Once the Notes problem is fixed, I will go through the wild and crazy steps required to migrate Windows Eudora to Mac Eudora, and move into the Mac. I've also ordered a 17-in. Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro, which is due in a week or so.
I'm far more comfortable with the higher resolution on the larger MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro 15 is great as a commuter notebook, since I use a large-screen LCD at work. But when I'm stretched out for serious weekend work away from an external display, the 17-in. MBP is the machine I need. I'll be duplicating the software on that machine and remote-accessing the MacBook Pro 15 for Eudora e-mail as needed. One of the few things I truly admire about Notes is its ability to run on multiple machines and be accessed from any of them. It's the power of a true client/server application. Notes doesn't have a lock on that ability, of course. I might use IMAP with Eudora, for example. But most of my mail hosts don't offer it.
About other aspects of the Mac: I'm having little trouble adapting to the differences between Windows and the Mac. I was a Mac user from 1987 to 1990 and a Windows and Mac user from 1994 to 1995. Mac OS X is a different operating system from the old Mac OS software. But my Linux experience, though not considerable, has helped me log in and out of root to change system settings on the Mac with relative ease (once I knew where to initiate the authentication). Exploring the way the Mac works is actually fun. I wouldn't call the more esoteric settings intuitive, but they're not difficult to find if you keep at it.
If learning Linux esoterica is comparable to doing The New York Times crossword puzzle, the Mac is tantamount to whipping through the crossword puzzle in your local-yokel newspaper. And Windows is somewhere in between.
Progress on the temporary-Mac front will be reported in future updates. And I expect to wrap up with a final assessment of whether the Mac is a viable alternative for real people with real jobs. You can also expect a long-term wrap-up on Windows Vista once it's officially out.
This article is an advance excerpt from the next issue of Scot's Newsletter, and it is published by permission.
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