Becoming a Mac

Taking Control of Switching to the Mac (Ebook)I've stumbled on another great resource for those looking to make the leap from PC to Mac. "Take Control of Switching to the Mac" is an Ebook written by Scott Knaster, found at takecontrolbooks.com, and is a great book to help walk you through making the transition from PC to Mac. I was able to contact the author and arrange a brief interview with him to get a little more background information on him. Here is what Scott had to say:

Did you grow up Mac?

My first computer was a Radio Shack TRS-80 in 1978. When I had myTRS-80, every time I went to the computer store to buy magazines, Ienvied the Apple II over in the corner. Eventually I sold the TRS-80and saved up to buy an Apple II. I think I've bought exactly onenon-Apple computer since then. I went to work at Apple in 1983.

What was your first Mac?

I worked in the Mac group at Apple in 1984. The first Mac I had was anoriginal 128K Mac with an external floppy drive that didn't have acase. The first Mac I ever bought with my own money (after leavingApple) was a Power Mac 7500. My current Mac is a 3.5-year-old MacBookPro (Apple's first Intel laptop model).

What was first PC?

When I got a job in the Mac group at Microsoft in 1996, I got a Macand a Toshiba laptop. I had never used Windows before. The Windowsteam wanted to observe me using Windows because they said it was veryrare to find professional computer people who had never used Windows.

What are some of your thoughts on what really makes the Mac unique?

Macs (and iPhones and iPods) just work. Apple cares incredibly deeplyabout user experience -- what customers live through every day. Thisincludes hardware, software, service, and shopping experience. BecauseApple owns the hardware, software, and stores, they can control mostof this experience.

Another Apple strength is the ability to regularly and relentlesslyupdate their hardware and software. Apple has somehow managed tomostly avoid huge schedule slips and massive product disasters while
steadily upgrading their lines and producing new products.

When I use a Mac, I feel that someone has thought about all the pathsI take through the hardware and software as I use it. There are signsof intelligent there.

Would you ever try to convince a long-time PC user to actually make the jump to Mac and why?

Sure I would, and I do -- for their own good. :) Writing "Take Controlof Switching to the Mac" was a labor of love and expresses my personalphilosophy. My friends who own PCs are used to putting up withnonsense that just goes away when you have a Mac. Apps that stoprunning, apps that stop working right, external devices that stopworking, painful upgrades, impossible-to-use software, unhelpfulsupport people. I try to explain that these things aren't universal toall computers, that Macs just give you fewer headaches. I also pointout the incredible advantage provided by Apple Stores and Genius Bars.

"Take Control of Switching to the Mac" can be purchased and downloaded instantly at takecontrolbooks.com.  If you order by cliking on our link you will get a 30% discount so the total price of the E-book is only $7.00!  A special thanks to the husband-and-wife team Adam and Tonya Engst who run the Taking Control website!  Enjoy, and please let me know your thoughts on the book if you decide to buy it.