Two weeks with the Mac

Well, everyone who uses a Mac raved about them, so I decided to join them and see what the fuss ia about.

I bought an Apple MacBook Pro - the 13" for portability - and upgraded it to 8Gb of RAM and a 128Gb solid state hard drive. It flies like the wind!

The build quality is superb; far better than any PC I've ever owned.

I've deliberately opted to avoid using a Windows parallel system, and I've resisted the temptation to use Office for Mac.

I find that Apple Mail suits my email purposes just fine, and in place of Business Contacts Manager for Outlook I've bought Daylite, which is a very impressive CRM package for Mac, and it integrates perfectly with Apple Mail.

Instead of Office, I've installed NeoOffice (don't even get me started on how superb the Mac is for installing and uninstalling programs!) and it's great! It will open all my Word, Excel and PowerPoint files and contains all the functionality I need without the bloatedness of its Microsoft counterpart. It's also free, although you can make a donation, which seems only fair.

The only concession I've had to make in switching to a Mac is the loss of the ability to take handwritten notes as I did on my tablet. The input pen I bought to use with the Mac was very unimpressive. To get round that, I'm going to buy an iPad 2 to take notes on and integrate them with the MacBook.

All things considered I'm delighted I made the switch. The Mac boots up in 14 seconds, does what it's supposed to do - very  quickly - backs itself up to an external drive every hour without my even noticing, never crashes, needs no anti-virus software and defrags itself instantly every time I write to disc.

Am I smug? You bet I am!

Meanwhile, on the work front, it continues to be a fascinating environment to work in. It's the first time I've been involved in a brand new outsourcing site, and the amount of storming and forming has to be seen to be believed. Both sides of the equation are feeling their way. There are misunderstandings and dissatisfaction on both sides but people are doing their best to make it work.

Add to that the large offshore element of the work, and the fact that half a dozen companies are involved, and the whole thing is very challenging. At least there's never a dull moment. And of course, I get to come home to my Mac!

To switch or not to switch?

I've been using my iPhone - a very basic model - for about a fortnight now, and I'm completely blown away by it!

I'm also in the market for a new laptop, because my current one is creaking with age.

Then again, I'm sick of error messages, crashes, endless reboots and registry errors.

Perhaps the thing I'm most sick of is the frequent slowing down almost to a standstill while my anti-virus software does whatever it does; am I alone in thinking that being monitored by anti-virus software is almost as bad as having the virus itself?

All of the above points to making the switch to Apple.

And I would, and I'd use iWorks and all that other good stuff and not be one of those people who buys a Mac for its looks and then installs a parallel OS to use all the software that causes the problem in the first place.

I do, however, use certain killer apps that are the very things that make me so productive, and they might ultimately stop the switch to Apple.

The first is Outlook - OK there, because Microsoft produces a Mac version.

The second is Business Contact Manager - vital to me, but I've found a Mac alternative, so that's OK.

The third is Personal Brain. If you've never seen it, Google it - you'll thank me for it. Fortunately, PB is available for Macs too, otherwise that would be a deal breaker.

The fourth and final killer app, and the one that is a deal breaker I think, is OneNote. I don't even necessarily have to stick with this app - I know that Apple have something similar and I could happily live with that. However, the single thing that boosts my productivity more than anything else is the ability to handwrite notes straight on to my tablet laptop. That, I cannot live without.

So what am I to do? I plan on buying a powerful beast that will last me years rather than year, but I need that handwriting function.

There are several great convertible laptop/tablets out there now, sporting solid state hard drives, 8Gb RAM and Intel i7 processors, but ultimately they will keep giving me the same Windows OS grief.

A MacBook Air is very tempting, but I can't handwrite on it. An iPad screen is too small, and the OS wouldn't let me load the programs I need.

Rumour has it that Apple will launch a convertible laptop, but that could be ages off, and what if it turns out to have a disappointingly small 10.1" screen? I want portability, not a squint. My current tablet is just over 12" and that's my benchmark, give or take half an inch.

So do I wait and hope Apple come up with the (near-) perfect answer for me, or do I go out and buy a mega-powerful convertible laptop PC now, and so turn my back on Apple for at least another four years?

Or is there another alternative I'm missing?

I'd love suggestions from all you Apple aficionados out there - preferably before my PC gives up altogether!