Comments on David Alison's Blog: Switching from Windows to Mac - Power users can al...

Thanks - have been considering switching - seems e...

2009-12-23T11:03:26.199-05:00

Thanks - have been considering switching - seems everyone is doing it. Just, while I don't like everything about a PC - it is still comfortable. But, i think now is the time to switch.

I had a development team that was part of a Mac pi...

2009-03-25T23:24:07.731-04:00

I had a development team that was part of a Mac pilot for a traditionally Windows-based company. We were able to demonstrate real-world productivity cost savings in just a month. Compile times dropped in half and we had support for all the third party applications that had been chosen beforehand. I miss the MacBook Pro. I will probably purchase one for myself when Apple produces a version running on the new Intel Core i7. With 8 "effective" cores, you really can't beat it for multi-VM development. Anyone know when Apple might have support for the i7?

Actually, what I don't get is the people who think...

2009-03-25T10:02:36.651-04:00

Actually, what I don't get is the people who think Macs are user-friendly but not powerful. If anything, the case is exactly the opposite.

I mean, until I switched last fall, I did my power computing on a combination of Windows boxes and Linux boxes. But my MacBook Pro can literally do everything I ever did on either of those except run Valgrind. (And if I thought I was going to be working away from my local network for an extended period, I could always install a Linux virtual machine on Parallels and run Valgrind there.) And the power user experience is generally nicer. The UI for many common Unix-y things is just plain beautiful. And I adore TextMate, don't know how I lived without it all these years.

That said, this Mac has lots of stupid user-interface tricks built in, too. I've owned five laptops now, and this one has a great layout and feel but is missing a bunch of essential keys. (I just checked, and my wife's run-of-the-mill Dell laptop has 14 more keys than this supposedly deluxe MacBook Pro.)

And what is up with iTunes? I'd heard that it was only clunky on Windows, but despite routinely using 20+ threads (yay Activity Monitor!) it still makes me wait on it depressingly often. And what is up with marking network files it can't get to unavailable? What keeps on happening is I'm listening to my collection (stored on one of the Linux boxes downstairs) on shuffle, and suddenly the wireless drops out for a couple of minutes (another weird Mac trick I've not run into on Windows laptops). As a result, it shuffles through my collection marking dozens of songs unavailable until it finally hits a song stored on the laptop. Then I have to go through the collection by hand fixing it.

@Jeff: Spark does indeed look interesting. Here's ...

2009-03-25T09:10:08.518-04:00

@Jeff: Spark does indeed look interesting. Here's a link if anyone else is interested.

Great post. Might I suggest you next move on to Sp...

2009-03-25T00:30:44.425-04:00

Great post. Might I suggest you next move on to Spark, the amazing hotkey app that Apple should buy and build into OS X. It allows ANY key combo that isn't already taken to be programmed to do ANYTHING. That means most letters of the alphabet are available if you pair them with the control key, the option key or both. That gives you 26 (letters in the alphabet) x 3 possibilities, without getting into
the various arrow and other character keys. That's on a laptop. If you use the Apple keyboard, it's got 7 blank keys, so that's 21 more! I'm hardly using LauncBar anyomore: Crtl+ P = Photoshop. Ctl+W + Word.
You can also use it for repetitive phrases: Ctrl+J=my email address. WAAAY cool. Did I mention it's free??

@Paul: Very cool - thanks for the tip!

2009-03-24T21:53:33.640-04:00

@Paul: Very cool - thanks for the tip!

David-Check out http://appscript.sourceforge.net/i...

2009-03-24T19:42:42.411-04:00

David-

Check out http://appscript.sourceforge.net/index.html

You can do Apple events in Ruby and Python too.

Cheers,
Paul

Interesting thing I noted the other day regarding ...

