us know of any tips you might have, or must-have apps!
I guess all those Mac Ads worked on you guys! Just kidding. it’s good to see that you guys are open minded. I am sure you will get flamed some.
I too want a Mac some day to try out and explore. I will get one in the future, but it will probably be an iMac as I do not want another notebook and it is all contained in one casing.
I’m expecting that we will get flamed, but it will be nice to be able to take a look at both sides from a clear perspective. Most people only love one or the other, and I actually enjoyed using Vista quite a bit. There are a lot of nice features in Windows, and so no one really has to worry about me turning into a Mac fanboy. The few people that knew I got a Mac were in disbelief because they thought I was a Microsoft fanboy.
The iMac’s are very nice machines. We actually contemplated getting those instead, but settled with the laptops because of their portability. But you do get a lot more bang for your buck with the iMac.
I recently converted to a Mac and couldn’t be happier. But I can’t believe you didn’t mention the magnetic power plug!
It has saved me multiple times.
The magnetic power plug is pretty cool, and it’s actually quite surprising just how magnetic it is. We’ve never actually had any problems with tripping over cords and whatnot, and so that didn’t really cross our mind.
If you really miss the Start Menu on the Mac, drag the Applications folder to the Dock and presto you’ll have your applications coming up in a stack, fan, grid (whichever option you choose on right-clicking the folder).
If you are doing any video conversion, make sure you pick up VisualHub. It is easily the best video converter program out there!
Congrats on the new Macs. I made the switch in September 2007 and haven’t regretted it one bit. In fact, I even bought a second Mac back in February. It took me FOREVER to get use to using the command key instead of CTRL, but it did eventually happen.
If you want to give Safari another try, try installing the Saft plugin as it gives you some additional options that are real helpful, such as always opening a new tab instead of a new window. And if you want more customization features, check out Mac Pilot.
I have found Mac replacements for every piece of Windows software that I was using. Other good programs to try out are NetNewsWire (feed reader), Appzapper, Caffeine (great, especially for a notebook), Unison (for newsgroup downloading), Transmission (torrents), and Transmit (ftp). If you want any more suggestions, let me know.
Hey Guys…here are my favorite apps:
Skitch – (Screenshots) – [skitch.com]
AppZapper – (Completely removes applications) – [appzapper.com]
Caffeine – (Bypass Sleep Mode) – [lightheadsw.com]
NetNewsWire – (RSS Reader) – [newsgator.com]
Xee – (Image Viewer) – [wakaba.c3.cx]
and finally, one of the best pieces of software I’ve ever used:
Quicksilver – [blacktree.com]
Enjoy!
You said you moved to the Apple to get the best of both worlds. But think about it for a second: *APPLE*, not Microsoft, is the one that is being restrictive! If it weren’t for Apple, you’d be able to run Mac OS X on a Windows machine…
Ryan, I’m glad you’ve opened your website to Apple OS X. Nothing is totally white or totally black. There are an infinite shades of gray in between.
I’m also saving to buy myself an Apple iMac and get my feet wet with Apple hardware/software again. As you know, my first computer was an Apple II-E, way back in the eighties.
Good to hear. I switched to a 17″ Macbook Pro last September when my Vista desktop was stolen. I like having the best of both worlds also. I run XP Pro through Fusion most of the time from my Boot Camp partition. You’ll definitely want to check out NetNewsWire. I never liked feed reader programs before in Windows. I used Sage in Firefox. I tried NetNewsWire when it became free and haven’t missed Sage. I still use Firefox. I really don’t like Safari plus it seems like that is the quickest way to get hacked on a Mac. I still wouldn’t use it anyway because I don’t get the same functionality that I get in Firefox.
Why did you choose Parallels over Fusion? The Unity view in Fusion is really cool.
I also want to know why you picked Parallels over Bootcamp or Fusion.
The dashboard widget Screenshot Plus is fantastic for taking screenshots. I’ve already forgotten the keyboard shortcuts. Careful though, I haven’t figured out how to turn off the dashboard. Once it’s on, it’s using memory until you restart.
That was actually one of the first things I did so that I didn’t have to clutter up my dock.
Will definitely have to check that out, but I don’t see any video conversions in my future.
NetNewsWire has become our feed reader of choice, we’re using Transmission for torrents, and actually Cyberduck for FTP. Caffeine sounds like something I was just searching for though… thanks!
I installed Quicksilver but haven’t gotten around to using it much yet. I’ll have to check it out some more.
I agree, NetNewsWire is very amazing. I believe the Windows alternative, FeedDemon, is more powerful but NetNewsWire is actually easier to use. Everything about it is very intuitive more so than in FeedDemon.
No reason really. My initial impression of Parallels was better than Fusion though. Parallels also has something similar to the Unity view called Coherence.
We’re using Skitch for taking screenshots and it is pretty nice. I’m not too concerned with the dashboard eating up memory since we have 4GB available.
Well, I’ve been a “switcher” for the past three years. I fully understand all those gripes!
Cmd + Space pulls up Spotlight, and you can type your application name, and press enter. This is so terriby efficient that I NEVER mouse to start an app anymore!
