Working Smart

MenuMaster Now Available for Mac Intels

Unsanity has finally released a public beta of Menu Master, one of my all-time favorite utilities, for Mac Intel computers. I have been checking their Website daily since I got my MacBook Pro. It had become so much of my workflow that I found it difficult to get along without it. I installed the program with no problems and it appears to be stable.

Menu Master is a system enhancement that allows you to change or remove menu shortcut keys in any application with a simple press of the key. Pull the menu down, navigate to the menu item you want, and then press a keystroke combination. It is automatically assigned to the menu item and instantly appears on the menu item itself. Don’t like your choice, just press the backspace key and delete it. Very cool and very easy to use.

Menu Master is on my must-have list of Mac software. At $10.00, it’s a steal. Grab a copy and give it a whirl.

Technorati Tags: apple, cool software, macbook pro

MacBook Pro: First Impressions

I have to admit: I'm a certified Mac zealot. I’ve drunk the Kool Aid and nearly shaved my head. I even attended MacWorld this year to pay homage to “The Steve.” I witnessed first-hand his unveiling of the new MacBook Pro (hereafter “MBP”). I oohed and ahed with the thousands of other Mac faithful as he demonstrated the impressive new features and radically improved speed.

I was hooked. I walked out of the Moscone Center and immediately ordered one. Then I waited with anticipation for my new MBP to arrive. I finally received it on Friday, March 10, a few weeks later than Steve had promised in his keynote speech. Oh well, I thought, Apple still delivers products faster than its competitors.

The conversion from my G4 PowerBook was painless. In my past PC life, whenever I bought a new machine, I braced myself for what I knew was going to be a long, painful conversion process. I could usually get my documents copied over with no problems. But then I would reinstall my applications, one at a time (if I could find them), so I could benefit from a clean registry. I would also have to manually find certain drivers and tweak the system. This process usually required a full day for the initial conversion and a week or two of tweaking. As a result, I always had a sense of dread about upgrading.

Not so with the Mac. I have never switched to a new computer so quickly. Apple makes this ridiculously easy. You simply connect the two machines together via Firewire and let the Migration Wizard do its magic. It took about an hour-and-a-half to copy everything to the new machine. But when it was done, I had an exact replica of my old machine. Same applications, same documents, same folder system (even with my custom icons installed), and same startup items. So, I rolled up my sleeves and decided to put the machine through its paces.

First the specs: I bought a 2.0 GHz MBP. I have 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM memory. I have a 100 GB Toshiba hard drive. Everything else is standard.

I have to admit, initially, I was not that impressed. In fact, I was actually disappointed. The machine seemed slightly faster than my PowerBook, but not that much faster. Worse, it was running hot—and I mean really hot! I couldn’t stand to let it sit on my lap, even for a few seconds. Also, it was very warm around the keyboard, so much so that it was uncomfortably warm when I was resting my hands.

However, things seem better today. My guess is that the slowness and some of the heat was the result of Spotlight indexing my system. The system seems much, much faster today. The machine is still warm, but now I hear the fans occasionally kicking in. (They are very quiet. If the air conditioning in my house is on, I can’t hear them at all.) However, I still think it’s warmer than my PowerBook.

I tried to quantify the heat issue by using Temperature Monitor 3.4. However, even though the program is “Universal” (i.e., re compiled to run on the Intel-based Macs), I could not get it to work with MBP. It gave me an error message that it could not find any heat sensors on the machine. So, either the program is not yet compatible or I have a problem with my heat sensors. I’m going to watch this carefully over the next few days. If it continues to be a problem, I am going to send the machine back to Apple.

The good news is that Universal bundled apps are blazingly fast. Safari and iTunes load in about two seconds. Keynote and iPhoto take a few seconds longer, but the load times are still dramatically faster than the PowerBook. They are also very fast to use. Saving a large Keynote file on my PowerBook would normally take several seconds. On the MBP, it only takes a a second or two. This is a major improvement.

Web pages also seem to just “snap” onto the screen. This is, of course, a function of your connection speed, Internet traffic, and the load on the server at the other end of the transaction. But overall, I experienced a noticeable speed improvement. All and all, this makes for a very pleasing user experience.

I have to admit that I was nervous about PowerPC apps (i.e., those not yet re-compliled to run on Intel machines), since they are translated on-the-fly via Apple’s Rosetta technology

I was particularly concerned about how Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop would perform. I am happy to report that they work just fine. Honestly, I can’t tell any difference. I had expected a slow-down, but they seem to run as fast as they did on the PowerBook.

