Mac migration blues

Most people would agree that Windows Vista has been an unmitigated disaster. I have finally taken the plunge and sold my old and trusty Toshiba laptop to a friend (although I forgot to photograph all of the swag). I have migrated to a MacBook Pro, and I must say that I'm loving it. The migration process has been relatively painless, and I've been impressed by Tiger's functionality and the range of quality open source software available to compliment the pre-installed applications. And yes, Keynote makes PowerPoint look like the second-rate bullet point churning nightmare that it is.

The migration has got me thinking about interoperability. One reason why I've found it easy to migrate is the fact that I have been using computers for years and years, and getting used to new interfaces and methods of doing things is just part of the process. In my time I have worked in an Apple Macintosh, DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, and XP; and in SuSE Linux 6-10.2, with a little bit of Ubuntu and Vista thrown in. These computing experiences have taught me the value of keeping all of my personal files ready to go, and in formats that are export-friendly. While it is early days with Mac OS, something that I find slightly frustrating is that I cannot look under the hood as I would do in Linux, and there seems to be less obvious control to customise the OS experience.

Having said that, I am seriously thinking of giving up on Linux altogether. I always kept a running version of Linux in my laptop, but with Mac OS, I have to wonder what's the point any more. I might install Ubuntu alongside Windows XP using Parallels just as a curiosity, but I do not think I'll use it that much. Let's be honest, the Linux desktop has failed to live up to its early promise, and Linux usage has not expanded outside of the geek communities despite the Vista fiasco. It seems to me that Mac is picking up those people in the middle. People who know enough to install Linux on their laptops and get it to work, but who cannot be bothered with the countless hours getting it to work and reading hardware compatibility tweaks and FAQs any more.

Now, I just need to get Leopard installed in my home PC, and the Kool-Aid will have been thoroughly consumed.