A Windows Girl Goes Mac: Episode 1

So. It was a very good mail day. :D The MacBook came. :D

So today began the adventure getting to know the new machine, and learning the Mac OS for the first time. I have been asked a lot since I mentioned it, to talk about my personal experience as a Windows girl, entering the Mac world, and my thoughts. 

Here is how the First Meeting went down:

When we opened the box and removed the styrofoam, our Thing of Beauty with the sweet translucent apple logo gazed up at us, and batted its eyes.

We opened the lid and turned it on, LOVING that it was fully charged so we could dig right in.  

We watched a cute little Welcome movie with a jazzy soundtrack, and then it began to lead us through the setup process.

Right away it located our wireless network, and all we needed was the password. 

It asked for Jared’s iTunes information and got our address and his phone number.

Then it connected itself to our file server. 

I think we said, “Holy CRAP!” about 34 times in the first 10 minutes. And I think I cried a little bit.

Later:

We plugged it in. The power cord is slightly magnetized, so it locks itself into place.

I’m sitting here in the dim light on the couch, and the keyboard is illuminated.

Clearly Apple has the science of human interface design down to, well, a science. It is so easy to get blinded by the sexiness. Part of me wonders, “Where have you been all my life?” and part of me wonders why there’s no backspace key. And whether to push the CONTROL key or the COMMAND key when I want to copy something? And what does this little line and triangle button here above the Delete key do? Ah! It’s the Function button.

And how do the kids feel? 

Nothing better than a built-in webcam to play with! Elliott got shy, and Rowen experimented with seeing herself on video as only a 4-year-old can. :)

 

So far, I am cautiously in love. All I’ve done is type, after all, oh, and upload a YouTube video. I don’t know if I am brave enough to bring this to CKU next week - there are a few too many hunt-n-peck and “what was that key again?” situations for my comfort.  But it’s light, it’s lovely, it glows, and I am pretty sure I can figure out how to maximize, right? :)

More to come as the journey continues! (And I was just hunting for the End key, and apparently there isn’t one?) 

I’d love to hear how your first encounter with Mac went, if you have one!

Comments

[chris jenkins]

so you have finally joined the dark side. lol. just kidding. when i took my macbook out of the box and turned it on for the 1st time i think the heavens opened and the angels sang. it was pure love and joy for real. i marvelled at how simple everything was and how things just worked. and macs are just plain FUN. and CS3 on Mac? tis lovely.

have fun!

[Amy M]

I have always been a PC girl. Please keep us posted on your adventure. You may convince the rest of us to join you! Have fun.

[Julie]

I went Mac a little over a year ago and my then three year old son was completely addicted to "Photo Booth" and also to video chatting with his grandpa. It's certainly made the computer seem more approachable for him and I was never really much of a techie so it just seems so much less scary for me. I just love it!

[lynn C. from the spragueland]

Here is my sad MAC tale. My daughter in Florida has a MAC. This daughter loves her MAC and told my other dd who is an art student she would help her get a MAC. However, MAC came in the mail but it's HD was very sick and needed to be replaced only a week after she got it so after a bit of a problem and some confusion they sent her a new MAC. Whew, are you still with me--? So there she is loving her MAC and about 3 weeks later she comes in the house with ANOTHER MAC box with a confused look on her face and goes to the internet to track this MAC and it is free and clearly hers. What to do, what to do? So she says mom look you just said the other day you needed a new laptop! I said this was a mistake and the RIGHT thing to do -sigh- would be to send it back. So after staring lovingly at it for a few days while waiting for the company to send the return packing slip we sent the second MAC back. Cause it WAS the right thing to do. I was thiiiiis close to having a MAC! sigh. The End. (p.s. this is the short version-the debate on what to do was hot and heavy and believe me everyone we knew had opinions on what we should do ranging from don't look a gift horse in the mouth to karma to right vs. wrong.) Now Jes are you sorry you asked?!

[Molly]

The triangle with the line is the CD eject button :)

Function key is lower left of the keyboard.

Most cases- command key instead of control for windows schtuff. Cmd-C = copy, etc.

Try Cmd + : it will zoom your screen/type :)

Rowen will love Photo Booth! You can have her "riding" a roller coaster and make a movie of it!

Have a great Wednesday with her (the computer that is!) And remember, I am always willing to travel if you can find me a floor to sleep on!

[Jana]

From the minute you plug it in, everything is amazing and you will fall in love more & more every day! Don't you just marvel at how it connected to your server in a heartbeat? Have fun you guys! So glad you joined the Mac World! You can be like me & ask yourselves, why'd I wait so long?

[Jan C.]

Just got my new Macbook Pro a few months ago. I can't say the transition has been completely smooth, but frankly, most problems I've had have been small and due to operator error!

