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Das Keyboard Unveils Mechanical Keyboard For Mac

January 19th, 2012
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If you’ve been reading here for any length of time, you’ll know that we’re big fans of mechanical keyboards. And now, one of the famous ones is making the move to Mac. Das Keyboard today introduced a new version of its award-winning Model S keyboard designed to appeal to a fan base also known for its extreme loyalty – the Mac crowd. The company’s new Das Keyboard Model S Professional for Mac is now available online for pre-ordering, and will be shipping by April 15. Available in the U.S. and Canada, the Model S Professional for Mac retails for $133. A 15% discount is currently available on all pre-orders for the newest member of the Das Keyboard family.

“Mac fans will appreciate the high-quality and sharp design of our Model S keyboard, especially now that it provides the features and functions that Mac loyalists are used to and expect from their peripheral devices,” said Daniel Guermeur, creator of the Das Keyboard and CEO of Metadot Corporation. “Essentially, we’ve introduced the most advanced mechanical keyboard on the market designed specifically for Mac users.”

Features in the Das Keyboard Model S Professional for Mac include:

* Gold-plated mechanical key switches designed to withstand 50 million strokes.
* Enhanced 104-key layout with special keys for quick access to common media player and computer functions.
* Command and Option keys, helping Mac users to feel right at home.
* Instant sleep function, enabling users to easily put their Mac to sleep and save energy during even the shortest of breaks.
* 6-key rollover, enabling users to enter – and the keyboard to recognize – 6 keys pressed simultaneously.
* Two-port, high-speed USB 2.0 hub for syncing and charging iPhone®, iPod®, iPad® and other USB devices.
* USB hub connected devices charge up to 5 times faster than with other keyboards.
* Extra-long USB cable (2m, 6.6 ft) that goes through desk grommets to keep workspaces neat and tidy.
* KVM switch compatible, so users can control more than one computer (Mac or PC) from their Das Keyboard.

Source:http://hothardware.com/News/Das-Keyboard-Unveils-Mechanical-Keyboard-For-Mac/

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SSD secrets, Windows 8 unveiled, Mac malware: my top 10 for 2011

December 21st, 2011
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No, the PC is not dead, and there’s plenty of life left in Windows. Those are the unmistakable conclusions I draw when I look at the topics that my readers zeroed in on this year.

A record number of visitors stopped by this site in 2011. (Thanks to all of you for that support!) With the help of Google Analytics, I went back through all the posts I published during the year to see which ones had the highest readership. It’s a fascinating and ultimately useful exercise, one that helps me get a better handle on what you care about most.

Before I get to the actual Top 10 list, I’ll mention a few popular pages that I excluded from the list. Two posts I wrote at the end of 2009 were still among the best-read in 2011: Seven perfectly legal ways to get Windows 7 cheap (or even free) and What Microsoft won’t tell you about Windows 7 licensing qualify as genuine evergreens. But they make this list only with an asterisk.

And my best-read article of the year wasn’t a blog post at all, but a gallery: Ten tricks every Windows 7 power user should know. In this case, the gallery format was the best way to illustrate some of my absolute favorite expert tips and tricks for Windows.

The Year in Review, the Year Ahead

With those caveats out of the way…

#1: Windows 7 and SSDs: Setup secrets and tune-up tweaks

This post on how to get the best results out of upgrading your system with a solid-state drive (SSD) Series is the hands-down winner among every post I published in 2011. That shouldn’t be surprising. Switching to an SSD is the single most effective upgrade you can make these days, and the cost of SSDs has dropped substantially over the course of the year.

The other two installments in my three-part series on Windows 7 and SSDs were pretty popular, too:

Cutting your system drive down to size
Windows 7 and SSDs: just how fast are they?)

#2: Stay safe online: 5 secrets every PC (and Mac) owner should know

When I talk to computer users, I hear a depressing amount of mythology and misinformation about computer security. Part of that is the fault of the security software industry, which does its best to scare the crap out of you so that you’ll buy their wares. The reality, as I documented in several posts over the course of the year, is that most malware makes it onto PCs and Macs via social engineering. Making smart decisions is much more important than choosing an antivirus program.

#3: Should you install Windows 7 Service Pack 1?

Microsoft released its long-awaited first service pack for Windows 7 back in May. As with most such big updates, there were a few initial glitches, all of which were fixed in short order. (For a follow-up, see Patch Tuesday updates fix a trio of Windows 7 SP1 glitches.) The short answer today: Yes, you absolutely should install SP1.

