When designing a clean, simple home office, there’s really only one reasonable choice for the computer. That choice is, of course, the Apple iMac. Think of it as a laptop that stands up, and you’ll get the idea. The display houses all the computer internals, so there is no tower / case. Plug the mouse into the keyboard, the keyboard into the display, and a single power cord into the wall. Done. If you’re trying to reduce cables / clutter / stuff in your home office, this is the absolute best way that there is. There’s even a wireless adapter built in, so you don’t need to plug in a network cable.
But I’ve never used a Mac
Until just over a month ago, I was in the exact same boat. I’ve been a lifelong Windows user, and couldn’t have been happier. I always had cables everywhere, with dual monitors hooked up to the tower sitting on the floor. I’ll have to take some pictures one day so you can really understand. But I switched, and it has been so incredibly seamless, I was amazed.
Macs aren’t that different
When it comes to the business of Getting Things Done, Macs aren’t really any different than PC’s. You can still access the internet, get to Google Documents ( which you should be using for most of your document needs ), write to your heart’s content, pay bills, etc etc. Unless you use some *very* specific Windows software, the iMac can take care of it. And it will do so much more elegantly, taking up precious little desk real estate. Looking at an iMac is much more soothing than looking at a jumble of wires and boxes.
Mac OS X still scares me
It’s ok, you needn’t be afraid. Next week I’ll have a post about the basics of OS X, and how it can actually help you be more productive. Think I’m crazy? Check back in a week, you might be surprised.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Agreed! I had an iMac G5 years ago and loved it. I am using a MacBook Pro right now, but I really like desktops. I don’t like having to plug stuff in constantly. The new aluminum iMacs are beautiful as well. I’m glad you’ve switched to the Mac side!
Welcome.
Thanks Jaryd. The only question I keep asking myself is – what took me so long? The physical simplicity is simply mind-boggling if you’ve never owned one. And actually using OS X seems so much more “duh” than Windows. Organized and simple – just the way it should be.
Although I own an iMac and love it for its minimalist aesthetic, there are times I’m tempted to ditch it for the freedom and openness of Linux.
The Mac OS has a ton of cool features, but truth be told, I actually need very few of them. Which means my computer is loaded with stuff I don’t use or need (Expose, Dashboard, Time Machine, Spotlight, Mail, iCal, the menu bar and most of the Finder, just to name a few) … but I can’t easily uninstall them. The Mac doesn’t allow this freedom.
Anyway, just thinking aloud here.
The Mac does have some amazing applications for productivity … to name just a few:
* Quicksilver/Launchbar
* Taskpaper/Things
* Textmate/Textwrangler
* Writeroom/Ommwriter
* Mars Edit/Scrivener/Ulysses
and much more!
Perhaps what you need Leo isn’t a computer, but a typewriter.
Leo,
Interestingly, the things that you don’t use, (Expose, Time Machine, Spotlight), I find exceptionally useful. Especially spotlight – it keeps my desktop clear, and my dock very slim.
I haven’t dabbled in Linux for quite some years, and I’m sure that it’s progressed drastically since then. However, I don’t think that I want to deal with the fuss of trying to make stuff work.
With a Mac, I know everything’s going to work the way it’s supposed to. With Linux, there’s a chance that something won’t quite work, which means hours or days of fiddling and tweaking. While you can ultimately come to a simpler day-to-day experience, I wonder if the fuss of getting there is worth it.
Then again, I’m just thinking out loud too. Thanks for stopping by Leo, and giving your thoughts.