Shaken, not stirred

Moving is always strange, especially for me, since I have no sense of direction. In generally takes me a couple of weeks in a new office before I can reliably make it to the bathroom without getting lost.

The move to this blog has been particularly disorienting, however, because along with the office, I have a shiny new Macintosh. The Atlantic is a Mac shop, and now I'm enjoying the much-vaunted usability, which of course isn't very, since I've spent fifteen years getting extremely, extremely good at using a PC. Then there's fielding all the instant messages from my friends with Apples . . . "So you're using a Mac? Awesome! You should totally come to prayer group on Saturday! John's bringing his guitar!"

The worst part is the gnawing sense that a few weeks from now, when I've stopped Jonesing for a left mouse button, it'll be me with the suspiciously glassy eyes, saying "I never really lived until I got my MacBook . . . "

Comments

Learn the shortcut keys.

Posted by aaron | August 20, 2007 5:08 PM

any USB mouse will work with it, and you can right click to your hearts content.
If you keep jonesing for windows, you can virtualize it (www.parallels.com)
disclosure:Yes I work for Parallels, but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to recommend it. If you want windows on your mac, it is possible.

Posted by Chad | August 20, 2007 5:25 PM

The single-button mouse was, as far as I could ever tell, a stubborn product of ideological "purity" from the Church of Apple Design. I'm an OS agnostic myself, but the first thing I do when I get a Mac is buy a two-button USB mouse.

All else aside, no one can deny just how damned pretty Macs are. :)

Posted by Dave Herman | August 20, 2007 5:35 PM

YOU ARE AWWESOME AND PRETTY CAN YOU BE MY GIRLFRIEND I LIKE MACS AND MONEY AND THE FREE MARKET AND FUNELING BEER

Posted by Soaring Patriotic Eagle | August 20, 2007 5:36 PM

I am of a mixed marriage. I use a PC, my husband is forever a Mac user. Last week a friend called when my husband was out of town to solicit advice about what computer to buy for some purpose or other. We had a very long conversation about the pros and cons of Macs v. PCs. Today I recounted the conversation to my husband. To which he replied:

"You know, with Boot Camp there is no reason to ever buy a PC again. In fact you can use the Windows operating system on a Mac. Bzzzzz Bzzzzz Bzzzz Bzzzz...."

I'm sure he said other things, I just stopped paying attention.

Posted by Kate | August 20, 2007 5:37 PM

I like both. Each has their own advantages and drawbacks. If you go around listing their advantages and drawbacks, however, the Mac people will selectively hear you attacking Macs, and will proceed to volley insults and invective at you and tell you how you are a zombie and a moron and, most importantly, how deeply, deeply uncool you are.

Posted by Freddie | August 20, 2007 5:54 PM

Get them to buy you a two-button mouse. I've been using two-button mice with my Macs for over a decade, and it drives me nuts to have to go back to just one button.

And install Quicksilver. It's free, and streamlines just about any task you perform on a Mac.

Posted by Avram | August 20, 2007 6:01 PM

For reading RSS feeds on a Mac, combine Google Reader with the companion Reader Notifier. It's a great way to keep up with the web.

Posted by Eli | August 20, 2007 7:09 PM

You do have a right click! Go to System Preferences->Keyboard & Mouse->Trackpad. Make sure "Tap trackpad using two fingers for secondary click" is checked.

Then all you need to do for a right click is put two fingers on the trackpad and click the button; viola, right click!

Posted by Adam Goldman | August 20, 2007 7:34 PM

I don't absolutely need a right mouse button, but I can't live without a middle mouse button. When they make a three-button Powerbook, I'm buying one right away.

Posted by Adult | August 20, 2007 7:43 PM

"...anything you can do, I can do better. I can do anything better than you..."

don't let 'em suck you into that quicksand. It's a computer, everyone should just get over it. I 'dun care if you speak UNIX, DOS, OSX, XP or JCL...

you will get used to it of course... perhaps you will even like macs, but ultimately does it help you work or not... that is the question.

Posted by D | August 20, 2007 11:41 PM

I hope your blogging is better than your bathroom finding skills.

Posted by Carl | August 21, 2007 12:42 AM

The single-button mouse was, as far as I could ever tell, a stubborn product of ideological "purity" from the Church of Apple Design. I'm an OS agnostic myself, but the first thing I do when I get a Mac is buy a two-button USB mouse.

Look, it's not rocket science. The Mac mouse has one button, because that's all you need. It's all I've ever needed. If you seriously need two buttons with Mac OS, you're hopeless.

the Mac people will selectively hear you attacking Macs

Macs don't need to be defended. People who can't master the basic one-buttom mouse are probably the same people whose DVD players have been flashing "12:00" for the last two years.

Posted by KDR | August 21, 2007 2:05 AM

A PC is a tool, nothing more. Whatever works for you is best.

Posted by MarkD | August 21, 2007 7:45 AM

Non-idiots know that one can use any USB mouse. OSX recognizes right-button commands.

Jane instead decides to write a column about the lack of a right button.

Nicely played, Atlantic.

Posted by Jamey | August 21, 2007 8:40 AM

I can't quite tell if "KDR" is serious, or parodying a Macolyte (hey, did I just coin a neologism?).

[googling]

Guess not. I guess it was too obvious for someone not to have come up with it years (perhaps decades) ago.

Posted by Rand Simberg | August 21, 2007 8:42 AM

Control + click, when used together, work the same as a right-click.

If you're an RSS junkie, use NetNewsWire. It smokes all others.

Kate's husband was right though. With BootCamp (or Parallels) you can run not only OS X but also Windows XP or Vista and any Linux flavor you like.

Posted by Jeff | August 21, 2007 12:33 PM

@Jamey:
"Jane instead decides to write a column about the lack of a right button."

Actually, the column wasn't about that at all. Maybe using a Mac makes one illiterate.

Posted by michael | August 21, 2007 12:33 PM

Apple only sells multi-button mice these days, guys, so she's already got one (the Mighty Mouse is actually a four-button; left, right, ball-click ala wheel-click, and squeeze).

And if it's a laptop, all the MacBook series support two-fingers-for-rightclick.

Posted by Sigivald | August 21, 2007 1:11 PM