Donald Pittenger writes:

Dear Blowhards --

After 23 years of owning Microsoft/Intel based computers I finally bit the bullet, er, make that the Apple.

Time was I regarded Apples as hippy-dippy, non-serious machines. Which they largely were if your computing needs called for serious number-crunching and the ability to deliver data to corporate clients.

But times and circumstances change. I dropped my data business after the Germans took over my then-biggest client, Chrysler (my contacts disappeared). Now I'm about to retire and don't see much reason to pursue demographics further. That means I don't need a big, honkin' number-smashing machine that knows how to speak APL and J.

For its part, Apple Computer came to its senses and ditched their old CPU and went to Intel. That move means Macintoshes can run software with Intel-style byte-structure without having to emulate; the practical result is a big speed-up for such tasks. Moreover, Macs are getting the capability of running Windows as a separate, partitioned operating system.

Furthermore, I now see the need for having a portable computer. Well, okay, I've seen the need for some time. But I couldn't justify the cost of getting one, especially if I needed a semblance of the power I required for my desktop machine. Powerful laptop computers have always been comparatively pricey. This consideration has been erased by my change in focus from demography; now I need a computer for blogging, other Internet use, and light writing and spreadsheet work.

Finally, I had dissatisfaction with Dell and, by extension other Windows/Intel computers. Thus far this year I've spent $140 on virus-removal, half of it related to a short non-protected period when I had to rebuild my operating system and software following replacement of a defunct hard drive. And when I bought a flat-panel monitor (that proved to be slightly defective) I spent hours on the phone with Dell trying to straighten things out. (Now that Dell is a huge company, it is highly bureaucratized. Worse, its phone-tree system makes it difficult to get help with non-standard problems. In past years, I had been happy with Dell: no longer.)

The Mac I bought was the bottom-of-the line MacBook. It won't replace the Dell, not at first anyway.

The fancier Intel-based Mac portables seemed too expensive, and the MacBook, in theory, ought to be able to serve my modest needs. (I'm not into computationally-intensive activities such as video or gaming.)

Besides the basic computer, I got an HP scanner/printer that should make it more convenient to get certain illustrations into this blog (till now, I had to plead with my sister to scan some stuff). I also bought a two-button mouse, thinking that I might need it if I get the Windows-partitioning software. Also, I think a mouse would be handier when a desktop was available, when not in literal lap-top mode. And I bought the Microsoft Office software package for compatibility with the Dell. I can download the J language to the Mac too, I think.

What I didn't know I should have gotten was a modem. For perfectly good reasons that I won't go into, I still use dialup Internet service. I'll go to cable in a few months. But I assumed the computer had a built-in modem and the salesman at the Apple Store never thought to mention the fact that it didn't. So now I'll have to get to an Apple Store this next weekend and buy the modem; then I'll get the MacBook up and running.

Now for the blegs I've not-so-subtly been leading up to.

First, besides the external modem, what (if any) hardware will I need when I go cable? And what about wireless Internet? ... will that require hardware too? ... or do I have to buy more software for that? Furthermore, once I'm geared up for all three connection modes, is it easy for the Mac to distinguish or get flipped from one to another as required?

The Apple Store offered a one-year consultation option costing about $100. Is this a good thing to have? My sister, who is fairly computer-savvy, went to a Mac last year and tells me that her learning curve was steep and still uncompleted. I thought Macs were supposed to be simple. Or is it that I have to un-learn Windows stuff?

Sorry to trouble you all with my ignorance and likely incompetence. But having a MacBook (and knowing how to use the thing) will allow me to post once I get into post-retirement travel mode.

Thank you for any suggestions on the points I raised as well as for other important matters I need to be aware of.

Later,

Donald

The Mac is a different beast indeed. You do have a fair amount of stuff to unlearn, since the Macintosh does do things differently.

As to the hardware and software you'll need for broadband and wireless. Check the documentation that came with your Macbook. Also check the Macbook web page for additional informationp.

Okay, just checked out the beast. For wireless you have a choice between Airport and Bluetooth. You would use Airport for a Mac based home wireless network, Bluetooth for wifi hotspots and internet cafes.

Your Macbook should last you a good, long time. My iMac is now 8 years old and still doing well. (I could use a new Macintosh (PayPal, make donation to: mythusmage@mythusmage.com ) however, since this beast is 8 years old. Macs are sturdy, not immortal.) But, be aware even a Macintosh can have problems.

