> And what else should I consider -- from a Java SE perspective --
> in making "the switch" to Mac?
I use the Mac a lot. My main desktop system is a Mac. What's not to love about the Mac ?
Since Apple changed to Berkeley Unix with MacOS X (what, 4 years ago now?) MacOS is just
Unix with a really cool GUI.
And the hardware is better styled and better quality than the junk you get in the PC world.
And Apple actually carries out hardware and software innovation, unlike Microsoft which
just talks up a big story about it. And if you do have a problem, you go to one vendor to
straighten it out, not suffer a lot of finger pointing about "it's the sw/no it's the hw."
And every Mac on the market today comes with video creating software, so you can take the
video you shoot and turn it into CDs/DVDs. If you live a long way away from your family,
that's a cool way to stay in touch. Don't even talk to me about the nightmare of
integrating add-on video
cards, drivers and software to a PC.
And I love the free video chats I can do with my brother and sisters in England, using the
iSight camera. No need to run up phone bills. Yes sirree! Love them apples!
Apple is the great big secret of the IT world for people who actually want to get stuff done
rather than fritz around with goofy service packs and the like.
Coming back to Java ... since Apple is just Unix, there should not be any hidden issues for you.
Apple has invested a lot in Java, and done an awesome job of integrating it with their
desktop GUI (actually a finer job than Sun has done of integrating Java with Solaris!)
I can't think of any issues.
But there is a terrific book from O'Reilly called
MacOS X for Java Geeks that well repays
a study.
Lets hear it for enthusiasm for platforms! Yay!
Cheers,
Peter
