Switching to Mac – The Journey Continues
We’re now a mere 54 days away from my birthday/Mac Pro Day, and I’m getting more and more excited.
Over the last month, I’ve gotten so reliant on using my iMac at the office, that when I get home, I’m discouraged having to use Windows. I often press my mouse button down, expecting Expose, and am saddened when that doesn’t happen.
I’ve also begun finding more and more applications for the Mac to perform things I do on the PC. While I’m more comfortable than I was at the time of my last post, I’m still not convinced I can switch to OSX without at least having Parallels installed on my Mac. There are still a few things that I need to do that are PC only.
However, I’ve also found a few new applications that I’m in love with, that are Mac only! I know, right?!
For starters, I think MailPlane is a godsend. Especially since I’ve started converting all my domain mail to Gmail. MailPlane is just like any other mail client, except that it’s like having a bunch of Gmail accounts open at once, for all your different email addresses. No more logging out and logging back in to another account. MailPlane keeps you logged into them all, and gives you a notification when you’ve got a new message. The UI for the app is identical to Gmail itself, and has all the same features (keyboard shortcuts, searching, labeling, etc.) Very handy. Weeding addresses out of my Thunderbird inbox at home has never been more satisfying.
Another app I’m loving is Adium. It’s like any other IM client, but better because it’s Macified. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I much prefer Adium to Digsby (which I use at home.)
I feel like once I get the Mac at home I’m going to want to switch all of my hardware to Mac. Router, keyboard, mouse, external hard drives, etc. It’s not unlikely. Everything would look stellar all white and shiny.
As we get closer and closer to Mac day, I get more and more excited. I can’t wait to make the switch. Once I do, I plan on documenting the things I find that are hard for someone who’s used PCs as long as I have, in hopes that I can help other switchers along the way.