I had a Mac around 1986. In terms of bang for your buck, best computer ever. My Dad's office sold out to Gateway and stocked the office with PC's (486's) We ended up with a Mac and a PC at home since my Dad needed to have access to both platforms. As time went by, he used the PC more, and the Mac less. Once the Mac up and died (c1990), I switched over to the PC. After playing with Windows 3.1 for about 5 minutes, I swore I'd never touch another PC again!!! Yes, compared to the Mac, it was that bad!

I started High School, got a job, got into music, art, etc, etc. I was too busy for computers. Computers caught my attention again around 1995 once the whole internet thing took off. By then, Dad was rockin’ a Win 95 box. I used that for a few years until I bought my own PII in 1998. I had been so far removed from the Mac at that point that I didn’t even consider it as an option. There were no Apple stores, no resellers at the mall. I didn’t know where to even buy one, nor did I know a single soul who even had one.

I got used to Windows, as bad as it was. I had to reboot my PC every day because it would become so unstable that it would just crash. Win NT and ME were on my machine for maybe a day. Yes, that bad.

I had high hopes for Win 2000, and bought it pretty much the day it came out. It was better, but far from the solid state OS that I longed for. Soon I upgraded to a P3, then a P4. I build cutting edge, state of the art machines; kept up with the times. But I found myself constantly fighting the OS to get done what I needed to get done. I continued to fight Windows tooth and nail for a few more years.

I was sick and tired of the lousy OS performance. Despite having awesome hardware Windows would hang and crash daily. An old friend of mine swore by Linux; used nothing else. So I figured I’d give it a shot.

Over the next few years, I switched back and forth between Linux and Windows 2000/XP. I hated Windows with a passion, so with every new Linux release I prayed that it would be the one to replace Windows.

I tried Red Hat 7, then 8, then 9, then Fedora 1, 2, 3. I tried Suse 8, 9, 10. I tried Knoppix, Xandros, and Mandrake. They looked slick and performance was good. But, I couldn’t stand it that every time I went to install an app I had to install package after package, dependency after dependency. This won’t install without that, that won’t install without this. It would take me 2 weeks to trick out the OS so that I could do something as simple as play a DVD or a few mp3s. Print jobs never looked as good with Linux as they did on Windows. I shouldn’t have to spend an hour rewriting my XFree86Config file to get my dual monitors to work! It just seemed that every program was a hack; written by some 14 year old in a basement in Holland. Sorry, I want iTunes for my iPod. I want my browser to play Quicktime and flash without a hack. I want to edit my home movies and make cool DVDs to send to my parents. I want to make my own music. I want a cool WYSIWYG editor to make a web site. I want awesome photo editing. (Sorry, The GIMP is horrible!) Maybe my standards are set too high? Maybe I have unrealistic expectations? Things SHOULD JUST WORK! (See where I’m going?)

Linux is good as a file server, as long as you can figure out SAMBA. As a full fledged desktop OS? Not on your life! I don’t understand how other people swear by it. They must have accepted that their productivity level will be about 10% using Linux. Oh, and running Windows apps with WINE is just not a viable solution.

So Linux is out. While all this tinkering is going on, I’ve had my eye on the Mac. Apple stores are starting to open. CompUSA are stocking their shelves. I’ve heard a few sales pitches from some coworkers. People are talking. I lived at Apple.com. I gawked over the G3 line; marveled at the specs. By now I had moved out of my parents’ house and was paying rent on my own. I couldn’t afford to drop 2 grand on a new computer. “Gotta get a Mac, gotta get a Mac”, I thought to myself. But continued the Windows/Linux struggle due to lack of funds. Soon, the G4 line came out. Aw! Now we’re talking! “Gotta get a Mac, gotta get a Mac.” Still, couldn’t afford it.

The Windows struggle continued. I eBay’d some old PC parts and my Dell laptop. I made enough money to build a new Dual Xeon 64 bit machine. XP64 was better. More stable, but still Windows. The OS X bug had been planted. I’d been to the stores, seen the machines, played around with OS X on the store displays. By now the G5 line was out, and they looked amazing. I’d kill to run OS X! That’s all I wanted: to run OS X! I’d given Windows and Linux the benefit of the doubt for 10 years, but enough was enough. I sold off all my PC “junk” (6 computers and enough parts to open up a small store) and bought a 17” MacBook Pro and 20” Cinema Display. It was the best computer purchase I have ever made.

As far as the WOW factor, nothing in Windows-land comes close. I wish I bought a Mac when OS X first came out. (You know what they say about hind-sight!) It is the best OS I have ever used. I can’t find a single reason for someone not to switch. And with Boot Camp, Parallels and Fusion, there’s no reason not to. If you find yourself in a situation where you need access to Windows or a Windows app, it’s very easy to get ‘er done.

Don’t get me wrong. I hate using Windows and Linux. I’m not one of those self-important elitist platform users that doesn’t accept that there are other OS’s out there. I use Windows at work everyday. I use it at home when I have to. I use Linux for what it’s good for. Just the other week I used a PC and Linux to pimp my Tivo and add a second hard drive.

Using a Mac has been the best computing experience I have ever had. It looks amazing, performance is great. Everything is so easy to do. Plus, the hardware design looks amazing.

Since I switched in June ’06. I have sold my 17” MacBook Pro and 20” Cinema Display. I upgraded to an 8 Core Mac Pro with a 30” Cinema Display and also use a MacBook.

If anyone out there is thinking of switching! Do not hesitate any longer. Take it from a switcher! As soon as you switch, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner! If you can’t afford a new Mac, take a look at eBay. Make it happen! You’ll never regret it!