The screen is a little brighter. However, I like the resolution on my wife’s PowerBook—the last model before they announced the MBP—better. Still, it’s an improvement over my last PowerBook.

The built-in iSight camera is also great. I especially like the Photo Booth software. It is an absolute blast. I can’t think how this can be really useful, but it is fun. FrontRow is also a nice app. I actually used it last night with the remote to control my music. This is where Apple really shines—anything having to do with the user interface.

I am going to miss my BookEndz docking stations. These won’t work with the MacBook Pro. Although BookEndz says it is “committed to developing a docking station for the new MacBook Pro,” it’s not available yet. I will just have to get used to plugging in and then unplugging every cord as I move my notebook around.

Also, I have to buy a new collection of power cords. The PowerBook cords cannot be used with the MacBook Pro. Bummer. The MagSafe magnetic connector is pretty cool, but this is offset by the fact that the power supply is larger. This is one place where I wished Apple had just left the system alone. And, to add insult to injury, the power cords seem in short supply. I checked two stores here in Nashville yesterday, and neither had them. By the way, speaking of power, battery life appears to be about the same as my PowerBook.

Am I glad I upgraded? Yes, I think so. I am still concerned about the heat issues. Right now, this is keeping me from raving about the machine. If this problem can be solved, then I will be very glad I took the plunge.

Technorati Tags: apple, mac, macbook pro, switchers, wintel

Sentencing Application Software to Death Row

I download lots of software. If it looks interesting or promises to increase my productivity, I give it a whirl. Sometimes, it is a truly helpful application and becomes part of my regular workflow. Often, it is something I need for a special project and I never use it again.

Unfortunately, after a year of using my Mac—and loving it!—it looks like I have almost 150 apps installed on my PowerBook. This is way too much clutter. I need to simplify my life—and regain some much-needed hard disk space.

So I created a “Death Row” folder. I then moved any program I haven't used in a while to this folder. I plan to sequester the files for the next 30 days. Then I’ll revisit the folder and decide which programs get pardoned (moved back to the Applications folder) and which get annihilated (sent to the Trash bin).

Currently, I have 60 inmates on Death Row. I feel better already!

Technorati Tags: mac, productivity, clutter, workflow

An Example of a Great Presentation

Business presentations are rarely inspiring. More often than not, they are outright boring. This seems to be especially true if the presenter uses PowerPoint. (Ugh.)

That’s why I was particularly impressed with Steve Jobs’ presentation last week announcing the new iPod Video. Even if you don’t have any interest in the product, it is worth watching the QuickTime movie just to see a business presentation done right. Jobs’ slides are especially impressive. Like his company’s products, the slides are simple, uncluttered, and elegant.

I was also impressed by Jobs himself. He was relaxed, articulate, and genuinely enthusiastic. As a result, his message was contagious. I’m sure people left the room buzzing about what they had seen.

Technorati Tags: apple, keynote, mac, powerpoint, steve jobs, speaking

Mac Vs. WinTel: Total Cost of Ownership

Winn Schwartau is a computer security expert. Several months ago, he switched from Windows to a Mac. He documented his experience in a series of 16 articles entitled Mad As Hell. You may not agree with all his conclusions, but it is definitely worth reading.

Today he posted his final conclusions, along with a spreadsheet showing the total cost of ownership for each platform. I think you will be surprised at his results. I was.

Technorati Tags: apple, mac, switchers, windows, wintel

iTunes 5.0: A Fix ... Sort Of

Apple just updated their Knowledge Base in response to the problems many users were experiencing with iTunes 5.0. They have posted (or updated) two articles:

• iPod does not appear in iPod Updater or iTunes in Mac OS X
• iPod doesn’t appear in iTunes or on the Mac desktop (if you are using Windows, they have posted a separate article)

I reported on my problems over the weekend. However, I was able to fix the problem using a variation of the fix outlined in the first article. I am hoping that Apple issues iTunes 5.1 quickly. I don’t think most users will have the patience or the expertise to go through these steps.

Technorati Tags: Apple, iPod, iTunes

Mad As Hell—Switching to Mac

Winn Schwartau runs a computer and Internet security company called The Security Awareness Company (or Interpact, Inc.). Recently, he got fed up with the high cost of maintaining a Windows-based system in today’s computer environment. As a result, he switched his entire company over to Mac. He is documenting his experience in a series of articles called Mad As Hell.

He says,

This is my first rant written on a Mac. Ever. Maybe I should have done it a long time ago, but I never said I was smart; just obstinate.

