So you’ve got 1000 or more ponies to spend and your walking into a brick and mortar store to buy a computer, so what’s it going to be??? Well two thirds of you are getting a Mac, at least that’s what the NPD Group says about the first quarter data they have collected. Apple has actually increased their sales growth by 50-60% while PC manufacturers are lucky to be staying neutral. It seems people are looking for a computer that can give them an “experience” and I am assuming this experience is meant to be a good one!

“What Apple drives home: This is a product that we own from factory to finger,” Stephen explained. “We exert some control so that you get the best experience. When you get in the store, we get you what you want.”

Read more about it on eWeek

Walter Mossberge writes a short but to the point Article about how Macs really don’t require much if not any housekeeping, stuff like defragmenting, spyware/adware removal and other system maintenance.

I often get asked about defragmentation on the Mac and if it is necessary, he answers the question well:

“However, the operating system has some under-the-covers features that generally obviate the need to run a defragmentation utility. In fact, Apple, which calls defragmenting a disk “optimizing” it, flatly claims, “You probably won’t need to optimize at all if you use Mac OS X.”

The only problem I have with the Article is the last question…

“Q - I have updated to a new PC. My data are on a floppy disk. There is no floppy disk drive on this new computer. How can I transfer my data?”

That’s like going into a BMW dealership and asking the salesman how you’re going to play your Tape Cassettes without a tape player?

Read the full Article

This Popular Mechanics review has been out for a few days now and has received a fair bit of attention! Are Mac users surprised… Not really, I think it’s the PC users who are finding the verdict surprising. What I like the most is the fact that Popular Mechanic is both Credible and Neutral as a tester in this debate. Many Mac vs PC test results could be said to be biased one way or the other where as the Popular Mechanic results are hard to dispute.

And so who is the winner??? Why the Mac of course.

“In both the laptop and desktop showdowns, Apple’s computers were the winners. Oddly, the big difference didn’t come in our user ratings, where we expected the famously friendly Mac interface to shine. Our respondents liked the look and feel of both operating systems but had a slight preference toward OS X. In our speed trials, however, Leopard OS trounced Vista in all-important tasks such as boot-up, shutdown and program-launch times. We even tested Vista on the Macs using Apple’s platform-switching Boot Camp software—and found that both Apple computers ran Vista faster than our PCs did.”

Popular Mechanics also said Vista was sluggish and that PC’s where not the bargain that many computer buyers believe they are getting.

Read the entire Popular Mechanics article here

Here is a common and very good question, which contact management suite should I use? Well if you haven’t purchased Office for Mac 2008 then the answer is pretty obvious, you are going to be using the Mac included contact management solution that consists of three separate programs: Mail, Address Book and iCal.

Now if you purchased Office for Mac 2008 you may just be thinking to yourself, I want to get my monies worth so I may as well use the included MS Entourage Contact management program that seems very “Outlook” like. I’d say the best thing Entourage has going for it is it’s resemblance to Outlook so it may feel a bit more comfortable to some Switchers. There in lies the trap, “Familiarity”… If “comfort or familiarity  is the main reason you are considering going with Entourage you may want to think again.

Now I don’t want to seem like an MS basher but there are some things that you will need to consider before committing to using Entourage, and by committing I mean committing because once all your email, contact lists and calendar events are imported into Entourage it’s not going to be fun having to move them over to Apple’s Mail, Address Book and iCal.

So what about getting your Outlook data over to the Mac, wouldn’t it be easier to move Outlook data into Entourage rather then Apple’s contact management solution? The short answer is it’s the same solution for both, I strongly suggest you pay the $10 to Simple Machines and use (O2M) Outlook to Mac for the heavy lifting. You will shave off hours of your time and the end result will be all your contacts, email and calendar info transferred into either Entourage or Apple Mail, Address Book and iCal - your choice.

Both the Apple and Microsoft solutions will work well and will do most of the same things so what do I suggest, I never thought you would ask? I say go with Apple all the way and here’s why. Read the rest of this entry »

David Alison, a self claimed “Mac Hater” wrote up a nice account of his first two months using a Mac. He states the Mac isn’t perfect like any piece of technology but he is finding he really likes using the Mac and in fact he doesn’t really use his Windows/Unix machines all that much anymore - “I’m having too much fun exploring my Mac and scheming to get a Mac Pro.”

