Thoughts on the Mac after a week...
Well, it's been a full week since I first took delivery of my MacBook Pro and as I promised, I thought I'd share my thoughts on it.
First off, let me say that I've never been so please with a home computer purchase. The MacBook Pro and OS X totally live up to my expectations, especially now that I've learned all the basics and keyboard shortcuts. That said, I'll go into detail on both the good and the bad now that I've had some time to digest everything.
Since the bad is so insignificant, I'll start with that. On the hardware side, the MacBook Pro is a very cosmetically pleasing design. Weight is comparable to my ultra-portable Inspiron 700m (with the extended life battery), while still affording a huge screen. But my biggest qualm from a hardware standpoint is the lack of indicator and status lights. I didn't notice it at first, but there is a "sleep" indicator on the front of the machine. Other than that, there's no power-on indicator, hard disk activity light or link lights for the Ethernet card. All of these are critical for any machine - you may think a power light is insignificant, but you won't feel that way if your display ever goes bad. It's also handy to know when your disk is active, this can be worked around with software, but I'd rather have a light. The omission of link light indicators is simply inexcusable for a "professional-class" notebook like the Pro series is supposed to be. Try troubleshooting a network connectivity problem in a corporate setting without them - it's a real PITA. This seems to be a trend among some manufacturers and I wish they'd quit. I also hate the relatively sharp edge that your palms/wrists tend to rest on when you're using the touchpad and sometimes when typing. Had they tapered this edge a bit, the machine would be a lot more comfortable to type on.
On the software side, my biggest gripes as just two – Spotlight needs an “advanced” mode that will query every single file on the disk, rather than just do a basic desktop search (i.e. Search the index it generates). It's amazing how fast it produces results, but one may be fooled into thinking those results are comprehensive, they are not – in most cases, Spotlight neglects any files stored in System folders or operating system files that are hidden. In my honest opinion, not having a file search utility that is capable of dredging the entire disk is a major oversight and needs attention. At least give the results listing an “advanced” or “search for more” option. My other niggle is with the way OS X handles print drivers – or better stated, completely neglects print drivers and ports. Apple includes CUPS drivers that are carried over from the *NIX operating systems, but leaves entirely too much of the functionality to the drivers. IMO, Windows handles print drivers/connectivity much better. If you're lucky enough to find a driver from your printer's manufacturer that allows for non-standard interfaces (i.e. External print servers), you'll likely never notice the difference, but if not, you're stuck using the CUPS drivers – and if one isn't included for your printer, you're pretty much SOL. Again, there's workarounds and if you're just going to use a USB or IEEE-1284 interface, it's not a big deal. To be fair, Apple does offer the AirPort Extreme with a USB to network interface that might have worked in my situation, but I have no other compelling reason to switch wireless routers and this would be a waste of money for what is not a “must have”. Even still, I hope that Apple addresses the printer port handling APIs in a future release. This will eventually bite them – particularly in the corporate world, if they ever do make significant in-roads into that market.
But none of those things are show-stoppers, in fact, the good aspects of the design and the software FAR outweigh the negative aspects. Of course, every machine has its ergonomic quirks and getting used to them is very similar to getting used to a new car - it's just different and you have to give it time, eventually, it grows on you.
OS X is a dream to use compared to Windows. Those of you that are considering switching because you're bothered by Windows would be remiss not to give it serious thought. Although you can still run Windows apps via VM or Bootcamp, I haven't encountered a Windows app that I miss. It took me awhile to find something that checks Webmail accounts, but I found FreePOPs and in many respects, I like it better than POPpeeper on Windows. What OS X really has going for it is its user interface. It's quick, it's not bloated and it's rock-solid stable. True to the marketing, this machine “just works”. Although I've run into a few situations where I needed to troubleshoot an OS problem, most of these were simply due to my inexperience with the OS. Truely, Apple did a lot of things right with OS X and it deserves all the praise that the industry has heaped upon it.
Everytime I sit down in front of my MacBook Pro, I just feel giddy. I feel like I have a super-computer on my lap – that's how much more responsive it is than even a high-end Windows machine. And as the days go by, and I learn the shortcuts and features I've missed, I feel even more excited about it. Just about every goal and expectation I had going over to Mac has been met and I feel enthusiastic about computing once again. There's just something about OS X that is addicting and I find myself just toying around with applications just for the sake of having more keyboard time.
EDIT: Two other points I meant to cover here - I love the iSight camera. This is one of those things I never thought I'd value until I actually started using it. It's so sweet to be able to snap a quick picture for a project without having to dig out the digital camera. I haven't used it for video conferencing yet, but it's a compelling feature that I can't wait to try. I also love the illuminated keyboard and function keys that always work how they should (<sarcasm>unlike on Windows keyboards where they only work when the moon is in the right position in the sky on the third Sunday of the month</sarcasm>). Oh, and did I mention the boot time? This thing only takes 15 seconds to go from powered on, to FULLY booted up and ready to use. I somehow doubt that even with the new caching features in Vista that take advantage of on-board flash on the hard disk, it will ever be able to match the Mac. It's truly AMAZING.
I've thought about it long and hard, but I can't put into words how truly wonderful these machines are. The accompanying applications are refined and well-made. The user interface has a fluidness and integration that is simply not found elsewhere. To sum it up, despite it's few deficiencies, I couldn't be much happier with my decision.
My thanks go out to those of you that have helped me along the way. I wouldn't call myself an “expert” by any means, but I've learned enough to be proficient in just this short time and that is very telling of the overall greatness of OS X.