Here’s the deal. “I’m Mad! And I’m not going to take it anymore.” Of course I am talking about the WinTel world. Before anyone in Redmond or Inteland freak out… well maybe you should. I have had it...

Things used to work.

And this is exactly why I am coming to subscribe to the view that indeed, the WinTel hegemony is a threat to the national economic security of any organization or nation-state that relies up it...

I am coming to the belief that there is a much easier, more secure way to use computers. Since I have spent several years focusing my security work on Ma, Pa & The Corporate Clueless, I have also come to the conclusion that if I and my kind (reasonably fluent) are having such problems, what about the other 98% of humanity who merely want a computer for e-mail and multi-media?

This is well worth a read, especially if you are considering making the switch. Make sure you read all the comments.

What Was That Keyboard Shortcut?

I hate using my computer’s mouse. Every time I have to take my hand off the keyboard to reach for it, I suffer a slight decline in productivity. That’s why I try to memorize every keyboard shortcut I can. It just makes me more productive.

Up until now, this has required an up-front investment in learning each program’s shortcut keys. However, I recently stumbled across a program called KeyCue. Unfortunately, for you Windows users, this only works with the Mac.

Here’s how it works: From within any program you press the Apple key (i.e., ⌘) and hold it down for a user-defined amount of time. (I have it set to one second.) Immediately, a screen pops up, showing all the keyboard shortcuts for the current application. This is an amazing way to learn shortcuts and is only a keystroke a way. I find myself using it all the time. It’s not free, but at $14.99, it’s a bargain. (Thanks to Todd correcting me on the price in the comments below.) I highly recommend it. I guarantee it will make your more productive.

Why I Ditched My Tablet PC

Several people have posted comments, asking why I ditched my Tablet PC a couple of months ago. They were particularly interested since last June I purchased a tablet and enthusiastically endorsed it. In addition to the comments, several people emailed me about my experience. So, I have decided to address the issue publicly and put it to rest.

First, I am never fully satisfied with my current tools, whatever they are. I have a high need for variety and thrive on change. Initially, I tend to be enthusiastic and hopeful. Then the gadget loses its fascination and I resume my quest for “the holy technology grail.” So, you have to keep this in mind when you read my blog. Consider yourself warned.

Second, the tablet technology was more conspicuous that I had hoped. I am basically an introvert. (I know, that is hard for some people to believe. However, I have the psych tests to prove it!) I don't like a lot of attention. Every time I pulled out my tablet in a meeting, the new people in the room would “oh and ah” and start pummeling me with questions. (Admitedly, this may not be your experience. As the President of my company, I sometimes think that people feel obligated to take an interest in me. Regardless, it was more attention that I wanted.)

Third, I didn’t feel the tablet features were an improvement over traditional note-taking. Yes, I realize you can search your notes with blinding speed using almost any of the major note-taking applications. I tried Microsoft Journal, OneNote, GoBinder, and EverNote. However, I found that I rarely refer back to my notes. Instead, I take notes to focus my attention and organize my thoughts. I derive most of the value of taking notes while I am in the meeting itself. If there are items that need further attention or follow-up, I flag them. After the meeting, I enter those in Entourage. For those few times when I need to refer back to my notes, I can flip through my notebook pretty quickly. Could I do it faster on a tablet? Probably. But, for me, I found the convenience was offset by the investment of time and energy. Your mileage may vary.

Fourth, I just got frustrated with the Windows operating system. This is the crux of the matter. Ditching my tablet was not so much about the tablet as it was the operating system. I just got tired of fighting with Windows. I switched to the Mac. Previously, I wrote:

The best part of the Mac experience so far is that the technology simply works. I have yet to experience software conflicts, viruses and spyware infections, and endless tinkering and tweaking. Installing a printer, an Apple Airport Express, or some other peripheral is easy and painless. The bottom line is that I am simply spending more time getting real work done. And that’s what I was hoping for by making the switch.

Now, six weeks later, this is still my experience.

My intention here is not to disrespect the tablet or start a debate. I realize, my situation is unique. Perhaps even my experience was unique. Certainly you can find plenty of tablet enthusiasts on the Web. Many of them I count as friends. The tablet works for them, and I'm not arguing that they switch.

Technology is a highly personal thing. You need to find what works for you. After months of use, I found the tablet did not meet my needs. I may feel the same way about the Mac in six months, but, for right now, the Mac is still a joy to use and continues to exceed my expectations.

iPhoto—Almost Perfect

I don't pretend to be a great photographer. I know just enough to be dangerous. However, I really enjoy manipulating the images and creating slide shows for my family. It's amazing what you can do with today's digital cameras and image editing software.