#4: Windows 8 unveiled

After providing a few teasing glimpses of Windows 8, Microsoft finally gave the new OS an official public debut. If you’re curious about what’s in store for Windows users next year, this is a good overview.

#5: Trojans, viruses, worms: How does malware get on PCs and Macs?

When Mac Defender and its variants hit the Mac community this spring, one of the most common refrains I heard was that the attacks on Apple didn’t really count, because they were Trojans and required the user to participate in the installation process. The reality, as I explain in this post, is that the same is true for Windows PCs. PCs and Macs are both reasonably safe, as long as you stay up to date and avoid falling for scams and social engineering. This post is still well worth reading and sharing.

#6: Apple vs. Microsoft: Which user interface do you prefer?

OS X apps are intuitive, Windows apps are clunky. Right? Wrong. In this post, I took a detailed look at the user interface design decisions made by Microsoft and Apple for their two flagship consumer photo-editing programs. I report, you decide.

#7: Apple to support reps: “Do not attempt to remove malware”

In 2011, Mac users got their first taste of what PC users have been dealing with for the past decade, when an Eastern European gang targeted Mac users with a sustained and successful malware campaign. What was most interesting about the story was not the malware itself but Apple’s panic-stricken, customer-hostile response. Even the most partisan among the Mac faithful were disappointed by Apple’s cover-up attempt. A close second was this exclusive interview at the height of the attack: An AppleCare support rep talks: Mac malware is “getting worse”

#8: The one security tool every Windows user should know about

I was surprised by the popularity of this post, which looks at a frankly geeky Microsoft utility called the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit, also known as EMET. If you use Windows XP, you’ll want to check it out. For more recent versions, it’s still worth a look, especially in corporate environments where targeted attacks are a possibility.

#9: Why Internet Explorer will survive and Firefox won’t

2011 marked an unfortunate turning point for Firefox, which had enjoyed a sustained run as the safer, faster alternative to Internet Explorer. Google’s phenomenal success with its Chrome browser took a big chunk out of both Microsoft and Mozilla. In this post, I make the case that Firefox might slide into irrelevance in a world where browsers are tightly wedded to platforms. See if you agree.

#10: IE9 versus Chrome: which one blocks malware better?

Internet Explorer 9 is a potential game-changer for Microsoft, which has put an enormous effort into making its next-generation browser both standards-compliant and secure. This in-depth look at IE9’s security underpinnings is one of three IE9 posts I wrote in 2011 that wound up in a virtual dead heat. The others:

Internet Explorer 9 is released: should you switch?
IE9 Release Candidate review: will Microsoft’s big browser bet pay off?

Thanks again for all the support in 2011. I appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

Source:http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/ssd-secrets-windows-8-unveiled-mac-malware-my-top-10-for-2011/4284

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Mac Heads Downloading 1 Billion Apps Per Month, Apple Says

December 14th, 2011
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It’s taken Apple fans less than a year to download over 100 million apps from the Mac App Store, according to Apple. The Mac App Store is now home to half a million free and paid apps and is where customers have downloaded more than 18 billion apps at a clip of greater than 1 billion apps per month, the Cupertino outfit bragged on its website today.

“In just three years the App Store changed how people get mobile apps, and now the Mac App Store is changing the traditional PC software industry,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “With more than 100 million downloads in less than a year, the Mac App Store is the largest and fastest growing PC software store in the world.”

It’s also par for the course for Apple, the company which arguably invented the whole app craze, or at least popularized it. Selling mobile electronic devices is no longer primarily about the hardware, but equally important is the downloadable software ecosystem. Content is the name of the game, and it’s the reason why Amazon can sell it’s Kindle Fire at a loss or break-even pricing, knowing that it will make a profit on music, movies, games, and other online sales tied to its device.

Apple’s announcement comes a week after Google’s Eric Chu, director of Android Developer Ecosystem, said that the Android Market eclipsed 10 billion app downloads and is growing at a rate of 1 bill app downloads every month.

Source:http://hothardware.com/News/Mac-Heads-Downloading-1-Billion-Apps-Per-Month-Apple-Says/

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Mac market share hits 15 year high

November 18th, 2011
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The growth in Macs is obviously great news for Apple. The computers are following the same trend as the rest of the company’s products like the iPhone and iPad in that they are selling them by the millions.