If you haven't be sure to get anti-virus software (there are Mac viruses out there), a good disc maintenance software package, anti spyware software, and a file translator. Could be more software to get, but I'm spacing it right now.

One more thing. If you find things are going especially well with your new Macbook, get an iMac for the home. The keyboard is a lot easier to work with than the one that comes on a Macbook, and it has a larger screen.

Good luck.

Posted by: Alan Kellogg on July 11, 2006 6:08 PM

I actually made the exact same switch a few weeks ago. With almost the same history and reasons (though I did the MacBook Pro, but I assume they're almost the same).

When you get a cable modem, you should have everything you need in your computer. To add wireless, you'll need a WiFi box to attach to your cable modem. But you computer should have all the hardware & software for it's end built-in.

Posted by: Dan on July 11, 2006 6:08 PM

Donald - I 'm not a techy, but I love my Mac. since you didn't get a built-in modem you will have to buy one. Get it at the mac store specifically for your computer. It comes with software. For wireless, you will also need to buy an airport. Buy at the Mac store, also. It also comes with software. Make sure when buying this stuff that you tell them which Mac you have, and which version of the operating system you have.

For high speed internet access, choose DSL or cable - make sure you tell the company you chose to provide the service that you use a Mac computer and tell them which version of the operating system you have.

I use DSL through my phone company - they sent the software, and a filter for the phone line. It was incredibly simple to set up. I use an iBook G4, Mac OSX and I can access the internet from anywhere in my house. And there are no viruses!! You will soon be very happy with your mac.

My husband spent the $100 for consultation and has
been going into the mac store once a week for advice, tutoring etc. (he uses it for music) He's getting his moneys worth. I have no interest in this so I just bought a reference book (available at the Mac store) which I use when needed.

Good luck!

Posted by: Patty on July 11, 2006 6:22 PM

Macs. My first computer was an Apple II. Now, when I was still a kid, I saw one of the early, early Macintoshes. It might have been an original, I don't know.

What is Jobs' big focus? Design? And the Apple marketing department stresses beauty/ease of use/fun/etc. Now, as a kid, I was presumably a good target for a platform designed for ease and fun. I took one look at the Mac.

No color.
A screen that measured about 6 inches.

Ugh. Why? Why would they put out such an obvious piece of crap? Better systems existed five years earlier. (Better in the ways that actually mattered.)

Then, the Macintosh II came out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_II

Released: 1987. Processor: 68020 16 Mhz. Price $5500

Compare with the Amiga 1000:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiga_1000

Released: 1985. Processor: 68000 7 Mhz. Price: $1595

That trend has remained largely unchanged. Apple has consistently released products that cost twice or more than similar, earlier, often better products. (Better? Check out the picture of the Amiga 1000's mouse. TWO BUTTONS! In Nine-teen, Eighty-Frickin'-Five. It has taken about Two decades for Apple to catch this wave. Christ.)

Later, my mother got an iMac. At 800 Mhz, it seemed to perform about as well as my 400 Mhz cheapo, at least for basic things like starting/stopping programs. For advanced things like scrolling down a document, it seemed worse. On my mother's Mac, I first saw the looney-toons style (design?) taskbar, with friendly/happy/vomit-inducing icons that expanded when the one-button mouse went over them. Christ, it sickens me just thinking about it.

And that mouse! It wasn't just a one-button-mouse. That one-button EQUALED the mouse. The whole top was a button. They seem to hate buttons, only having one, but then make that one so big they seemed to be members of the button-of-the-month club. You'd have to palm the sucker to get it to work.

Anyway. So later I took a crappy job doing tech support. We supported PCs and Macs. I won't get into it, but I am certain, beyond a doubt, that Apple specifically screws with its OS to prevent 3rd party hardware and software from working properly. Nobody talks about this, as most Mac-afficiacondos seem to've drunk the flavor aid already, but watch out.

Anyway. So they finally have Intel, just as AMD is taking the lead.

Bleh.

Here's a typical counterview:

http://www.paulgraham.com/mac.html

"...his whole research group at MIT recently bought themselves Powerbooks."

Don't worry. They replaced linux machines, not Windows machines. Yet, I was shocked to see a video of a classroom at CMU filled with Macintoshes. Very painful to watch. When you talk about design, however, remember that all those kids also own plastic pointy Vulcan ears.

