DRIVING A MAC

I come from a long line of PC users. My youngest son cut his teeth sitting on his dad’s lap in front of a TRS-80. We’ve wandered through a number of different incarnations since then, each one smaller, faster, and smarter. Nowadays, we each have our own PC laptops. Mine has been a trustworthy companion and friend for four years.

A while back, though, I began talking about making a change, building my case for why I wanted to get a MacBook the next time around. Eyebrows shot up. Murmurings about going to the dark side rumbled. I held my ground, citing my reasons. Macs aren’t as prone to viruses. They are faster, giving instant gratification when you click from one app to another. If I have to learn a new system (aka the dreaded Vista), why not put my time into learning the Mac? It’s highly recommended by other writers. Did I mention no viruses? I didn’t push the envelope on this, but waited patiently, letting the idea soak in.

Then, on a recent weekend, my hubby said, “Wanna go to the mall and pick out your new Mac?” I had my shoes on and my purse dangling from my arm before he’d had time to blink.

So now I’m driving a Mac. Or at least I have a learner’s permit. It wasn’t the “snap” everyone said. When we brought it home, I managed to unpack it from its lovely designer packaging and find the power cord. Filled out the owner registration and connected to the Internet. Then, I had no idea what to do next. It looked like I’d stumbled into a foreign market and nothing on the shelves looked even remotely familiar.

Being the loyal love that he is, Max came to the rescue. He downloaded a tool to capture all my data from my sad-faced, rejected laptop, and somehow through a series of magical tricks and two glasses of wine got everything in its proper place—all my documents, my emails, my contacts, my calendars. Hallelujah!

Some things I’ve discovered. There’s a dashboard. I know I saw it once, and I betcha I could locate it again if someone told me I needed to. There’s a dock where all the things I need are nicely parked, ready for a test drive. Soon we’ll be cruising along, shifting gears, taking little side trips into places I’ve never been or even knew I wanted to go. Hairpin turns ahead? No worries. I’m driving a Mac. A zippy little thing that I hope will take my writing to new heights.

The only problem I see is that without FreeCell and Spider Solitaire as the muse I used to rely on (ahem), I now have no excuse for not writing.

And that is a very good thing.