Over the years, I have been using Ubuntu Linux and I have been very happy with it, especially for software development. Lyx and OpenOffice are handy for writing technical documents. However, I have realized that when it comes to write a manuscript for publication, and to communicate effectively with non-Linux collaborators, MS Word (with EndNote) is the standard. So I set up a Windows XP virtual machine via VirtualBox on my Ubuntu Linux box, which avoids the problem of dual booting and allows for easy file sharing between Linux and Windows.
Mac OS X is Unix/Linux based but has native support for MS Office and Adobe Suite of programs, so it seems an ideal choice for a new laptop. Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) is claimed to be "The world's most advanced operating system. Finely tuned." Other things aside, I do appreciate the fact that 10.6 (Snow Leopard) is a refinement of 10.5 (Leopard) from installation to shutdown -- "In ways big and small, Mac OS X Snow Leopard makes your Mac faster, more reliable, and easier to use."
So far, I have configured Mail to access my Columbia emails. I must say that Mail is way better than Columbia's CubMail web-interface, and I like Mail's native integration with iCal and Address Book. Safari still needs some getting used to, from my mostly Firefox experience. However, it is nice to find that some websites, which does not work in Firefox but IE, display properly with Safari. Preview appears to be powerful for PDF and image viewing and manipulations. I have installed Xcode, and may explore it more, if nothing but to see what an IDE has to offer. Of course, it is nice to have direct access to MS Office (mostly for Word and PowerPoint, so no need to play around with OpenOffice), EndNote, Adobe (Acrobat, Photoshop, Illustrator), etc.
Some nuisances up to this point:
- Keyboard missing numeric keypad and Home/End/PgUp/PgDn
- Ctrl-C/V etc keyboard shortcuts I am used to now become Command-C/V etc
- File and directory names are not case-sensitive -- most surprising!
Overall, my new MacBook Pro is a very nice toy to play. As I become more familiar with it, I may like it more, hopefully.
HFS-X is the case sensitive version of HFS. To use it, you'll need to reformat your drive as HFS-X. Obviously it's easier to do this as part of the initial setup routine. However, you can just grab a Carbon Copy Cloner and clone your system disk onto an external HDD, reformat your internal drive and then clone it back. I've been using HFSX (+ journal) since it has been available in 10.5 and haven't had any problems.
ReplyDeleteAnother tip if you are coming from the unix world is to remap your 'Caps Lock' key to 'Control' (System Prefs -> Keyboard & Mouse -> Modifier Keys).
BTW- Thanks for 3DNA.
Thanks for your comment regarding HFS-X vs HFS and the tip to remap 'Caps Lock' key to 'Control'. It certainly would take me a while to feel fully at home with Mac OS X, but I am really liking it now. Its native support of Word, Photoshop and Acrobat alone has saved me lots of time over the past few days!
ReplyDelete