After being a die hard Microsoft and PC person my entire working life, I have finally decided to try an Apple notebook.
Maybe it was just a spur of the moment decision, but after having an additional two new PC's bite the dust this week, I
decided it was time for a change.
Out of 20 new Dell and HP desktop computers we purchased this year and several Sony, Dell, and HP laptops, most of them
have had some type of significant problem. With some it was a batch of bad ram, others bad hard drives, and yet others where
just defective from day one. I am not hating on PC's, just frustrated with the constant issues that surround them. I know it
is not just our company having these issues, as several partner companies are always complaining about system updates,
viruses, hardware meltdowns, etc.
Of course my employees were quickly concerned that I would be trying to switch everyone at once. Don't worry, there aren't
plans to switch the entire company – YET!
While writing this blog I had a CEO from a technology company ask if I would participate in a GoToMeeting conference with
him. Because I was interested I quickly accepted and went to my third PC for the week (should have known better) and launched
GoToMeeting and started participating in the conference call. Soon after the call began, the PC decided to freeze up in
Internet Explorer. I quickly launched FireFox and AOL just to make sure that I would stay connected or at least be able to
get back on quickly. Needless to say, they both froze or had some technical difficulty. Ahh, but I have a shinny new Apple
toy still in the box.
I quickly removed the MacBook Pro and within minutes from removing the packaging I was back on the conference call and
using the browser. Because I love Firefox, I even downloaded it before hoping back on the call. Needless to say, I am
finishing this blog by using my new Apple MacBook Pro. The verdict is still out but so far so good. The only frustrating part
so far, is my lack of knowledge for all the keyboard shortcuts and getting around the file structure. So today I am locking
myself in a room for a few hours to get it all sorted out so come work on Monday I am ready to go.
I am going to give this experiment a good 30 days before I make a final opinion. Everyone loves to get something new but
sometimes the novelty wears off. To be fair to my PC and Microsoft friends, I need to keep an open mind.
The funniest thing that happened during this initial process was the reaction I got from friends and colleagues. It was
very negative to say the least. When I was on the phone with a friend who owns a successful .Net programming house, his
response was simply "what the $#&! are you doing?" When I explained the saga of the PC for the past several days and
admittedly the last several years, he admitted that he too was frustrated, but not enough to sell out to Apple. At the end of
the conversation he had gone from being very negative to the comment "what you are doing makes sense, let me know how it
goes." Indeed I will let him and everyone else know how it goes, for better or worse, although I am really hoping on BETTER.
About the Author:
Damien is the Founder and CEO of FindAnyFloor.com as well as several other technolgy businesses specializing in social media and search.
