So I recently acquired a late-2009 white unibody Macbook. A lot of people have asked me what my thoughts are on Macs, and whether I recommend them or not. Personally, I don't find them any easier to use or any more reliable than a Windows PC. I've crashed Macs. I've crashed PCs. I've got the Blue Screen of Death. I've got the Spinning Beachball of Death. I've had to hard reboot more machines than I can count, and more than once I've wanted to go all "Office Space" on a computer (if you don't get the reference, stop reading and rent Office Space).
So my advice is simple: Buy whatever you will be using most often, and what is within your budget.
So, in my case, my desktop (which I use for photo manipulation, manuscript writing, making presentations etc) is a Windows 7 machine. My network is made up of several Windows computers. Networking between OS X and Windows is a nightmare and I do not recommend it, and so for the sake of my sanity, I stay to Windows. In addition, I sometimes bring work home with me and on the road, and I don't want to have to deal with corrupted files and formatting problems going from one OS to another. That being said, if you're writing all your papers on one machine and don't need to transfer files back and forth, go with whichever OS you prefer. Each has their own benefits and drawbacks (which is more personal preference than actual, tangible, benefits).
So what does this have to do with this week's photo? Well, I like OS X for certain things, in particular, power management and the multitouch trackpad. I can get 7-10 hours of battery life out of the Macbook using OS X, compared to 4-6 using Windows 7, which, if I'm out and about, makes my life considerably easier (since I'm not hunting for power outlets all the time). However, when I really want to work, I want to be able to use Windows to avoid corrupting files and compatibility issues, as well as use the environment I'm used to.
So I installed Boot Camp on the Macbook and now I can have the best of both worlds. When I load it up, I can pick which environment I want to use, and away I go. I also use the combination of Dropbox and Xmarks, to sync files and bookmarks respectively, across all my different machines (work, desktop and both laptop OS's). So now, when I log onto any machine, I get instant access to all my files and bookmarks in Firefox.
Best part is that the whole thing only took an evening to set up (including installing Boot Camp, Windows 7 Ultimate, Office 2007, Xmarks, Dropbox).
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| From Project 52 |
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| From Project 52 |
If anyone wants to know the specifics of how I set this up, shoot me a message.
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