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Moving from Windows to the Mac, Series Part 5

I have now gone forth and toiled long and hard for a number of months, and have  finally saved up enough money to purchase a MacBook Pro 15”. This actually happened a month or so ago. Since then, a lot has happened and I have been keeping notes, upon which this short Win to Mac Saga is based. It has been an interesting journey for me, and I hope it will prove at least slightly interesting for you as you relive it with me. I went to the Mac mainly to escape the Windows desktop, and to move to OS X, but there are other reasons to get a Mac.

The Pro came in a cute little box with a handle. Apple easily captures the packaging crown. Inside was the MacBook, some CDs and a few cables and cords. That's it. For the price, it did not seem like much. Then again, that is the feeling I have had every time I have unpacked a new laptop. I did a lot of price comparisons, together with a lot of soul-searching, before I made this move. Feature for feature, the MacBook Pro was no more expensive than a comparable Dell or Toshiba, if you could find a comparable Dell or Toshiba.

My first impressions were great. It starts fast. It shuts down fast. What an improvement over Windows! The glossy monitor was excellent. The keyboard was outstanding. The trackpad is a wonder. The design and level of finish was almost astonishing. What great details! Let me describe just one: the power connector is almost magic. It gets magnetically sucked into place with a reassuring “Click!”

When it is connected, on the side of the machine where you can see it, a little light comes on, red-orange for charging, green for charged. If you happen to kick the cord, the magnet is not strong enough to pull the laptop down; it just silently unplugs. That is a feature with real benefits, and it is things like that which justify my switch as much as moving to OS X does.

Tomorrow: Settling in with OS X