It’s finally happened. The switch is complete.

Back in April of 2003, I bought the best computer I had ever owned up until that point. It was an iBook. 12″ screen, G4 processor at 800 Mhz… 512 Megs of RAM. Did everything I wanted to do except for one thing… Connecting to work. Couldn’t do SQL on it. Couldn’t run Frontpage on it. In fact, every objection I ended up having to keeping it as my only computer was related to things it couldn’t do in my Windows work environment. I quickly decided to let it go, and moved on to a Dell Inspiron 300m, and then later on a Dell Inspiron 700m.

As time passed, though, I got more and more nostalgic. I love the Mac OS. Have since OSX. Nothing coming out of Redmond even comes close as far as usability, power, performance, and stability. I kept telling myself that one day, I would get another iBook and not let work dictate my personal computing. I waited patiently.

Then, Apple announced the move to Intel processors with the iMac and the MacBook Pro. Not only did these machines smoke prior performance benchmarks, they were able to do unheard-of things on the Apple platform shortly thereafter. After Apple introduced the Mac Mini, two hackers came up with a way to boot Windows XP on it. Then came the iMac. Then came the Macbook. This was the opening I needed. I would be able to run Windows for work stuff if I needed to, but I would also be able to run my favorite OS.

Then Apple came out with Bootcamp and I was hooked. Dual booting a system. Sounds good to me.

Then came Parallels and the decision was made for me, basically. Parallels virtualized Windows into the Mac OS, but unlike prior solutions, it performed well because of the included virtualization in the Intel chip. Time to start looking for a new machine.

Then came the clincher. The MacBook. A consumer laptop with a ton of power and an Intel chip. I waited a bit… Saw a deal on the Apple refurb store, and jumped on it like someone had a gun to my head. On day one, I was already hooked to the point where I was ready to make the leap, but of course money is always the issue in computing. I happily used my MacBook for weeks, even using it to produce Information Salad, not to mention churning out a few DVD’s and a comic book for the office. I was happy again, and this time I swore I would never get rid of my Mac. My Windows desktop was being used less and less. No biggie. As long as it was running, all was good.

Then, it happened.

Friday night, I had just finished recording the podcast. Slobokan and I were talking about how it was our best episode yet. We were psyched. We both signed off Skype. I decided to do a few things, and I plugged my thumbdrive in. As soon as I plugged it in, the computer hung. No big deal. I restarted. Plugged in my thumbdrive again, and boom. The computer croaked. Finally I decided I would just reboot and deal with it in the morning.

No such luck. Damn thing would not start a third time. It was completely dead. I decided that I would salvage my data off the Windows PC, and make the move. No more Windows desktops for me. I was ready to buy a Mac Mini and just hook it up to what I had. After thinking about it, I realized I would need at least a Mac keyboard to go with the Mini. Then I read the instructions on replacing the RAM. Not exactly a picnic. It was looking less and less attractive.

I checked out the Apple website and found the much faster iMac 17″. I brought it up to Beth when we got to the Apple Store, and she agreed that for the amount of power and expandability, it made much more sense than the Mac Mini. The purchase was made and all was good. Monday I ordered 2 gigs of RAM for it, which I installed yesterday, and all is right with the world. I’m totally happy for numerous reasons, not the least of which is not having to deal with Windows anymore at home (except for Beth’s laptop, but that’s temporary as we’re getting her a MacBook as soon as her warranty ends).

Folks, if you haven’t checked out a Mac lately, just do it. Seriously. It’s come a long way since the last time you probably looked at it, and while it does take a little retraining of your brain to make things make sense, once you do, you’ll realize how intuitive the OS really is. I’m totally thrilled with both of my Macs, and would recommend Apple to anyone looking for a new home computer. Max out the RAM¬ (from a third party, Apple’s RAM is so expensive it’ll make your eyes bleed) and you can run Windows through Parallels if, for whatever reason, you need to.

I’ll never own a Windows PC again. It really is that simple.

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