Computer buyers want the iMac, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, just as much as consumers want the iPhone and iPad. With Apple’s tight integration, especially with the release of iCloud, it’s easier than ever to share media and personal information between devices.

Apple made it easy for consumers to use their products, and they are responding by purchasing record numbers of devices.

Source:http://www.loopinsight.com/2011/11/17/mac-market-share-hits-15-year-high/

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Don’t Sit Under The Apple Screen With Anyone Else But Me

November 14th, 2011
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Iomega’s Mac Companion hard drive has a case shaped exactly like the base of the iMac and Apple’s latest displays. It nestles there right under the screen’s “chin,” conforming perfectly to the curves of the base, but leaving enough room for the screen to comfortably swing forward and aft on its hinge.

It’s a 2TB drive, so it practically begs to be used as a Time Machine backup. I partitioned my tester, setting up a little more than half of the space to serve as a Time Machine drive (tweaking my settings with Time Machine Editor) on my iMac with 1TB of internal storage. The rest was used as extra storage.

The drive connects either via USB 2.0 or via FireWire. You get faster transfer speeds with the FireWire 800 connection, but using the USB cable instead yields some nice extras. The drive also acts as a USB hub, so even though you’re taking up a USB port on the back of your computer, you get two more ports on the back of the drive. Furthermore, there’s an additional 2.1 amp “sync and charge” port on the side of the drive where you can plug in an iPhone or an iPad. I had some difficulty getting my iPad to sync properly when plugged into the “sync and charge” port, though the extra port had no problems charging my tablet.

Iomega ships the Mac Companion’s 7,200rpm, 3.5-inch hard drive formatted as a Mac-native HFS+ drive, but of course it can be easily reformatted if you have a Windows PC. The drive doesn’t ship with any protection or management software, but you can download some for free from Iomega with proof of purchase (No, thanks).

It’s a bummer the drive’s sync/charge USB port doesn’t work when it’s connected over FireWire 800, but such is the nature of devices with dual busses.

The bigger bummer is that you’ll pay out the nose for it — about $230 for 2TB. You can buy the same amount of storage for less than half that price if you look at other products, though you won’t get the extra USB features. Still, for the Mac owners who love the hardware’s clean lines, paying a premium for the form-fitting design may be a non-issue.

WIRED A perfect fit for owners of iMacs and Mac displays. Fast and quiet. Sync and charge port on the side makes it easy to juice up your Apple mobiles. Choose between FireWire 400/800 and USB 2.0, with all the cables included. Doubles as a USB hub when connected over USB. LED lights on the front indicate capacity status. Available in 2TB or 3TB models.

TIRED Pricey — you pay for the design and the USB extras. “Sync and charge” port is fickle, doesn’t always want to sync even though it was always ready to charge. Loses both USB hub and sync/charge port when connected over FireWire. LED drive capacity meter needs a software install on the host computer to work. 3-year warranty requires registration.

Source:http://www.wired.com/reviews/2011/11/iomega-mac-companion/

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A Short History of Apple Part 1: How The Mac Computer Evolved To Today

October 28th, 2011
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From humble beginnings to worldwide leaders, how have Apple grown from designing and creating circuit boards in a bedroom to being named the most valuable company (albeit briefly) on the planet?

In this series, I will be looking at the history of Apple inc., it’s products and projections for the future in a post-Steve Jobs world.

Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne founded Apple Computers in 1976 with the intention of selling the Apple personal computer. Wozniak had designed and hand built the initial prototype in Job’s bedroom and financed the project by selling some of their posessions including Job’s Volkswagen van. The idea had originally started as a hobby but after discussions with a local businessman, Paul Terrell, who was opening a new computer shop, they hand built and sold 200 units at $666 each.

The Apple I was largely unrecognisable from today’s personal computers, consisting of a circuit board which housed a microprocessor, 4kb of RAM and connectors for keyboard and monitor (which the user had to purchase separately). The Apple I was an instant hit and still continued to sell well a year later when the Apple II was introduced. The Apple II improved on its predecessor by being sold as a comple home computer system complete with case, inbuilt keyboard and monitor capable of displaying colour graphics. The Apple II also had an upgraded 1MHZ microprocessor and the ability to install programmes via an audio cassette interface (a floppy disk drive was introduced later). As the Apple II had multiple expansion slots, users were able to add or remove additional hardware which enabled Apple to strike up deals with third party developers and essentially corner the personal computer market.

