First blog post from the Mac

April 19 2009

Well, it's not just like home yet, but I'm getting there.  In my head, I am debating what I know would end up being a painful question -- in the next 24 hours, can I finish transferring everything I need to the Mac, such that I leave the Thinkpad at home for my travels to New York, Boston, and Lincoln?  Do I bring both machines while in transition?  Do I leave the shiny new toy at home?

It is so different to be working on a MacBook as my primary work machine.  Why?  On our home Mac, the main applications in use are Firefox, iTunes, iPhoto, and my daughter's games.  On this MacBook, I suddenly need to think about...well, documents.  GIgs and gigs of documents to copy over from the old to the new.  Which is not to say I'm being a packrat.

In fact, I decided that Notes 8.5 on the Mac would essentially be a clean start installation for me.  As I tweeted away on Friday afternoon, installing the Mac version of Notes 8.5 connected to my Domino server was a snap.  I downloaded a .tar file, uncompressed it into an installation package, ran install, started Notes, pointed to my mail server, downloaded my ID file, and waited for "Notes setup is complete!"  My local address book was populated via "synchronize contacts".  I quickly created a new local mail replica.  The only manual activity was that I decided not to bring along my bookmarks, and recreate those needed, along with any local replicas, manually.  I know I could have copied a bunch of NSFs over....but it seemed like a clean start really should be a clean start all the way around.

I've also downloaded and installed Lotus Symphony 1.2 for the Mac, which will be my lifelong friend now -- no MS Office will be tarnishing this hard drive.  That install likewise was relatively quick and easy.

The hardest part of getting used to the MacBook is the keyboard and touchpad.  I watched the video tutorial on how to two/three/four finger the touchpad, and have figured out activities like scrolling etc.  But without some of the additional keys found on the home Mac's keyboard, I had to learn how to use function-arrow to move to the top or bottom of a view, and other basic stuff like that.  I'm sure I'll be figuring out some of this stuff for the next few weeks.

Overall, I'm very impressed with the startup of using the MacBook.  I know that it's been said a million times that Macs "just work" but it's all true.  I loved how I had to do nothing to get the two Macs in this household, running different operating system versions and hardware platforms, to network with each other.  Once I learn some more of the keyboard shortcuts and get better at the touchpad (or take the suggestion of Gregg Smith on Twitter and give in and buy a mighty mouse), I'm really going to be happy.

Ed Brill Highland Park, IL USA Category:  Machead  Add/View Comments [28]

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  1. 1  Sri Bedathur http://bedathur.wordpress.com | 4/19/2009 10:38:34 PM

    If only there was a designer client for Mac! Oh well... For now, I am stuck with Windows..... and will be for as long as I remain a Domino developer.

    BTW, congrats for moving to the right platform! You will not regret this decision! :-)

  1. 2  Peter Herrmann http://twitter.com/pete | 4/19/2009 10:46:48 PM

    Of all the Apple products I have, the mighty mouse is the only one I've not been happy with. In fact, I was really, really unhappy with it. The main problems were scrolling - it has no "stepping" sensation and the "flattened eggness" shape just didn't feel right. I ditched it in the drawer under the tv/mac-mini (and we don't even use it for that, preferring a trade show mouse for that).

    I am the happy owner and user of a Logitech laser bluetooth mouse which is just perfect.

  1. 3  Rob McDonagh http://CaptainOblivious.net | 4/19/2009 10:53:13 PM

    Does the "downloaded my ID file" step refer to an ID Vault connection (he said, hoping it doesn't refer to ID files saved in person documents...)?

    I second the comment @2 about the mighty mouse. We haven't been impressed. There are a number of third-party mice that work quite well.

    Oh, and congrats on taking the leap.

  1. 4  Bill Geimer  | 4/19/2009 11:44:34 PM

    The only thing that I find disconcerting about the Mac Pro keyboard is the Delete key sitting where and working like a backspace key on Windows.

    My Windows wireless keyboard and mouse work just fine.

    I'm not a great fan of their software, but MS hardware is both sturdy and reliable. In fact, the wireless battery life is excellent.

    The touch pad actions take some practice, and some getting used to, but the zoom / shrink two fingers, cleaning the desktop with four are nearly magic, and I am sure they will be in Windows 7 by SP1.

  1. 5  Gregg Smith http://twitter.com/greggasmith | 4/20/2009 12:38:18 AM

    It feels just like your Blackberry Bold. You are so used to that trackball right under your finger.

    The main reason I needed an external mouse as a 'switcher' is that I just cant get past 'right clicking'. There are still things I cant get my mac to do on the built in trackpad that equal the same as a mouse right click. I was always an 'eraser' fan on my trusty thinkpad - and I still think its a damn good solution. But I REALLY must have a right click button. It seems to be the one thing about switching that I couldnt get my brain to stop thinking. It works fine when im stuck in an airport, or on a plane - but if im at a desk my Mighty Mouse is always right there next to my machine.

