. . . and switch

It started with a rumor whispered around the office. "They're thinking of getting you a laptop" they said. "I hear it might be a Mac". I tried not to get too excited. You can't put too much stock in office babble. But the rumors persisted and a little seed of excitement began to grow.

Before long, I got confirmation. They *were* getting me a laptop and it was a Mac and it was on its way. I proceeded with my usual response to change: research. I wanted to know what switching would be like. Would I have regrets, I wondered? Would it be all flash and no fire? Was I being sucked into to a clever ad campaign that makes me want to hang out with Justin Long? Was this going to be the technical equivalent of the Emperor's New Clothes?

I had a lot of questions (you're shocked, I know) so I starting reading. I found a great version of what was basically What to Expect When You're . . . Switching. Dave Pogue's Switching to the Mac from the Missing Manual series was everything I needed. I bought Post-It flags and dove in.

So often Macs are associated with cool designer types and the hipster in crowd, but as I got closer to joining this illustrious group the comment I kept getting was "your nerd factor just increased ten fold". For the first time in my life I slept with a computer book on my bedside table. I flagged, I noted, I made marks in the margin.

I was told the machine was a few weeks away and then, suddenly, word came. Your Mac is just up the street, you can go and get it now. I was out the door in a flash. I headed down to a non-Apple store but authorized Apple reseller. I expected a mecca of cool techno-chic and instead had one of the nerdiest experience of my life (Which is something. In high school I was a two time Physics Olympics champion, I'm just saying....)

I walked into the store and talked to an associate who had no idea what I was talking about. He called the manager over and we quickly assessed that the order got put in wrong, it was supposed to be a black Macbook, not white, along with a wireless keyboard and a VGA/Mini DVI adapter for the sweet, sweet 23" flatscreen that was coming from another store. The Manager went off to check things out and the store fell into silence.

There were four staff members in the store and just me, no one else to serve, no phones ringing and we stood there, in total silence for four and a half minutes. I had a crazy thought, could it be that I -- me? -- I was the most social person in the room? I decided to ask Manager guy why he was running a Windows POS program in a de facto Apple store, seemed like a safe bet. As soon as he realized I speak Nerd he rediscovered his vocal chords. And when I casually tossed out my one Unix factoid the conversation got downright lively.

So now, here I am. Macbook in hand. Even though it's black, not white, and therefore matte finish, the best word to describe is Captain Mal's descriptor of choice: shiny. My fears that it would turn out to be pretty but dumb were unfounded. Shakespeare said it best -- he often does -- "the world is still deceived with ornament". But in this case, it's not just a pretty face.

I know there's lot to learn but already I can feel the switch take hold. I love Spotlight, not just because it finds things for me, but because it shows me how it did it so I can do it myself next time. I love that I open the lid and everything is just as I left it, that I can customize this thing to within an inch of its life. I love that they finally made it possible to right click with a simple double tap to the trackpad. I love that the first time I turned it on it located my wireless network and politely asked if I wanted to enter the password now so it would be all set up when I wanted to use it later.

Oh Macbook, my Macbook (ok, ok technically it's *their* Macbook) there is still so much to learn, but I have a feeling it's going to be sooooo worth it. If this is the darkside, it's OK by me.