Switching to Mac OS X
I switched from Windows XP to the Apple Mac in early 2005. Much has happened on both platforms since then. I am still convinced that I made the right decision (even more so since trying out Vista). However, some of the points made and comparisons described here will be out of date now. These pages are left here as they still, hopefully, make for an interesting read.
Andy Clayton writes
Depending on how old you are, you may remember a time back in the 1980's and early 1990's when not everyone had a Windows PC. In actual fact most people didn't even have a computer but those who did could choose from a number of models all running different operating systems. Popular examples included the Apple II, Commodore Amiga and the Atari ST. (And before that, how about the Commodore 64 and Sinclair Spectrum?)
Despite using Windows as my primary operating system since the mid-1990's I always kept a keen interest in alternatives such as Linux. In 2001 Apple replaced their aging OS 9 with OS X (pronounced "oh es ten" rather than "oh es ex") and in the subsequent years introduced great looking computers such as the iMac.
In early 2005 I used a small loyalty bonus from work to purchase Apple's newly launched Mac Mini. I set up the machine with a switching box to flip between XP and OS X. By September of that year I had made the decision to migrate fully from Windows XP to Apple Mac OS X. This process took a few weeks and by December I estimate that upwards of 95% of my home computing activity took place under OS X with the rest under Windows XP and a small fraction under Linux. In July 2006 I'd reached the point where I could dump Windows altogether and go 100% Mac!
Thesedays I own a Mac Pro and MacBook (and still have the Mac Mini). I rarely run Windows and when I do it's using Parallels Desktop in order to check web sites I design look OK in Internet Explorer. Percentage wise my Windows use at home now is so small it wouldn't even register on a scale of 1-100. Suddenly, my computing has become productive! ;-)
On these pages you can read some background to the Windows v OS X world we live in, why I switched, issues with hardware and software for me as a Windows switcher and a detailed blog written while I was in the process of switching. As I went through this process in 2006 some of the information presented will now be out of date.