Another of my clients has switched to the Mac today. I have an evening of setting her up and getting her things moved over, but should be pretty painless to start with. I think that as things move forward this is going to start being the norm for most people. There really is no compelling reason to use a Windows box any longer when a Mac can do many if not all of the same tasks for less money.

This client is a small company and will allow the users to share documents and collaborate on things without having to worry about location or networks. Add a .Mac account and the need for shared storage goes away as the users can share documents on their iDisks. No VPN, no server, no worries about network requirements.

The real issue comes down to document types. There is Microsoft Office, which is crazy expensive most of the time for what you get. I think the best option is either iWork or NeoOffice. I think that when OpenOffice is native Aqua, hopefully with version 3.0 it’s going to make it very difficult to not take it serious. Until then, NeoOffice or iWork I think is the way to go. I respect the fact occasionally there is a need for compatibility with Microsoft Office, but the more time goes along, the harder it is to justify the price.

There are many reasons to switch, but in the end it’s a personal preference. However, I think as things move forward, people will start to see that the Mac is a much better way to get things done.

I really agree with most of this. However, I’m not sure the percentage for time spent wishing bad things in the direction of Bill, MS and IE is accurate. But a quarter of the time doesn’t seem too far off.

TJ Mapes: Breakdown of a modern Web designer: “

tj mapes

I didn’t feel like working today. I felt even less like going to the Embassy for more pages in my passport. Both are important … but … instead, I flaffed off at Blog Design Blog.

I totally had plans to extract information for a future DWB feature. Honest. Then, when I reached Blog Design Blog’s gallery, I found the beautifully designed tj mapes and the hilarious Time Breakdown of Modern Web Design found me.

First with, then without Jay’s help (hi Jay!), I created our own breakdown graph. Obviously, the credit goes to TJ and the site he got the idea from (hi TJ!).

The Breakdown of a Modern Web Designer

Modern Web Designer = Jay

Now, Jay’s been here for over two weeks. Meaning, we’ve been working across the room or down the hall from each other for a lifetime. Meaning, I can yell over to her in times of frustration and she back at me. Skype not needed. And since we’ve been updating, tweaking, problem solving and deciding (with not much time off), there’s been a LOT of frustration.

Especially as she’s been feeding me coffee. Every day. Yup. She lives dangerous like.

So first thing in the morning I have my pot of tea and get right to work. Hours later (many, MANY hours later), she struggles awake with Frappachinos bought from our neighborhood cybercafe / coffee shop. Jay gets one for her. And one for me. That’s right. Danger lives just around the corner.

Jay’s even taken to siding with Chris, a sure sign of overload. My caffeine overload. Her Cat overload. Which is why I found the Time Breakdown Modern Web Design so perfect (with tweaks of course).

From TJ: This is a 100% honest insight to my life, work and play … Just yesterday I spent about 2-3 hours trying to figure out why only in Firefox of all browsers was positioning a dropdown (select) menu totally different than all the other browsers … I figured it out in the end by using a hack for Firefox that I found on the web … All I have to say is, ‘Thank god for other developers.’

And all I have to say is, ‘Thank goodness for Jay!’

Another interesting post from TJ is What every cubical needs. Awwwwww. TJ, I feel for you, I do.

Hey all, if you have the time, have a listen to TJ’s Radio Station at LastFM. Very nice AND I can listen to the music. I know, I know … you are saying, ‘so?’ But just listen. Ok?

I used to spend time at Pandora, but they’ve taken to redirecting a message just for me … personal like.

‘Dear Pandora Visitor,
We are deeply, deeply sorry to say that due to licensing constraints, we can no longer allow access to Pandora for listeners located outside of the U.S. We will continue to work diligently to realize the vision of a truly global Pandora, but for the time being we are required to restrict its use. We are very sad to have to do this, but there is no other alternative. We believe that you are in Thailand (your IP address appears to be xx.xxx.xxx.xx). If you believe we have made a mistake, we apologize …’

An apology? Soooo … it’s PROXY time! Um. Not. Apparently a new law in Thailand makes it illegal to use a proxy. Remember when YouTube and Mashable were blocked? Deep sigh.

But, I am proud of Thailand standing up for their beliefs. They have pride in their king, their culture and their country. Deserved pride. What other country can say that?

So, I can live without YouTube if I have to (now back online). I can even live without Pandora. But Mashable? Ummmm.

Well, here we are at the bottom of this post. And while it might not be proxy time, it certainly is Frappachino and Red Hot Chilli Peppers time … so … anon to you all …

PS: This post was supposed to go off tomorrow, but as my site was down due to being hit with a gig of spam late last night, my treat.

NEED MORE? Then get over to Designers who Blog to discover hundreds of blogs posting about graphic and web design, marketing, illustration, photography, advertising, branding, writing …

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(Via .: Designers who Blog: Design, Illustration, Photography, Web, Advertising, Branding ….)

April 4th will be a great day as Doctor Who returns for it’s 4th season and 3rd with David Tennet as The Doctor.

Hmmm, something else happens that day as well, what could it be

Oh Yeah! That’s also the same night that Battlestar Galactica Returns. Wooo Hoo that’s only 2 more weeks.

I Don’t want to RENT MUSIC!!!

News: Report: Apple plans iPhone, iPod music rentals: “According to the Financial Times, Apple is currently negotiating with major music labels to offer an optional unlimited music rental service for iPods and iPhones, as well as an alternative subscription-based monthly service for iPhone users. Under the ‘comes with music’ plan, the Times reports, premium versions of the iPod and iPhone would be bundled with ‘free access to its entire iTunes music library,’ likely for the lifetime…”

(Via iLounge.)

I find this sweet!

The most bad-ass use of Time Machine yet: “

Faithful Macenstein reader Mike Solomon over at The Cleverist has has found a pretty bad-ass way to use Time Machine, and I suggest Apple use Mike in an upcoming Time Machine commercial – that is, if they think they can tame this wild renegade!

‘This weekend I needed to edit some video in a pinch. The project was going to take about 20 gigs of hard drive space but I was away from my external hard drive and only had about 10 gigs of free space on my laptop. So what did I do? I did what any Mac user would do - I deleted my entire iTunes music folder. It cleared up about 65 gigs of space, and I was able to do edit the video and all was well. Then when I got back home I restored all the files with Time Machine, which had automatically backed everything up. That’s how badass I am.’

Wow, Mike, that’s taking a leap of faith that only the baddest of of the bad-ass Apple faithful would dare make, and we salute you!

Of course, a real bad-ass never backs up his data, or even HAS data, but as far as a tech/geeky story goes, this is as bad-ass as it gets. In fact, the only way it could have been more bad-ass might have been if he were smoking cigarettes at the time. But I hope that wasn’t the case, as it might hurt that pending endorsement deal with Apple. Thanks Mike!

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(Via Macenstein.)