A little background. I recently started a new job. At this job, one of our servers is an Apple XServe. Having never really worked too much with MacOS X I asked if they would buy me a Mini to learn on. Since I have a Toshiba laptop, I already have a Windows machine to use if I need.
We ordered it, and there was about a 3 week backorder. I was anxious, but not as anxious as this kid -> http://goozballs3.spymac.net/petiemac.html
Two weeks ago, I finally got it.
My first impression? Damn. This thing is TINY. Slightly larger than 5 CD jewel cases stacked on each other. I also got an Apple "pro" USB keyboard as well. The build quality on it is top notch. It's all plastic, but it feels very solid and well built.
OSX takes a little getting used to. In a way, it's like having a Linux desktop that works right out of the box. There is very little tweaking that you need to do to get things just right. I especially like how the OS is built on BSD. Essentially you can drop down into a command prompt and hack away at anything you want.
One of the biggest differences I found between Windows and Mac is the concept of installing programs. Essentially your program is one big file. You drag this file over to your "Applications" folder on your hard drive. Then drag the icon into the dock if you want. Bam - installed. There is no concept of a registry, no .ini files, no .dll files scattered all over. If you want to delete your program, just drag it to the trash. It's THAT easy.
The drawback to that is speed. I have noticed that both Firefox and Thunderbird run at about 75% of the speed that they would normally run under Windows. This more than likely has to do with the OS dealing with one big "file" versus smaller files and the registry.
The other thing that is hard to get over is the concept that there are no full screen windows. I prefer to run my apps in full screen mode. Open Word for Mac and it's just large enough to use - no making it the full width of the screen. (Well, you might be able to, but it doesn't default to that size.) I read somewhere that Windows users are more apt to use their apps in full screen mode versus windowing, whereas in Linux and Mac they're sort of forced to use windowing.
With the deluge of spyware and viruses, and the draconian tactics of Microsoft in Windows, I would not be surprised to see more and more people switch away. I am pretty much a die-hard Windows/Linux sysadmin and I personally want to ditch all of my Windows machines and go Mac.
