Windows 2 Apples Episode 9

Windows 2 Apples Episode 9

Today I realized I spend close to 80% of my time at the iMac! It is an adventure and as the the “Macites” like to say tis even fun. I have usually enjoyed working at my PCs in the past but that was because I enjoyed my work wether it be developing software, hardware or web content. The PC was a means to an end and became the ultimate erector set for me.

“Work” on my iMac differs in that I am simply enjoying the ease with witch I can implement my ideas. The user interface and physical design are all esthetically very pleasing and, in a new way to me, seem to encourage my creative side. I feel I have have less to fear from hitting another sharp learning curve so give myself the freedom to dream a bit bigger.

I suspect you can detect I am becoming an Apple convert. I have given up on seeking the perfection portrayed in the Apple Advertisements and reconciled myself to the reality that my dream of a perfect computing experience may never happen in my professional life time. Yet, I still hope to see that day and to revel in it.

My shift to the iMac is largely the result of a recent contrast I saw in backing up my Mac and office Windows based machines as well as the new iWorks 08 and iLife tools which make creating media rich content much easier. I still find many of the seemly unnecessary limitations in Apple software and hardware frustrating but not as frustrating as the unnecessarily complex design of equivalent Windows tools.

I have not abandoned Windows altogether and if I were still actively designing hardware and coding I would have no choice but to use my PCs. The applications I require are simply not available for the Mac. I still find the Windows implementation of MSN Messenger the best all round tool for one on one collaborative work with skype a close second. Unfortunately, the Apple implementation of both products are not as evolved for the Mac, but skype has become my de-facto Mac messenger.

I did finally make my PC disk images using both Ghost and Acronis True Image. I had prepared a long rehash of my nightmare but have decided to simply say that I can not recommend Ghost to anyone wanting to maintain a healthy blood pressure. After almost three hours of trying to do a full Ghost back up and then having to resort to a Spin Rite ten hour level four refresh of my hard drive, I was able to finely get a disk image or so Ghost reported.

By the time I got to that point I had lost confidence in the Norton product. My mistrust of Ghost is heightened by the fact that I was unable to get any support from Norton. When it repeatedly failed to complete the backup because of a bad sector on my drive I was lead to the Norton Web where their own active x based tool failed to diagnose my problem. This is truly the preverbal dog chasing its tail plot in that their on-line diagnosis is a pre-requisite to connecting me with support!



I ended up using the free trial Acronis True Image workstation backup product and it worked as advertised. They offer accessible on-line support and even followed up the next day with a phone call to offer assistance and to get feedback. I will purchase the Workstation program and recommend to all Windows users needing a reliable full image back up of their systems. Bravo Acronis! And, a thumbs down for Norton.

In my next episode I will give my feedback on the new iWork 08 applications and the enhanced 08 GarageBand.