Chris Erice

Chris Erice

Making the switch, Mac Mini Core Duo

Posted 11 March 2006, 14:32 in Technology 2 Comments

Who would have thunk that one day I would own a Mac? I must admit that I used to tease anyone who owned a Mac back in grade school. I disregarded Macs as being too expensive, proprietary, and not having the luxury of upgrading it at will. These reasons for the most part still hold true today. It was not until the Mac Mini was unveiled that gave me a reason to ‘make the switch.’ The Mac Mini was designed to be an affordable entry-level product, where you can still use your own PC-based monitor, and Mac-compatible keyboard and mouse.


I purchased my Mac Mini through Apple’s website. A few days after I placed the order, it was assembled and sent directly from China! My Fedex tracking showed that it went from Shenzhen China to Alaska, Indiana, California, and finally reaching its final destination in Honolulu, Hawaii. Now that is what you call international business!
Mac Mini

Having used Windows since Windows 3.x, it took a bit of adjusting and getting used to the user interface. One thing that I like about OSX is that it’s built on the foundation of BSD Unix. Anyone who ever managed Linux/Unix servers will appreciate this from the get go because you can easily enter into text command-entry mode through the terminal program. DOS or Windows command is no where near the capabilities of terminal.

Software installation is a breeze! Opensourcemac.org is a great resource if you’re new to Macs and want additional software for FTP, torrent, video, etc. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to install programs — there’s not much installing to do. All you have to do is drag and drop the program file into the Applications folder and it works. Simple as that — I can’t imagine doing that in Windows.

New Macs now come with Intel processors, which is one of the main reasons for the switching. I probably would never have considered switching if it was not for this fact. All PC computers uses Intel-based x86 processors, which you would find in all Dell, HP, and Gateway computers. Macs are now part of this x86 family of computers. If I wanted to install Windows on this Mac Mini (I doubt it), I could probably do so.

Only gripe I have so far is the Apple keyboard. I’m used to using the control key for keyboard shortcuts, but will have to adjust to using the Open-Apple key instead. The keyboard also seems smaller than my PC-based keyboard.

  1. the best tip I have for getting used to the command/apple key instead of the control key? Use your thumb to press the command key, and right under your index finger you'll find all the commonly used shortcuts - q,w,a,s,z,x,c!

    I tend to use my pinky to press the control key under windows, I don't know if everyone else does

    — richie · 11 March 2006, 23:13 · #

  2. Yes, I use my pinky too! Thumb, huh? I'll have to try that. Thanks! :)

    — Tek · 8 April 2006, 06:20 · #

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