Mostly I love it. I'm getting carpal tunnel because I never move away from it. But I am not at all good at the touchpad, so I bought a Bluetooth wireless mouse and never looked back.

[Shannon in WA]

My husband got a MacBook from work about a year and a half ago. There were so many things he loved about it but kept encountering problems because everyone else was using Windows. I told him he was a Mac user living in a PC world! Deal with it! So he tried a couple other PC laptops but kept going back to his Mac. He also kept trying to get me to switch to a MacBook but I wasn't willing to change. But about four months ago, I caved! We were at the Apple store and I was seduced by a sleek and sexy 20" screen iMac. I HAD to have it right then, right there. I love it. No awkward tower to deal with. Minimal cords to keep up with. The screen is luscious and large. Perfect when working with photos. Naturally, I had to get a new version of Photoshop for the Mac and had a little trouble learning how to use it. It's getting better though! Right after I got that, my husband upgraded to a MacBook Pro. We really love our Macs. I haven't had any problems with it. It has never froze up on me. I've had no issues with it at all. Last night, I went to mom's house to help her with her PC troubles and I was so grateful that I don't have those issues anymore with a Mac. You are going to love your Mac! And because I learn so many Photoshop tricks from you, I am completely thrilled that you stepped over to the Mac side! Enjoy!

[Cher]

Well- in my mind there is only one and that is my MAC. We had a PC for 2 years and after it died, we bought a MAC (PC WHO??) My entire family is now in the wonderful Mac world. I think my mom has had the biggest learning curve as she is a PC person and keeps trying to look for the difficult route. She will call me with the oddest things- my answer is usually just drag and drop mom!
Enjoy- once you've had a Mac you'll neva go back :)

[jen]

I grew up PC, married Mac. Stayed married but booted the Mac to the curb when it would crash when I deigned to, oh, breathe. ;) Went back to PC and am on the second and final laptop. I'll go back to iMac for my next computer; I've had it with the neuroses of this computer. Can't wait, for all the reasons you listed above.

[Julie L.]

As I sit here typing on my Dell laptop --it is getting a little green with envy--or is that me?! I have always been a PC girl--but would love to dive into MAC world. MY DH is also wading at the edge, so ready to jump to the "Dark side!" Thanks for sharing your first moments of MACdom"--love the "batting its eyes" line! So cool that it has a built-in web cam, too!

[maureen]

I am still considering it. I will watch closely to see what you think Jessica. After all you are my hero. I love taking your ps classes. I am in the Digi In Deep Class. The only problem is I just bought photoshop cs3 a few months ago. Do they give a discount if you convert or do you have to start all over? I will be watching your comments on the sleek thing on beauty called a mac laptop.
maureen

[linds]

After going through 4 PC's in four years, my hubby and I decided to make a change...for the better ;) We bought a mac mini and have loved EVERY second of it!! I love that I can go to the apple store if I have an issue (which is RARE bytheway) and still am blown away at how fast it boots up!!! Yay! I LOVE my MAC, and in a year...I'm gettin' my own MacBook!! Sawweeeet!!!!

[Jeannette P]

First off I loved the way you wrote your story of your 1st encounter with the Mac. Sounds exciting to have a new fun machine to play with. Also sounds like you have some discovering to do as well. Enjoy & please keep sharing. I am a Windows girl and have thought about whether I could dive into THE other world.

[Kelleigh]

You want to hear something really pathetic? I went off with my husband on a business trip, just so I could hang out in his room and do some digital scrapbooking. However, I have a desktop Mac. HUGE, ginormous screen. I don't remember how big, but it is the biggest you can get. So . . . I packed it in a big ol' bag and carted it into the hotel. People looked at me strangely, but I really can't live without my Mac! Best thing is that I plugged it in and it found the network! No issues whatsoever! Ahh. Love my Mac.

[Kari Holt]

Loving your story and can't wait for the next episode ... sounds like I definitely NEED one now ;)

[Megan]

I cried for you. Your post was like one of those kodak commercials, you know the one where it's so sweet it makes you cry??
AND...adobe just sends you a new disc when you make the switch. free and clear. that's straight from the mouth of adobe. (Apparently they have ways of checking that you're telling the truth.)

[Deborah]

MACs are cool, but I won't switch until I find something a MAC can do that my PC can't already do (and cheaper). I can't afford to drive a BMW when my Toyota gets me to my destination just fine, LOL! Enjoy your new Baby!

