Whole Brain Computing

Aloha!

As of January I'm into using my whole brain while computing. That's how I joke to myself now that I'm running both Mac and Windows on one hardware unit. You know, there's this concept describing right hemisphere brain activities and left ones. There was a time when the stereotypical right brain-inclined people - artsy types - were into Macs while left-brained people - business and engineering types - were into Windows PCs.

Much has changed since the evolution of both Windows and Mac operating systems and the applications they can run. But Windows PCs still account for around 92% of the market - the reason I'm a Windows tech.

So what do I mean when I say I'm using my whole brain on one piece of hardware? Well, my beautiful, sleek, enchanting new iMac runs Mac OS 10.6.2 (Snow Leopard), and I've loaded on it a program called Parallels Desktop, which lets me run Windows XP side by side with Snow Leopard. Yep, Windows and Mac operating systems running side by side with no squabbles.

Why did I take this "whole brain" approach to computing? Simply this: while I enjoy the technical challenge of troubleshooting and fixing my clients' Windows systems, I'm tired of hassling with my own. With my new configuration, I can run my Windows applications that I like and have paid some bucks for, like QuickBooks 2008 and MS Office 2007, on Windows XP, and keep fresh with Windows issues that affect my clients, as most of my clients run Windows.

As time goes by, I may eventually ditch running Windows altogether, meaning: when I feel it's time to replace my QuickBooks and MS Office, I'd just buy the Mac versions. Though I must tell you, I like Windows Media player better than iTunes (so far). And unfortunately, some programs, like the online real estate multiple listing services and MS Access don't run on Mac.

I'm looking forward to playing with various applications that come pre-installed on the Mac, such as Garage Band, Chess, iChat, etc. Plus there are some geeky networking and connectivity things one can fool around with on the Mac.

Perhaps best of all I can be neutral in the ridiculous "war" between Mac and Windows camps. This squabble makes me want to dump them both and go to Linux, which is free (just gotta pay for the hardware).

Wishing you akamai computing!