Monday, 21 November 2005 | Switching teams

I thought I'd never do it, but I bought a Mac. I needed a new computer because my previous laptop never recovered from the glass of water I gave it. I could put up with the offensive beeping when I turned it on, but as its parts began to rust, it started behaving like an ignorant know-it-all, occasionally suggesting that rather than just typing one number 3, why not type forty-seven number 3s? Or when I typed the "f" in "forty," for example, didn't I really mean to use the "Find" command and look for "orty"? Let's do away with the "s" key altogether, it arrogantly suggested.

Also, sometimes the right-click menu didn't work, and often I could tell that the computer was working on a secret project in the background. It just knowingly hummed a lot and made the menu bar flash like a dying florescent bulb. Eventually I had to put it down.

In the past, I never liked working on a Mac, mostly because Macs made me feel kind of handicapped. I'd been working with PCs for so long that relatively simple (but different) functions on a Mac were mysterious to me, or as I liked to call them, "stupid." So when I'm asked why I bought a Mac, I don't really know how to answer.

The truth, in part, is that I am becoming more familiar with them because I've been forced to use them more regularly, and they're starting to make sense to me. Macs will also run Final Cut Pro, which is a pretty good thing.

Since that's not a very satisfying answer, sometimes people help me out, and suggest that Macs are better for designers. I don't really think the operating system makes much difference, though, in terms of design. I think I just like how the machine seems to perform with unity, as if the elements of the operating system are old pals.

It's been a couple weeks now, and I'm happier with it than I thought I'd be. I'm not swearing at it, for one, but am being patient as I figure out the differences, and in some cases, improvements. And I'm even starting to mess up the quick keys on my PC at work, a true sign that I've really crossed over. That said, here are some things that I miss:

the forward delete key (so much)
Windows Explorer (for a few specific reasons I won't bother to list)
being able to rename & trash files while in the 'Open' window
the way screen shots are taken (oh Mac, why PDFs?)
contextual (right-click) menu on internet images (I can't do the things I once could)
Homesite (BBEdit is so much worse)
the price

Vs. some things I like:

Dashboard (it's things like this that makes Macs "cute")
Safari
Final Cut Pro
eject (no more technical Windows jargon/triple-click processes for simple commands)
aesthetics, all the way around
more portable (my old laptop was a monster)
sense that the computer works together (that sounds dumb but I don't know how else to say it)
innovative solutions (that sounds dumb too but I don't know how else to say it)
organization of information
virus-free

That's it so far.