I just started a new job and decided that things weren’t going to be tumultuous enough, so, on the recommendation of my new manager, I signed up for a brand

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spanking new MacBook Air as my work PC. This after working with nothing but Microsoft Windows since version 3.0 back in 1991.

Wow…lots of things to notice…

1. I notice how very light it is.
2. The boot time is much faster than my Windows PCs (at home, if you include all the machines in the house, I have 2 desktops and 2 laptops, all running Windows 7 flavors…).
3. I was/am a big ALT+TAB user and the COMMAND+TAB combination isn’t exactly the same.  If I have several different windows/tabs open in a browser, for example, Windows will show each window, but the Mac just shows a single browser icon.  It can make getting to a particular window a bit more of a hassle.
4. I am a GREAT FAN of Microsoft Office OneNote, but that application is not available on the Mac.  Office for Mac includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook (and none of these is the “full-meal-deal” available on Windows….just saying’…).  I have had to start relying on Evernote more heavily, especially since it is already completely cross-platform, with a web version, too.
5. I purchased a Bluetooth portable keyboard so I can more intelligently work with the Mac on my left and the second monitor slightly to my right. If I walk away and return, sit and start typing, the Mac hesitates just…..ever….so….slightly….before picking up my keystrokes.  This has led to some pretty interesting documents and URLs so far.
6. The interface is easy on the eyes, but Windows 7 isn’t exactly ugly, so I call that a tie.
7. I have relied on 20 years of keyboard shortcuts to allow me good speed….Mac has as many shortcuts….I just have to learn them.
8. I have invested in several applications for various reasons like Mind Mapping, as well as a number of utilities and services like DropBox and Roboform. Many of these have service-based licenses and web or Mac versions that allow me to continue to use them, regardless of platform. However, a couple of the most expensive, like Mindjet MindManager, do not allow me to have one license on a PC an one on a Mac (I’m allowed two licenses).  This is pretty short-sighted, and is causing me to rethink my choice of tools and look for cross platform or cloud-based alternatives that compete on price and match or exceed functionality.

And so it goes.  I will update my experiences here on how easy or hard it is to not only make the productivity transition, but maintain facility on these two platforms.

If you’ve experienced this before and have any hints, please comment and share.  This will be quite the journey, I’m sure.

Related articles

• MacBook Air – My First Week (networkingnerd.net)
• Putting Windows 7 on a MacBook Air (ask.metafilter.com)
• MacBook Air – mixed feelings (or is it just me) (ioshints.info)