Subscribe for Email Updates
RSS Feed
Technorati
Delicious bookmark
Bloglines
Moving On
Have you ever been in a relationship and thought things were OK? Then out of the blue, along comes another who turns your head and makes you realize how much was really wrong. Things weren’t always bad. They started off good and deteriorated slowly over time. There were plenty of clues that things just weren’t right, but you ignored the signs. You settled because making a change would be too disruptive to your world. And then something major happened and it acted as the catalyst to slap some sense into your head and get you to move on. Know what I’m talking about? I thought so.
I’m there right now. I’m struggling with how to make the move, so as little people as possible get hurt, but in the end I know it will be best for everyone.
I’m leaving my PC for a Mac.
Don’t try to talk me out of it. My mind is made up. I’m just trying to figure out timing and when to let people know. This ended up being one of the easiest decisions of my life once I saw the light. I lost my PC virginity to a Compaq back in the day and I must admit it was good for me. The newness of the experience was thrilling and the adrenaline rush unmatched. All my friends were hitched to PCs and I followed the crowd thinking it would be right for me too. For years I stayed with the PC through work and play. Then I started having doubts. Suddenly unexplained viruses showed up which put a crack in the trust of our relationship. At times things weren’t working at all and I couldn’t get a straight answer and there was a lot of finger pointing — “It was Dell…no it was Microsoft.” And the PC was demanding and constantly required new things. I felt used, hurt and alone.
Thank God for friends who aren’t afraid to tell you that you have lettuce in your teeth and your fly is down. Friends who will speak the truth even though they know their words may hurt your feelings. In this case my friend Tom Gerace, Founder & CEO of Gather.com, led the intervention. It started years ago subtly. We would be meeting in his office and he would insist we use his Mac to review something. I didn’t realize until now all the little hints he was dropping about the benefits of being with a Mac over a PC. I have spent quite a bit of time with Tom on the Cape this summer. Maybe it was the espresso martinis he was drinking or maybe he was tired of my waffling, but he laid it on pretty heavy. Not only was he singing the virtues of the Mac, he was now pushing the iPhone like a street vendor pushes his wares — playful yet firm.
The designers at Kel & Partners are all on Macs. They are state-of-the-art, kick ass systems with screens that look like plasma TVs. The K&P design team developed a video-intensive, fully-integrated, multi-media presentation for me to give in Chicago yesterday. It only worked properly on a Mac, so I traveled with my daughter’s brand new MacBook Pro. It is so sah-weet that it makes me squeal out loud. Seriously, once you go Mac you never go back. That was it; I’m sold. The only thing keeping me from making an immediate move is — OK now I know you’re going to think I’m shallow — but today’s MacBook Pro is a little heavy for my taste. There I said it. The MacBook Air would be perfect except it’s a little ditsy and light on the memory if you know what I’m saying. Apparently a lighter version of the MacBook Pro is coming and I think I will wait to make the move. For now I intend to go through the same old routine with my PC and hope nothing explosive happens in our relationship until I move on. In the meantime, I can always get my Mac fixes though discrete encounters.
Mac or PC? Which alter do you worship?
August 5th, 2008 at 10:27 am
I always had you pegged as a Mac woman! It surprised me to see you with a PC. I don’t think you will have one regret. Can’t wait to read about your new relationship.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:29 am
I must admit, I am a closet Mac fan. I even finagle my COO to get the first one my company has - cost be damned - so that our web designer could live in peace.
Watch out for Gerace - he’s got me a house in p-town, a bald head, and two years of scars in social media. My only revenge was making him fall in love with his dog.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Cue the startup chime!
Think you are jazzed now? Just wait. Remember when you asked your ol’ PC if they could help you get the pictures or video off your camera and it looked at you and groaned? Then it rooted around in the junk drawer for some obscure tool, only to come up scratching it’s head. What remained was an empty promise to take you to some website equivalent of a hardware store so you could go aisle-by-aisle trying to find some quick fix widget that never worked as advertised.
Well, the Mac already knows about your camera because, unlike your PC, it actually ENJOYS playing with toys. The Mac also had good parents who taught it how to help people without making it look like a chore.
I have programmer friends who abused me for years and are now some of the loudest Mac evangelists I know. That says something. You’ll love it. Kick that PC to the curb, Kel!
August 5th, 2008 at 11:24 am
tara, i know…i know. there are a lot of implications. do i treat it like a religion and force it on those around me? some may revolt. i am moving my kids over as soon as each needs a new laptop. silent worship or vocal advocate? only time will tell. i would put my money on vocal!
August 5th, 2008 at 11:26 am
david, why be in the closet?! truth be told, tom should watch out for me. i have four dogs! not sure bald would work for me.
August 5th, 2008 at 11:28 am
rma913, sing it loud…sing it proud! you are very witty. let me know if you have your own blog, so i can follow. in the meantime, i’m sending save the date invites to my phone and flip letting them now there will be a new playmate in town.
