I've gone Mac

I've had some form of a PC since 1986.  I used to think Mac was terrible.  It was a special animal that didn't play well with others.

Then I got one.

In early August, I was wanting to build an iOS app.  My wife had come up with an idea for one and I knew that a native app was needed for full integration of the requirements.  I first built a web app to get it going.  I had picked out a MacBook Pro with 256 GB HD and 8 GB of RAM.  I have to say that a Mac is the way to got these days.

Pros:

1. It is fast.  With the SSD drive, Intel Core i5 processor and 8 GB of RAM, you won't be without speed.  Compared to my platter drive, Intel Core i7 and 8 GB of RAM on my HP, I never feel a slow down while it is trying to figure out whats going on.  
2. The screen is killer.  It's so sharp it's hard to believe that I could have been doing with out it.  My HP Envy 17 is terrible.  To some degree I think that's because I wound up turning the brightness down pretty far to save battery.  In general though the Retina display is just that sharp.
3. The battery keeps going and going.  With the HP Envy I would fret about being on the battery as I watched it go down during my commute.  I would definitely have to charge it overnight to use it the next day.  Now, I can use it for two days (approximately 8 hours of usage) before I need to plug it in to charge.
4. Integration.  I have an iPhone 6s Plus and the great thing is that my Mac works with my iPhone like never before.  If I get a phone call my Mac can pick it up, assuming were both on the same WIFI connection.  I can FaceTime and send iMessages through my Mac as well.
5. Weight.  I was commuting with the HP Envy 17 plus my work laptop.  I think the total weight was about 12 pounds in my back pack. The Mac is so light that I barely know its there.

Cons:

1. It is a bit smaller.  I do miss the screen real estate of the Envy 17.  This MacBook is the 13" model.  I didn't want the 15" model due to cost and reduced battery performance.  I also loved the additional numeric keypad on the HP Envy.
2. It's one of those things of when you need it, you need it.  There is no optical drive on the Mac.  I had to burn a CD (gasp!) for my wife's car and I had to use her computer to do it.  A few times as well, I've thought about plugging into my Ethernet port on my router.  I would need an additional adapter to do that.

All in all, great machine.  I use my computer even more often now!