Genuinely Happy with Mac, Wean Off Windows Continues

I just wanted to make a quick post to say it has been only a couple of weeks since I started using a Mac (iBook 600MHZ 256 SDRAM OS X 10.4.10) and I am really pleased with the overall performance of both the hardware and software, despite the obvious aging of the system.

I have grown accustom to using the Apple (command) key to control a number of the functions the CTRL key does for Windows. Initially, that was the annoying thing trying to navigate the operating system and mainly Safari.

As for Safari, it has been a very stable and rather fast browser. I am a big fan of Firefox and although I haven't added anything to Safari, have to say there's not much difference. Obviously, as I spend more time on the Mac, I have to figure out had to add some of those important add-ons/extensions that enhance the browser for crashed session recovery, advanced copy-paste capability and some Japanese language reader tools.

I hope to spend some more time exploring the operating system. So far I like the dashboard feature and want to update it and use it more.

I'm pretty surprised how nice OS X 10.4 is, considering there's still such a large portion of computer users who are stuck on Microsoft Windows 100% of the time, and don't get to enjoy the already available features, which are only available to Windows users now who update to Vista; clearly something I'm not interested in with 3 Windows machines, given the notorious difficulty with device drivers.

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Apple Stock Commentary

This evening, Jim Cramer at TheStreet.com, had the following comments about Apple:

I felt that there was a lot of unfair stuff said about Apple yesterday. ... I think the raids are over. I think Apple's ready to resume its climb. I am not backing away from Apple at $135. Now, when it gets to $145, I'd do some schnitzeling.

Seeking Alpha explains Apple Shares Drop on iPhone Cutback Rumor, but Apple shares did rally today $3.24 (2.5%) for a $135 even close.

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Long Mac OS X Boot Times Resolved

Thanks to a couple of members of Apple's Discussion Board, I was able to solve the problem of my long boot times, sometimes around 7 minutes each!

First, I learned that the flashing folder/question mark button meant the system was looking for a "network start-up" as opposed to a "disk start-up."

Since my iBook is used, it had another wireless and wired network associated with it, in addition to my own networks.

So, the first solution: "Check you have the correct Startup Disk selected in System Preferences > Startup Disk."

My boot time after doing that was cut from 5 minutes - 7 minutes before to just over 2 minutes, after.

Second step was to do a "safe-boot" in order to check the hard disk. This boot takes longer than a normal boot, by default, as it is checking the disk and apparently will correct any disk errors before booting into the GUI.

After doing this, my boot time was just over 1 minute!

I asked for any additional tweaks. One response was to boost the RAM from 256MB and max it to 640MB. I've considered this and probably will if I can come across a very good deal since this machine is already old and I don't want to drop much money into it. Instead a Mac Mini would be nice ;-).

One last suggestion, which I haven't had time to test, is to System Preferences -> Accounts -> Login Items, to see what I have loading at startup? Similar to Windows, there could be some junk in there that can be removed and likely increase the speed somewhat.

Finally, one respondent pointed out the obvious in that 600MHz won't deliver the speed we're accustomed to on the faster systems out today. That's certainly true. I'm just trying to learn Mac OS X and then when Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" comes out with faster hardware, I'll probably drop the money to buy a new computer.

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Books for Switching to Mac -- Part 2

After posting a question to the Apple discussion board, I received one reply recommending the "Switching to the Mac" book by David Pogue, which I had posted about earlier. The person responding said, "I found it to be very helpful when I made the change." Also, "Mac OS X Tiger Edition--The Missing Manual" by the same author was suggested and called an "excellent resource." I was unable to find this book available for sale on Amazon.com.

Another respondent pointed me to Apple's free resources including:

Switching from Windows to Mac OS X

Basic Tutorials on using a Mac

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Mac Sales Up 33% Y-o-Y in Q3, MacBook Leads Rev Growth, Desktops Pace Unit Growth

The following summary of Q3 Mac sales is from MarketWatch:

Apple sold 1.76 million Macintosh computers during the quarter, a record for Mac sales in one quarter and up 33% from the year-earlier period. Mac sales included 1.13 million MacBook and MacBook Pro notebook PCs and 634,000 desktop Macs.

Analyst Andy Hargreaves of Pacific Crest Securities said several factors, such as "back-to-school sales, expanded distribution and a likely refresh of the iMac product lineup," should help Mac sales rise about 30% in the current quarter. Hargreaves rates Apple's stock buy; he raised his price target to $175 a share from $130.

So MacBooks are outselling desktop Macs nearly 1.8:1. And the analyst above expects approximate sales growth of 30% again in Q4.

Digging for more info, Mac desktop sales accounted for 17.7% of total sales versus 16.1% in the same quarter last year and 17.3% in the prior quarter.

MacBook sales accounted for 29.1% of total sales versus 26.6% in the same quarter last year and 25.7% in the prior quarter.

MacBooks are clearly growing fastest in unit sales, but desktops are on par in terms of revenue growth. MacBooks' revenue/unit sold has been declining, while desktops' has been increasing. See Apple's Q3 earnings summary data.

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Typing in Japanese and Other Languages on a Mac

It was surprisingly easy to set this up, much more so than Windows, at least using XP or prior versions. All I had to do was (1) click the Apple symbol at the top-left of the screen, (2) click System Preferences in the drop-down, (3) choose International in the first row of buttons associated with Personal, (3) choose Input Menu button, (4) select your language -- in my case I added Japanese by clicking "Kotoeri."

It looks equally as easy to add Korean and Chinese support.

Now just look for the U.S. flag floating at the top-right of the screen and click to switch languages. This is similar to the IME in Windows, but a much easier install, not requiring a download and possibly needing MS Word. One difference may be the strength of the function, which IME offers the ability to handwrite characters for recognition and input. I haven't found this on Mac yet.

Comments and suggestions are always welcome .....

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Long Mac OS X Boot Times

So far the only disappointing thing I've found using a Mac (iBook 600mhz 256MB SDRAM OS X 10.4.10) is the long boot times. I'll have to time it next time I boot up. My Sony Vaio sub-notebook (mobile P3 900mhz 512MB RAM) by comparison -- and it's definitely not apples-apples -- boots pretty fast, not much slower than my AMD Turion 64 1.8ghz 1GB notebook.

I've heard Mac is based on Unix and I think these systems take longer to boot, but offer a more stable and secure operating environment.

Any thoughts on this or ideas to boost the boot time. By the way, would it make much of a difference if I increase the RAM to 640MB (max)?

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