In 1979, the company introduced the Apple II Plus which came pre-installed with AppleSoft Basic, a feature that had previously only been available as an upgrade and had been designed by Microsoft as Wozniak was too busy designing peripherals for the Apple II.

Apple decided to venture into the international markets and released variations for Europe, Australia and the Far East called the Apple II Europlus ( J-Plus in Japan). Along with a different keyboard and software for the Japanese market, Apple added different power supply modifications as well as Pal support for Europe although to keep costs as low as possible, the American layout keyboard was used which did not have support for regional differences.

The Apple II plus continued to sell well and was joined in 1980 by the Apple III which was intended to be a cross over machine capable of being used as both a home as well as business computer but was a massive failure, partly due to the fact that it cost between 4 and 8 thousand dollars but mainly because it suffered from massive stability failures the main being overheating of the circuit board. Apple recalled the machines and at huge cost to the company replaced the faulty boards but although Apple introduced an updated machine in 1983 ( the Apple III PLus ) which featured a redesigned keyboard, 256 kb RAM and intergrated clock, by 1985 both models had been discontinued.

When Apple introduced the Apple III, it was designed to be a replacement for the Apple II but as it had failed to sell in vast numbers, the board decided to resurrect the earlier model and in 1983 introduced the Apple IIe.

The new model borrowed substantially from the III but featured a full keyboard with the ability to input both upper case and lower case letters. It was shipped with 64kb RAM ( expandable up to 1 mb), a 1.023 KHZ microprocessor as well as internal cassette recorder.

The IIe proved to be such a success that Apple continued to produce it until 1993 when it was discontinued. Apart from a few cosmetic changes, a motherboard enhancement and the addition of a numerical keyboard, the Apple IIe remained virtually the same as when it was first introduced and once again, turned Apple into a major player in the home computer sector.

Apple introduced three more variations of the Apple II, the IIc, which was billed as their first truly portable computer ( minus screen and battery), the IIgs, a powerful home computer which featured a 16 bit 2.8MHZ microprocessor, higher resolution and mouse and the IIc plus which had an internal power supply, smaller 3.5 inch floppy drive and 4MHZ processor.

By 1993, Apple sold almost 6 million Apple II computers which made it one of the most successful home computers of its day.

1983 also saw Apple introduce the first personal computer with a graphical user interface ( GUI ), which enabled users to navigate through programs via on screen icons rather than by text commands. Although the Apple LISA had amongst its features a hard disk operating system, faster processor and large high resolution display, many users were put off by its high price tag ( almost $10,000 ) and lack of software and it failed to sell in large numbers.

The next year, Apple introduced its latest range of low cost personal computers ‘The Mackintosh’, which sold well initially but really took off when affordable laser printers and desktop publishing software became available. The Mackintosh incorporated soft of LISA’s features, including the GUI and Apple’s own operating system rather than Microsoft Windows. Although successful, users complained of a lack of features such as a hard disk drive and small memory. Apple addressed these issues by creating the Mackintosh Plus in 1986 which came with multiple expansion slots and the ability to upgrade the RAM. The Mackintosh was hugely successful and continued to sell well up to being discontinued in 1990.

Upgraded versions of the machine included the Mackintosh II, which featured a fast Motorola processor, internal hard drive and the ability to connect to multiple displays, the Mackintosh SE, their first all in one machine and the Mackintosh Portable, a battery powered machine capable of being easily transported. Although the portable machine received critical acclaim, it failed to sell well as it was heavy, bulky and difficult to read in strong lit as originally it did not have a backlight facility which Apple addressed later.

In 1991 and still feeling the effects from the failure of its portable machine, Apple introduced the PowerBook, a machine that had a battery life of 12 hours and was significantly lighter and more powerful than its predecessor. The PowerBook sold well and brought in massive revenue for the company and continued to be produced up to 2006 when it was replaced by the MacBook And MacBook Pro.
Around the same time, Apple formed a partnership with IBM and Motorola and together they created the Power Mac, a tower design computer aimed at professionals and created to give users a way to use software designed for Motorola CPU’s through an emulator.

In 1997 and after suffering huge losses, Apple struck a deal with Microsoft to create a Mac compatible version of Office and introduced the Apple online store which enabled them to offer the ability to build and sell Apple computers to order giving customers more flexibility and hardware options.

