Arbitrary Deranged Digressions

I use Windows mainly because I don't like using the mouse/trackpad/whatever. I like alt-tab. I like alt-f dropping down the file menu, and hitting 'x'. I don't like having to THINK when I'm using the computer, beyond whatever it is I'm trying to accomplish. I shouldn't have to ponder how to get the computer to do something (unless I'm writing code, which is an entirely different proposition).

I only use six applications regularly.

• Eudora (best email program) on Mac and Windows - or Mutt on Linux,


• JBuilder (potentially being replaced by Eclipse) on Mac, Windows or Linux,


• "Web Browser" (Currently Mozilla Firebird on Windows or Linux, and Safari on Mac),


• an SSH client (SecureCRT on Windows, SSH directly from the terminal on Mac or Linux), and


• AOL Instant Messenger client (AOL's on Windows, Adium on MacOS X, Gaim on Linux).
  

Beyond those programs, I play some games occasionally, watch DVDs/videos, keep notes (Notepad on Windows, vi or BBEdit on MacOS X, vi or emacs on Linux), and well, that's about it...

The basic criteria I have for all of the programs I use is that they should allow me to work with the keyboard (rather than the mouse) as much as possible. I also rely on the software I use to be stable and secure... This is why I won't use Outlook (getting back to the article I pointed to above).

Eudora on the Macintosh has key combinations for most of what I want, but not everything... Safari lets me work with little clicking, but occasionally I have to (specifically, "Open folder in tabs" requires a command-click or a control-click and menu selection). I haven't done much with Eclipse on the Mac, other than install it. JBuilder let me do about everything I wanted with the keyboard. Adium won out over AOL's OS X client because I could -almost- alt-tab to a particular conversation (I command-tab to Adium, and then command-arrow to the specific conversation. Clicking on the dock item brings the most recent unread message to me to the forefront, which is very cool as well.) Obviously the command-line applications (vi, emacs, mutt, etc.) don't require the mouse...

I have not yet taken the time to configure a Linux X Window system to be quite what I want, though I am confident that it's possible. The biggest blocking point for me is that I have not found a Linux GUI email application that I like, yet. I have not given Evolution or even Mozilla / Thunderbird a fair evaluation yet, mainly because since I've already paid for Windows, I can use it on my PCs and switch when the market has settled.

As much as I hate to say it, ASIDE from security, I'm reasonably happy with Windows XP. It doesn't crash much - specific applications might crash, but it's as infrequently as my Mac applications crash. The specific programs I want to use are available for Windows (other than NetNewsWire or Shrook - see my earlier blog entries for details about them). Windows allows me full keyboard control. The AOL client on Windows allows me to alt-tab to individual conversations, which makes me very happy. I like the task bar; it tells me what I'm in the middle of with a single glance to the bottom of the screen. I have other interface tweaks that I could do as well on the Mac, if I wanted to, but I haven't yet... But the biggest selling point for me is the lovely high resolution screen on the laptop...

I guess as far as a conclusion to the original premise, "Are Macs Better", I have to say this: I prefer Macs. I can do just about everything I want to on the Mac. But when push comes to shove, you're more likely to find me using the large screen on my WinXP laptop than the smaller-resolution screen on my Mac laptop. If Apple releases a 15", 1600x1200 (ish) laptop, I would love to switch -- of course I'd have to find someone to purchase my 15" 1152x768 G4 500MHz TiBook, at a reasonable price. Any takers? :-)