When I was still on my PC, I was using Adobe Photoshop Elements and loving it. I have never used a piece of software that so elegantly balanced power and ease-of-use. I could do just about anything I wanted. However, when I switched to the Mac, I decided to give iPhoto a whirl.

No doubt about it, you can do some very cool things with iPhoto. It is a great album organizer. It is also a wonderful tool for sharing your photos. For example, emailing photos to friends is a snap. I simply select the photos, select Share | Email and the program opens a new mail window in Entourage with all the photos attached. (You can specify your default email program.)

Last night, I wanted to upload some photos of my new two-week year old granddaughter to a Website where my family and friends could enjoy them. I opened a trial membership to .mac (pronounced “dot-mac”), selected the pictures I wanted to upload, chose a “theme” for the Web page, and clicked “Publish.” The whole process took less than 15 minutes.

As satisfying as this experience was, I am not equally happy with the image editing functions of iPhoto. The red eye tool, for example, is very weak—virtually useless. You have very little control over it. You cannot identify the area you want to change other than by clicking in the center of the subject's pupil. The program then decides what to do with the red color. If the color is orange or less than really red, the tool doesn't work. You're simply out of luck.

At first I thought it was just a particular picture. But I had nearly the same experience with every picture I tried. By contrast, I emailed a few of the photos to my wife's computer. She pulled them into Photoshop Elements for Windows and neutralized the subject's red eye with two clicks. This worked with every picture. (The worst part is that she winked at me and said, “Maybe you should switch back to a PC!”) I spent the next hour reading the iPhoto help file pertaining to red eye. I also visited the Apple iPhoto discussion group. Evidently, I wasn't the only one experiencing this problem. Bummer.

So this morning before work I downloaded the trial version of Adobe Photoshop Elements for the Mac and iView Media Pro. The latter looks particularly interesting. However, I don't know if either of them make sharing pictures as easy as iPhoto (especially in terms of emailing photos or uploading to .mac). Another option is to continue to use iPhoto for organizing and sharing and use an external image editor like Elements for image editing. Fortunately, iPhoto provides a way to use an external editor.

If there are other options I should consider, please let me know.

I Finally Took the Plunge

I am now officially a Mac PowerBook user. I bought one of the new 15“ models, which has 40% more screen space than the more compact 12” model. It also has a faster processor (1.67 GHz), bigger hard drive (80 GB), faster FireWire port (800 Mb/sec), a SuperDrive (CD-RW, DVD-RW), s-video port (for playing DVDs on a TV or external monitor), and 1 GB of RAM.

I’m finally getting used to the keyboard, which was the first hurdle. This is always a challenge with a new computer. However, it was particularly tough with the Mac, probably because I have been using PCs for two decades. The PC keyboard had become an extension of my brain. I had to re-map my neurological circuitry and that was more difficult than I anticipated.

First, I had had to learn the difference between the Command, Option, Ctrl, and Fn shift keys. The functionality is not exactly parallel to the PC. In addition, there’s a Backspace key (called “Delete” on the Mac) but no “Del” key like on the PC. I eventually learned you can get the same action by pressing Option-Delete. You can also delete the word to the left of the cursor by clicking Shift-Option-Delete. Confused? So was I. But, it’s beginning to feel more natural all the time.

The next challenge was porting my workflow. I had to either buy and learn the Mac version of familiar programs or find new programs to replace those that didn't have a Mac version. Microsoft Office was an easy switch. I had to learn a few new keyboard shortcuts (e.g., Ctrl-U to edit an Excel cell instead of F2), but other than that, the functionality is basically the same. In fact, if anything, the Office 2004 on the Mac is more advanced on the Mac. The Project Center is particularly cool. It allows me to view on one screen all the appointments, tasks, e-mail messages, documents, and notes related to a specific project. This alone would almost be reason enough to make the switch. It is also available across the full suite of Microsoft Office applications.

Entourage is the Mac version of Outlook—sort of. It seamlessly integrates with our corporate Exchange Server. My assistant is using a PC, and she can still interact with me in the same way, including monitoring my e-mail messages, replying on my behalf, and manipulating my calendar.

Entourage does most of the things Outlook does, along with a few things Outlook doesn’t do. For example, you can’t access Outlook’s Out of Office Assistant (you can work around this by using Microsoft Outlook Web Access), but you can tag items with a virtually unlimited number of categories and/or projects. I also like the fact that you can add functionality using AppleScripts, though I no longer have access to Outlook Add-Ins like David Allen’s GTD add-in.

