Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Back in Mac.

From March through November of '08, I did all my computing on old Macs as an experiment: a G4/500 tower as my main machine, a G3/466 iBook for a laptop, and a G3/400 iMac as an iTunes server. The experiment ended when I got tired of the G4 bogging down on web graphics.

As things turned out, it was cheaper to just drag my P4 Wintel box back down from the attic than it was to upgrade the G4 tower, the iBook got largely sidelined in favor of my handy little Eee for mobile use, and the only Mac I still used at all was an eMac I'd picked up to replace the iMac as an iTunes server.

So here we are, on a Mac again for the first time in well over a year. And this one doesn't have that "lived-in" feel, either. The software is just what came already loaded on the machine, with a generic desktop background and not a single icon. The only browser is Safari, which I never used much before, having preferred Camino.

Much like Vincent told Jules, it's the little differences that are weird ("You know what Mac users call a cheeseburger?" asks Bobbi.) A half-dozen times this morning, I've unconsciously gone to check the time by sliding my mouse pointer to the bottom right-hand corner of the screen in order to make my hidden menu bar pop up, only to stare stupidly for a second or two before realizing that, duh, the clock on the Mac is in the top right corner...

14 comments:

Joel said...

I know just where you are. I'm using a "new" laptop loaded with Linux Mint, after using Windows exclusively for the entire history of Windows. It's as easy as Windows to use, all the big important things work fine, but the little changes bring me to a complete stop. The filing system - it's going to take a year before I don't have to stop and remember how to find and get into a folder.

2yellowdogs said...

Welcome back to the bright side. I hear the Eee is a nice little thingy to have. Wish Mac would make one (the electronic tampon doesn't look like a solution for me).

Anyway, happy Macputing.

Homer said...

Well, having been eyebrow-deep in bits 'n' bytes for a few decades now, I occasionally have to remind myself just how much these magic boxes do.

Sometimes, when I'm wrestling with "why the $!@& doesn't this work" issues I need reminding just how fortunate we are, but for the most part I'm totally impressed by the intertubes and the magic boxes attached to it. Mostly by the people using the magic boxes, but the hardware counts for something, too.

If you feel compelled to part with something to get a new PS, please let us know. My budget didn't allow pursuing the LH610 but I really, really, really like the 625.

Turk Turon said...

What do Linux users call a Wintel?

An Eniac with cheese.

AnarchAngel said...

I jump back and forth so much during the day, I just modify all my desktops to look roughly the same.

My primary work laptop is on XP (by work requirement), my primary desktop is a hackintosh on Snow Leopard, my primary personal laptop is on windows and my netbook (my personal laptop is an 18.4" that weighs 12lbs. Don't like hauling it around much) are on Windows 7; and I have a couple linux boxes that run websites, and various tools for me.

For those that I actually run desktop sessions on, I just theme them so they all work as similarly as possible.

I still find myself doing mac things the PC way or vice verse sometimes.

At least with Linux, I can make it behave however I want.

Popgun said...

I stuck with Windows from DOS 2.2 through XP, then switched to Mac OS X about three years ago. Best move I ever made. I still use Win 7 in a virtual machine (Parallels) on the Mac; but only if I have to.

As always, personal preference. But I bet moving to the Mac lowered my blood pressure...

-Popgun

Anonymous said...

I get the same feeling swapping between win7 and Ubuntu all the time, but both run Firefox and Thunderbird, and those are the two that I really need to see on both.

Jim

AnarchAngel said...

Jim,

indeed. Firefox, xmarks, tabmix plus, and a bunch of webapps; and that's my daily desktop use for OS non specific tools.

Tam said...

Right now I'm debating whether I should bother downloading Firefox for this machine or not. If I'm only going to use it for the next 24 or 48 hours, it's not a big deal, but if I'm going to give up Wintel for Lent, then Safari has got to go.

Gewehr98 said...

Thinking about picking up a Dual PowerMac G5 tower to replace my toasted Dual PowerMac G4 soon. Quark Express for the PC messes with the fonts something fierce compared to Quark Express for the Mac.

Anonymous said...

My problem is I have to use a Blackberry quite a bit now at work> Email with my thumbs> I get on a computer< (Window or Mac) and habitually hit the shift key for commas and periods>

Ross said...

OK, I'll be the straight man: what DO Mac users call a cheeseburger?

Word verification: catub. Sounds like something you use to give a cat a bath. (along with a full suit of armor, of course!)

ASM826 said...

Much like Vincent told Jules, "You know what Mac users call a cheeseburger?"

"They can't call it a cheeseburger, they call it an iMeat with cheese."

ASM826 said...

Thanks Ross, what a great setup. Low and over the outside corner. I was swinging for the fence.