Posted by: onetwothree on July 11, 2006 6:36 PM

My MAC life began with one of those funny little boxes that the school bought because the superintendent was friends with the lady who owned the store. You know, the kind that came with a little pillow that looked just like it, so that if you got too frustrated you could throw the pillow against the wall?

Then I stepped BACK to a refurbished LISA, a great big machine with a little tiny screen that I had to use in the basement next to the washing machine because that was the only three-prong plug in the house. By now I'm up to an eMAC which I got for $800 new. I've loved them all.

Through the same time period almost every job I've had has forced me to use Windows -- crash, crash, crash. It's always Kristalnacht with Windows. MACs don't crash. And software for Windows was always buggy, esp. for government work.

Donald, the best advice I can give you where you are is to join the local Mac Users group. The one in Portland is PMUG, so I suppose yours might be SMUG. They know arcane stuff no one else can figure out, they love to teach newbies, they're interesting as a group (great contacts), low key, access to discount stuff. There should be a little SMUG store there somewhere.

Also, the discussion lists accessed through the MAC website is often useful. Lots of times you don't need to ask your question because someone else already asked it and was answered earlier.

You will not regret this. Congratulations.

Prairie Mary

Posted by: Mary Scriver on July 11, 2006 6:52 PM

Congrats on making the change! The Wife and I love our iMac, now approaching its first birthday. We've had Macs at home for years and love 'em, though I'm stuck with Windows 2000 at work. (Yech.) Amazing how solid OSX is -- we've never had a system crash, although programs still do crash occasionally.

A few tips.

* Don't get Microsoft Word. Too expensive, no need. We use Nisus Writer Express (downloadable online), and save everything in RTF format. Everyone can read and open it on no matter what platform. Works super-well -- no complaints about Nisus Writer at all. Apple sells something called Pages as part of its iWork package, and it's usable, but it's mainly a page-layout program. I'm of the "first you write and only then do you lay it out" school, so it's Nisus for me. Mariner Writer (also downloadable) also has a nice rep.

* For general organization, I love love love Yojimbo. You can dump pictures, web pages, notes to yourself into it, and find 'em again with no sweat.

* Get to know the iLife suite of programs the Mac comes with. My own verdicts: iPhoto's great. A shoebox for your photos, with some good basic image-editing capacities. Weirdly, you can't resize a photo within iPhoto, so you'll need Photoshop Elements, or you can download this free software. iTunes is great. Feed your CDs in, and then have a ball burning your own, creating playlists, getting an iPod, etc. One warning: the music gets compressed, and my ears rebelled at the default compression level Apple sets the program at. I bumped the quality level up quite a bit, and now my ears are happy. (Go to "preferences" in iTunes, then to "importing." iMovie is cool for editing short and easy video -- don't think you're going to be making a feature film on it, though. Five minute videos max. Some neat effects, though, and it will probably work with video you take on your "still" digital camera.

* Apple wants you to use their Mail and Address Book programs. I gave 'em a look and decided not to. They have some nice features, but there's too much synching involved. Far easier to use a web-based email service like Gmail or Yahoo Mail.

* Do buy AppleCare, which for a hundred or two hundred bucks extends your warrantee coverage an extra couple of years. You may never use it, but if you ever do have a problem you'll be glad you had it.

* Do you have a full -fledged Apple Store near enough to you? With classes and such? Get to know it - some of the one-hour presentations I've been to have been pretty good. (Some have been lousy, but you almost always pick up a tip or two. And they're free.)

* I bought Apple's ProCare program for 90 or so bucks and it's been worthwhile. With it, you get up to an hour a week one on one with an Apple Store geek. You go online, sign up, show up, and get personal coaching. You could use it every week for a year, which would make it a tremendous bargain. Even if you use it only five times, that's still a good deal. Plus it gets you preferential treatment at the Genius Bar should your machine ever need attention. Having a laptop makes ProCare even better, becaues you can bring your machine in and stare at it next to a techie, who will help you with whatever you want help with. Nice deal!

* If you want to puzzle things out for yourself, Lynda.com has a nice set of video tutorials. You can subscribe for a month or two and work your way through their OSX tutorials -- they have iMovie and iPhoto and some others as well. Much easier than using a book.

Posted by: Michael Blowhard on July 11, 2006 8:02 PM

Good tips aplenty here.

I've had a G4 Powerbook for three and a half years, and it's still a joy to me. I do a great deal of home video shooting (4-year-old daughters are just so video-friendly!) and I use iMovie and iDVD extensively to edit and burn DVDs of videos/photos. It's just plain fun.