The thing I have enjoyed the most in this experience is discovering entirely new applications that have no real equivalent in the PC world. There are numerous examples of this, but the most notable is QuickSilver. Where do I start? It’s kind of like ActiveWords on the PC but without the need to assign words to actions.

You can invoke QuickSilver from any application using an assigned hot key. You then begin typing a search, hit the tab key, and then determine an appropriate action. For example, I press Option-Command-Space, start typing “George Bush”, press the tab key, select e-mail, and—bam!—I am staring at a new e-mail message addressed to George. However, this description doesn’t really do it justice, because the program “learns from me” the more I use it. Each time it takes fewer keystrokes. This is truly a program you have to try to appreciate.

The best part of the Mac experience so far is that the technology simply works. I have yet to experience software conflicts, viruses and spyware infections, and endless tinkering and tweaking. Installing a printer, an Apple Airport Express, or some other peripheral is easy and painless. The bottom line is that I am simply spending more time getting real work done. And that’s what I was hoping for by making the switch.

I Miss My Windows Accelerator Keys

Much has transpired since my last post. I am sitting on a plane tapping out this blog entry on a PowerBook G4. I’ve only had it since last Friday and this is my first trip on the road with it. It feels a little risky since I left my Toshiba M205 at home. Hopefully, I have everything I need. We’ll see.

For the last five days, I’ve been working on both machines. At work, I tend to revert to the familiar PC platform. At home, I use the Mac, because I have more time to experiment and less pressure to be productive. So far, I’m really enjoying the experience. Getting the Mac setup has been easier than I anticipated.

For starters, I love the look and feel of the PowerBook. It has a great keyboard and an elegant design. In fact, the “wow” factor has kept me from taking it to meetings. I think it would simply be too distracting. (That’s kind of a back-handed compliment to the Apple design team.) However, I do have one complaint: I miss my Windows keyboard accelerator keys.

I hate using the mouse, and especially a touchpad, so this is a major annoyance. There doesn’t appear to be any simple way to pull down the File menu without using a mouse. Instead, I have to take my hands off the keyboard, mouse up to the menu bar, and then click on the File menu.

That doesn’t sound like such a big deal until you compare it to the Windows keyboard equivalent: Alt-F. Thats it. Essentially, a single keystroke. Over, the course of a day, I do this dozens of times, so there is some loss of productivity. Perhaps it is offset by other Mac interface improvements; I don’t know. But for now, it’s still annoying.

Of course, I can buy QuicKeys 3.0 for the Mac. I’m using a trial version now. This is basically a macro editor and processor for the Mac environment. (In fact, there’s even a Windows version.) However, the price is steep—$99.95. And while I have created some pretty cool shortcuts, I have yet to find a way to simply pull down a menu and leave it on the screen while I manually make my menu selection. If anyone knows how to program this in QuicKeys—or any other program—please me know.

On the positive side, Mac OS X, and most of the applications I’m running, make liberal use of shortcut keys. And, using QuicKeys, I can create shortcuts for those that don’t have them assigned. So you could argue that I can by-pass the menus most of the time any way, so the accelerator keys issue is moot. We’ll see. First, I have to get more familiar with the interface. I feel like I’m learning to type all over again.

Memo to Windows Marketing Department

I’ve been a die-hard Windows user since version 3.0 was released in 1990. I have never really considered switching to Mac—until now. I’m still not sure I will ultimately make the switch, but I am giving it serious consideration. In fact, I’m writing this memo to you on a PowerBook G4.

It occurred to me yesterday that the names and code names of Mac and Windows operating systems say something about the brands, something perhaps more revealing than either you or your counterparts at Apple intended.

As you probably know, the current version of Mac OS X is called “Panther.” The previous one was called “Jaguar.” The upcoming one is named “Tiger.” Interesting. All of these words connote speed, strength, and beauty. These felines represent a sort of engineering miracle—the best that nature has to offer. This is yet another example of Apple’s brilliant branding strategy.

On the other hand, you gave Windows XP the code name of “Whistler.” The first thing that came to my mind when I heard this was Whistler’s Mother, a painting by James Abbot McNeill. It’s a profile of an old lady, staring straight ahead, oblivious to the viewer. Was this association intentional? Is there a link between this image and Microsoft’s product strategy.

