Mac Update: My Progress Report, Week 2

Two weeks ago, as I detailed in this space, I got my first Mac.  As a 20-year "PC-guru" who would rather fight than switch, I replaced my wheezing Celeron laptop with a 2005 PowerBook G4 15".  The goal was not to "make the switch," but to become familiar--fluent, hopefully--in a second computer "language." It is long past time I got over my Mac-phobia, and see what all the fuss is about.  I opted for the used computer, as a way of hedging my bets. Why invest a small fortune in something you might end up hating?

For a much smaller investment (thanks to Ron and Tracy!), I got what was once a near top-of-the-line, originally $2,200 computer, with the next-to-most recent release of Mac OS X Leopard.  It ain't "Snow Leopard," but it'll do. It also came preloaded with all of the graphics and office software I could need to get up to speed on how the other half computes.  My goal was to set aside a few hours every weekend to work on a specific project, no matter how frivolous, just to familiarize myself.  After all, just sitting in front of a PC, farting around, was how I self-taught myself MS-DOS 4 or so, all the way up through Windows 7.

Original Image, Cut-out, Background
and Finished Image
(Green Lantern is ® DC Comics)

So, how's it going? Well, the social calendar intruded a bit, as did some basic laziness. But I've actually worked with the Mac more than I'd intended, but mostly for my usual blogging and surfing around.  I have learned a few tricks, and even applied some knowledge back to the PC platform.  For instance, in Apple Safari (both PC and Mac), you can drag an image straight from the browser into PhotoShop or Photo-Paint.  I got lucky on my first try on the Mac, dragging a drawing of Green Lantern from an image, and plopping him onto the page, already cut out of the background. I was floored!  This allowed me to pop him onto any background I wanted, with no tedium of drawing masks. 

I hurriedly ran back to the PC to try it there.  It works in Safari and Firefox, but not in Google Chrome or Microsoft Internet Explorer.  But cool, I learned something new.  The result at right is no masterpiece, but considering I accomplished in in about half an hour? Not bad!  And, I have some nifty, home-made Green Lantern wallpaper for my Mac.

Learning the simplest things about how the Mac works is akin to me teaching others how a PC works. It's ground floor time, baby. But I figured--and I was right--that if I just puttered around, I'd figure it out.  Well, most of it.  There are still some vexing problems. So, I went to the library, and looked at the computer references guide.  The second or third book I saw, was Switching to the Mac, Leopard Edition by David Pogue. Perfect!  It seems to be thorough, and written in a way to ease confusion. But it shares a trait that every computer reference book (and web site) has. That is, it will tell you in a step-by-step way how to do something, and when you go to do it, the buttons, menus and links do not match.

Oh, not every time. Lots of stuff is correct. But it turns out this book was written for users of Windows Vista and Windows XP. I have Windows 7.  But aren't I a PC-guru? Yes, yes I am, but networking has always vexed me.  And nothing I do from the book or from websites I've visited has helped me to network the Mac to my desktop PC. Nothing matches, and nothing they say will happen happens. Arrggghh.

Overall, I have to stand by my previous assessment that the Mac isn't exactly "better," it is just "different." OS X is a little more elegant, and Windows 7 a bit more staid and business-like. For a Windows user like me, I prefer to have whatever program I'm using be full-screen. I cycle through my open programs in a flash with ALT+Tab, or WIN-Tab. I use keyboard shortcuts as second-nature. So I'm relearning, and adjusting to the differences. I'm still not used to all the open pallets and floating toolboxes all over the place on my Mac. And one program that is barely functional on the Mac? AOL.

Yes, I still use AOL, and have since 1994 or so. I use it in tandem with IE or Firefox, and I like the way I can arrange things on my screen. That is out the window (!) on the Mac, as the AOL browser there is more sluggish than anything on my Celeron, and the program looks and works different anyway. So when blogging on the Mac, my work habits are quite different, and my email has to be accessed via Safari.

But I'll get used to it. And I'll keep playing with it until it's second nature. One of the things that'll make that easier is that the Mac "wakes up" when you open the lid almost instantaneously, at least in comparison to my Celeron.  The "sleepy toddler" behavior of my Celeron upon wake up was my initial inspiration for replacing it in the first place.  So if nothing else, I've solved that problem.