I have been a Windows user all my life and feel a little bit apprehensive on making the switch. However, after reading so many good things about Apple Mac OS and Linux, I think it’s time to explore other worlds.

You should definitely give Linux a whirl if you haven’t already. Personally I don’t know if I’d end up switching to it full time because I really like where Microsoft is headed with Windows 7, but I think it’s good to understand what the alternatives offer.

One of the main reasons I wanted to get a Mac was so that I could become familiar with that operating system as well. I agree though, if you just use your computer to get things done you should use what you’re comfortable with. Right now I’m still using XP more than anything in my daily routine since that’s what we have at work. Hopefully we’ll roll out Windows 7 once it’s available, but I’m doubtful.

The lack of an SD card slot is the one that really gets me. I still can’t believe these laptops don’t have that when it’s pretty much a standard at this point.

Window management on a Mac is also a little more cumbersome than Windows – maximizing, resizing, fullscreening limitations of Mac I have yet to get used to.

Try using the freebie TwoUp from [irradiatedsoftware.com] (or SizeUp, which is its paid counterpart). I switched to a unibody Macbook Pro a few months ago and although my experience has been extremely positive, I never much liked OS X’s window zoom behavior relative to Windows’ maximize behavior. TwoUp fixes much of that by adding keyboard shortcuts to maximize and split the screen. Mercury Mover from [heliumfoot.com] does something similar…also worth a look.

I think it’s quite ironic reading 2 comments above that using Mac is make you more productive since.. well, you can’t do “too much other things” in OSX

What is your point? My point was that I can work more focused on OSX. I absolutely do not experience a lack of possibilities. I can do everything I want and need to do (actually, I can do more because I can run OSX and Windows at the same time – try to do that reliably on Windows..). Nothing ironic about it.

Don’t get me wrong, XP x64 has treated me great! I downright refuse to invest money in Vista though and hopefully will never have to use it. Windows 7 is a far off second choice. Macs (to me) are luxury items, plus you can’t build them from scratch (can you?)

I’ll be testing my DOpus out on Wine soon, since its the only one I can salvage. Although UEX (UltraEdit for Linux) will be beta’ed later this year!

I started iPhone development last fall so I needed a Mac, otherwise I would have never purchased one as the prices are just insulting.

In my experience, I could easily get my work done with either, plus on Windows I can play games and have a wider selection of software to choose from.

The advantages to the MacBook are that it performs very well on lesser hardware, and doesn’t require much maintenance. I have also learned to LOVE the buttonless trackpad (although its horrible under boot camp).

MacBook has very limited mouse support and the accuracy is not as good. Window management on a Mac is also a little more cumbersome than Windows – maximizing, resizing, fullscreening limitations of Mac I have yet to get used to. ‘Finder’ navigation is definitely annoying – from what I understand its not been updated in years.

Also, some apps aren’t very good at exposing ALL of their windows to you can switch between them, neither are some good at coming to the front when you click the app icon in the dock. Photoshop Express is especially annoying as it cannot be resized *at all*.

The lack of ports (like Firewire and Expresscard, SD card, more than 2 USB ports) and inclusion of nonstandard ports (like the ‘line-in’ rather than regular microphone port, and the mini displayport) are just inexcusable on a $1600 laptop and have definitely been a pain in the ass for me – but I’ll be damned if I will pay over $2000 for a ‘Pro’ to get ports that are standard on a $700 Dell laptop.

However, the integration of Spaces is very well done – I have played with multiple desktops for years, but this is the only implementation where it has become a natural part of my workflow.

Probably the most interesting thing about my MacBook is that I feel much more productive on it. I think this is largely because it is impossible for me to take a work break to play any of my favorite games on it.

I came to love several applictions which are not available for Windows (Things or The Hit List, NetNewsWire, Fluid, EventBox, Espresso, Skitch, Transmission), but I still do miss some applications which I was using on Windows too (RoboForm, AnyDVD, BeyondCompare, ACDSee, Babylon, DirectoryOpus). I still have to use Windows in VMware because of that, but less often than I thought I had to. Loving Windows 7 as well, but I won’t make the switch back. Too satisfied with my productivity on OSX (and the general look and feel – very clean and unobtrusive).