Now I've gone and done it. I never thought I'd see this day, but I have indeed purchased a Mac. It was kind of an impulse purchase, but I've been spending the last week or so fine-tuning this beast and learning the intricacies of the Mac OS X operating system.

For all of you reading this on your Windows XP machines, let me assure you that the process of setting up a Mac is pretty harmless. To demonstrate, allow me to take you on a picture tour of my Mini adventure...

Step 1: Find a spot for it


This couldn't be easier. At 6.5 x 6.5", this thing is tiny. It's hard to believe such a small box is even a computer. But despite its miniature stature, this box packs a fair amount of muscle for its price. A $599 price tag gets you a brand spankin' new Intel Core Solo processor, 512MB of DDR2 RAM, an ample 60GB SATA hard drive, and a pretty cool slot-loading Cd-burner/DVD player drive. And, as if that wasn't enough, it also comes packed with built in WIFI and Bluetooth wireless technology. If you're looking for a cheap and capable second computer, don't dismiss the Mac--these are pretty neat machines.

However, for me, I will never fully give up my powerhouse PC. Therefore, the next step is getting everything connected to allow the Mac and PC to share my single monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speaker system.

Step 2: Get it all connected


This image gives you a pretty good look at the back of the Mini. From left to right is the power cable, iSight Camera (which took these pictures, by the way) in a Firewire port, video out with included VGA adapter, iPod cable in USB port, mouse/keyboard in USB, and speaker cable.

To allow my 2 computers to share a connection to the keyboard/mouse/monitor, I purchased an IOGear KVM switch. Basically, you plug all of the above devices into a single hub, which has 2 sets of wires coming from it--plug these into each computer and you're good to go. To switch between them, I simply double-tap the Scroll Lock key. Here's what the KVM switch looks like:



For $33 on Amazon.com, this is probably one of the better KVM's on the market. However, these things are notoriously buggy. For instance, the audio quality when sharing a single set of speakers is terrible. Also, because of the ghetto converting I had to do to connect my USB mouse (notice the green adapter) to a PS/2 connector means that when working in Mac OS X (which doesn't have support for PS/2 accessories) I can't use any of the special mouse buttons. But, that's not that big of a deal, and I think I can learn to live with it. There's also a USB only version of the above KVM, so for those with a USB keyboard, that might be a better solution. The USB KVM is only slightly more expensive.

Step 3: Get to know it


For a long-time Windows user, the Mac OS X interface seemed a little alien at first. However, after a few hours of operation, I'm loving all the built in convenience features. Although most of them will also be featured in the upcoming Windows Vista, Mac OS X is extremely user friendly. With a powerful hard drive search function, automatic iPod support, a great media presenter called Front Row...its a class-act, to be sure.

I'd say the biggest difference I've noticed between the Mac and the PC is simplicity. With a PC, everything has lots of buttons, lots of ports, and lots of versions. Personally, I like this customization aspect of a PC, but for those uninterested in complication, you should probably consider a Mac. Here's a good example of what I mean. Below is a universal remote for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console and the Mac universal remote for Front Row. Notice a difference?



In conclusion...

Mac Mini Core Solo: $599 + tax
IOGear KVM switch: $33 + shipping
3.5mm audio Y-Splitter: $6 at Radioshack
Spending Memorial Day Weekend learning a new OS: Priceless

Have a good weekend, all.