I bought my first Apple MacBook Pro this week! And since I have customers who ask about switching from Microsoft Windows to Apple Mac OSX, I wanted to share with my readers a few items that I have encountered with using the new system.
The first day was spent manually downloading the system updates from Apple and exploring the desktop. Normally these are done in the background for you, and unlike Microsoft Windows I was not prompted on how I wanted to receive the system updates, which might just be a good thing as many customers that I see using Windows have either turned off the updates, or choose to download them but not install. The system update process took a while and required three reboots, which I was not expecting as everyone I talked to, even the sales people at Apple.com made it seem like OSX does not have the constant update issue that plagues Microsoft users! Now I’m not knocking Apple for having to issue updates for their system, because as a computer professional I know that software problems, security fixes, and hardware drivers will always need updates, but to me, hiding the update procedure in the background from the end user and acting as it does not exist is no better for the end user, as it provides a false sense of security, but that is just my humble opinion.
Before I get flamed, I want to let readers know that I have customers that honestly believe that Apple does not have to update their system, or Anti-virus software is not needed, and that no security issues exist on the Apple platform!
After the system updates were completed I started to explore the system. I found a slew of tools for pictures, music applications like Garage Band, Itunes, a web page development application called iWeb that looks interesting, but not much in the way of “office” productivity tools, but that is OK for me as I am using a “cloud based” solution for word processing, calendaring, and other office tasks, which I plan to bring to MLD Services customers soon. This cloud based approach to applications just makes sense, because it does not matter if you are using a Mac, a PC, or a Mac or PC that is running GNU/Linux, it just works on all three operating systems! No more compatibility problems.
The built in mouse pad takes some getting used to, and having no right click features is a bit irksome. Example a loaded CD or DVD places a large icon on the desktop, but instead of being able to right click and eject, you have to drag it towards the trash can icon which changes appearance! I personally did not find this intuitive, nor easier to do than a simple right click, but those are small things that I’m sure I will adapt to doing.
The system out of the box is pretty much all Apple produced, and this makes for a very fast system, but tomorrow I need to install tools such as an FTP client and a powerful text editor, even though I’m sure under this beautiful desktop lurks the UNIX operating system with the Vi or Emacs text editors in all of there glory!
Until then surf safe and keep your systems updated.
