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- Nov 18, 2009
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- Your Mac's Specs
- White MB, Leopard, 2.1 GHz processor, 1 GB RAM, 144 mb integrated VRAM, bluetooth.
Hi, everyone. We all know the usual switch stories from the typical PC to Macintosh convert:
"I heard Macs work better." "Macs look cool." "Macs don't get viruses." Blah blah blah all relatively lame because they show no understanding of the real POWER Macs have and WHY Macs "work better" and "don't get viruses."
I come here as a new member to this forum with a unique story. I started out with a previous laptop running Windows Vista. This was cool at first: it looked cool and promised numerous improvements over the very successful and user-friendly (just beginning to get a bit outdated, but solid) OS XP. However, something happened that would forever really change my computer usage experience: I downloaded and tried the Firefox 3.0 beta 5 (pre-release).
I came to love the new experience. Firefox is, in my opinion, the greatest web browser available for any OS (having also used IE, AOL, Safari, Opera, Seamonkey, and a couple of compact browsers). The community-dev and open source idea were new to me (do companies ever do a great idea of making proprietary software sound like the only workable software or what?), and I loved the expandability and ease of use of the browser. Right now, I am using numerous useful extensions for Firefox that make web browsing easier and more enjoyable for me, but anyone in the world can have any combination of endless extensions to suit their needs. I find that awesome.
As I read about this "open source" idea, I stumbled upon something about Linux. I kept reading. I had heard about Linux in the past, but only one good story and one horror story. That was it. I kept reading, and was entranced by Ubuntu. Upon trying it out with Wubi (which allows installation like a Windows program and easy uninstallation), I loved the interface and ease of use. I kept reading about it and discovered something key for the future: most of what makes Ubuntu so great is its incredibly powerful and robust UNIX core. It is the different core which prevents the same vulnerabilities experienced by Windows machines and helps create the interface (which is merely added on top).
I proceeded to screw up my Wubi installation. I was left with a decision: do I go for Ubuntu, or do I stick with Windows? Well, I ended up dual-booting. Okay, so that's option C. It worked like a charm. The expandability, speed (unbelievable snap), beauty, and overall "it just works" feel of Ubuntu Linux was incredible.
As I kept reading about Linux and how it worked one day, I stumbled upon the fact that Mac OS X is based on UNIX, also. About that same time, one of my best friends got a new 24" iMac. I stumbled upon Apple.com one day, and started reading.
What I found was unreal.
Between actual testing and reading, I found OS X to be something entirely unique:
a perfect blend of a strong, robust UNIX core with command line options but a desktop and applications polished beautifully and to perfection by a company with a lot of financial backing and a strong history in the computer market.
I found Macs to be also something wonderful:
that same perfect harmony of OS combined with computers designed to work flawlessly with that OS.
However, I was discouraged by two big things: lack of financing (Macs are, no matter what you say, very expensive) and reason to switch computers as well as a lack of trust from such a preventative company.
The acquiring of an iPod Touch (quickly jailbroken, of course) as well as reading about a wide range of open source software available for Leopard convinced me that the latter was not too bad (plus, there are still some OS customization options). The former was solved when my laptop motherboard crashed. I had motive and financing and trust.
Now, my 13" Macbook makes me the happiest computer user I have ever been.
It all started with curiosity in Firefox and an eventual love for OSes with a UNIX-core.
Thanks for reading,
PowerofUNIX
How could I forget?! Hello, everyone! I'm happy to be here!
"I heard Macs work better." "Macs look cool." "Macs don't get viruses." Blah blah blah all relatively lame because they show no understanding of the real POWER Macs have and WHY Macs "work better" and "don't get viruses."
I come here as a new member to this forum with a unique story. I started out with a previous laptop running Windows Vista. This was cool at first: it looked cool and promised numerous improvements over the very successful and user-friendly (just beginning to get a bit outdated, but solid) OS XP. However, something happened that would forever really change my computer usage experience: I downloaded and tried the Firefox 3.0 beta 5 (pre-release).
I came to love the new experience. Firefox is, in my opinion, the greatest web browser available for any OS (having also used IE, AOL, Safari, Opera, Seamonkey, and a couple of compact browsers). The community-dev and open source idea were new to me (do companies ever do a great idea of making proprietary software sound like the only workable software or what?), and I loved the expandability and ease of use of the browser. Right now, I am using numerous useful extensions for Firefox that make web browsing easier and more enjoyable for me, but anyone in the world can have any combination of endless extensions to suit their needs. I find that awesome.
As I read about this "open source" idea, I stumbled upon something about Linux. I kept reading. I had heard about Linux in the past, but only one good story and one horror story. That was it. I kept reading, and was entranced by Ubuntu. Upon trying it out with Wubi (which allows installation like a Windows program and easy uninstallation), I loved the interface and ease of use. I kept reading about it and discovered something key for the future: most of what makes Ubuntu so great is its incredibly powerful and robust UNIX core. It is the different core which prevents the same vulnerabilities experienced by Windows machines and helps create the interface (which is merely added on top).
I proceeded to screw up my Wubi installation. I was left with a decision: do I go for Ubuntu, or do I stick with Windows? Well, I ended up dual-booting. Okay, so that's option C. It worked like a charm. The expandability, speed (unbelievable snap), beauty, and overall "it just works" feel of Ubuntu Linux was incredible.
As I kept reading about Linux and how it worked one day, I stumbled upon the fact that Mac OS X is based on UNIX, also. About that same time, one of my best friends got a new 24" iMac. I stumbled upon Apple.com one day, and started reading.
What I found was unreal.
Between actual testing and reading, I found OS X to be something entirely unique:
a perfect blend of a strong, robust UNIX core with command line options but a desktop and applications polished beautifully and to perfection by a company with a lot of financial backing and a strong history in the computer market.
I found Macs to be also something wonderful:
that same perfect harmony of OS combined with computers designed to work flawlessly with that OS.
However, I was discouraged by two big things: lack of financing (Macs are, no matter what you say, very expensive) and reason to switch computers as well as a lack of trust from such a preventative company.
The acquiring of an iPod Touch (quickly jailbroken, of course) as well as reading about a wide range of open source software available for Leopard convinced me that the latter was not too bad (plus, there are still some OS customization options). The former was solved when my laptop motherboard crashed. I had motive and financing and trust.
Now, my 13" Macbook makes me the happiest computer user I have ever been.
It all started with curiosity in Firefox and an eventual love for OSes with a UNIX-core.
Thanks for reading,
PowerofUNIX
How could I forget?! Hello, everyone! I'm happy to be here!
