Jason Villasoto

So I’ve been a PC user since my first Commodore PC 10-II with an amber monochrome monitor running MS-Dos off a 5.25″ Floppy drive with no hard drive. Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago. I bought my first Apple, a shiny new Macbook. I never thought I’d switch to Mac, simply because I didn’t know anything about them except for their quirky ads and the ever-eccentric Steve Jobs. To say the least, I have seen the light.

My Macbook is the 13″, white, 2.0GHz Super-Drive model. I also upgraded the standard 512MB of RAM to 2GB (I bought Mushkin RAM and installed it myself; really easy to do).

Many people have already written about their experiences switching over, so I’m going to give you 10 reasons (in no particular order) why I love my new Macbook.

• Spotlight - A powerful, lightning fast, search feature that immediately increases productivity. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that this one feature is enough for me to make the switch to Mac.

• Intel Duo-Core - “Macs are slow”. That’s the misconception I had before I switched. Make no mistake…This thing is FAST. It’ll blow a PC with the same specs out of the water. However, I would definitely recommend the 2GB upgrade. I think the 512MB that comes with the Macbook is just barely enough. It’s a must if you plan on using programs like Photoshop.

• Glossy Screen - Some people are making a fuss about the new glossy screens. I can understand that some people think the glossy screens are more reflective and create some glare, but please, gimme a break. The screens on these Macbooks are absolutely amazing, and shouldn’t stop you from buying a Mac. If anything, the displays are what help Apple sell these like hotcakes. The resolution is 1280 by 800 and colours just pop out at you. If you’ve seen any HD quality video clips, you’ll know exactly what I mean.

• SuperDrive - If you’ve read Guy Kawasaki’s post about backing up your stuff, you can relate to my inability to ever back anything up. I now have no excuses. The SuperDrive is extremely easy to use and is well integrated within OS X.

• iTunes - OK… I know I’m kind of a late adopter to this whole iPod thing. I now have a 4GB iPod Nano, and I’m having a tough time remembering what life was like before I had it. iTunes (like most Apple software) is well integrated into OS X and as a result, I was able to import almost my entire CD library over a weekend.

• iCal - For David Allen and GTD fans out there, you’ll love iCal. I tried using Outlook again after switching to Mac, and I really didn’t realize how unnecessarily complicated it is. iCal is so easy to use with GTD and other time management systems. Everything is colour co-ordinated, and because of Spotlight, all of your action items and appointments are easily searchable.

• Front Row - Now this is very difficult to explain without a demo, so please go into an Apple store and check it out. Check out the Movie Trailers, you can really get a glimpse of what direction Steve Jobs is going. It’s bananas.

• Killer Design - This is very obvious, but I hope you understand that Apple does one thing very well: they prove that form is every bit as important as function. I can’t explain why, but there is a significant improvement in productivity when your tools are well designed (especially for those of us who make a living with our creativity).

• OS X Tiger - I challenge any Windows user to spend one day using OS X and not want to make the switch. So many people think the new Macs have gained popularity because people can run Windows on them. Honestly, I used to be one of those people. I was so wrong. OS X is more intuitive, easier to use, and more nimble.

• It just works. - Anything you can do on a PC, you can do better on a Mac. You don’t have to worry about compatibility issues. Digital cameras, Bluetooth devices, flash drives, Firewire devices, all work seamlessly with the Mac.

So there you have it. If you haven’t had any experiences with the new Macs, do yourself a favour and check them out.