Retraining oneself - Menu bar

The Menu bar (File, Edit, Window, Help, etc.) of options is along the very top for any application on the Mac. Not at the top of the application itself, but at the top of the Mac's screen.

It took me a while to get used to this change. I have retrained myself now. Remember this so you are not fumbling around...

CrossOver Mac (another Windows VM)

Macworld article on CrossOver Mac.

I haven't tried CrossOver, and am quite happy with the application compatibility provided by Parallels.

VPN-for-hire protection

This is a good article in the Seattle Times on VPN services one could use with their Mac laptop. I have not tried any of these services.

ComputerWorld article on Parallels

ComputerWorld has a good article on the latest version of Parallels.

Browser and Email

I started using the Mac's default web browser Safari, but I like Firefox better and so have been using that browser.

The Mac's default Mail client has been working fine for me. I used Thunderbird on my previous Windows laptop. Each email client is slightly different but provide similar levels of functionality, and so I stayed with the Mac product.

A better Remote Desktop for the Mac?

Luke called out the CoRD open-source project to me. Definitely worth a look...

Experiences with Parallels

Parallels is an incredible piece of software. It allows you to seamlessly(!) run Windows XP as a window on the Mac.

Installation is easy. Install Parallels, and then feed it the CD and license key for Windows XP. It looks just like you're installing Windows on a new computer. Once done, one must point the IE web browser to update.microsoft.com multiple times to download all the latest fixes. I also installed an anti-virus program on the Windows installation.

One lesson learned on this. I used the option in Parallels to quickly and easily create a typical virtual machine (VM). This works great, but note that it only allocates 8 GBytes of disk space. I strongly encourage you to think about the total disk space you may need for Windows and related software, and allocate the disk space when creating the virtual machine. Parallels does allow you to create a second drive later, but one cannot enlarge an existing NTFS drive/partition unless you have software such as Partition Magic. Plan ahead.

Parallels will dynamically manage the memory footprint on the Mac. I have 2 GBytes of RAM on my Mac and so using 512 MBytes or even 1 GByte of RAM for Windows/Parallels is not a problem. One can also dynamically change the Screen Resolution for Windows, and Parallels will automatically resize the window.

Newer versions of Parallels provide a more transparent perspective into the virtual machine. I have yet to play with these features.

T + many. "insert dork here"

I'm up and running, everyday use of the Mac, and generally things are going well. I even got a wireless/cellular data card (model USB720) from Verizon Wireless and am impressed with the performance (1507 kb/s down, 680 kb/s up). I used speedtest.net to obtain those metrics.

Last night I got flustered over nothing. I was using Terminal to connect to my Linux server, and then was using the emacs editor on Linux to edit some Perl scripts. The command keystrokes (e.g. save file) didn't seem to be working and I thought there was a difference in the keystroke mapping between Windows and the Mac. Nope. PICNIC (problem in chair, not in computer). Turns out I was just so used to the position of the keys on my previous Windows laptop that I was simply entering the wrong keystrokes.

So once again I am finding this to be a relatively seamless transition (ignoring my own stupidity).

T + 4. Everyday use now

Today is the second day of bringing the Mac to work. I'm forcing myself to use it, and things are going well. My coworker Luke gave me this list of must try software...

Menu Meters
$ Free
A Very handy system resources meeter for your menu bar (top of the screen)
Similar information to that of the iStatPro widget, but more compact
and easy to view

Quicksilver
$ Free
Keyboard launcher, file orginizer, finder, swiss army knife. VERY useful

iTerm
$ Free
Terminal.app replacement. Features tabs, Unix style copy/paste, etc
It's configuration screens are kind of unintuitive, but it's worth it.

Growl
$ Free
Nice system wide message tool. Basically it works with dozens of other
apps to deliver messages and status in a single way.

TextWrangler
$ Free
The free version of the extremely powerful BBEdit text editing tool.
Very nice for coding and scripting

OfficeTime
$40
Absolutely must have for the Mac based consultant. It's a time
tracking, reporting and invoicing tool. I've tried at least 4 of these
tools on the mac and this one is by far the best. Two of my friends
who do independent consulting and use macs have come to this same
conclusion. Worth every penny of the $40.

AdiumX
$ Free
Very nice multi network IM client. Works with MSN, Yahoo, Gtalk, AOL,
and a dozen others



And another list of if the need suits you software

Yojimbo
$39
Simple but very effective organization tool. Stores text, passwords,
documents, PDFs, etc in an easy to tag and organize system.

NetNewsWire
$29
RSS/RSS2/ATOM/XML reader. I've used over a dozen of these tools (there
are TONS) and this is by far my favorite. Very worth the money if you
read a lot of news and other RSS feeds. I save lots of time with this.

Ecto 2
$18
Good blog editor. If you plan on continuing your blog, this tool will
prove handy.

Why Microsoft should fear Apple

A good article in ComputerWorld.

How to connect to a Windows share from the Mac

I saw an article on LifeHacker.com and thought it was worth posting here.

Monitoring resource utilization

From Finder, Applications -> Utilities -> Activity Monitor

Or perhaps the free iStat Pro widget for one's Dashboard.

Both are suitable for monitoring the processor, memory, and disk resources on the Mac.

T + 2 days. Plenty of progress!

