Why I switched

Txun asked in the Mac360 forum, "What made you switch?" Meaning from PC and Windows to Apple (Mac) and OS X. I replied there, and thought I would share that response here.

My original intention wasn’t to switch. Having spent years in computer manufacturing (mini-computers) and hardware technical support (including PC’s). In my leisure time I enjoyed experimenting, or playing, with different platforms, application programs (software) and utilities. Over the years I’ve spent time with the likes of BeOS, DOS (PC/DR/MS), OS/2, Windows and various iterations of UNIX / Linux. During those years, I was never all that impressed with laptop computers, but in 2005, I had an occasion to actually use one for a time, and decided due to the mobility (wireless Internet connectivity) they provided, I might benefit by actually having one? The wife finally gave the approval for me to get one. Well, my desktop at the time, and I still have it, was a 2.4 GHz Windows XP Pro tower, so I thought I’d like to have a different platform for my laptop. I started thinking possibly Linux - then I thought I’d give Apple a look see, with no expectations what so ever. When I discovered OS X was based on UNIX, that did it! Then it was just a matter of choosing which “notebook” to get. I finally settled on the 14-inch iBook G4. I took to it immediately, but thought the novelty would wear off after a while - it didn’t. I was so impressed with how much easier it was to get things done on the iBook, and how it never failed to ‘simply work.’ I discovered after a short time that I was no longer using my Windows desktop PC at all, but spending all my computing time on my iBook! After about 6 months of this, I started asking the wife for a Mac desktop to replace my PC. She said, you haven’t had the laptop (notebook) a year yet? Well, on September 4th this year (2006), I’d had my iBook a year - on September 6th, the day Apple announced the new Intel iMac line - I ordered my 24-inch Intel Core 2 Duo!

So, in my case, the “switch” wasn’t really planned, it just happened. What became of my Windows PC? The grandkids use it to play Internet games when they visit. My conversion is now complete, but I will continue to resist bashing Microsoft, PC’s and Windows as they were good to me for years, even providing my livelihood for a number of those years. Today though, my allegiance is to Apple, Mac and OS X!

That was my reply, though slightly edited for use here :). I've had "Maggie" a month now, and am still as thrilled as the day I brought her home. I finally backed her up for the first time this weekend and am in the process of importing some of my music CD's into my iTunes library. I have no idea why I hadn't done either of these things sooner? Speaking of which, I should post this entry and get motivated with the weekend "to-do" list.

~ My greatest challenge has been to change the mindset of people. Mindsets play strange tricks on us. We see things the way our minds have instructed our eyes to see. --Muhammad Yunus ~