Bye Bye Windows - Hello iMac
You'll have to excuse the horrible photo, but I haven't had a chance to even plugin my new "toy". It arrived by courier late this morning, but I got caught up in client meetings for most of the afternoon...
For the last couple of years I've been forced to maintain a Windows PC in the office so that I could access AIB's online banking service. While it was possible to "bludgeon" it into working with Ubuntu it was a lot "saner" to use Windows. Fortunately AIB finally upgraded to using a proper JVM recently and made their business banking completely cross-platform and cross-browser (it probably doesn't work with lynx, but that's hardly a good example, is it? :) )
So I've no more need for my Windows desktop.
I would have considered simply rebuilding my existing PC with either pure Ubuntu or a dualboot, but since I've become quite fond of OS X I decided that I'd move to it completely. Of course moving to Apple entirely while an attractive proposition isn't exactly economical, as a decent spec iMac can set you back more than several "normal" PCs.
Thank God for eBay!
I hope to start the migration tomorrow... Or maybe Monday (time permitting!)
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Michele,
I made the fateful switch almost two years ago, and have never looked back.
Welcome to the light side.
I hear what you are saying about the price differential, but you know what, it's worth it! Next time you are in the market for a notebook, compare the price of a MacBook Air with a comparable non-Apple machine.
Back in the old days is was so easy to differentiate - there was Wintel v. Apple, but now that Apple use Intel chips and will run Windows, what do we call the systems we used to call "Wintel"?
Fran
Fran
I got the iMac on eBay, so I didn't pay that much for it :)
The next "trick" will be configuring it as part of a windows domain ....
Michele
There is an application called AdmitMac which installs the necessary processes to connect a Mac to the domain. It removes a lot of the fuss.
Mail works quite well with Exchange Server too.
If you haven't already you should give BootCamp a try, it allows you to run Windows natively on your Mac. It's perfect for those occasions when you need to use some Windows-only software.
Joe
I'm having serious difficulty thinking of a single application that I would *need* Windows to run...
At home I don't boot into Windows except when I want to play a couple of PC games - and I'm not much of a gamer :)
Michele
Welcome to the iSide :)
I've been windows free at home for almost six months now running OSX on a mac mini. There are less software options for many things compared to other *nixes and Windows, but in general the software that is available is just as good or better. Also a few less free software options, but if you're comfortable at the command line you'll be fine :)
Be wary trying out java applications - I've had to reboot a few times because of certain java processes gone awry.
Lee
Which kind of Java apps would cause those kind of issues?
Michele
Nice machine. One thing I forgot about Macs until I got a macbook recently was how light the screen gamma is. There's a few apps out there that'll imitate the darker windows gamma but nothing for Vista running on OSX.
Well until recently you needed Windows to run AIB Business Banking. Many people need to use Windows to access essential business applications such as payroll and accounting packages.
Web developers need Windows to ensure that their sites are working correctly in IE and on the OS in general. Application developers may need to develop applications for Windows and hence may need to use Windows to develop/test their work.
AIB fixed the Java issue ...
Our payroll is outsourced and our accounting is browser based :)
I'm not a developer or designer and have access to Windows PCs for testing if I need anyway ...
I think you're mistaking the nature of my comments. I'm not saying that *you* need to install Windows, I'm just saying that if someone did have a need for it (which even you did until AIB fixed the Business Banking issue), then Bootcamp does a fine job of running it side by side with Mac OS X, making the switch from Windows to Mac as pain-free as possible!
Joe
Sorry !
Part of my reason to move was that so few things were left to hinder me!
Michele
No worries! I'm a fan of the Mac myself, I always use Macs at home, but as a software developer I'm stuck using Windows at work!
How much did it set you back, if you don't mind me asking?
Joe - I think it was just under 800 euro including shipping :)
azureus crashed at random every so often and sometimes the processes it left behind refused to be killed. i have since installed rtorrent using opendarwin ports which works flawlessly for the little torrenting i do.
terminator (terminal emulator) also crashed a lot of times but was usually killable.
there was some sort of text editor jobbie written in java also that did very bad things but I can't remember the name.
this is all on osx 10.4
Nice :) A white one :) Is it a 17' or 20'?
A wonderful OS , and a good replacement of Windows desktop. It is boring to use the same Windows desktop for 10 year. we need change and iMac is the best.
mmmm something tells me I am going to be hearing "Markkkkk!!" alot over the next few weeks.
Gary - you're hearing a lot of that anyway :)
I got myself a mac book today. Going to try and get into a bit more php/mysql development too. I'm loving the mac already. Although it is taking me awhile to build up all the keyboard shortcuts and how to do things. Been a windows fanatic since 3.1 and never really used macs. Need to read up on it a bit more and do some more playing.
I had the choice of a windows laptop or a macbook so happy with my decision. Impressed so far! Keep you posted! :D
Dave
Dave
It does take some getting used to, but there are some really cool tools available for the Mac if you go looking. Have a look at the comments on this post:
http://www.mneylon.com/blog/archives/2007/08/21/moving-to-the-darkside-i-just-bought-a-mac/
There are quite a few, but there are some useful tips in there as well
Michele