2009-03-24T18:41:26.250-04:00

Interesting thing I noted the other day regarding computer usage. First a little background:

I am currently a contractor Oracle DBA at a local business. I have been issued a Dell with WinXP that I only recently was allowed to take home to do VPN access stuff for the client. On my first day I didn't know what I'd be issued, so I took my Macbook (as I do everywhere when I can) so I could get started doing things. They did give me a Dell with WinXP the first day that was all integrated to their IT standards but just in case, I had my Macbook hooked up to their [wired] network with a Parallels Windows XP VM and Office for Mac for Excel and other Office stuff, along with DBA tools on the VM in case I needed it. Initially a lot of my work was with Terminal, and within Terminal I was able to get to all of their UNIX servers to do my job, and later with DBA tools on Windows both on the Parallels VM and the Dell to really effectively do my job. For certain parts of the job when I'm doing UNIX things I'll turn to my Macbook, for other things that are pertinent to the company such as internal email, Intranet stuff, shares, etc. I'll use the Dell. Between the two I've been quite effective in performing my duties.

I've since been allowed to take the Dell home and given VPN access 'just in case' I am called to do something remote. Usually, however the Dell remains in my bag while I set up my Macbook in the home office. I only pull out the Dell (which I have set up pretty nicely with a dual-external monitor deal with the Dell's internal spanned) if I get called. No call, no Dell. The Macbook gets plugged into my other external monitor, drives, printer, etc.

My point here was driven home when I was talking with my co-worker about taking the computer home. She noted that I was one of those types who when at home I use my computer to get on the 'net and do stuff (as I've done for years with a lot of different OS's) while she does not. That got me thinking that the reason I do that is that my computer (my computer being the Macbook), in addition to being a powerful productivity tool, is just straight out more pleasant to use whether that be doing hard-core work type stuff, or "leisure computing" going out to the net, YouTube, etc. It's nicer to look at, takes the "work" out of workflow for anything, and is just overall more capable than the Dell.

Also Spaces gives you a nice Boss Key to switch to a Space with Terminals with a bunch of UNIX-y work-like looking things for when people walk by. ;)

walkerj from the Mac Forums

I wholeheartedly agree with David. I've been a Win...

2009-03-24T18:08:05.808-04:00

I wholeheartedly agree with David. I've been a Windows power user and Microsoft platform developer for almost 2 decades now. In late 2007, some PC-type magazine rated the MacBook Pro as the best Windows laptop in their round up. I did a double take, read the article, and then started looking for other Windows developers who have switched, as well as applications I would have to use if I were to make the transition. While I still don't like OSX's UI, I can do more than I could on my annually-purchased power laptops. I immediately became more productive from a development perspective. Being able to run 2-3 Windows virtual machines has been a big boost for me. Throw on some killer design and build quality and I know I'll be a mac user for life.

@Gabor: Yes, most of what I handle in Launchbar ca...

2009-03-24T15:43:00.715-04:00

@Gabor: Yes, most of what I handle in Launchbar can be handled in Spotlight, with the notable exception of the tertiary commands (finding a contact, then sub-selecting the action to take on that person). I've also found that Spotlight isn't nearly as fast as LaunchBar or Quicksilver.

I also tried the LaunchBar a few months back but i...

2009-03-24T15:39:21.070-04:00

I also tried the LaunchBar a few months back but it didn't seem to show more functionality than Spotlight. These issues David mentioned here can all be done with Spotlight. Just enter a few letters and the contact, document, application, whatever shows up accordingly. Then hit enter and there you are...

@Paul: I've only played with AppleScript briefly; ...

2009-03-24T14:45:03.691-04:00

@Paul: I've only played with AppleScript briefly; since I write a lot of Ruby code I find that works best for my needs.

@Anon: Sorry about that! I've been using LaunchBar (and before that QuickSilver) for so long I forgot that Command-Space is usually Spotlight's activation sequence. I remapped Spotlight—which I still use occasionally to search for some documents—to Control-Space.

This posting reads as if Command-Space is a third-...

2009-03-24T14:39:37.241-04:00

This posting reads as if Command-Space is a third-party feature. On this MacBook (10.5.6) it's coming from Apple's Spotlight. ;^)

Time to add in AppleScript and Automator. Then you...

2009-03-24T14:21:16.879-04:00

Time to add in AppleScript and Automator. Then you'll really have some power.

So I never was a power Windows user, I was actuall...

2009-03-24T12:07:55.158-04:00

So I never was a power Windows user, I was actually one of the biggest preachers against computer use when I had my Windows machine.
After having all of our Windows software stolen we made the switch to Mac and now I'm considered one of the biggest "geeks" in my industry.
I still wouldn't consider myself a power-user but I wouldn't even BE a user at all if I hadn't had a Mac.