CMd + H will Hide a window, which is better than minimizing, since you can Cmd + Tab, and bring your window back (instead of minimize, then Cmd + Tab, which brings the app menu back, but NOT it’s window!)
Congrads on the new machines!
Awesome tip! I didn’t actually realize that you could hide OR minimize. I thought that hiding was minimizing.
Ryan, that’s my BIGGEST gripe on the Mac. I too cut my teeth on Windows, went on to all flavors of Unix, and finally got a Mac to use Garageband for some simple home recording. After using it for a while, the rest of OSX got to be quite appealing!
So, what Mac zealots keep telling me is that Mac’s are application centered, and Windows is windows centered.
I heard that about a year ago, and I think I’ve finally wrapped my head around it: applications maintain their state and context, and the OS will switch between those contexts for you. The OS will NOT alter the state of those applications. So, you minimize the Equalizer in iTunes to get it out of your way, Cmd Tab to switch to Firefox for some googling, then Cmd Tab back to iTunes. Equalizer is still minimized, since that’s how you left it!
While I can see the utility of that example, it kinda falls apart when you’re only using ONE window from a given application, since you want to minimize to get the whole friggin’ app out of your face!
Oh well … Cmd + H (which, I gather has been there from the beginning) is the next best thing.
I switched to OS X about a year and a half ago and I’ll say that the first week is the hardest, after that it gets A LOT easier. I went with a MacBook however and AM regretting it, I really wish I had the extra GPU horsepower when doing a lot of things such as playing games, watching HD video, etc.
Good choice guys, I’m thinking of buying one myself too for the same reasons (and had the same gripes when using OS X when I had to use it at work for 2 years – and never got used to it really).
As for software, you might like most of the Panic software. If you do web development, try this one: [panic.com] Also, not sure if CyberDuck has improved since I last used it 2 years ago, but we used it at work for almost 2 years and finally gave up and bought Transmit licenses. Transmit was so much better: more stable, much faster, less odd bugs. Definitely worth the money.
Did you choose glossy screens or the default ones for your MacBooks? How do you like the screens?
apple should be as open-minded as you are and let people test their OS-X on PCs. Buy an apple machine or relay on apple owners comments is the only choice. A marketing manoeuver, the only choice apple has in front of Microsoft and PCs all around the world, I know.
I like the way you go not to enter the batlle/debate, effectivly, it’s not worthy.
But almost keep what’s making Cynernet worthy to visit now and then.
Yeah, we decided to spend the extra money on MacBook Pro’s so that we will be set for awhile.
I’ve used Cyberduck a few times in the last week, and it’s actually quite impressive. I’m using the new version 3.0 Beta and I don’t have any complaints thusfar.
That’s a funny story actually. We went with the glossy screens after going to the store and comparing the two side-by-side. I know that matte screens are more color-accurate, but the glossy screens are so much more vibrant in colors.
So we custom-ordered our computers online and got them about a week later. The same day they shipped I realized that I forgot to pick the glossy screen option (matte is default). I called them up, they paid for return shipping once we got them (pretty nice since it was my mistake), and I was able to order the glossy screen computers. So we actually got them about a week later than we should have because of my dumb mistake.
That would be pretty awesome, but I think they just want to focus on making a solid operating system without having to worry about millions of different hardware configurations. After all, lack of hardware support is one thing a lot of people complain about in Vista. Apple is able to avoid that pitfall by selectively picking the hardware they use in their machines.
Yep. Objectivly true.
I look forward to articles on software and little things in OS X – - I got a MacBook Pro in August and never really gave Leopard a chance – Vista is my primary operating system on it
I rarely use OS X
Give it a chance, I think you might be pleasantly surprised. Now that we’ve been using Leopard for about a week and a half, things aren’t quite as bad as the first few days. Slowly but surely, life with Leopard is getting easier and in fact, I’m enjoying it.
Not sure if anybody mentioned these apps yet, but Adium ([adiumx.com]) is the IM client of choice by most Mac people I know. It’s alot like Pidgen, but better looking and more customizable. It also syncs up with your Address book to display data.
Also, VLC works just great for any movies I watch and it works with the remote that came with my laptop.
One of the really helpful app that our mutual friend Paul told me about is Youpi Optimizer ([macupdate.com]). Lets you get rid of all those extra language packages you won’t be using.
iSquint converts any video to an iPod playable format.
I also like the Google Notifier ([toolbar.google.com]), its not the whole google organizer, just the email and calendar alerts.
If you’re looking for an Open Office to use with your new macs. I use NeoOffice. Not as good as Microsoft Office, but its free and you can’t complain about that.
You should also look into the Screen Sharing settings, Leopard has a version VNC built into it.
I got my Macbook back in September 2007 and it is still looking good for me though I am not on Leopard yet. Tiger seem to be good enough for me at the moment since I only use my Macbook for mainly freelance work and when I am on the move. Welcome to the world of Mac!
Huh, can’t say that I ever thought about removing those, but I’ll of course never use them. That’s definitely a nice tip… thanks!
There are actually a few things in Leopard that I really love, and the biggest thing would probably be Spaces. It’s definitely a really polished virtual desktop system, and helps keep my apps more organized.
Expose is even better than Spaces!