August 5th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Funny that this is the dilemma you’re facing right now. I can SO relate!! I actually had to give up my PC …a small price to pay for my dignity - but in retrospect, forced to work on my daughter’s iBook, I realized too - “is it time to go Mac??”. As I sit and type this, I am on a beautiful, sleek little white slice of heaven. But will it eventually turn on me? Am I hip and cool enough to hold its interest? All of this worries me - particularly since I will be investing quite a lot to stop being dependent on my 19 year old and her laptop. What if I’m only being wooed at the moment, and old (not so) faithful would have been the right move? I guess it’s time to do what is right for ME - in so many, many ways.
August 5th, 2008 at 11:46 am
To be honest, I was surprised & disappointed when you tweeted that you bought a Dell. Great to have you back in the “cool crowd!”
I haven’t regretted switching since I went through the long, laborious process almost a year ago. Switched both desktop and laptop over, and even have Windows running on both. My only big issues have been with Mail.app when handling a large collection of emails.
Now that you’re back, may I suggest a few great GTD and social networking apps? A Google search will bring these right up:
Evernote
OmniFocus
TweetDeck
Snackr
… and now you do realize you need an iPhone, right?
August 5th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
michele, i can tell you are way too cool and hip to be tied to your pc. i trust the gang at apple to keep the relationship fresh. go mac. go now.
August 5th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
chris, as with most religions, i fear it may lead to war. my it support doesn’t do a good job with macs, so they will not be happy. outside of the designers, everyone else at k&p is on pcs? do i force my new religion on them. if so when? can’t go out and buy 25+/- macs all at once. the iphone is its own issue. i am a verizon fan. hated at&t. can’t imagine giving up the best coverage on the planet, but can’t imagine waiting two years until verizon gets it. all difficult decisions. thanks for the tips on the apps!
August 5th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Congrats on leaving the death star… completing the 12-Step Program…worshiping at the alter of Steven Jobs…When it comes to Web 2.0/video/multimedia stuff, MAC rules. See for yourself: http://tinyurl.com/hj8dh
Click on 2006 “Better Results” starring Tom Brady’s woman. I too was ridiculed by smart-ass art folk in my time. But I have seen the errors of my way. Friends dont let friends drive pcs…I need an iLife.
August 5th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
I didn’t realize I how much I missed your blogs until they came back, now that you are back from your working vacation.
Once you go Mac, you never go back. Welcome into the light
August 5th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
shane, you get funnier by the post!
August 5th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
thanks larry! i wrote four posts in july, but it was most def less than normal. glad to be back in the blogroove.
August 5th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
my my - I always had you pegged for Mac! I’m shocked that I had it wrong - don’t even think about turing back - I left the PC world 5 years ago - great decision!
August 5th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
theresa — apparently you are not alone! i take that as a compliment and assure you i will be soon…
August 5th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Hey, Kel. So glad to hear you’ve seen the virtues of a Mac. I’ve been working on a Mac at home for a couple of years now and love it. You could encounter issues with certain applications that are not made for Macs. So, if you plan to pimp out your MySpace page, you better stay on a PC
Really though, there are some business considerations to be had if you are on a Mac. Just be sure that all of the apps you are currently using are compatible with it or it could mean that you are getting Virtual PC- which can slow down your computer and suck up memory. Not sure where you repair your Macs, but I highly recommend Modern Mac Repair (Brian Iler) out of Belmont. I’ve interacted with those folks since 2002 and have tried other companies. So far, they remain the best I’ve worked with.
August 6th, 2008 at 10:22 am
ruth, thanks for the great insight and advice! very helpful. yesterday a virus brought down and wiped out ginny’s (our president) pc. not fun. the it guy is still trying to resolve the issue. it won’t be long…
August 6th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
My Mac smiles for you. Congrats. - BC
August 6th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
ben, we should introduce our macs when i get mine. as i mentioned i’m holding out for a slim, sexy version. your beefy mac may be interested in mine. tee-hee…
August 7th, 2008 at 10:49 am
We been going back and forth for 2 years about switching at the tv station. I’m hoping this year we can ease into it. As my life is changing for the better, I feel a change to mac can only be a good thing.
August 7th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
mike, that would be great. given where your life is heading, i think a nice, thin, sexy macbook air would be the perfect size for you. hahaha….
August 13th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Let’s be clear… is it the operating system you are in love with or is it the actual hardware? I think the battle is not between Mac and PC, but between Leopard and XP or Vista.
MY ADVICE:
Remember to buy a mouse cause you can’t live without two buttons and scroll wheel.
Also, Safari is FAIL. Be sure to keep a copy Firefox or better yet, Flock onboard.
A MBP with a 15.4 widescreen is worth the extra cake. The tiny 13 incher hurts my head.
Good luck.
August 13th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
lenwood, good question. i think the answer is (d) — all of the above. and thanks for the advice! will follow your leads. have i mentioned i love cake…
August 27th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Kel, I always tell people, “Once you go Mac, you never go back.” Congrats on making the big move.
August 27th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
pam, thanks for the positive reinforcement. i haven’t gone yet because i heard the macbook pro air will be coming out in late september. at that point there will certainly be no coming back! in the meantime, i just ordered my brother the 1st computer of his life and it was a mac. gotta get my fix any way i can!
October 8th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Hey, let us know how it works out! I’m thinking about doing the same thing….
October 9th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
karen. will do! i hear apple’s new product — combo macbook pro + air — is due out soon. can’t wait!