    I really dont use the side buttons on my mouse, but I have Expose' mapped to the push down on trackball function -

    As far as traveling - my first trip out I took my mac and thinkpad - just to be safe. I was going to an IBM office and it really took me a while to get our IBM LEAP network going on my Mac - so I was really glad I had my thinkpad with me (to access forums, download instructions and get my mac working the way it needed to)

    I think the thing that is hardest thing to get over when taking your Mac out on a trip is the sound of the jaws hitting the floor when an IBM'er whips out a Mac at a meeting of customers/colleagues. Everybody is intrigued - and there are always lots of questions. The biggest one is 'Can you really do everything for you job on that machine'? And the best way to wrap up this comment posting is to say 'YES' - it took me about 2-3 weeks for me to get used to it and have the confidence to hit the road with it as my sole machine. But now - I don't look back. I know I have solid backups of this machine with me always. I could restore this baby in no time at all if I had to - and I am overall just more efficient & productive because this OS and machine gives me more time to be good at my job - and that is **NOT** being a computer technician.

  1. 6  Albert Buendia http://www.slug.es | 4/20/2009 1:39:45 AM

    Hi Bill, I'm sure you will really enjoy your MacBook Pro. You have an excellent opportunity to play with the Mac interface and implement/propose these ideas to the Notes interface. Regards from Spain. Albert.

  1. 7  Mike Brown http://www.browniesblog.com | 4/20/2009 3:01:45 AM

    Of course, you're going to put Ubuntu on that Thinkpad now, aren't you Ed!!

    Cheers,

    - Mike

  1. 8  Volker Weber http://vowe.net | 4/20/2009 3:17:41 AM

    That's what I wrote for c't. Adjusting to the keyboard and trackpad was the hardest part when switching. Moving all the shortcuts from ctrl to cmd for instance. Cannot agree on the mouse. And it does not really matter which mouse.

    You need trackpad training. As a longtime Thinkpad user you just don't have the skills yet. You will acquire them quickly. Where do you plan to put the mouse when you are balancing your Mac on your lap?

  1. 9  Simon O’Doherty  | 4/20/2009 3:20:31 AM

    If you *must* used designer parallels works very well. I am currently using that for 8.5 designer with no problems. Expensive alternative though (price of Win OS + parallels).

  1. 10  Sander Zwart http://twitter.com/sanderzwart | 4/20/2009 4:38:17 AM

    @Gregg Smith: Depending on the age of your mighty mouse you can enable de second mouse button using the preferences panel. In fact there are two buttons already, but post assigned to primary button as a lot of mac users do not use the second mouse button. But you can also use ctr+mous click to simuate the second mouse button.

    Paralells and VMware fusion rocks...Windows run even faster on my virtual environment than on my old (was not that old) notebook.

    I said it many time and it's not to nag, but I really miss the function keys in Notes 8.5 for Mac. Refresh etc. I now use menu options for that. Or is there another way?

    And I also miss the Quickr Connectors. We use uickr a lot an I now have to access the documents from my windows VM or website. And that is not very convenient. But IBM prommised them for 2009.....So I hope they will come soon.....If they need a beta tester....count me in :-)

  1. 11  Paul Mooney http://www.pmooney.net | 4/20/2009 4:50:28 AM

    I remember receiving my first Mac with a USA trip the following week. I left it at home and brought my Dell just to be safe. I was glad I did.

    Some parts of Mac land are frustrating to start with. I would suggest you don't drop yourself in it, but ease you way in instead.

    As for mice? Use the trackpad - its one of the best things on a mac. Considering your amount of flying time, you do not want to be stuck with a mouse for support.

    I have a mighty mouse at home for my docked setup - thats fine.

  1. 12  Luis Suarez http://www.elsua.net | 4/20/2009 5:14:29 AM

    Hi Ed! Welcome to the mac@ibm community, my friend! Don't forget to sign up for that community behind the firewall. There are a whole bunch of us sharing plenty of really good stuff on how to make the Mac experience at work much more effective.

    Oh, on the touchpad, not to worry, give it a few days getting used to it and after you will realise what you have been missing all along with the PC laptop. It's a completely new world, I tell ya!

    Oh, oh, and just you wait till you kick in Time Machine; that application alone is worth while the purchase of the MacBook. For sure! And, specially if you are travelling it would make you feel much more comfortable knowing it's all back at home safe and sound and ready to re-transfer, if needed, in 30 minutes (Perhaps a bit more, if you have sheer loads of data, but either way, it'll be all there!).

    Hope you enjoy the experience! By the way, if you are interested, I am running a series of <a href="{ Link } Tips</a> where every so often I blog about some of the really nifty applications I use on the Mac to help me stay productive in a working environment. You may find the odd gem there to help improve that overall experience ...

