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Meet My New Mac Mini

Bought a new Mac! However, after owning two iMacs previously (2009-17, then 2017-present), I decided to get a Mac mini. The mini is considered Apple’s affordable “entry level” Mac so I’d never considered one before. But after researching and seeing great reviews for it—especially now that it sports Apple’s new M2 chip—I learned that the machine is plenty robust, and figured out that I could buy more computer for less money, despite the additional expense of a monitor since the mini doesn’t come with either a monitor or a keyboard. Indeed, with the upgraded configuration of 16G RAM (I formerly had only 8G) and a 1TB hard drive, the entire system cost nearly $700 less than an iMac with identical specs!

Fortunately, for once, I planned ahead. After I purchased the Mac mini online and waited for confirmation that it was ready for pickup at my local Apple Store, I researched and purchased a monitor (a 27” ASUS ProArt Display) and an appropriate HDMI adapter to connect it to the mini. (BTW, Apple’s recommended standalone 4k Apple display monitor is $1599. So, yeah, no. The Asus monitor was listed on several lists as a sweet spot between quality and affordability, below $300.)

The main reason I wanted to upgrade was because my iMac’s operating system (OS) was way out of date, dating to 2019—but if I upgraded the old machine, many of the programs on it would no longer work and I would lose access to my data. Some apps had already stopped updating due to my out of date OS. Knowing this day was coming, I spent the past year preparing for this migration, intermittently looking for replacement applications, which I fortunately achieved for the most part. I’ve written about this elsewhere but, in short, I weaned myself away from Adobe’s Creative Suite by moving to ClipStudio Paint and the robust Adobe knockoffs from Affinity—Photo, Designer and Publisher (my last comic book issue was completed using this new software). As part of this effort, in 2021 I also migrated my website from html/css format (created on Adobe Dreamweaver) to WordPress!

I’m glad to report that the migration went relatively smoothly, using the Macs’ built-in Migration Assistant. I initially connected them via wifi, but learned that method could be very slow (some people reported it taking as long as 20–30 hours!). Connecting them via lightning cable didn’t seem to take, but I ultimately connected them with an Ethernet cable. Took about 6 hours, which I let run overnight.

When I returned to the machines in the morning, the new computer was up and running, with the same settings and customizations as my old computer. There were a few hiccups early on, but otherwise, I spent the morning checking functionality and updating some apps and drivers. My main concern was ensuring that my 11x17 scanner, purchased in 2009, still worked, as well as a few obscure apps I use to track sales and inventory—and they all did, the scanner thanks to an updated driver. At present, my graphics tablet doesn’t seem to be working properly and an updated driver doesn’t seem to be available, but that will be relatively easy to replace if necessary.

Since Macs have become generally chintzy in their number of USB ports (the mini comes with just 2), I was glad that my existing USB hub that connected peripherals like external backup drives and the scanner re-connected seamlessly to the new system. I should note that the new monitor provides an additional 4 built-in USB ports too! Best of all, the computer is amazingly fast—even in downloading files and connecting to the web. It’s clear that my old iMac had slowed down and become bottlenecked, so this upgrade was overdue and timely!

My New iMac!

Got a new iMac, though not under the most ideal circumstances—a few weeks back, my 2009 iMac crashed and would not start. Worse, I was several pages deep into the next issue of Rob Hanes Adventures and lost all the work. (Yes, I back up my files—in fact, multiple backups as a failsafe—but for some reason had not done so the previous weeks and did not do so for this newest issue (aside from the cover, thank goodness. All it would have required is just dragging/copying the file onto one of my external backup drives. Sigh.)

I took the machine to a Mac repair shop which told me that if the hard drive had indeed failed, it would cost about $400 for a new drive and anywhere from $250-450 to recover the data (if recoverable). Given the computer was purchased in 2009, I opted to purchase a new one; so the repair shop then got to work on recovering the contents of the failed drive. A few days later, I learned that they had actually recovered the main folders I needed – but after the data was transferred to my new computer, I immediately checked the drive while still in the shop and sadly discovered that the specific folders containing the newest issues were missing. Otherwise, I’d say about about 90% of my data was recovered—but, as I said, most of this older data had already been backed up.

