[Macworld]

Post your comments for A Windows guru spends two weeks with a Mac here

[mattc986]

I might have missed it in the article, but you say the only way to right click is Option+click? Since sometimes it's inconvenient to drop what you're doing on the mouse/trackpad and reach for the keyboard I use the two-finger click.
I use a MacBook Pro and configured my trackpad (in the Trackpad or Keyboard and Mouse pane of System Preferences) to recognize a two-finger tap as a right click. After a bit of working with it I no longer accidentally right click and it works quite well. Just thought I'd offer that in case you didn't know.

[mattc986]

(moved this reply to another comment)

[mattc986]

I'm sorry, I meant Control+Click is normally how you 'right click', but that can be done with a two-finger tap.
Also I think a huge bonus of the Mac way of handling applications versus Windows is that for the majority of software the entire program is stored in a .app package which appears as a standalone icon. This, while different from Windows, is a more intuitive way of handling programs instead of having them installed in Program Files and various other places. Once I switched to Mac and understood how they worked I couldn't believe I had put up with the Windows way.
You mentioned that many software programs have an installer package in the .dmg file but actually in my experience many downloaded programs will have a .dmg that when opened simply reveals the icon (aka the .app package) and is 'installed' by dragging it to the Applications folder (or anywhere you like). What could be simpler?

[MiniMoe]

A pretty fair review of the Mac from an experienced Windows user's perspective. As Matt points out, you missed the two finger on the trackpad "right-click" feature instead of ctrl-click. Once you get used to the multi-touch "right-click" you'll miss it on Windows notebooks.

[ThePixelDoc]

I find it hard to believe, that as a tech writer, you didn't find the time in 2 weeks to learn a little more about your machine and OSX.
Someone already mentioned the 2-finger tap, but you definitely should have mentioned integrated and animated help within the System Preferences. There you would have found countless things, like Keyboard shortcuts, that you can change system-wide, as well as for individual programs, just to your liking.
Also, you didn't even touch on Finder Find or Spotlight, which is a dream to use on a Mac. You almost never have to drill down through folders ever... and it's also available system-wide in Open, Save, and Save As dialogs. No extra software necessary.
Also, Quicklook... which for me is indispensable and is used literally 100's of times a day.
You REALLY had that "2 weeks"? Hmmm... not sure about the truth of that statement/title.
In your defense, I've helped countless friends moving to the Mac, and the first thing(s) I have to tell them is; 1) you no longer have to be afraid of your computer and screwing it up, and 2) forget almost everything you think you know about, or how you work with WinXP or Vista. Because on the Mac, I will show them how working on a computer should be for any and everybody.
MS get off your butt... and Linux, get organized.

[153957]

Didnt some guy over at computerworld do the same some time (year(s)?) ago..?
ah well.. whatever..

[casfian]

Well no mention of Spaces in OSX.

[Philbert]

A mostly fair review but once again, PC users just can't help pushing the "Mac Tax" myth.
First of all, I think the Macbook Air is poor choice for a first-time, Mac experience under review. It's a niche machine that makes many compromises to achieve it's "air-ness". Sure it's expensive (especially as configured), but try getting a similarly configured Windows machine with similar features for much less. (Of course, the author just had to point out that an Ethernet connection was an added cost. - Note to author: You've picked the only Mac to require this.)
Secondly, the author spends way to much time reviewing irrelevance. Comparing NeoOffice to OpenOffice? Why? Isn't this supposed to be your experience using a Mac for the first time? Sure, mention what you used and summarize the experience but there's no need to go into that much detail. Especially when many of the nicest features of OS X were simply overlooked.
Still, that he's considering a used Mac is the first sign of understanding.
Soon enough, that used Mac will be replaced with new and eventually - several Macs. At that point, he'll understand that the "Mac tax" is not a tax at all. Superior products simply cost more - even if that additional cost isn't as much Windows zealots and MS would have you believe.
-phil

[jpellino]

"the Finder, which is a more impressive and useful version of Windows Explorer"
I love that part. Especially since we all know that back in 1984 the Mac team spent untold hours tweaking the nascent version of the Finder to make sure it was more impressive and useful than Windows Explorer.
Oh, wait.

[Photonerd]

Whoever chose to send him a Macbook Air wasn't thinking at all. Why in God's name would you send the least powerful, most niche Mac laptop instead of say a 15" MacBook Pro that's still fairly light, portable, elegant and more powerful? Genius... so of course we get "this is just machine lust" at the end of the article not "I'm buying a Macbook Pro because the small difference in price over a comparable PC laptop is more than worth it." This is ultimately a PR piece; someone should've planned it as such. Overall it's not a bad article though. His treatment of the OS is pretty even-handed and his conclusion one that we all knew was coming, if he was intent on being honest with himself. ;)

[MacTechAspen]

As long as we are picking nits, it would have been nice if the author or his editors had ponied up the paltry amount required to get iWork.

There is a good chance that the experience may have been confusing for a die hard Office user, but the elegance and ease of use of the Mac does not stop at the operating system. Creating a beautiful spreadsheet is a revelation. Producing a stunning document is a joy, and impressive presentations? A snap.

Yes there are draw backs to iWork especially for someone that is working in a Windows collaborative environment, but the experience would have given the author even more insight into why many of us actually love our Macs.

Similarly, he gives a quick nod to iLife but spends most of the article talking about setting up a network and using free Office wannabes.

Maybe now that he owns an Air of his own he will discover the many other niceties of using a Mac.

[mdawson]

Nice article. My only issue with this piece is the copied from Windows undertone in statements such as:

Quote

... there?s a single Dock across the bottom of the screen, similar to the new taskbar in Windows 7.

Quote

You can also run them from the Finder, which is a more impressive and useful version of Windows Explorer.

While he does qualify the first statement later by stating that Microsoft copied Apple, the wording here implies otherwise. The second statement ignores the fact that the Finder has been around since 1984, so it is Windows Explorer that is a (poor) copy of Finder a not the converse.

Excepting that tone and the continued perpetuation of the mythical Mac tax, I found this to be a rather fair piece, given that he is not accustomed to the Mac and only used one for two weeks. His ending is a bit perplexing, but again it is based on a myth.

[dbutenhof]

{quote}
More disconcerting still is that when you minimize an application, the menu of that application remains open at the top of the screen, even though you may be now looking at an altogether different app.{quote}
This, actually, is not true. What the author probably did was minimize the open WINDOW, by clicking the "-" (yellow light) icon or double-clicking the title bar. The APPLICATION remains active, however, which would be obvious if you had more than one window.

When you minimize the APPLICATION ("Hide " in the application menu), the application is inactive and another application (often Finder) will take over the menu bar. Mac application windows are more independent than in Windows, including the ability to interleave windows from various open applications in the "stacking order" -- extremely useful for reference and copy-paste.

And of course, while the single menu bar model is foreign and initially confusing to Windows users, the scattered array of inactive and useless separate menu bars in Windows is equally confusing to Mac users. You can only use one at a time; and the Mac's is always in a single known place so you don't have to search for the one you need to use. Either model works; I think the Mac's makes more sense, and it certainly follows consistently with Apple's generally "simpler and more elegant" approach to design.