Onetwothree makes some valid criticisms of Macs, but allow me to offer one counterpoint. Macs are not just style over substance. In early 2003, when I was shopping for a new machine, I immediately identified the Powerbook as having the features I wanted: good photo/video editing capacities, and a built-in DVD burner. I went to a couple of local computer shops and asked about Windows notebooks that had the same capabilities. The reactions I received ranged from blank looks to outright laughter. My options were to buy a relatively high-end and hence expensive windows notebook, get third-party video editing and DVD burning software, and to buy a clumsy, inelegant external DVD burner that would come with its own set of software, usability tics, and so on.

Oh, and one little correction to Allan Kellogg's tips: you will use your Airport card whenever and wherever you connect to a wifi network,. Apple's OSX will pick up all the signals you can receive automatically, and display the strongest one first. You just choose the one you want from a pull-down menu. Bluetooth is useful for tasks such as sending files (e.g. photos or audio ringtones) to and from mobile phones or other hand-held devices, and sometimes for quick notebook-to-notebook file transfers. It's not particularly fast, though.

Posted by: mr tall on July 11, 2006 9:06 PM

One last comment. I usually don't go in for long-term warranties, but I also decided to spring for the AppleCare 3-year deal. My machine has never actually stopped working normally, but I did have a couple of minor problems, so I took it in just before the warranty expired. The techies did a full diagnostic, and found my logic board was going bad, plus a couple of other little things I hadn't noticed, and they went ahead and replaced/fixed them all.

As Michael said, I ended up glad I had the coverage.

Posted by: mr tall on July 11, 2006 9:49 PM

You will regret this so much your teeth will fall out and your hair will turn to cobwebs. And there is no going back! You poor, poor man.

Posted by: Don McArthur on July 11, 2006 9:56 PM

Oh, Apple will/may try to get you to subscribe to their online club/service .Mac (pronounced dot-Mac). Skip it. I've tried it and can't see the point to it. The only thing .Mac offers that I've made much use of are some tutorials, but even they aren't very deep -- the Lynda.com tutorials are far better.

Posted by: Michael Blowhard on July 11, 2006 10:17 PM

So far as I can tell from your link, the MacBook is indeed one of the Intel-based Macs.

Posted by: David Sucher on July 11, 2006 11:42 PM

My boyfriend and I are both desktop and laptop Mac users and have been for years. (I've also used PCs forever at various jobs.) I'll second (and third, on behalf of my BF) this notion: get the extended warranty. While we've both had so little trouble (compared to my PC-using friends) with our computers, things do arise. Example: a year or so ago, while living in Cameroon, my BF's 17" PowerBook G4 stopped being able to accept a charge. Friends sent new batteries and new powercords, all to no avail. Sent the computer back to Apple, they replaced the laptop with a brand-new model and transferred all the data over. No questions.

Plus - if you live near an Apple store/Genius Bar, the preferential treatment is worth it. Every Apple store I've ever been to has people lined up outside the door before they even open. And, those Genius Bar guys, while not infallible, rock. After returning from Cameroon, I took my 12" PowerBook in, just to have them give it the once-over, since I'd spent a year riding around on dusty, rutted dirt paths in crappy, overstuffed Toyota vans, and thought maybe they could just make sure everything was still in decent shape. They popped it open, cleaned it all out, made sure all my connections were intact and sent me on my way. All for free!

Mazel tov!

Posted by: Gwinn on July 12, 2006 7:26 AM

Donald,

Great purchase! You will, indeed, be very happy in the long run with your MacBook. I thought I'd throw in a few cents here as a former Mac Specialist at an Apple Store (one of those people who sell you Macs), a current Mac support tech, and longtime user/fan:

---There are three supplimental programs Apple Stores try to sell you with each Mac: AppleCare, .Mac, and ProCare.

AppleCare is the extended support and service plan (much more than warrenty coverage!!) and highly recommended. As others have said, get this.

.Mac is an online service, I use it primarilly for data syncing and sharing between computers, but there are many more features. However, most of them have a better web-based counterpart (Gmail, Flickr, etc.) so unless you want the convenience of them all in one place I would pass, at least until Apple makes a major upgrade.