The second thing that comes to mind is an experience I recently had on an airplane with a guy who wouldn’t stop whistling. It was downright annoying. Whenever he would start, I would turn around and stare, hoping he would get the message. He didn’t. This image, too, is pregnant with meaning, particularly when it comes to the current state of Windows. I am constantly facing one annoyance or another: viruses, spyware, and configuration issues galore.

I understand that the code name for the next version of Windows is “Longhorn.” Note: this is not an improvement over “Whistler.” All I can say is that they must not have longhorns in Redmond. I went to high school and college in Texas where longhorns were a regular feature of the landscape.

Let’s start with the fact that a longhorn is a cow. Is that really the image you want people to connect with the newest version of Windows? What were you guys thinking!

But that’s not all. A longhorn has one distinctive feature that separates it from all other cattle—its long horns. On a Web page called Longhorn Country, the author, a longhorn expert, writes:

There was probably no meaner creature in Texas than a Longhorn bull. The slightest provocation would turn him into an aggressive and dangerous enemy. The bull’s horns usually measured six feet or less from tip-to-tip, but could measure over eight feet long. In addition, the sharpness of horns of any length, the speed and muscle power of the bull, and the ease with which he could be aroused and enraged, made him a dangerous and uncontrollable animal.

Sadly, some would say that this aptly describes what Windows has become. A bloated cow that, when provoked, can become “dangerous and uncontrollable.”

I’m sure that you disagree with this assessment. But why, for the love of Pete, would you reinforce this image by picking two such pitiful images—a Whistler and a Longhorn—to associate with your flagship product. This just isn’t bad branding; it’s competitive suicide. If reality bears any resemblance to the image, I’ll take Apple’s over yours.

Mac Progress

Good news on the Mac OS X upgrade. Yesterday morning, I called Mary and asked permission to upgrade her Mac OS from “Jaguar” to “Panther.” She was, of course, delighted. I told her that I would also upgrade Microsoft Office from version X to 2004.

I headed to my local CompUSA store where I had bought the computer. I went to the Apple section of the store where I met Mark, who is actually an Apple employee—an “Apple Solutions Consultant.” I explained that I had bought the PowerBook in August and wanted to upgrade the OS to “Panther.” He couldn’t believe that CompUSA sold me the machine without Panther. “It’s been shipping for over 18 months,” he said. “If you bring in the machine, I’ll upgrade it for free,” he promised.

Before I headed home, I went to visit my friend, Joel, who is a bi-platform user. He has several Macs, including a couple of really high-end ones for video and audio production, a PowerBook 15", and a couple of PCs. He showed me several things, including how he was trying to manage his GTD workflow with Entourage 2004. Once again, I was impressed with the possibilities on the Mac. The Entourage 2004 Project Center is a quantum leap ahead of anything possible in Outlook 2003 on the PC. It allows you to group calendar items, tasks, documents, e-mail messages, and notes by project. I think it has real possibilities for my own workflow.

I then went back to the house, picked up Mary’s PowerBook, along my daughter Madeline, and headed back to CompUSA. Mark was out to lunch, but I explained my situation to Fred, a CompUSA employee who was working with Mark in the Apple section. He verified that I indeed had Jaguar installed and proceeded with my free upgrade. It took about 45 minutes but went without a hitch. Wow! What a difference between the two operating systems!

Thankfully, I didn’t have to pay the $129 for the upgrade, but I think it would have been worth it. I did, however, buy a copy of Office 2004, Student and Teacher Edition. Surprisingly, the package included three installs of the software. (I have since learned that Apple also offers “Family Packs,” which give you up to five installs for very little extra. For example, iLife 05 is $79.00. The Family Pack is only $99.00. The Windows world could learn something from this pricing strategy.)

While I was waiting for my OS upgrade to finish, Madeline and I looked at all the cool Mac hardware and software. I also picked Fred’s brain about the difference between the PowerBook and the iBook. I’ve tentatively come to the conclusion that iBooks are sufficient for my wife and daughters if I decide to switch the whole family to Mac. (I’m not quite there yet.) Depending on the configuration, they are about 50-65% of the cost of the equivalent PowerBook. Madeline doesn’t care one way or the other; she just wants a Mac—now!

When I got home, I installed Office 2004. Once again, the installation went flawlessly. I was able to get Entourage working with my GMail account. Piece of cake. I even tried to use Internet Connect to set up a remote connection (via VPN) to our company’s Exchange Server. That wasn’t quite so easy. I had the correct IP address, my log-in name and password, but I couldn’t get it to work. But, in fairness, I tried to set up a new connection on my Windows PC and couldn’t get it to work either. I must be missing a setting somewhere. Oh well, I’ll let my IT guys configure this when I get my own PowerBook, hopefully, later this week. If I can get this to work, then I may completely switch to the Mac. If not, then I’ll have to be satisfied with using two platforms.

