I haven't posted anything here for a while, and that is mostly due to spending a lot of time with my new toy. Yes, after years with a PC, I've finally converted to a Mac. I purchased a 15.4" Macbook Pro at the Apple Store here in Salt Lake City. The only upgrade I did was install 2GB of RAM which I ordered separately and installed myself. It's totally the way to go ($158 for 2GB). Right when I got it out of the box, Ninja was quick to help. The sound of plastic and the sight of twisty ties got him involved right away. I couldn't help but feel like it was Christmas morning when I was opening it up. I sure dig the "new electronics" smell. Do they sell a car freshener with that scent?

Was it worth switching? Can it really be worth spending extra money for a machine that essentially does the same thing regardless of the brand you buy? I can confidently answer with a resounding yes. From top to bottom, my Macbook Pro is the most impressive compilation of hardware and software I've ever owned. Allow me to break down what I like, and what I don't like.

What I Like

• The Hardware ~ This is the first laptop I've had that's not really noisy from a whirling fan. Yes, Macbooks get pretty hot, but I'd rather have it be hot than noisy. In addition, I love how thin and light it is. It's only 1" thick, and it sure makes those comparable Dells look like bricks. The glossy screen is very nice, though it takes some getting used to having only used a matte screen.
• The Software ~ There's the old saying that Macs "just work." The truth is that that's the truth. You plug in a peripheral, *bing* it's ready. No popups to tell you the system found something, no drivers to worry about. It really does just work. I also like the file navigation in Finder much better than Windows Explorer.
• The Interface ~ This is one is obvious. OSX looks and runs beautifully. Everything I do goes smoothly and all the programs inter-operate seamlessly.

  I really dig the font smoothing (anti-aliasing) in the system and on websites. I can't believe I've surfed the web for so long looking at pixelated text.

• Umm...
• It has taken some adjusting to remember the different keyboard shortcuts, and different programs seem to use shortcuts differently (for example, Excel respects the control key as it does in Windows, but OSX uses Command instead... but Firefox seems different from them both).
• The type in Adobe Studio (Dreamweaver, Flash ActionScript) is a little fuzzy. I've had to play with the typefaces quite a bit.
• I think the Finder icon should be redrawn. Yes, it has been around forever, but it's sorta lame.

Overall, I'm very glad I made the switch, and I'll never go back. Thanks, Mr. Jobs, for a superior computing experience.

This is off the topic, but I'm still working on the next design for Fusionfox. I have a solid direction, but between work, school, and freelancing, I've had little time to work on the new design. It may take a couple more months to get the new design in place. Vamos a ver. Thanks for reading.