1998 saw a massive change for Apple with Jonathan Ive leading a team of designers with a simple goal- to create a computer that was not only powerful but also different to anything currently available. Ive’s team came up with the iMac ( the ‘i’ standing for internet), an all in one computer encased in a colourful design. Ease of use and setup were the main features showcased by Apple along with the inclusion of a USB slot which enabled users to add hardware easily from other developers. The iMac has gone through major design changes through the years including the iMac g4 which featured an lcd monitor sat on a hemisphere which housed an optical drive and it’s current design, an intergrated screen housed in an aluminium body which continues to sell well globally but still far behind windows based computers.

Since 2006, Apple computers have used Intel duo core processors across its range. Currently, Apple offer several different versions including the iMac, MacBook Air and Mac Mini.

In the last 5 years, Apple has seen their Mac sales grow faster than Windows based computers and they continue to grow year on year but with the introduction of the iPad, will Apple be able to convince their customers that they need a home computer at all?

Source:http://whatculture.com/technology/a-short-history-of-apple-part-1-how-the-mac-computer-evolved-to-today.php

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Mac OS X Lion drove me to Windows 7

October 10th, 2011
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On October 6, I made a dramatic, personal computing switch. After more than two months using the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook running Google’s Chrome OS, I didn’t go back to the Mac but to Windows 7. Mac OS X 10.7 — aka “Lion” — is major, but not only, reason. Lion is the first Mac operating system that I don’t like. Also, I find the hardware options, particularly the all-important display and resolution, to be much better from Windows PC manufacturers than Apple in the same price range.

Others will disagree, but I see in Lion many uncharacteristic user interface and file system changes that smack of Windows Vista. Priorities aren’t all in the right place, compared to previous OS X releases, with changes made for Apple’s benefit — such as trying to unify many behaviors with iOS — and increased complexity where simplicity should be priority.

Most of the usability changes are philosophical and support an Apple worldview about computers and mobile devices: Features like multi-touch gestures (including reversing the direction of the scroll pad), LaunchPad (which presents apps in a way reminiscent of iOS) or full-screen apps all derive from behaviors taken from Apple’s mobile operating system. Considering how many more iOS devices Apple has shipped (250 million) versus the Mac install base (58 million), it’s unsurprising that Apple would look to making its desktop operating system more like the mobile one — not the other way around. Most people are likely to buy an iOS device first and a Mac later (if at all).

Apple is driving users to full-screen apps and trying to mimic the touchscreen experience of iOS devices. From that perspective, Lion radically differs from all other modern operating systems, except Chrome OS, which only functions in full-screen mode. There is no desktop with Chrome OS. The two objectives are intertwined with respect to certain decisions Apple has made regarding how some very basic UI elements function differently.

I have no problem with change, and full screen is the future of personal computing interfaces. Microsoft rightly is going there, too, and full screen already is state of the art on smartphones and media tablets. I’d argue, in fact, that one of the fundamental reasons Microsoft couldn’t make Tablet PC a success — years before Apple launched iPad — is full-screen mode, or lack of truly having it. Windows 8 Metro UI fixes that problem, and Apple better hope Microsoft drags its ass getting the new OS to market.

But I find in Lion too much change for the sake of it, just like Windows Vista, without enough compelling benefits. The biggest: price ($29.99 for your personal Macs) and ease of purchase/installation (download from the Mac App Store and update). One other benefit offers much, but introduces unnecessary complexity with it: Auto-save. Resume, which relaunches an app where the user left it, is another.

Six Principles

In 2004, I first posted my four principles of good tech product design, which I expanded to six about two years later. A successful product:

1. Hides complexity

2. Emphasizes simplicity

3. Builds on the familiar

4. Does what it’s supposed to do really well

5. Allows people to do something they wished they could do

6. When displacing something else, offers significantly better experience

Many Apple products incorporate all six principles, and No. 5 often sets them apart from everything else. People don’t know what they want. Focus groups won’t tell you or beta feedback. The best products anticipate what users need and gives it to them. That’s what creates the “magic” Apple often uses to describe its products and the “doh” and “wow” experiences people have when first using them.

I don’t see much of that No. 5 magic in Lion, nor is the experience remarkably better than predecessor Snow Leopard; for me. If you disagree, please explain why in comments. Default changes to scrolling behavior and many other little tweaks change how people interact with Mac OS X — increasing complexity for some people and decreasing for others (particularly those using iOS devices or coming from Windows rather than other OS X version). Again, if you disagree, I’d love to learn how you think Lion meets these six principles.