The failed drive, removed from the iMac shell

I had been thinking about purchasing a new computer for the past year or so anyway, but since my iMac was customized exactly the way I needed it—complete with Parallels Desktop to run Windows XP in the background so that I could access a large-size scanner that only worked with Windows and to run CorelDraw, a graphic design application I use to letter my comics—I was in no rush to reinvent the wheel by having to reconfigure a whole new computer.

Once I decided to get a new iMac, I moved quickly—one evening, I ran down to a local Best Buy but learned they were out of the model I wanted. I'm equi-distant between two Best Buys and, after checking their stock in the system, the salesperson told me that the other Best Buy had several in stock. But of course when I went to the second store, I found out this was not the case. (I’m glad I declined the first store’s offer to purchase it before I went there!) So I simply went home, ordered it online from Apple and paid $20 extra to have it delivered to me the next day. (I opted against going to a local Apple store because 1) the three stores I know of aren’t super close to to me and 2) I didn’t relish the idea of having to lug the new computer through a mall and parking lot. (BTW, I sadly dropped off the old iMac at a recycling facility for hazardous waste—but have the old hard drive, along with some other older ones, stored at home to protect the data.)

I forgot how fairly easy and straightforward it is to set up a computer today—the old days required a lot of cables and configuration. Here I just plugged it in, turned it on, and it was ready to go—though of course I had to install and configure software.

My biggest concern were my graphics packages, including Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Dreamweaver), which have since moved to a monthly online subscription model. I was happily surprised to discover that not only did I find the original installation files saved on my backup drive but, perhaps more importantly, found that I had the wherewithal several years ago to save the serial number needed to activate the installation! Once I found these pieces, I was able to re-install the entire suite and discover it worked in the new operating system! Whew!

What also saved my bacon were the workarounds I found for the scanner and CorelDraw. For years, I had searched online in vain for Mac drivers for my scanner, but in a search just prior to purchasing the new computer, I discovered a third-party developer that offered a Mac driver for the scanner! What another relief.

As to CorelDraw, Adobe Illustrator has always been the most comparable application—in fact, Illustrator is the de facto standard among many graphic design professionals. Though I have always used Illustrator to some degree and was fairly familiar with it, I have always found CorelDraw to be a little more flexible and more compatible with my needs. But beggars can’t be choosers—so even though I still search for a way to run CorelDraw on my iMac (short of having to re-install Parallels Desktop along with a Windows operating system), I’m making do and have become resigned to getting along with Illustrator (for now).

So, aside from the disheartening experience of having lost those early pages (which I had to re-construct from memory), I’m back on track with the next issue of Rob Hanes Adventures!


BELOW: Page 1 from ROB HANES ADVENTURES #19 (without lettering) — one of five pages I had to re-create when I lost the original files when my computer crashed.

More Favorite Apps

I’ve written in the past about some of favorite apps and websites, including Clearcheckbook, Mint, Xmarks, DropBox, and GoogleDocs. Here are a few more that I’ve found indispensable:

SplashID Save

SplashID Safe is a secure password storage/manager app and desktop program that keeps all my website log in and password information close at hand via a password-protected app on my iPhone (it’s also of course available on other devices). Just as importantly, it syncs with a desktop version of the program, making it available on my desktop and safely backed up should anything every happen to my device. (The desktop program can also act as a stand-alone product.)

While SplashID stores my various usernames and passwords for my online email, banking, and social media accounts, it’s also designed to store other sensitive information and is easily customized. As a result, it’s a great convenience to store information like social security numbers and other private information of family members, credit card numbers, combinations, insurance numbers, vehicle information, etc., that I often have to access when doing things like filling out forms while out and about at places like the doctor’s office or traveling.