ProCare is the in-store, weekly support program for $99 a year. This is a fabulous program and I highly recommend it. There are a few features that make this easily worth your time and money: priority support at Genius Bar with ability to make appointments a week in advance (The Genius Bar is in-store hardware support and I've seen people wait six hours to get seen), weekly one-on-one training sessions (anything goes, photos, email, whatever), once-a-year full maintenence for any (up to 10) Macs you own (cleaning, software updates, hardware check-up), plus all of this is worldwide support so if you are traveling you can take advantage at any Apple Store you are near.

Summary: Get AppleCare and ProCare

---Software. Office is a great purchase, especially if you're familiar with it from PC days. There are some good alternatives though. I like iWork, Apple's publishing and presentation package, but it doesn't have a spreadsheet. Other than that, pretty much everything you need to get started is included on the Mac. You have a web browser (Safari), email (Mail.app), Address Book, calendar (iCal), iLife (good comments on that already) and the sharpest, most stable operating system out there, OS X (soon to be better known in the world by its awkward, half-witted clone, Windows Vista).

I recommend downloading FireFox and/or Camino (a Mac specific version of FireFox) as well. Some web sites still don't like Safari all that much.

Check out macworld.com and some of the Apple blogs, macuser.com, tuaw.com, macnn.com, versiontracker.com/mac, for more software recommendations.

--Security. Your Mac is instantly secure. I know that's a difficult notion for a PC user, but it's true. Not that there will never be a virus for the Mac, but right now there are none. That's right, none! You can get anti-virus software, though, and it might be a good idea just in case the sky starts to fall or the oceans dry up, because soon after that someone might develop a Mac virus.

Why is the Mac secure? The operating system is designed that way. Macs have a paltry market share and an overwhelming user loyalty. Windows is exactly opposite. Thus, Windows gets attacked while Macs sit back and think of ways to protect themselves if anyone ever does notice they are around. It's a playground analogy but an apt one.

For the same reasons you won't get spyware or adware and there's no need to look out for it.

---Switching. There will be a bit of adjustment to your Mac. Mainly you just have to un-learn all of the troublesome and unneccesary steps and hassles that Windows puts you through. Macs are generally very intuitive. In my opinion, they just make more sense. You'll be off and running, doing everything you did on your PC in no time.

Now comes the fun stuff, because the Mac isn't just easier to use than a PC but it does so much more in such a simple, elegant fashion. This is where ProCare is awesome. You can make websites, photo albums, movies, compose music, so much more and share all of it with the world. These are things that PCs have never done easily and/or well and your Mac makes it cake. Sit down for a ProCare appointment, or just go into an Apple Store and tell someone to show you something cool. I guarantee they will oblige.

As I have long believed and stand behind: Macs are designed with users in mind. They make doing what you want to do with your computer easy. You'll never go back.

Please keep us updated and if you have any other questions I'm sure you've got a great support team right here.

Posted by: J. on July 12, 2006 10:50 AM

Thanks you all for the tips, advice, warnings, etc. I'll be down in Portland Saturday to try selling more books to Powells and will swing by either the Pioneer Place or Washington Square Apple Store for the modem and likely other stuff/services recommended by you.

As I indicated in the post, I try to buy computers for pragmatic reasons. Apple products simply didn't fit my needs until now, when they switched to Intel CPUs and I needed a portable blogging machine rather than a computer for scientific work (not to mention frustration with Windows machines). So I expect to remain an agnostic in the Religion of Apple; I just hope the thing proves to be trouble and virus free.

If other readers have more advice, please continue to comment here.

Once again, many thanks.

Posted by: Donald Pittenger on July 12, 2006 12:08 PM

Sounds like you got more than enough technical info from folks. :) I'm going to put in my two cents in the Mac/Wintel debate. Two years ago, I did the same thing and purchased an Apple notebook. I spent the money and got the super-highend one since I planned to use it 100% as my personal computer. After about a year, however, I had to sell it. I found I was far too unproductive on it. For me, it was a fundamental design decision which is good for "Maccies", but not for anyone else. That decision was to make the OS extremely mouse-centric.

I found that I was reaching for the mouse far too frequently, and it was slowing me down. One of the most important of Windows interface design standards is that if you're able to do something with the mouse, you must be able to do it entirely with the keyboard. There are notable exceptions, of course, the icons in the system tray being the biggest one but for the most part, there's a keyboard shortcut for everything in the Windows world. Not so in the OSX world. As others will point out you can make a few changes in regards to accessibility features and add keymapping software and such to get it a little closer, but I found it wasn't close enough. Not by a long shot. As someone who spends most of their time on their personal machine writing, the Mac was a beast for me.

