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MacBook at One Week

I must still be in the infatuation phase of owning a Mac, because I am still on the thing every chance I get and I'm not above just sitting there admiring the pleasant lines of the laptop. As for learning and using OSX, I have to say that I have not been this excited about an OS since I started using Linux. It's truly the finest OS that money can buy.
I've explored a few of the "i" programs most recently iTunes, downloading pod casts and watching and listening to them. I also listened to some light Jazz on the radio streams. I installed X-Code and the X11 server and now I can use GIMP as well as any other *nix program. I even managed to build my first Widget, that goes out to QRZ.com and looks up the owner of Ham radio call signs.

I purchased Parallels Virtual Machine to load Ubuntu on the MacBook. Because I can, and it's cool, except that the Ubuntu does not like the wide screen, and I'm not sure how to get it to change resolutions. Something to work on in the future.

I also purchased CopyWrite, a writer's editor that makes keeping track of my novels a snap and I can't wait to get back in the saddle and start writing my second novel with it. I evaluated the download version of TextMate, and will likely purchase that too, for my Ruby developing.

I have used iChat with my Mother and Brother in Arizona. Last time we talked, I took them into our back yard to watch the kids swing on their swing set. Let me just say this, that single feature of this MacBook has already paid for the machine as those moments are priceless. I would love to be able to do the same with my inlaws, but they are using Windows and there really are no good free solutions for cross platform webcam. We are trying to use iVisit, but as of this writing we can't connect.

All in all I have to say that the MacBook has been and continues to be a pleasure to use. If you are considering purchasing a new laptop, I would recommend it to you with full confidence that if you are ready to bail out of the Windows quagmire, now is the time to switch.

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