I’ve used SplashID for many years, dating back to my PalmPilot days. While there are several popular rivals to SplashID—most notably 1Password and LastPass—I’ve stuck with SplashID since it was easy to transition the data from the PalmPilot to my iPhone. There was a brief period when I considered other options, primarily because SplashID for a time was acting a bit buggy which caused me to worry about its dependability, but upgrades since then have restored stability and my confidence in the app.

SplashID and most other similar apps offer other features that I don’t use, such as the ability to generate strong passwords, securely save passwords in the cloud (a leap I haven’t made yet), and to auto-fill blank lines online. I’ve never used these additional bells and whistles, but as it stands, SplashID is definitely one of my most used and functional apps.

ToDoist

There are tons of “To Do” apps out there, so it’s rather surprising that it’s taken me so long to find one that works just right for me. Of course, the plethora of options makes it difficult to test all of them and each one has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Anyway, I recently discovered and starting using ToDoist and it seems to fit the bill. It is a mobile device app that syncs with the cloud and links to a dedicated desktop app that is also linked to the cloud. So I can add tasks and reminders (with or without deadlines) and check them on both my mobile device or desktop computer, and strike items as I do them. You can view tasks on the fly either for the day or the next 7 days. And, of course, you can organize the tasks and reminders into different categories. It has quickly become a useful app I use every day.

TaxAct

Back in the early aughts, I received a free CD copy of the tax preparation software TaxCut (apparently now renamed H&R Block Tax Software)—they were very smart because I found it very useful and used the software for several years due to familiarity and the ease of transferring data from one year to the next.

As tax preparation and filing moved more to the Web, based on a recommendation, I went to TaxAct, which I have been now using since 2007.

It’s the only web-based tax preparation software I have ever used, so I don’t have a point of comparison, but it’s a product I certainly recommend. It carries over a lot of personal information for me from year to year so that I don’t have to re-enter the data every year (another incentive to stay with the same program). It’s step-by-step entry program is fairly straightforward and intuitive, though sometimes going back to earlier entry screens can be tricky and a bit confusing because they are often nested within sections. Other than that, it’s fairly straightforward and allows the user to submit their federal and state tax forms for one price under $20 (additional state forms cost extra).

Plus, when you file online, users usually receive tax reimbursements much quickly -- usually in about a week or so, versus the several weeks if you are waiting for a check!

Review: Kindle Fire HD

Between owning an iPhone and a laptop (as well as a desktop iMac), I have felt little need for a tablet. In recent months, however, my interest in having an ebook reader that would also allow me to read digital comics piqued my interest. Since I purchased a Kindle for my wife last Christmas, who was very happy with it, I thought I’d get a color Kindle Fire HD. As I was just about to make my purchase, however, news about the iPad Mini broke, which put my plans for the Kindle Fire on pause -- I decided to wait to see what Apple would have to offer....

Like most other people, however, the Mini turned out to have too high a price point at $325, compared to the Kindle Fire HD’s $199. I also realized that since I already own an iPhone, a traditional tablet like the iPad Mini was redundant. I felt it preferable to get something that complemented my iPhone rather than essentially duplicated it by getting a more dedicated e-reader. At the last minute, I also did comparisons with the Nook and the Google Nexus since they were priced the same. I ruled out the Nook since Barnes & Noble’s future seems uncertain and the Nexus because it was primarily a tablet and, secondarily, an e-book reader. So, in the end, I settled on the Kindle Fire HD.

Having had the Kindle a couple of weeks now, I must say I’m happy and impressed. With its built-in wifi, it turns out the device is robust and has more of the features and capabilities of a traditional tablet than I anticipated: I connected to my email, calendar and contact list accounts with no problems; it has a web browser; I downloaded many of my existing personal finance apps on it like Mint and ClearCheckBook; it can stream Netflix, YouTube and other videos—I can even stream them to my TV using a mini-HDMI connector; and, apparently, it can even run Skype for videoconference calls!

I've already downloaded several books and magazines, as well as several digital comics, which look great on the high-def color screen. With its 7-inch screen size, the Kindle is light, portable and easy to carry around.