I successfully used the rsync command to copy files from my Linux (backup) server to the Mac. Here is the sample syntax to copy my MP3 files to the existing Music folder (change mylogin to your actual user name on the Linux server).
rsync -a -v -z -e ssh mylogin@192.168.1.101:/home/mylogin/Music /Users/petersamson

I will ultimately use one or more rsync commands to backup my Mac to my Linux server. I do not need the backup service with .Mac. For example:
rsync -a -v -z -e ssh /Users/petersamson mylogin@192.168.1.101:/home/mylogin

It was easy to install Office:mac. This gives me Excel, PowerPoint, and Word on my Mac.

It was also easy to install Parallels and my virtual Windows XP Professional machine. I installed the core Parallels software, started Parallels, registered the Parallels product, and then installed Windows XP Professional (within Parallels) using the Express installation. Seamless! I am very impressed. It looks and feels just like Windows XP, except it is within a window on my Mac. Of course, I had to work my way through multiple, critical updates to my Windows XP installation since the base/CD image is not current with the latest fixes. More details to come on resource management of the virtual machine, security considerations, etc.

For the Windows XP Professional virtual machine, I also installed McAfee anti-virus (yes, I feel it is prudent even in a virtual machine), Visio, and MS Project. I will install other tools such as Visual Studio and the SQL Server client in the near future.

T + 1 day. File transfers

I used Fugu for some of my file transfers from Linux to the Mac last night, but Fugu is just not as evolved as WinSCP. So I'll complete the job using command-line rsync.

I'll write more details on rsync this weekend since it may be of use to others.

T + 0.5 days. Decisions

I haven't turned the Mac on since the initial setup the other night. I've been emailing questions to friends and striving to make informed decisions.

For example, copying my data files over to the Mac. My home directory/folder has high-level directories for Documents, Movies/Videos (I forget the name), and Music. I spoke with a friend and reaffirmed that it would be wise to drop my MP3 files in the existing Music folder, vids and stuff under the existing Movies folder, and then my other documents under the existing Documents folder. Sounds trivial, but I want to be thinking in Mac as I perform these initial tasks.

Same for the email client. I need a POP3 email client for some business stuff, and the consensus seems to be the provided Mail client is sufficient. Moreover, there are add-ons available for it out in the market. Ivan recommeneded www.hawkwings.net to me.

Oh, please let me know if you have any recommendations for a GUI client to move files between my Linux server and the Mac. I downloaded something called Fugu(?) but it's not nearly as good as WinSCP for Windows. I only want this for the initial, mass-move of files. Once I'm setup, I'll use the rsync or rsyncx command to backup to my Linux server.

T + 0 days. Setup

I opened the box last night and went through the setup process. Cripes, I'm impressed. Easy process, incredible graphics.

The Mac identified and used my wireless network. Software Update popped up and prompted me to download and install several upgrades. No problem.

System Preferences. Set the date/time and timezone. Screen saver. Lock down the box with some security settings. Again, all no problem.

I didn't get as far as copying over all of my data files yet. I spent time just playing around and then watched Borat.

I was also reminded of the old Clint Eastwood movie Firefox. Clint is told You must think in Russian.... I was attempting to configure the Safari web browser, kept looking for Preferences and Options on the top of the browser window, couldn't find anything, and then realized everything is there along the very top of the screen. I just need to stop thinking like Windows and be a little more flexible in my mind...

Jumped off the cliff

Well, I did it. Bought the 17" Mac last night. Haven't even opened the box yet. More blogging to come as I make the transition...

Information Week article on switching to the Mac

Switching to the Mac - a guide for Windows users

The Great Mac Software Hunt

An interesting ComputerWorld article...

Status on new OS

AppleInsider.com is reporting that the forthcoming 10.5 OS (Leopard) will likely not be released for the end of March. It may delay my purchase - I'm not sure yet...

Only 5 years of support for some Vista variants???

See this ComputerWorld article.

Microsoft Corp. yesterday said it would limit support for three versions of the Windows Vista operating system, including its most expensive, to five years rather than the usual 10 years. The company defended the difference by noting that the clock just started ticking. "End of life-cycle support for Windows Vista is still five years out," a spokesperson said in an e-mail response.

Miscellaneous links

Confessions of a Mac switcher at Microsoft

Mac virtualization: VMware and Parallels side by side

The truth about switching

The Genius Bar

Each Apple store has a Genius Bar. It is a place where one can go to ask questions for free. I went into the local Apple store thinking I could obtain and wait for an appointment, but the queue was too long. I then learned I could make a reservation for a date/time over the web, did this, and was able to get answers or preliminary ideas to many questions. Locate your local Apple retail store and you'll see the link. High-level categories of my questions:

• Dual-boot and Parallels.
• Working with and connecting to other computing resources when everything else is using Windows. I need to have some level of compatibility with my customers.
  
• VPN software. Again, compatibility with my customers.
  
• Anti-virus software. These were the only questions where the fellow tried not to laugh or give me the "just how stupid are you?..." look (or at least that is how I felt anyway).
  

Other configurations considered

Before finalizing the decision to go with the Mac laptop, a friend and I discussed other wild-ass possibilities:

• Windows (XP or Vista) as the core operating system, and a virtual Linux machine
  
• Linux (Ubuntu) as the core operating system, and a virtual Windows machine

It always came back to how much care and feeding would be needed for any of these alternatives, and these discussions further solidified my decision to go with the Mac...

This fellow (Nick) is well into the transition to a Mac, and he's done a great job documenting his experiences.

www.keynote2keynote.com