Some Quotes:

“Before I got my Mac I was concerned about Right-Click mouse support. I remembered when all Mac mice were of the single button variety and it was something that seemed crazy to me, given the value of having at least 2 mouse buttons. Well, right clicking is very much available and useful on a Mac and in fact I use a 5 button Logitech mouse every day.”

“Over the last 2 months I have downloaded nearly 50 different applications and utilities, though that’s not even scratching the surface of what’s available. The range of applications is staggering and covers just about any category I could think of.”

“One of my favorite applications comes with OS X though and that’s Time Machine. Seamless hourly backups of my machine that took minutes to set up and just happens without me doing anything. I love it when computers do the work for you.”

Read David Alison’s full Article

Periodically I look through my WordPress admin area to see who’s linking to Switching To Mac,  I found an Article that I really enjoyed reading, not because of the link back but because the author wrote in an almost poetic style what many people (myself included) have tried to explain is the difference between a Mac and a PC… and without a hint of anything derogatory to either platform.

Here’s a quote from Robby Slaughter’s Blog 

“It has happened to all of us. Guided by innocuous turns of fate, we find ourselves somewhere familiar, but somehow minutely alien. Everyone looks hip and sophisticated—their sunglasses too large, their neckties too thin. Powerful conversations and maniacal laughter tear through the space. Then you realize, for all their fabulous uniqueness, everyone has the same silver talisman unfolded before them. They are Apple computers. These are the people of the fruit.”

Read the rest of this very intriguing Article

Chris Pirillo is a self proclaimed platform neutralist but interestingly enough his latest article doesn’t seem so neutral. I guess Chris may be starting to lean a bit more in one platform direction then he realizes. That’s OK I don’t really blame him!

Some other title suggestions that almost made it on the original Post by Chris Pirillo.

• C:\DIE.EXE
• 50 Reasons Why I Left Bill for Steve
• Losing My OS Religion
• Windows Broke My Heart
• Obama Says It’s Time to Change to the Mac
• /Volume/chris/switched
• How to Switch to a Mac
• The Wow Stops Now
• Got Mac?
• Once You Go Mac, You Never Go Back?

Check out his recent “50 Reasons to Switch from Microsoft Windows to Apple’s Mac OS X Post“

I came across an interesting perspective on Mac vs PC and who really needs who the most? The Author claims that Windows users need Apple’s software on their PC’s more then Mac users need Windows software on their Macs. Much of this argument is based on the fact that anyone who has an iPod or iPhone must use iTunes and that goes for PC users also, where-as there is more and more Mac software, avoiding the need to use Microsoft or Windows on a Mac solutions for getting the job done.

“iTunes is a must-have app on Windows for those folks who carry around iPods or iPhones without a Mac lying around”

“I just don’t need Microsoft’s desktop software like I once did.”

Read the entire article at chris.pirillo.com

I don’t really need to say too much here, the graph says it all! Interestingly, Leopard is a big buying factor for PC users, 1 in 4 say Leopard makes them more likely to purchase a Mac in the future.

Get the entire story here.

This joke came up in our S2M Forum just recently, I thought it was worth posting. It was originally found here:

“Apple vs. Microsoft”
Three Microsoft engineers and three Apple employees are traveling by train to a computer conference. At the station, the three Microsoft engineers each buy tickets and watch as the three Apple employees buy only a single ticket. “How are three people going to travel on only one ticket?” asks a Microsoft engineer. “Watch and you’ll see,” answers the Apple employee. They all board the train. The Microsoft engineers take their respective seats, but all three Apple employees cram into a restroom and close the door behind them. Shortly after the train has departed, the conductor comes around collecting tickets. He knocks on the restroom door and says, “Ticket, please.” The door opens just a crack and a single arm emerges with a ticket in hand. The conductor takes the ticket and moves on.

The Microsoft engineers saw this and agreed it was quite a clever idea. So after the conference, the Microsoft engineers decide to do the same on the return trip and save some money. When they get to the station, they buy a single ticket for the return trip. To their astonishment, the Apple employees don’t buy any ticket, at all. “How are you going to travel without a ticket?” asks one perplexed Microsoft engineer. “Watch and you’ll see,” answers an Apple employee. When they board the train the three Microsoft engineers cram into a restroom and the three Apple employees cram into another one nearby. The train departs. Shortly afterward, one of the Apple employees leaves his restroom and walks over to the restroom where the Microsoft engineers are hiding. He knocks on the door and says, “Ticket, please…

Obviously this is not a true story, it’s just a joke, please no flame wars. If it makes you feel better you can substitute the MS Engineers with the Apple Engineers.