Having said that, it’s important to note that the while the iPad Mini and the Kindle Fire HD certainly overlap and compete in many areas, they also fill very distinct niches. As I said earlier, I primarily wanted an e-book reader, with apps (and especially gaming, which is where other traditional tablets excel) a low priority. The reviews are right on: you really need to make a decision based on your needs. As I said, since I already have an iPhone, an iPad would have been a bit superfluous, so I'm glad I got what is primarily a dedicated e-reader that also performs nicely as a traditional tablet on the fly. The Kindle, of course, is also closely tied to Amazon's content and the user’s Amazon account, but that wasn't an issue for me since I already purchase regularly on Amazon.

While it may not fit everyone’s needs, the Kindle Fire HD is a great product.

Favorite Apps

Like a lot of people, I’m always on the lookout for useful apps and websites—preferably free—that make life easier. I thought I’d mention a few that I've found indispensible.

Clearcheckbook

Clearcheckbook is a free website and smartphone app that freed me from the tyranny of both Quicken and my handwritten checkbook register.

Clearcheckbook is a cloud-based checkbook register that allows you to manage and track multiple checking accounts. It includes basic but essential checking account features like reconciliation (called “jiving” here), balances, recurring transactions, split transactions, reminders, budgeting, customizable spending and income categories, reports, etc. You can also import and export in a variety of file formats, including CSV and Quicken’s QDF.

Better yet, the data is stored in the cloud in a free online user account, which can also be accessed via a ClearCheckBook smartphone app, so you can add purchases and check your balances remotely and on the go, which of course automatically syncs with the master account.

This app does NOT connect to your actual bank, so there is no danger of compromising your checking account. It's simply an electronic checkbook register.

To gain access to some additional features, users can upgrade to a paid premium account for $4 a month—for the most part, however, the free version meets all my needs. For me, the only drawback of the free version is that the income and expense totals for periods prior to the current calendar year is only available to premium users. As a workaround, though, I created a GoogleDocs spreadsheet into which I download my monthly checking account activity with a second sheet that automatically tallies income and expenses in total and by category for whatever date range I specify!

Mint.com

Mint.com allows you to see a snapshot and track practically all your finances—checking and savings accounts, credit cards, investments, investment and retirement accounts, mortgage and car loans, etc.—in one convenient place. Though you do need to input your log-in information for each account to make the initial connection between Mint and the individual accounts, there otherwise is no compromising information within Mint that places any of your personal or account information at risk—account numbers are not used and accounts are not linked or connected in any way. In other words, you cannot move or transfer money between accounts within Mint. Users may understandably still feel squeamish about all this, but to date, there have been no reports of breach violations as a result of Mint.

As this suggests, Mint is a one-stop website for users to check and monitor account balances and activities—individual transactions within the accounts are all viewable and update every time you log in or request it. And because it can connect to nearly any financial institution, the website calculates your net worth by adding your banking, savings and investments together, and subtracting debts such as mortgage, credit cards, and other loans. Since signing up for Mint, they've added a feature that provides an estimate of your home value as well. Other features at the site allow you to create and track a budget, receive reminders about upcoming payments, and advice on how to maximize investments and money management.

I can even access my financial data on the go thanks to Mint's free app for the iPhone! It’s so much more convenient than logging into different accounts.

Interestingly, Mint was recently purchased by Quicken after trying to launch a rival product. They clearly decided they couldn’t match Mint's innovation or subscriber reach and, fortunately, have not made any noticeable changes to the application.

XMarks (Bookmark organizer)

Like many people today, I have several computers at home and at work, with different browsers and platforms. Until XMarks, maintaining a consistency of bookmarks on multiple platforms and devices used to be a nightmare.

Xmarks is a browser add-on that allows users to synchronize and manage bookmarks across multiple browsers and devices. Users simply create a free registered account at Xmarks.com, to which they can upload and sync their bookmarks and then sync with as many browsers and computers as they wish! The bookmarks can be edited both within the browser and the online user account. You can even create different profiles to specify which bookmarks sync with each device.

