Jason Bedell Online

Let's jump right in to question #3:
3. How easy is a Mac to learn? (and what about running Windows?)

You've debated the in your head the question of “Ok, will I have to re-learn everything?” Reasonable question. And the truth is there is a learning curve but at least 80% is the same or very similar.

Buying a Mac is like moving to another country that speaks the same language as you do. Like if we here in the good ol' U-S-of-A decided to up and move to Australia. We all speak the same basic language, but if you move to Australia, you are going to have a bit of a learning curve. Things like the art of swearing; to drive on the right side of the road, which is the left for Aussies (yep, left is right there); to write your dates the right way around; to eat a cold Christmas lunch; to learn to spell all those “z” words with an “s”; and put a “u” between “o” and “r”. And the hardest thing—you have to learn to walk upside down.

It doesn’t take long to familiarize yourself though.

And so it is switching from Windows to Mac. There are some programs you will be familiar with, such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint, iTunes and Photoshop, others that will be familiar enough, like Safari, Mail and Address Book; others that might take some a little time to learn, like iMovie, Garageband; and others that will make you glad you switched like iPhoto, iChat, and iCal. And the operating system itself, OS X, is even easier to learn.

But maybe your a little scared and still can't cut the apron strings from your Windows baby. No need to fear, Macs can do Windows too (and in most cases a little faster).

There are currently 4 different alternatives for running Windows on a Mac easily. Here we go!

Bootcamp: This will allowed you to install Windows on your computer and when you boot your computer up you can select which operating system to run. The only draw back I see with this is that you have to restart your computer to go between Mac's OS X and Windows XP (I wouldn't even fathom putting Vista on a Mac, or any electronic device for that matter).

Parallels: This program ($79) was the first to really put mainstream Windows running smoothly on Intel based Mac machines. It has received rave reviews and people seam to love it. Parallels is currently in the 3.0 design and unfortunately does not yet support Firewire connectivity, but there is a work around for that (see discussion thread here). Unlike Bootcamp, you can run Windows and Mac OS X at the same time without interfering with one another.

VMware Fusion: Like Parallels, this program ($79) is another alternative for running Windows and PC based programs on your Mac. It does almost all the same things Parallels does with some different features. To each his own and if you want to compare VMware & Parallels, check out this article.

Virtual Box: Unlike Parallels and VMware, this program is FREE! Yes, I said free. It's an open source project that allows you to do almost everything Par/VM can do, but doesn't hit you in the pocket. It's come a long way and allows you to run Windows and OS X at the same time. Virtual Box is definitely worth checking out and seeing it it meets your Windows needs.

So whether you're learning the new easy-to-use Mac OS X or jumping onto the Windows side of your computer to use your staple... Mac gives you the best of both worlds without having to keep that clunky PC around. Ministry is looking up my friends. Next time we'll take a look at the question of, "Is a Mac more secure than a PC?"

J-del **over and out**


[discussion/article adapted from entries by Chris Howard]