Switchers — I know this topic sounds kinkier than it should, but if you’re reading this blog, you’re probably a Mac switcher. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. When your PC friends start talking about Vista or their latest Microsoft applications, maybe you can play a little sabotage by bringing up the topic of which anti-virus software they are using now (obviously to lead to the end point where you get to say how you don’t need any anti-virus software). However, regardless of how much we may love our Macs (again, nothing worthy of naughtiness or shame), we are in the minority. You can probably spit in any direction and hit a PC user, but don’t look for a Mac user in your line-of-fire. So we probably overcompensate whenever we represent ourselves in a PC crowd by stating emphatically how great our Macs are. Unfortunately, we may preserve our pride, but sometimes it ends up feeling a little lonely. There’s something to be said for the commiseration of being afraid of the same new trojan viruses or being able to share each other’s blue-screen-of-death stories or tips on how to best re-install one’s Windows system again. Very recently, another switcher asked me if I had any recommendations for where to get information about Macs. Of course there are plenty of Mac news sites (lately plagued by endless news and non-news about the iPhone) however, I found a few web sites with potentially useful information for us switchers.
The first site is a work-in-progress from the guy who also brings us new Mac tips every day: The Ultimate Guide for switching from a PC to a Mac only has one chapter so far, but it looks like it will be great source of basic and essential info for anyone switching to Mac from PC.
Another even more comprehensive switcher web site is My First Mac. The name sounds rudimentary and pre-school, but don’t let that put you off. This site has tons of useful information for switchers and Mac lovers alike. Their tag line is: “Help Buying and Getting Started With Your New Mac”, but this site has so much more. Everything from basics to tweaks, tips to testimonials, even an analysis of the newest Mac news in very everyday language makes this a comfortable site for the not-so-technical. It’s also full of pictures and has an eye-catching style that makes it a fun site to check out. (If you know how, you can even subscribe to its RSS feed).
Plus, don’t forget about the page I mentioned before on lifehacker.com
I know there are probably tons of other sites like these (and I’ll add more when I find them). It’s a great little community of shared, quiet pride for us switchers. Let’s all get informed about our beloved Macs so we can really show those PC users a thing or two.
Alvin Meets Mac 