The app can even store and sync your website passwords! (I did draw the line here—after syncing my passwords once, I deleted the data from my Xmarks account deciding I didn't want to keep this information online, even though it is a secure account. Syncing passwords is a separate option within Xmarks that you can turn on or off.)

If you sign up for the service, as a word of advice, take a little time to organize and consolidate your bookmarks first; as an example, I maintain separate folders for personal, work and comics-related bookmarks.

DropBox
As most people know by now, Dropbox is a “cloud” service that allows users to store files and sync with multiple computers.

By now, Dropbox is well known and remains the gold standard, having cashed in early on the Cloud service trend. Dropbox exists as its own folder on your desktop,which syncs to a master account, which in turn syncs to an identical Dropbox folder on whatever other computers you’ve connected to the account. It’s, of course, an efficient way to access and manage the same files on multiple computers without having to worry about having different versions.

As this suggests, Dropbox is completely transparent to the user and acts like any normal folder on your desktop. Though I haven’t explored them much, Dropbox has other features that users may find helpful. As an example, the trash saved in the online account that saves earlier versions of deleted files turned out to be a lifesaver for me once!

GoogleDocs/Google Drive
Though I mention Google Docs in passing above, my extensive use of this app has made GoogleDocs one of my most used apps. Initially created as a suite of web-based applications for word-processing, spreadsheets and presentation software, it’s morphed into a service that combines Microsoft Office features with Dropbox—it not only stores users’ GoogleDocs documents, but all kinds of other documents and files as well. Both Dropbox and GoogleDocs also provide specialized folders for publicly sharing files.

Like Dropbox, GoogleDocs has helped hasten the move to cloud-based file storage. In fact, recognizing the increasing importance of the cloud feature, GoogleDocs has been re-branded as Google Drive with subtle changes to the app.

REVIEWS: Steve Jobs

A review of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

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If there’s a common thread to the biographies of high achieving individuals like Steve Jobs, it’s that they’re ambitious, driven people who exhibited their gifts and independence at an early age. Whether it’s the biography of an artist, entertainer or business executive, it’s clear many of these people would have found success in some way.

And like a lot of bigger-than-life figures, Jobs was a mass of contradictions. He considered himself a humanist/Buddhist, but could be incredibly insensitive, cruel and manipulative. And like many people operating on such a different plane, he had his share of quirks, bordering on obsessive-compulsive. Throughout his life, for example, he followed extreme diets that included extensive fasting and eating only specific kinds of foods—like apples—for weeks on end. For a Buddhist, he held a surprisingly black and white view of the world, often passing judgment on products as “crap” or the best ever, with no middle ground—opinions that he sometimes reversed shortly after.

Nevertheless, it can’t be denied Jobs was a man of vision. The biography of Jobs, of course, parallels the rise of the personal computer industry, which makes Isaacson’s book particularly fascinating. Jobs was among the first to see the personal computer as a consumer product for the masses. However, unlike his peers, he also saw the computer as a means of personal expression both for himself and the end user. He sought to fulfill this through a personal devotion (some would say obsession) to design, simplicity and elegance. This began with the introduction of the WYSIWYG/mouse interface, which was adapted from technology developed by Xerox, an innovation that few people—including the executives at Xerox—saw no value in until Jobs showed them through the first Mac.

Jobs focus on completely controlling the user experience, however, led to Apple losing the first round of the computer wars—his refusal to license out Apple’s operating system opened the door to the rise and predominance of PCs, Windows and open source. Jobs stubbornness, along with his lack of maturity and diplomacy, eventually led to his ouster at Apple. In the wilderness, he developed NeXT computer (which would later be partly absorbed by Apple) and Pixar, purchasing the latter from George Lucas.

