I did not want to write anything until I felt that I that I could cover enough about Mac. Mac is a wonderful operating system, so if you are a massive Windows supporter, now is the time that you should stop reading this blog post, or alternativly you could continue reading and tell me why you think Windows / PC is so great.
For a designer, it is the ultimate thing to have a Mac. I have now had my Mac for close to a month and have loved it. There have been a few hiccups though - it was not all a smooth ride.
Before I continue, I would like to let all you readers know that I have used a PC and Windows before - and I have used a number of versions 98, 2000, XP Home and Pro, Vista Home-Basic, Business and Ultimate over the span of approximately 8 years.
I had been contemplating this purchase for sometime, and finally I got the business that I own and manage to purchase it. It is the MacBook 13” 1GB with a processor of 2.1GHZ. Subsequently I have added another Gig of RAM and am thinking of upping it to 4 Gigs before the end of the year.
Mac OSX (Leopard - 10.5.5) is very light on system resources. I can easily run all my applications together without any problems. I absolutely love the iCal and Mail applications. Tim Keller (www.timkeller.net) kindly gave me a list of brilliant open source or freeware programs, so of which I had used the Windows versions of.
Being a web-application developer I was so happy to discover that Komodo Edit (Active State) ran on Mac. This is a freeware programming tool that I have used for the last year or so. It was good that I stopped using Macromedia’s Studio 8 - Dreamweaver.
The nice thing about Studio 8 is that the same installation disk runs on PC and Mac. The chat programme that I have been using is called Adium. It is amazing as it allows users to connect all of their accounts - eg. Gmail, MSN Live and Facebook - and you are able to talk to all these groups with a single application.
I also bough iWork which was amazingly cheap - R850.00 for a family pack which includes 5 licenses - Microsoft should consider pricing like such for their Office application.
Finally, the design of the Mac is really good looking. It is clean - I have the white one. The screen has a crisp image and the apple light makes the design. The weight of the MacBook however is a slight let down.
I have never had sound problems with my microphone which is great. Speaking on Skype without having to come really close to the computers microphone is wonderful - but thats more a hardware issue.
So, do you work on a Mac, would like to work on a Mac? Or absolutly hate Mac? Share your opinion in a comment 
Kind Regards,
Noel Harrison
October 9th, 2008 at 9:56 am
what fun. im working on getting a mac sometime real soon, tho i may wait a little and get a pro.
October 9th, 2008 at 10:07 am
You make me very jealous! I have been using PC all my life and have wanted a MAC for a while now! But as we all know, they are pricey! Two things that are on the top of my wish list right now are, a 3G iPhone and a MacBook! Mac is definitely the ultimate platfrom for designers and the creative type! I am sick of Windows now! Where did you buy your Mac from?
October 9th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Hello Jonathan,
That would be great. You will not regret moving to a Mac - ever. It may be a good idea to wait until you are able to get the Pro.
Hope all is going well,
Regards,
Noel Harrison
October 9th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Hello Simon,
I also felt like you did until a month or so ago. I had been wanting to purchase one so badly. I got mine from the iStore in the Waterfront - Cape Town. You could try ww.zastore.com for your location.
I bought mine when they were a bit more expensive than they currently are. I have heard rumours that they will be releasing a new one soon - so you should wait until then if you intend on going that route.
But as I said the Jonathan, You will never regret turning from a PC - unless you love games
And by the way - I should be having a very exciting interview with guy on my blog within the next 24 hours - really exciting - its my new thing - a monthly interview with someone successful - if possible
Regards,
Noel Harrison