I commend Apple for looking ahead to the eventual closing of the fork separating Mac OS X and iOS — at least from a user-interaction perspective. It’s gutsy. But I personally don’t like it. Last week, Apple revealed that there had been 6 million Lion downloads, which assuming one-to-one installation, means more than 10 percent of the install base has upgraded since its July release. But the changes don’t work for me. Do they for you?

Open Windows — Fresh Air

Lion roared, and I ran away from the Mac — as fast as I could bolt from the beast. For two months I lived on Chrome OS, which still isn’t ready for mass consumption — and may never be. There is much to like about the Google operating system and the Chromebook concept, but there is too much complexity introduced simply from crashes and bugs that shouldn’t be in a shipping product.

So early into the second month, I decided not to buy a Chromebook as planned (Google and Samsung graciously had provided a loaner). Around the same time, Microsoft held its BUILD conference and released Windows 8 Developer Preview. I started thinking about returning to Windows 7 — and eventually going full-time Windows 8 during the development process. I experimented some more with Lion (we still have two Macs in the household and there is always Apple Store), but couldn’t warm up to the cat.

Before going with Chromebook on July 31, I had used the 11.6-inch MacBook Air, which I found to be a simply delightful and svelte laptop. MacBook Air defines portable computing — well almost. Cellular radio would be near-perfection. The near instant-on capability is one of the laptop’s most useful benefits. Could I get that from a Windows laptop?

I could have bought a new MacBook Air or even MacBook Pro and installed Windows 7, but I wasn’t confident about running Windows 8 all the way through the development cycle. Also, I wanted to see how the out-of-box Windows 7 notebook experience had changed in the last year. Something else: Last month, I expressed how “I lost my passion for Apple”. That had much to do with cofounder Steve Jobs’ waning influence as he fought for his life and, most tragically, lost it last week.

No computer is ideal. There are benefits that matter more than others. With the new laptop, Lenovo ThinkPad T420s, I trade the portability offered by MacBook Air for better performance, longer battery life and higher display resolution. If Air is a Porsche or Mazda Miata, the boxy T420s is a Volvo — bigger, not as sporty, but stout, solid. I don’t travel enough that slimmer and lighter is a necessity. Instant-on matters more — how quickly I can get the laptop out of the bag and useful. So far, as configured, the ThinkPad T420s starts as fast as MacBook Air from sleep — but it takes about twice as long when turned off.

The ThinkPad T420s has a 2.5GHz Intel Core i5 processor (with 3MB L3 cache); 14-inch matte screen (with 1600 x 900 resolution); 160GB Intel sold-state drive; 4GB of DDR3 memory (1333MHz); DVD burner; WebCam; Ethernet; WiFi N, card reader; 3 USB ports, one each HDMI and VGA port; and Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit. Lenovo currently sells this configuration for $1,358.10, or about $158 more than the top-end Air. None of the MacBook Pros are comparable at the price range, when adding SSD drive and none of the 13.3-inch or 15-inch models have as high-resolution a display. For example, Apple sells the 15-inch MacBook Pro with 128GB SSD and 1680 x 1050 resolution display for $2,099.

High-res display is a huge priority for me, as is matte finish, because I often work outside (it’s always summer in San Diego) and glossy finishes reflect too much light. SSD is another priority, because it helps make near instant-on a reality. Sony offers 1600 x 900 with VAIO Z series, slimmer and lighter), but not at a price I could afford.

To my surprise, it’s a refreshing change using Windows 7 as my full-time operating system — granted it has only been a few days. Overall, I’m impressed with the T420s performance, and I had forgotten just how amazing the ThinkPad keyboard is to use. Yeah, the keys may go clickity-clack, but suddenly I’m a touch typist (or as close as I’ll ever be).

Betanews’ Microsoft, Internet Explorer and Windows reporting has lagged as of late, something I plan to change by the switch back to Windows; I can write more authoritively about stuff I actually use. Then there is future reporting on Windows 8, which in many ways is a more interesting product than either iOS or Mac OS X. No one should underestimate what Windows & Windows Live president Steven Sinofsky will do with Windows 8 and connected services.

For now, I’m remembering what appeals so much about Windows 7 and enjoying that Volvo of laptops — the ThnkPad.

Source:http://betanews.com/2011/10/09/mac-os-x-lion-drove-me-to-windows-7/

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