2008 - year of the Mac

This year, I absolutely need some new computer power. My two main desktops are at least 4 years old, and although still great at the day to day stuff, are starting to struggle with newer web media, Office 2008 and just general usage.

What I need to do is separate out tasks, so that one PC is rebuilt and used only for .Net 1.1 development, one is used only for .Net 2.0 development, and an unidentified new unit will take on the regular office tasks of email, browsing, accounts, content management and on the fly tweaks to things.

That new unit is likely to be a Mac.

I'm not sure exactly which model yet, and I also need to see - with my own eyes - how parallels works in practice, but this is almost definitely the way I'm heading. I'll still be able to do everything I do now, but with the benefit of cross platform understanding: using the right tool no matter which OS it's on. I do have an original mini-mac, bought for compatibility testing and the like, but it was never powerful enough as a main desktop. My new Mac will be.

I am avidly reading reviews, blogs, watching video demos on YouTube to prepare myself to become a Mac Switcher. I'll obviously still use my Windows XP and Vista PCs for various .Net development projects, but my day-to-day life will be in front of a Mac.

Apple famously urged people to Think Different. It's about time I did.