1 of 10

Write now Article Tools

"Prepare for a fall after your first click." Those are my only words of warning when switching to a Mac. Of course this is targeted to all PC users who see Macs as tantalizing, seductive, and creativity-driven machines.

As with most Mac users, I was a PC user at the beginning. I saw Macs as inferior and expensive. Why would I pay more for a machine with one mouse button? Why would I pay more for a machine which isn't compatible with most of the software out there? Then came the commercials. You know of which I speak of. Yes, those. I wanted to be cool, I wanted to be creative, and I wanted to be considered, "tech savvy"; I wanted it all, to use the vernacular.

So, in lieu of my newly found need to be all of that and a bag of chips, I set out to find a machine which would cater to my needs. I decided I would do some research on the history of Macs before I would take the plunge. Wikipedia, Google, Yahoo, and Apple's own website became my meccas of knowledge, prosperity, and all that is Mac. After hours upon hours of searching, researching, and severe questioning on forums, my soon-to-be Mac was found.

There she was. Yes, "she". A 12 inch PowerBook G4. It had a 1GHz PowerPC processor, 768 megabytes of ram, and loaded with Mac OS X Panther. I had not even powered her up and I was infatuated. As soon as I pushed that small, silver power button and heard that signature Mac boot up sound, I knew there was no turning back.

That laptop was a monster. At only 12 inches and 5Lbs, this machine could handle it all. More so than my current PC at the time, which when specs were compared should have blown that guppy right out of the water. But that wasn't the case; I had no idea that Macs and their unix base could operate with such stability. Talk about multitasking. Programs were running in quints, not pairs. And that operating system was smooth, responsive, and a great sight for sore eyes. To make it short and sweet, I will never return to a PC out of my own free will. Simplicity and user friendliness is definitely what Apple was after when they designed a Mac.

In the end, it was not the cool factor that kept me a Mac user. It was the tried and true phrase: "Macs just work."

Learn more about this author, Abel Pineda.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about My experience with a Mac?
We want to hear your view. Write now!