Stephen Yeargin

Thinking Different

This purchase actually happened back in late January, but I've spent the last few weeks getting to know my newest desk mate. The mini replaces my aging Compaq EVO (2001), which has had a cooling system problem since I brought it home from my former employer. If you get it rolling, the thing sounds like a freight train.

Now that I've had a bit of time to get acquainted with the mini (No, I'm not breaking proper noun rules, "mini" is its official name), I have some advice to offer anyone thinking about making the switch.

1) The Backup Process is Time Consuming -- I've blown away and rebuilt my PCs at least two dozen times over the course of my 10-plus years owning one. Moving files to a different platform is a different story entirely. My Outlook inbox can't be opened by it's Mac counterpart (despite both being Microsoft products). Same goes for my contacts. I opted to forgo using Entourage, and start my mail file anew. If I honestly need a 2-year old e-mail, I'll have to come up with a better solution.

Actually moving the files was time consuming using my 4GB iPod mini. I tried a variety of ways to speed up the process, but most of it was done by simply plugging, dragging, unplugging and plugging dragging. Set aside at least an afternoon or two to handle all of the headache. My FireWire cable is being shipped today for any future transfer needs.

2) Mighty Mouse Worth the Investment -- Apple finally solved the "single button dilemma" by offering the Mighty Mouse last year. This two-button mouse with single-button style has made the switch much easier. I use a single-button in Spanish lab, and I'm constantly fumbling around for the scroll ball. Again, one of the amenities that I could not live without.

My only complaint is that my finger on occasion does not make it all the way to the right side of the device, which interprets it as a left click.

3) Brave New World of Applications -- When I first decided to switch, I knew going into it that most (if not all) of my PC applications would begin gathering dust. Firefox is the only program I use regularly that ports to both Windows and Mac OS. Others, like Microsoft and Adobe Creative Suite, have Mac versions that differ greatly from their PC counterparts.

I read about it in MacWorld, and strongly recommend, OpenSourceMac.org. I downloaded Smultron and Cyberduck for my Web design stuff and Adium for my messaging client. The one caveat, as with all open source software, is that bugs will occur, and updates are frequent. Try to stay on top of major updates to the applications (and the entire system, for that matter -- don't ignore the screen that tells you to update your computer).

I switched from MS Money to the Quicken version that came pre-installed on the computer. Quicken is a different animal from Money, which was more Web-like. Quicken depends on a lot of independent windows rather than keeping everything in a neat little box. Importing the data from Money is virtually impossible, so I opted to just download the two most recent statements from my bank instead. I created PDF documents of the the older records for archival sake because converting them for Quicken, proved to be too much of a hassle.

The Mac version of Office 2004 (As an aside, isn't this a little dated by now?) leaves much to be desired. It looks like office, but doesn't feel like office at all. I can't give it much of a recommendation if all you ever use is Word. I've never tried iWork (didn't install the trial version), but I have to wonder if it gives Microsoft a run for its money.

Adobe's CS2 package (the real reason I bought a Mac -- Samantha had a version for her iBook, and I didn't want to spend the extra to get the Windows edition) feels more at home. Design software has historically been made for the Mac, then ported to Windows. I haven't delved too much into InDesign other than to work on my résumé. I opened Photoshop for the first time to tweak the image above, but I haven't messed around with Illustrator. I used Bridge to organize my imported photos.

4) Now What? -- I've had this feeling for a day or two that I'm not being very productive with my new computer. I suppose by any standard, I'm being just as productive as I was with my PC. However, there isn't this great sense of accomplishment just because I have a new computer. Samantha says I just need to wait until a major project comes up -- like my senior portfolio -- and then I'll feel more at home with it. In the mean time, I just keep browsing the Internet and checking my mail every five minutes. The computer itself is yet to crash.