Along with NeXT, his experience at Pixar formed the second act of his career. Pixar was initially a company that sold animation hardware and software. Its creative staff, led by John Lassiter (now the chief imagineer at the Walt Disney Company), was initially charged with creating work that showcased Pixar’s capabilities. Soon, however, thanks to Lassiter’s genius, which Jobs quickly recognized, and Jobs’ foresight, animation production became its main focus. It’s a tribute to Jobs’ respect for Lassiter and Pixar staff that for the most part he did not interfere with the animators and creative staff and focused instead on protecting them (particularly from Disney) so that they could focus on animating, even as Jobs continued to hemorrhage immense amounts of money in the early years. After some difficult years with Disney—particularly with executives Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg—the success at Pixar eventually led to not only being purchased by the company, but to both Jobs and Lassiter becoming high-ranking members of the Disney Company.

Pixar’s spectacular success notwithstanding, Jobs’ third act, of course, would prove his greatest—his triumphant return to Apple at a time when it was at the verge of collapse, which eventually led to the development of the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad. With each successive product, Jobs proved that a closed, proprietary system could succeed and that consumers were willing to pay a premium price for it.

Yes, the success of these products was a triumph of design but they were also a triumph of marketing. Jobs designed products that many people not simply saw as useful, functional devices, but an extension of themselves and a reflection of lifestyle.

So while Isaacson’s book is biography, it also provides insight into design, marketing and the cutthroat politics of business, especially in one as competitive as the computer industry. Isaacson’s book does not cover up Jobs’ personal shortcomings, nor does he excuse or justify them. But the book nevertheless is a celebration of Jobs’ significant contributions as a visionary inventor and innovator who found a way to merge science and technology with the arts and entertainment. Along the way, he re-invented and/or up-ended a diverse number of industries and fields, including personal computers, cellular phones, the music industry, and more.

SHOP TALK: My New Graphics Tablet!

As mentioned in a previous post, I recently upgraded my home computer system from a 10-year-old Win98 PC to a new 20" iMac. The transition has been amazingly easy, especially when one considers that I have Windows XP running within the Mac operating system so that I could continue using some old Windows software and hardware on the new computer that either don't exist for the Mac or would be a waste of money to re-purchase a Mac version.

The only piece of equipment I had to replace as a result of this transition was a graphics tablet—replacing a 4"x5" Aiptek HyperPen 5000 drawing tablet that I've also had for about 10 years but which featured an obsolete PC serial connection. Being the model of thrift I am, I initially had planned to purchase a small Wacom Bamboo drawing tablet, priced under $100 (Wacom is the gold standard for computer graphics tablets).

Fortunately, before I made the purchase, after doing a little research and scrutinizing more closely the tablet's specs, I realized the tablet, while within my price range (under $100) was, with its 5.8"x3.7" active drawing space, smaller than even my old tablet and probably way too small for my needs, especially given the fact that I now have a wider-screen monitor. I then looked at the medium-sized Wacom Bamboo, which with a 8.5"x5.3" live area seemed a bit more suitable. But priced at $199, I must admit it was a bit steep.

I conducted additional research (thank goodness for Google!), and began to focus on the Genius G-Pen F610 tablet. Not only did the tablet feature a much roomier 6"x10" live drawing area, it was also priced just under $100 on Amazon! There were some negative user reviews of the tablet, but fortunately I've learned to sometimes take such comments with a grain of salt, especially when taken as a whole with other comments and reviews. What also finally drove my decision was the realization that the Wacom tablet that actually was more comparable to the F610 wasn't the medium-sized Wacom Bamboo, but the Wacom Intuos3, which sold for $299! Given this, I thought it worth it to take the risk with the G-Pen.

I've been delighted by the results—the tablet works perfectly with both my Mac and Windows graphics programs. Admittedly, I've never needed to use a drawing tablet to its fullest capability. I primarily have used the tablet for coloring, which does not require the kind of finesse that drawing does. (For a good example of what can be accomplished with a drawing pad, check out the work of Benton Jew, who did the cover of issue 12 of Rob Hanes Adventures. Benton now works exclusively on a tablet, no more pen and ink for him!)

However, now that I'm using it, I cancertainly see that the larger tablet is much more conducive to drawing. Up until now, I primarily limited my tablet "drawing" with minor digital touch ups on my art after it had been scanned in. With the larger, roomier drawing space, I can project myself using the drawing function a little more, though at this point not exclusively.

