Switching by choice

APPLE'S "SWITCH" AD CAMPAIGN doesn't reach me. As a business user, I can't identify with consumers who feel they must be rescued from Windows. I wasn't forced to run Windows for my job. I run Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris in my lab, and I feel as much at home with them as I do using anything from Microsoft. I live on my notebook computer, and I chose Windows for it because it gets things done with a minimum of hassle.

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To research InfoWorld's recent Special Report: Apple Unpeeled, I voluntarily shelved my IBM ThinkPad and carried a PowerBook G4 instead (See "Too big for its niches" ). I wasn't trying to emulate the switch experience. Rather, I was looking for the quickest way to reconnect with a platform I hadn't used in years. A long business trip would give me plenty of time to immerse myself in Mac OS X.

Before I even turned it on, I noticed that the PowerBook G4 had several features I appreciated. The display has a 15-inch diagonal viewing area, but it's much wider than it is tall. That's a perfect fit for writing, reading, and software development, the three things I do most on my notebook. I took to the roomy, quiet keyboard immediately, despite the lack of dedicated scrolling (page up/page down/home/end) keys. In the back, a metal flip-down panel conceals a healthy array of ports: Gigabit Ethernet, USB, FireWire, S-Video, audio, and modem. The FireWire port is full size, so I could use the same peripheral and video device cables I use with my desktop. Apple opted for a digital display connector (for an external LCD panel) instead of the VGA port I'd need for presentations on the road. I understand an adapter is available, so that's covered. After making sure the integrated 802.11b network card worked, I charged the PowerBook and headed out for a two-week business trip.

I started exploring the PowerBook and Mac OS X on the plane. Four hours later, I was still exploring and the battery meter said I had 30 minutes left. I was using Microsoft Office X and knocking around in Apple's development tools. Adapting to the Mac OS X GUI was no trouble, except for the Windows keyboard shortcuts programmed into my fingers.

During the two-week trip, I didn't miss my ThinkPad. My hotel had high-speed Internet, so I did some serious downloading. I pulled in Fink, an automated tool that seeks out Mac OS X-specific editions of Unix utilities and applications. I asked Fink to get X Window, which Mac OS X is inexplicably lacking. Fink had to compile it, and I found the 800MHz PowerBook G4's performance equal to the task. I was able to work in the foreground without a marked decrease in responsiveness. I also brought in Microsoft's Terminal Server client to connect to a lab server and was amazed by its speed.

Since I got back from my trip, I have continued to use the PowerBook G4 by choice. I hadn't reached for my ThinkPad again until I wrote a feature on notebooks, when I opened the ThinkPad, checked the model number, and closed it again. Without realizing it, I had switched. Maybe Apple's campaign isn't so ludicrous after all.