[Relly]

I think you'd really dig photojojo's photoshop shortcut keyboard skin:
http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/photo-app-keyboards/

[Ali]

My husband has been pushing hard to switch all of our computers over to MAC (1 desktop, 3 laptops). I have always been a PC girls - I fell in love with apples about 6 months ago when I got my iphone. But I am still a bit scared of the 'new world'. I will be watching your progress closely. I am also very interested in running the dual boot - I think it is called boot camp - as I have a couple of 'machines' that can only run on a windows platform. Thanks for being soooooo willing to share your experience with us - it will certainly be of value to me!

[Tanya]

Jessica...a few of the questions I've wanted to ask about a Mac, especially someone who is a digi scrapper like me is...do we have to buy new versions of PSE for Mac? Will we be able to transfer our fonts? What if we already have ACDSee for PC, do we need a new version?

How you liking Safari? Are you using that web browser?

[Corie in Indy]

Love, love, love my Mac! I wouldn't trade it for the world. I've been a Mac girl since I got out of college in 1999, and it just keeps getting better. Apple is just light-years ahead of the PC world, if you ask me. I currently have a MacBook Pro, and couldn't be happier with it. I have had zero issues with it in the last year and a half. It's fast, has personality, and can run Windows operating system, too (with Boot Camp), although that's admittedly slow because I didn't assign enough memory to that partition when I installed it. As a designer, you will love it's color and graphic detail. Anyway, ENJOY! (And to get "End," hold down the FN key at bottom left and hit the right arrow key at the same time.)

[Brigid]

Thanks for sharing your mac conversion experience! I am considering "going mac," but am worried about having to learn a whole new operating system. Also, I use the PSE organizer for keeping all of my photos and scrapbooking supplies organized,and I just found out that there is no organizer portion of PSE in the mac version! How weird is that? I guess it won't affect you much because you use ACDSee, but I really like my PSE organizer, and don't really want to switch over to something else. Please keep us informed of the perks and problems you encounter along the way...

[Sarah]

I am a Mac fan, but can't afford one. My husband's business bought him a MacBook and that was the end of PCs for him, forever. It took him a few days to get used to the different interface, but now he can't imagine going back. He was skeptical at first, but his love of the iTunes and iPod design let him forge ahead.

You may be frustrated at first, but it won't take long. We've been so indoctrinated into accepting the massive Windows learning curve that side-by-side, PCs seem simple and Macs seem hard, but the Mac interface is built to be intuitive. We have to stop over-thinking sometimes.

They are amazing with wireless networks and file sharing, that's for sure. Almost no maintenance or troubleshooting. And I love the eject function for USB connections---just throw it in the trash! (Well, it turns to "eject" when it sees you're disconnecting a drive.) And the magnetized cord design is genius---several times my daughter has tripped over the cord in the living room, and it just pops right out instead of tensing up and causing damage to both her and the computer.

Someday, I hope to have a Mac. :)

Happy Mac-ing!

[Michele M]

my experience so far is great. I've had my iMac for about 6 days. I love the sexiness of the Mac. And so far I have not found anything that I can't do on my Mac that I do on my PC. And everything I do is a lot more fun on the Mac. But I am still fumbling my way through some of it and I am constantly wanting to go to the top right to close a window.

[Donna]

I'm kind of sad that I'll never feel the "switcher's euphoria". I've had Macs since I have been using computers. And in those 10 years, I don't think I've used the control key more than a dozen times, mostly to make alternate font characters.

[Laurie]

Congrats on your new baby! I am glad she is every bit as sexy as you hoped! :) I was watching the cute video of your kids and Brogan (my 18 month old) was laughing. Apparently they are long lost friends. LOL!

[nichole]

oh good... i see molly already explained the few differences... and well i have to say- good job molly. really the best part about a mac is watching a movie on it. it has become the second tv in my family. great picture and great sound quality= great for cuddling in bed with the hubby for a movie night. have fun!

[Melissa]

Your gonna love it and trust me you won't look back! The night I got my 20' imac I had a similar experience when I first turned it on! I was a goner immediately! I moved it around a few rooms for a while just cause it was SO darn easy! That was 2 years ago and she's still running like a champ! My 2 year old PC was barley able to open PSE3.0/// but that was it! Nothing else could be opened! ANyway I'm getting a MacBookPro from Santa this year! SO FREAKING EXCITED! this post made me even more excited I forgot the first moments!

[Bree]

Welcome to the world of Macintosh. It is beautiful.

The first Mac I owned was in 1996, and it was alive and kicking until I retired it for a G3 in 2001. I've owned a G4 desktop, then an iBook, and now an iMac. They have been good to me.

I'm in a bi-marriage - DH is all about PCs. He used old Macs in the 90s and wasn't impressed, but he's been checking out the cools things I'm doing with iMovie and iPhoto lately compared to his "built-from-scratch" XP beige box.

Enjoy your new toy, I mean, tool.