By the way, I am using the Mac to write this blog entry. I am using ecto, a blogging software client that is available for both Windows and Mac. My only complaint is that, unlike BlogJet for Windows, I can’t automatically insert typographic characters (e.g., curly quotes, em dashes, real apostrophes, etc.) I did a search on the Web, but couldn’t find anything other than ecto that will work with TypePad. If you know of something, let me know. Otherwise, it will probably be easier to write my entries in Word and then copy and paste to ecto—something I used to do in Windows before BlogJet was released. This may be a case where Windows has Mac beat. I hope not.

Mac Field Test: Setback

Since my last blog entry, my IT department confirmed that they had ordered me a PowerBook G4 demo unit from our distributor. It’s supposed to ship on Monday. Nevertheless, my daughter Mary has loaned me her G4 for the weekend, since she is in Chicago with a friend. I thought I’d dive into her machine and blog about my first impressions.

The first thing I noticed, of course, is the machine itself. It is so elegant. I love the sleek, thin profile and the way everything is engineered. I also love having all the ports on the left-hand side of the machine. This sounds trivial, but it’s easier to get to the ports this way, especially on a laptop. (My Toshiba M205, by contrast, has some in the back, some on the left side, and some on the front.) Just for the record, this is the 12” screen model. It has a 1.0 GHz processor, ComboDrive, 256MB of RAM, and a 40GB (actually 37.25 GB) hard drive. Only 10GB is currently in use.

I’m a little surprised by the weight. I expected it to be lighter. It has about the same profile as my Toshiba but weighs slightly more. (This is completely subjective. I didn’t look up the specs.)

I started by creating a user account for myself. I didn’t want to mess up Mary’s settings; I know how I would hate that if someone borrowed my machine. This process was pretty straight-forward.

After I logged in, I noticed was that I didn’t have Internet access. (I have Bellsouth DSL at the house with a LinkSys wireless router. I knew I had set Mary up on network previously, so I was puzzled.) I clicked on the AirPort icon. Sure enough, our network was listed. I clicked on it and was asked for my password. Evidently, the password was not transferred to the new user account when I created it.

Next, I had to locate the WEP encryption key and enter it. It didn’t work. Then I remembered from the first time I set this up that the Mac required that I enter some kind of control character before the password. Thank God for Google Groups! I was able to find the solution after about 10 minutes of searching. It turns out that if you are entering a Hex password, you have to preface it with the dollar sign (i.e., “$”). I entered this, along with the key, and was instantly connected. Cool. A small victory.

Next, I set my preferences. I clicked on the “System Preferences” application and begin working through the categories. I began to notice that the user-interface didn’t seem quite as cool as what I’d seen in some of the demos. Hmm, I thought. Maybe this is a system preference of some sort. I kept looking around and couldn’t find anything. I pressed F9. Nothing happened. I had learned that this function key invokes Exposé, a feature of Mac OS X Panther. It “gives you instant access any open window with a single keystroke.” I pressed the F9 key again. Still nothing.

Okay, maybe I don’t have the latest OS. I went to “About This Mac” and looked. Rats! This is version 10.2.8. I knew that Panther was 10.3. No problem, I thought, this is just a minor version upgrade. I can probably download it and install it in a few minutes. No such luck.

After about 45 minutes of scouring the Web, I discover that this is considered a major upgrade and I have to pay $129 retail for it. (I subsequently found it on PriceGrabber for $85.) Wow. This was a bit of a reality check.

The way the versions are numbered, you would think this is a minor upgrade. However, all the ad copy suggests it’s a major upgrade with “over 150 new features.” I also remembered that Steve Jobs had demo-ed Mac OS X Tiger (the next upgrade beyond Panther) at MacWorld, so I’m now faced my first decision: Do I upgrade Mary’s computer to Panther now or wait until Tiger is released—whenever that is. Frankly, if I could have downloaded Panther off the Internet, I probably would have bought it. But since I have to buy a boxed version, I procrastinated. (Note to Apple Marketing Department: how may upgrade sales are you losing because the software is not available for instant download.)

So far, this is a little frustrating. I downloaded SP2 for Windows XP when it became available. It didn’t cost me a thing and brought major new functionality to my Tablet PC. Does Apple really need to charge for an OS upgrade? Are the features really that much better? Oh well, I will try to keep an open mind and continue exploring. I have to remember: I’m now on the “Mac planet.” Things appear similar, but it’s a different world.

