I got a Macbook and it was okay…
I’ve got a new 15″ Macbook Pro, and so life is taking a productivity hit. I got it because the School of Education here is heavily Macintosh-dependent, there seem to be issues with running Vista on laptops (although I’m enjoying it on my desktop machines), and they’re noticeably cheaper than the Thinkpads I’ve used the last two times I bought laptops.
Compared to the last two laptops I’ve had (Thinkpads T41 and X41 tablet), it seems hot, heavy, and fragile. Because I’ve gotten used to being able to carry a laptop safely with one hand, I’ve ordered a handle to install on the back, which should also help with the heat issue. The screen is pretty thin and flexes more than I’d like, and the handle should help with that.
The power adapter was also extremely hot, until I realized it was shrink-wrapped in some kind of plastic covering. The “magsafe” power adapter has some cute features, including a tiny LED that changes color to green when the computer is charged.
I also installed a utility that monitors the temperature and can set the fan speed higher (smcFanControl). It tends to run in the 160-180 degrees Fahrenheit, but does respond to increasing fan speed.
Things that impress me positively so far are the speed of start up after putting it to sleep, the built-in web camera and the big screen (1400 x 900 pixels). Text doesn’t seem as sharp as in Vista, which was clear when I connected the external monitor I use with my desktop machine. I think Apple and Microsoft do anti-aliasing differently…I’ll have to see if this is an option or whether I’ll come to prefer what Apple does.
Microsoft Entourage connected easily to the University’s Exchange server and gave me access to my calendar, email, and contacts.
Foldershare is running away in the background, synchronizing my main documents and data between the two computers, and this may be why the Mac is running so hot.
I’m currently installing Parallels, which will let me run some key Windows programs, particularly stat programs that don’t run on Macs and ewallet, the program I use to manage my confidential information.
I bought a bluetooth “mighty mouse” that allows me to have two button mouse control without having to remember to use some modifier key (ctrl, I think). The default isn’t to use right-clicking as right-clicking for some reason, but that was easy to fix.
I installed a program called Quicksilver that’s all the rage. Windows Vista has something very similar built in (hit the Windows key, or click on the round icon in the bottom left, then type in part of a search term, URL, program name, etc.). It seems a little clunkier than the Windows equivalent, but it’s clearly more powerful and extensible.
The computer came with a program called Omnioutliner, which I upgraded to the pro version. It looks quite useful, and is also needed for a program kGTD that I’ve heard good things about.
So far this is noticeably less painful than the move when I gave up on Macs and moved to Windows NT, although it will take a while before I feel comfortable with OSX.