A Persistent, Rewarding Journey from Windows to Mac

by , 1:00 PM EST, March 4th, 2008

Adam Turner started down the road away from Windows. The first stop was Ubuntu Linux, but he went on to Mac OS X and hasn't looked back, according to his story at ITWire on Tuesday.

Adam Turner's first observation addressed a common myth: "... I must say people who say 'Leopard is just *nix with lipstick' are kidding themselves. Stability and reliability comes from the perfect marriage of hardware and software designed for each other, which means a Mac."

The author's adventure started with a high end MacBook because he wanted the smaller form factor for frequent travel. In fact, he wrote the story on an airplane.

Having come from the Windows and business world, Mr. Turner addressed a lot of issues that irk people who first encounter Mac OS X. The simplicity is great, but all kinds of conveniences for business users seem to be missing. However, in time he discovered that while these functions are often not part of the core OS, they can be added. For example, the Growl notification can substitute for new e-mail alerts.

In time, however, Mr. Turner learned to appreciate the new OS. "While my XP ThinkPad has its strengths, my Leopard MacBook certainly makes life easier," he wrote.

The story was notable for the details of how a Windows user first balked at Mac OS X, then persisted, then learned more and more about the solutions available like Growl, Google Desktop, LemonJar, RapidoResizer, and TextWrangler.

"The Road to Leopard starts with a single step. Having taken that step I've still got a long way to go, but the journey is already proving rewarding," Mr. Turner concluded.