Comments on: My switch to the dark side is nearly complete…

By: Stuart Urbahns

Stuart Urbahns — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:28:20 +0000

You can use Time Machine with you VMs if you tell Fusion 2.x to split up your VMDK files into 2GB chunks. This works great for me, and is how Vmware suggest you do it. I have recovered from a time machine backup before of my VM restoring the files and it worked perfect. So instead of having to push 30gb a night to your Time capsule, you can just send the 1x or 2x 2GB files you modified that day to the Time Machine Backup! Hope that helps!

By: RuralRob

RuralRob — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:30:45 +0000

The one thing that is keeping me from switching to Mac is the lack of an OS-X version of VMware Workstation. I really do use (and need) the tree-structured hierarchy of snapshots that Workstation provides and Fusion does not.

By: The VMguy

The VMguy — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:52:28 +0000

and another thing, my iPhone syncs about 50% faster on my Mac than it did on my PC. It’s not even close.

By: The VMguy

The VMguy — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:52:35 +0000

One more thing that I forgot to mention that I noticed about the new Mac: LED backlit screen. Apple.com says that it offers a 60% better color gamut than previous models. I can tell you that it is a noticeable difference. I notice it on web sites with lots of reds and blues. They seem much more vibrant. The only real gaming I do on it is City of Heroes and I can definitely notice better colors than on any other display in the house.

By: Ryan Kelley

Ryan Kelley — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:48:39 +0000

I switched when apple switched to intel, have had two macbook pro’s since then and i love it. If it wasn’t for work i would be all apple :)

By: Andrew Miller

Andrew Miller — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:35:16 +0000

So…for TM and Fusion VM’s, I might check out this approach.

http://jasonnash.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/protecting-your-vmware-fusion-vms-with-time-machine/

And…here’s my general software list I send people who ask. ;-)

-Netnewswire – free – excellent RSS reader/weblog publisher
-Adium – free – better than iChat in lots of ways with the sole exception of video/audio chat
-TextWrangler – free – excellent text editor….set it as your default. Smultron is also free but I prefer TextWrangler
-Transmission – excellent – BitTorrent client for your legit BitTorrent stuff
-Mail – free – the builtin OS X Mail client is really quite good
-Transmit – shareware (but worth it) – probably the best file transfer client on Mac (SCP, SFTP, FTP, S3) – CyberDuck now has some of this and is free but Transmit is frankly better
-iWork 08 – paid but 30 day trial – better for most purposes than MS Office and faster/lighter too (maybe not for corporate use with macros and whatnot)
-SmartReporter – free – nice SMART status monitor
-Menumeters – free – good little app for bandwidth, cpu, disk and memory monitoring
-Memory – max to 4 GB or 6 GB if you can
-Perian – free – lets you place lots of video codecs inside QuickTime
-Flip4Mac – free – lets you play M$ specific codecs inside quicktime
-Unplugged – free – handy power notifications
-Camino – free – nice native Mac browser based on Mozilla engine (my default browser….I use Safari next and then Firefox).
-Growl – free – good systemwide notifications (Adium integrates with it very nicely)
-QuickSilver – free – a must-have for application launching and much much more (even if you don’t explore this much now, make sure to come back to it….is a major productivity booster)
-MenuCalendarClock iCal – free (if disable extra features) – turn off the builtin menu clock and use this for a nice calendar dropdown
-Shimo – free – dunno if you use Cisco VPN but if you do this is excellent
-VMware Fusion – paid with free demo (but can get for $40 if you look) – Windows OS + apps….need I say more? (more stable than Parallels and more polished than VirtualBox)
-Tinkertool – free – lets you tinker with lots of hidden settings (that you’d have to adjust using the Terminal otherwise)
-Handbrake + MetaX – free – lets you rip and label your DVD’s nicely for playback on your computer or iPod
-SmartSleep (if using a laptop) - lets you toggle the sleep modes (worth doing so you can wake from sleep immediately unless the battery is low)
-ie4osx – http://www.kronenberg.org/ies4osx/ nice way to run IE 6 on your machine (Intel only) for sites that require it
-msgfiler – nice way to file messages in mail using the keyboard
-Dockstar – gives multiple mail notification badges

By: Scott Lowe

Scott Lowe — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:24:46 +0000

Welcome! I’ve been a Mac user for well over 6 years now, long before they switched to the Intel platform. Feel free to visit my site; I have a variety of Mac-related posts that may be useful to you. Of course, you have my contact information, too, so you’re welcome to just give me a call, too!

By: Martin G

Martin G — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:24:11 +0000

I’m considering donating my 13.3″ MacBook to my everloving and buying the latest model. I do so love my little MacBook.

By: Stephen Foskett

Stephen Foskett — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:55:58 +0000

I was in the same situation last year. I bought my Mac for the hardware – it was sturdy, had excellent specs, and good battery life. I’ve since come to really appreciate Mac OS X, since I come from a UNIX background. Although I still use Fusion and Boot Camp, I mainly stay in the OS X environment now. It’s just a great environment to get stuff done.

Watch out though! Since then I’ve bought a Mac Mini as a home server/virtual lab and am seriously considering trading the old 15″ mac in for a 13″ like you got…

Since you asked, you must look into MacPorts so you can have all the UNIX goodies you want.

By: Criza

Criza — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:27:59 +0000

your story is exactly the same as Mine.. I did my switch in May. As a traveling Consultant, I needed something reliable, and the Lenovo t61 never came through.

By: Ryan B

Ryan B — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:22:41 +0000

I switched over about two years ago, never looked back. Apple’s are far from perfect, but I’ve experienced fewer of the little time sucking problems I had on Windows.

The mac software I use every day is:

OmniFocus
NetNewsWire
Evernote
Adium
OmniOutliner
MindNode Pro
iTerm
Fluid
MS Remote Desktop
Quicksilver (stick with it! hard to appreciate at first)

I also have Fusion running Win 7, but only really use it for Visio or lab work.

Another useful link.
http://blog.scottlowe.org/2009/03/27/my-current-mac-applications/

By: Mike Peter Reed

Mike Peter Reed — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:24:21 +0000

couple of (what i consider to be) interesting sites for you:

http://www.macsurfer.com/

http://www.macosxhints.com/

I switched to a Mac in 2003. Not for the “cool factor” either, but for the superior *NIX experience.

By: Rick

Rick — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:48:33 +0000

Congrats! They are sweet machines. I’m always “borrowing” my wife’s. Now you just need to share the secret recipe for getting it approved!

By: Duncan

Duncan — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:55:29 +0000

These x61′s all have the same issues. Mine also overheats, and there’s also a crack at the base corner.