Initially, when I first connected the tablet, I did experience a "lag" with the pen, which some user reviews had complained about. In fact, the pen dragged quite significantly, usually causing a very ragged line very different than what I had drawn. The instruction manual also was very minimal and useless, which others had noted. You can imagine I was aghast at this development.

Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to do some research and though the company that makes the tablet surprisingly doesn't have the most visible website, I eventually tracked down a version of the tablet's driver that was more recent than what shipped with the tablet, and that immediately solved the problem! (I ended up posting a review of the product at the Amazon website, partly to let Mac users know about the newer driver.)

So my new system is now fully decked out for me to do post work on my comics pages!

RIP Windows 98 PC—Hello, iMac!

I'm sure I've mentioned in past blogs that my primary computer is a PC that runs Windows 98, purchased back in, of course, 1998. While I enjoy watching people's jaws drop when they hear that, I'm always quick to note that the system—with only 128 MB of RAM—always got the job done for me, so why fix what ain't broke?* The brunt of my post production work on my comics work has been done on this Win 98 machine running Photoshop 5.5 and CorelDraw. Long ago, I learned that it's not the tools that matter, but the skill of the artist, and the same applies to computer hardware and software. After all, no one can tell (or cares) whether the final piece of work was produced with Photoshop 4 or Photoshop 7. (Above right: A promotional shot of my Windows 98 system from a 1998 newspaper advertisement.)

I knew that upgrading the system one day would mean not just replacing my desktop computer, but also probably require me to also purchase new hardware (an 11x17 scanner and graphic tablet), as well as some software—especially if I chose to migrate to a Mac.

Nevertheless, aside from the growing obsolescence of my system, my computer needs and ambitions were gradually outstripping the capabilities of my Win 98 system, and it was coming time to upgrade my computer. After having been mightily impressed with the new iMac,* over the past year or so, the call to upgrade had become stronger. The capabilities of the new Intel processor Macs, plus the ability to run Windows programs at native speeds with third-party software, seemed to offer the possibility to transition to the Mac without necessarily having to completely sacrifice all my PC legacy programs, files and equipment. My earlier reluctance to go Mac wasn't just due to the cost, but also because some of my PC software programs simply were not available on the Mac.

During the Martin Luther King holiday weekend I took the plunge. I purchased a base 20" iMac computer, added 4 Gigs of third-party vendor memory, and at the time of purchase installed Windows XP along with Parallels Desktop software. Parallels allows users to run another operating system natively and side-by-side with Mac's operating system, OS X. (You can even cut and paste between the systems and share folders.)


When it comes to technology, I know to take with a grain of salt the claims computer manufacturers make about their products and know that such installations don't always run so smoothly right out of the box.

So I must admit even I have been shocked at how nearly flawlessly this transition has been given the complexity of this migration. Within Windows, I have been able to install my Quicken 2003 and Quickbooks 2001 programs, and import all the related personal and business financial data.

The real test was connecting my Mustek 11x17 scanner to the system. The scanner is another discontinued dinosaur that I purchased because it was compatible with Windows 98 (and fortunately also XP) and not at all with Mac. Crossing my fingers, I installed Photoshop 5.5 within the Windows environment and installed the appropriate drivers for the scanner—and the scanner came up within the application just as it's supposed to!

I also was able to install an old Epson color stylus printer to the system that was originally purchased to work in tandem with the Win 98 machine. No Mac drivers even exist for the system. After doing some research online, however, I found some third party printer drivers. The printer now not only works within Windows, it also prints from the Mac side as well!

The only item I'll have to upgrade is my graphics tablet due to it being a serial device that only interfaces with an old PS2 style keyboard/mouse connector.

So it's farewell to another piece of equipment that's done great service for me over the years.
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* At my "day job," I've had the fortune to have access to state-of-the-art Macs over the years, which is how I became pretty famiiar with Macs and learned how to work seamlessly between PCs and Macs.