After this, I decided to set aside the Mac and then re-visit my decision on upgrading the OS tomorrow. Knowing me, I’ll probably do it. However, it’s been a long week and I’m tired.

Mac Questions

This has been an intense week for meetings, so I have not had time to pursue much outside of work. Nevertheless, I have continued to contemplate the switch from Windows to Mac. I still have a lot of unanswered questions. I’m not ready to make the switch yet, but I am moving closer.

My daughter, Mary, is the lone Mac user in my family. She’s going to visit a friend for the weekend, so I asked if I could borrow her PowerBook G4 while she’s gone. She agreed, so I’m looking forward to spending a couple of days putting it through it’s paces. By the end of the weekend, I should have a pretty good feel for what I can and can’t do.

Here’s my laundry list of unanswered Mac questions:

• Is the user-interface as intuitive as the Mac zealots claim?
  
  
• Are there plenty of keyboard shortcuts? (I don’t like using a mouse more than I absolutely have to.)
  
  
• Does the Mac have the equivalent of a “context menu” (right mouse button)?
  
  
• How can I implement GTD on a Mac? (Yes, I know about 43 Folders.)
  
  
• Is the mind mapping software on the Mac as cool as MindManager? (I’m spoiled. I hardly write an article or give a speech any more without first mapping it. NovaMind looks promising, but I know there are others.)
  
  
• Can I get the VPN to work with our corporate server?
  
  
• Can I use my Word templates on the Mac?
  
  
• If I use a Mac at Work, and my assistant uses a PC, can she still access my e-mail, calendar, and contacts from Outlook? (I will be using Microsoft Entourage.) This is probably a deal-breaker.
  
  
• How well does Virtual PC work on the Mac? I have heard conflicting reports. Some users say it is very slow. Others say that with enough RAM this is a non-issue.

If you know the answers to the above questions or can point me in the right direction, I’d be grateful for the assistance. In the meantime, I plan to blog on my experiences over the weekend. Stay tuned.

Mac Quest: Contemplating the Switch

Okay, this is getting serious. It’s starting to feel like a religious experience. One Mac user wrote to me privately and told me he was “praying for my conversion.” I’ve had more comments on my Mac Envy post that anything I have written previously. You may disagree with the Macophiles, but you have to respect their passion. You sure don’t find much of this in the PC community.

Instead, almost everyone I know complains about their PC. This past weekend, I spent a couple of hours providing tech support for my family’s four PCs. One daughter needed a printer driver installed. Another was sure she had a virus. My wife wanted to install some anti-spyware software, but the installation program was asking all kinds of techie questions she didn’t understand.

It suddenly dawned on me: Mary, my lone Mac daughter, has never asked for my help! I was so stunned by this revelation, I called her on the phone to verify it. “That’s right, Dad. I just don’t ever have any problems.” No crashes. No pop-ups. No viruses. Just a computer that works! (Note to self: if I want to be more productive, why am I wasting so much time on a platform that constantly crashes. I had to reboot three times today alone. Every time, I lost 10–15 minutes in rebooting and trying to get back to where I was before the crash. Something’s wrong with this picture!)

Back to my quest … I spent a few minutes at lunch surfing some Mac software sites. On my way home from work, I stopped by CompUSA and played around with a PowerBook G4 with a 15” screen. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the 12” screen. Because I travel so much, I think I really want the smaller unit—assuming I decide to buy a Mac. (I know, it looks inevitable. I’m already in “the tractor pull of the Mother Ship.”)

When I got home, I stopped by Apple’s Web site and noticed an interesting menu option: Switch. Just as I suspected, it was a page targeted toward people who are considering switching from a PC to a Mac—people like me.

This is brilliant marketing and some very compelling information:

• Why switch to a Mac?
• Questions about switching
• Hear from people who’ve switched

I also noticed that they sell Move2Mac, a program that allows you to move all your PC files to your new Mac environment. Cool. One more barrier down. My family is already betting on how long I can hold out. I’m afraid the odds are not in my favor.

One final note: I also e-mailed Rick Proctor, our VP of Information Technology, about Macs in our environment. We have several Mac users on our network. I wanted to know what kind of issues I might face. He replied, “Some of the issues we have had have been around network connectivity. We have yet to find a decent VPN client for the Mac. Mac users cannot connect to our network remotely.” Has anyone else faced this issue and solved it?