    Have fun!

  1. 13  Darren http://www.dadams.co.uk | 4/20/2009 6:17:07 AM

    I'll be doing my first later too ;o)

  1. 14  Ben Poole http://benpoole.com | 4/20/2009 6:34:02 AM

    My mouse recommendation is the Microsoft Notebook 5000 (bluetooth). Very nice mouse, small, great battery life.

  1. 15  MacDork http://www.macdork.com/ | 4/20/2009 6:54:29 AM

    Ed. For God's sake: please don't buy the Mighty Mouse.

    It looks nice, but of the Mac users I supported, most of them found the Mighty Mouse's reliability very spotty. I recommend pretty much any other multi-button mouse. Microsoft & Logitech make great peripherals, fwiw.

  1. 16  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 4/20/2009 6:59:45 AM

    @3 of course an ID Vault...we built the feature for internal use first and then made it part of the product...

    @All re mouse, thanks. I appreciate the recommendations for MS hardware but feeding their profits in any even tiny way through this machine doesn't seem right. Logitech seems like the route to go (and they at least used to give a discount to IBMers...)

    @12 I will of course become active on the Mac@IBM forums...Mac@Lotus is something my team owns already so it makes sense. I see Time Machine (and Spaces) as two features on the MBP that I never had on my desktop iMac, so things to explore this week.

  1. 17  Ben Poole http://benpoole.com | 4/20/2009 7:56:20 AM

    Before buying a Logitech, check out the model you have in mind. I've seen myriad posts on Apple discussion fora about dodgy Logitechs / drivers... you don't want to get into all that.

  1. 18  Alan Lepofsky http://www.alanlepofsky.net | 4/20/2009 7:58:47 AM

    I really like using MenuCalendarClock { Link } . (I use the unregistered version)

  1. 19  Robert Harris  | 4/20/2009 8:12:34 AM

    Congrats on getting the new Mac for work! It is great to see so many IBM Lotus executives using the Mac. This is the best way to put focus on the platform and make it even better for real business use. :-)

  1. 20  Henry Ferlauto http://www.geniusinside.com | 4/20/2009 8:55:58 AM

    If you have an external HD (or plenty of room to spare on the MacBook Pro), just make a VMWare image of your ThinkPad and just load it as a session.

    The tool used to be called P2V (Physical to Virtual). I'm not sure of the new name; but I believe the product still exists.

    This will give you your "security blanket" without the need for the extra luggage.

  1. 21  Luis Suarez http://www.elsua.net | 4/20/2009 11:43:24 AM

    Like I said earlier on, Ed, prepare yourself to be blown away by Time Machine. All on its own is worth the MacBook Pro experience! No doubt!

    Have fun with it (all)! :-D

  1. 22  Michael G  | 4/20/2009 2:25:25 PM

    Ed, You should get VMware Fusion on your Mac. You will see an option to "Migrate Your PC" from the menu choices. You can install a free copy of VMware Converter and create an exact image of your IBM machine. You will find that you are going to need Windows apps (Project, Visio) and having that image will come in handy. If you have any questions on Fusion, I work for Vmware and would be glad to help. I would even venture that IBM probably has a pre-configured VM you could download internally use also (though this would require some document migrations).

  1. 23  Anders fredriksson  | 4/21/2009 1:52:42 AM

    Welcome to the real world.

    Missed you at Admin 2009 in Boston

  1. 24  Peter Meuser  | 4/23/2009 11:48:38 PM

    followup 22: ...and good luck finding "F9" the first time ;-)

  1. 25  Ruth Jarvis  | 4/30/2009 10:07:26 AM

    I too just got my new Mac and was impressed by the ease to download Notes 8.5 and begin working. I just moved everything from my ThinkPad over and the Mac is still fast and efficient. Loving that!

    My question...I don't have the "Add Calendar" function in my Notes Calendar so I that I can sync it up with my iCal/google calendar (those are already linked together). I did download the full version of 8.5 but am lost as too why I don't see this option. Any suggestions would be amazing! Thanks!

  1. 26  Ed Brill www.edbrill.com | 4/30/2009 10:17:34 PM

    Not sure - it works on my Notes 8.5 /Mac. Are you sure you are on an 8.5 mail template?

  1. 27  Clayton Dixon  | 9/23/2009 7:02:47 PM

    Our company has been a faithful Lotus Notes / Domino client for many years, so please do not take offense to this question...

    Is there a way to access my corporate email through my MacBook using Apple Mail? The POP vs. IMAP I believe is causing the restriction.

    Thanks,

    Clayton

  1. 28  Alan Hamilton http://www.sysnet.co.uk | 4/23/2010 3:32:19 PM

    How about a one-year-later posting about living with a Mac at work with Lotus Notes, Ed?