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Ärende: A Windows expert opts for a Mac life
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From: mike <mike@barkto.com>


http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&article
Id=9004803

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Scot Finnie is moving from Windows to Mac OS X -- for now


November 06, 2006 (Computerworld) Editor's Note: This is the first installment
of a series in which longtime Windows expert Scot Finnie gives the Mac a
three-month trial as his primary machine for work and home use. Be sure not to
miss Part 2 and Part 3 of the series.

Windows Vista is in most ways an excellent operating system. But I've found
myself increasingly disturbed by the many ways Microsoft is willing to erode
the overall user experience, in most cases in the name of boosting its bottom
line.

I'm talking about aspects like the new upgrade to Microsoft's antipiracy
measures, known as Software Protection Platform (which includes a "reduced
functionality mode"); the little-detailed digital rights management features --
if any -- that some people believe will surface in Vista; and the repetitious
frustration of User Account Control, a security feature that takes an extreme
approach to protecting you from potential threats that probably 98.44% of the
time aren't actually there.

My assessment of UAC is that it's a good idea that is badly implemented, even
after recent refinements. I think it will have the opposite of its intended
effect on many Vista desktops, where it will deaden users to security risks by
asking them too frequently whether they're sure an activity is something they
really want to do or allow. UAC will protect Microsoft's image as a purveyor of
secure software (or at least it might do so). But if it adds any real
protection, it will do so at the expense of the user experience.

My sentiments about Software Protection Platform, which might also be called
Windows Genuine Advantage on steroids, is that it serves just one entity:
Microsoft. For users, it has no advantages, and for a small percentage of
individuals and enterprises, it could be a ticking time bomb waiting to unleash
frustration.

Let's not forget that the dramatic IT breakthrough that drove Wall Street in
the last decade was a significant return on investment in the form of increased
user productivity. Moreover, the last time I looked, Microsoft rose to power
two and a half decades ago precisely because it helped free users from onerous
restrictions on access to computer power. The rise of the PC eventually killed
off the minicomputer dominance of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The software
giant should be reading the history of the mistakes its competitors made back
then, because it could be heading down the same path.

Microsoft invests incredible R&D resources into the products it builds. The
company has not only a right but an ethical requirement to get a good return on
its investment for its stockholders. But it's not paying attention to the
grass-roots welling up of frustration over many of its business practices.

Scratch the millions of forums and blogs on the Internet, even slightly, and
you'll find them oozing with angst and disgust about Microsoft's approach to
creating, selling and protecting its products. There is pent-up demand for a
change, for a real alternative, especially among more experienced computer
users. Moreover, this is not isolated to "consumers" at all. Despite the
Windows-oriented policies of many IT shops and the fact that many companies
have Microsoft DNA deeply embedded in their IT infrastructures, a good portion
of the people who manage, run and toil in IT organizations have become openly
contemptuous of Microsoft's products and policies.

If I could strip out aspects of Vista -- like Microsoft's aggressive antipiracy
measures and some of its onerous protective mechanisms, the high cost of Vista
Ultimate, and other unpleasant aspects of the new operating system -- I might
continue as a more-or-less content Windows user. But the emergence of Vista has
sparked something new inside me, a serious need to explore my alternatives.

Macintosh trial run

So, about a month ago I decided it was high time to do my homework on other
systems in the only way I know that works: total immersion.

Beginning this week, for at least one month -- maybe three -- I'm making an
Apple MacBook Pro my main work and personal computer. I've been slowly building
up the software and systems I need to do this (with the excellent help of
Computerworld's IT department), including Lotus Notes for Macintosh and the
migration of my 13-year-old Eudora for Windows installation. I may rely to some
extent on Parallels for the Mac to run some things in an XP virtual machine,
especially in the beginning. But the goal, as I said, is to find Macintosh
tools for everything I do in Windows.

To those of you who've been reading me for years because of my Windows
expertise and insights, I'm not letting go of Windows! I will be echoing my
experience on my current Windows production machine -- a dual-core ThinkPad T60
-- by upgrading to Windows Vista. I have access to four Macs, three of which
are Intel-based. There are more than 15 Windows machines that I use and test
with. It's a Windows world, and I'm not dropping out.

But I'm committed to giving the Mac a fair chance.

The first two weeks

I had initially planned to change over to the Mac a couple of weeks ago, but
problems with the 15-in. MacBook Pro that I received from my company caused a
severe delay. The machine, a 2-GHz Intel dual-core, is only six months old but
had just returned from Apple repair because of issues with spontaneous restarts
that were occurring two or three times a day. It's a problem that has plagued a
small percentage of Apple's Intel line of MacBooks. It's not a universal
experience, however. I own another MacBook Pro 15 that has suffered no
spontaneous restarts.

During the first 24 hours with the machine, I came to the conclusion that the
most likely culprit was a 1GB RAM SIMM that was added at the time of purchase.
I pulled the SIMM on the second day. Wanting to do the legwork myself, I
contacted the makers of the SIMM, a company called Edge, and initiated a
trouble ticket. Two days later, running on the original 1GB of Apple RAM only,
the MBP 15 was free of unwanted restarts. Edge confirmed that we had purchased
the correct SIMM module for this machine and that the SIMM must be faulty. It
promptly issued an RMA and offered a free replacement.

The next hurdle -- and it has proved to be a much bigger hurdle -- is Lotus
Notes. IBM is promising better support for the Mac in the Notes 7.x time frame.
We're using Notes 6.5.x and other than the pathetic Mac support, it's working
just fine. (I may test the Notes 7.02 client in the near future though.) These
are the problems that Mac users face the most -- integrating with IT systems in
the corporate world. Sometimes there is no support at all for certain
applications. Microsoft, for example, withdrew support for Internet Explorer on
the Mac several years ago -- not that it really offered compatibility with
enterprise Web-based applications anyway. There's hope, though, with the
growing popularity of Firefox, which is platform-independent and works more or

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