At the time as well, Apple was still using the PPC architecture, and despite protests to the contrary, I found the performance to be abysmal compared to the Wintel side. For about 4 years prior I had been using a PIII-1G desktop with 256M of RAM running XP. My Apple was a G4-1.33G with 512M of RAM, and it was easily an order of magnitude slower (no, it wasn't just the harddrive, I spent the money and got the 7200rpm option on the Apple). I've heard rumors that the Intel platform is much faster, but with all of the other issues, I'm not interested in trying. Besides, I've heard that all before. No tanks tried to surround my Powerbook. :)

Aside from that, I found the OS and apps to be very pretty and nice to look at, but functionally they were the same as on the Windows side. So being more difficult to use and slower, I went back to XP. Now, I do this for a living, so despite not using AV or AS, I never have the kinds of problems most end users have, so this was the right choice for me. Others like Apples, more power to 'em, I'm much happier in the Wintel world. :)

Posted by: Spoonman on July 12, 2006 1:20 PM

A Macbook is a great machine to start with. I'm an Apple user, a switcher circa Y2K.

The biggest hurdle will be to unlearn stuff. Don't get frustrated that OS X doesn't do stuff 'the windows way.' While this seems like an obvious distinction, it tends to have echoes in the most obscure places. Case in point: Users tend to be frustrated with things like iPhoto putting photos in its own structure, rather than simply importing photos from an existing structure. Don't get frustrated, however - the idea behind iPhoto isn't specifically a Photo Browser, it's Photo Organization. It's a specific app that does a specific job, and once you get used to not having to worry about file structure, you're golden. (Tip: If you ever need to get to the original, don't try drilling into iPhoto to get to it - simply drag the photo from iPhoto to the desktop.)

Secondly, with regards to networking, if you're constantly flipping networks look at setting up "Locations," and then switching them in the Apple Menu. This will allow, for example, a PPPoE connection on ethernet at home, and then a straight ethernet connection at work/school without having to muck around with the settings every time. Same thing goes for Wireless (different locations = different authentication) and modem (home dial-up vs. road dial-up.)

If you're a writer, consider Mellel. (http://www.redlex.com) By far the best Word Processor I've used. If you're not used to having styles-driven documents, it takes some getting used to but after that it becomes a DREAM.

For Windows compatibility, try Parallels. http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/ You can run all your Windows apps in OSX without rebooting. Nice.

Posted by: andrew on July 12, 2006 1:24 PM

one of the previous commenters said you'll need an Airport to get your cable modem to work with the MacBook'a wifi.

If you get a cable modem that has built-in wireless capacity, then you don't need to buy and attach an Airport base station to the modem. A wireless modem will broadcast to/with the wifi card that's in your laptop.

Posted by: Peter L. Winkler on July 12, 2006 2:33 PM

More Recommendations:

In browsers, download iCab for OSX. It's still in beta, and the commercial release is a fair way off. At the same time, it is standards compliant, and handles style sheets and other formatting features better than IE.

Where spyware etc. is concerned, go ahead and get anti-spyware software. Mac spyware might not be out there, but better to take precautions.

Where anti-Mac criticism is concerned, keep in mind that 99.99% of the time it comes down to, "It doesn't work like Windows."

Posted by: Alan Kellogg on July 12, 2006 8:17 PM

I've used and loved Macs for 20 years, but I agree with Spoonman on one crucial criticism of OSX:

It's lack of keyboard controls is just galling. The fact that I can access ANY menu with 2-3 keystrokes in Windows is such an intuitive, time-saving way to work that it amazes me that Apple has not duplicated this functionality on the Mac --

— after all, it is not as if enabling it would in any way negatively impact those users who do not want to work that way... It is a feature there to bused by those who want it, and to be unobtrusively ignored by those who don’t. [Heck, many Widows users are surprised when I show them the keyboard controls.]

The only reasons I can think for Apple to continually exclude decent keyboard control is:

1. Somehow Microsoft has patented IP in this area and will sue Apple if it duplicates this style
[doubtful, as many DOS programs had it before Windows ever shipped],
or
2. Steve Jobs personally won't have any Widows-like functionality polluting his pristine OS.

Posted by: Paul Worthington on July 13, 2006 3:44 PM






Post a comment

Name:


Email Address:


URL:


Comments:


Remember your info?