Up until 2007, I had resigned to being on the  Microsoft bandwagon. Working with Microsoft technologies during the day paid my salary, and Windows XP delivered my TV at night. Being a Seattle native (and lover) – it seemed like a safe choice. In the last year, I’ve switched to a new faster moving bandwagon – Apple and Google.

The jumping off point for me was Windows Vista. Technology (particularly the internet tech that I pay attention to) has been moving so quickly – by the time Vista was done, it was a big disappointment. It just felt like the same old stuff in a shiny new package. The funny thing is, I can remember thinking “wow, how will I ever extract myself” from Microsoft if I decide to do so? It actually has been really easy.

I had tried Vista at work, and was not impressed – so when it came time to by a new lap top, I went for a MacBook Pro. Macs now run on the same Intel chips as most PCs, and there is great virtualization software (I happen to use Parallels) that lets you run Windows XP or Vista on your Mac quite easily. This was perfect way to learn the UNIX based Mac operating system through immersion, while still safely being able to do the Windows stuff I need. Now, I mostly just fire up Vista to maintain some code I’ve written, and access a couple Excel spreadsheets.

Getting stuff done seems faster and easier on the Mac. This is mostly because it comes with much less bundled software than your typical Windows laptop. Also, installing and uninstalling software is a much cleaner process. Because there is no registry, and applications are more tightly constrained to their own folders on your hard disk, you don’t get the sense that your computer is getting slower with every app you install.

Impressed by Macbook, I also took the leap to an iPhone. I’m not going to enumerate how freaking revolutionary the iPhone is – I just love it. Apple doesn’t deliver my TV yet, but it won’t be long.

The next major switch was going from Hotmail to GMail. I had used Hotmail for around 10 years. The last 5 or so it gave me an icky unprofessional feeling to use it as my primary address, but I stuck with it. The reason I finally switched was because you have to pay Microsoft for POP access to your mailbox. So even if you dutifully try to use Outlook, you can’t use it for Hotmail unless you pay. I’m not crazy about the much touted GMail AJAX interface. It gets the job done a bit faster, and with quicker search capability. IMAP or POP (free and lots of storage) work great with Apple Mail or Outlook – for free.

Another pain point for me was maintaining a calendar. The calendar attached to hotmail was unusable (why I kept trying to use Outlook). However, Google Calendar has been fantastic. Unlike GMail, the AJAX interface for Google Calendar has impressed me. My favorite feature is the “quick add” text box. You simply type “Meet TA for coffee at 9AM friday” and it creates an appointment at the right time.

I prefer Google bookmarks to delicious or Lookmarks because of their close integration with Google search and Web history (though I’m still waiting for a sharing feature). I bought Pages for the Mac, but for the technical writing I do – I reach for Google Documents more often because they are so easily shareable. I take research notes to prepare blog posts in Google Notebook. I’m sure I spend more time in Google Reader than probably any other app or Web site because I wanted a server based place to organize all my feeds.

The Apple and Google bandwagons aren’t linked in any significant way. Switching to Google tools just made the switch to Apple easier (as it would to Linux). I still live in Seattle and suspect I will continue to do work (directly or indirectly) for Microsoft. It won’t be long until entire businesses can switch the way I have. I hope for, but don’t bet on, Microsoft keeping their bandwagon in the race.

Are you thinking of making the switch? Add a comment below!

UPDATE: Here is a good argument for sticking with Windows XP (read to the bottom)

With less than eight hours to go, the team comes together one last time for the conclusion to Episode One of “A Startup A Week”. The concept of the show is to bring together top developers and designers, pitch them an idea for a startup, and give them just one week to take the idea from concept to reality.Today the team prepares for the final presentation to the head of the Seattle chapter of the non-profit Room to Read. Our team is building out a Facebook application that can use the viral power of the social graph to raise money for a computer lab in Cambodia.If you’re watching this video right now, chances are that you had access to a computer when you were a child – or your children have access today. In just five minutes, you can help be a part of a community that will share that gift with real children living in Cambodia right now.Here’s how:Click here to view the applicationDedicate a five dollar brick to a friend or loved oneShare the app with five of your friendsThe person at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the project will get to dedicate the school, and everyone who donates will receive updates on the progress of the lab.

It’s Thursday and the team has just one day remaining to complete their project for “A Startup A Week”. The concept of the show is to bring together a few rockstar developers and designers, pitch them an idea for a startup, and give them just one week to take the idea from concept to reality.

For the initial project of this series, our team is building out a Facebook application that can use the viral power of the social graph to raise money for a computer lab in Cambodia via the non-profit Room to Read. On this episode, our developer Adam Loving shows how he used LINQ and SQL Server to keep track of donations, our designer Jay Dokken of Design Commission gives us a very quick sneak preview of his awesome design, and Kyle Cressman sits down with our special guest Dominic Canterbury from D/C Strategic.

With less than 48 hours remaining, can our team come together and create a startup in a week? Stay tuned for the finale tomorrow, and be sure to check out the first three days of A Startup A Week – Episode One.

See what it takes to build a Facebook app.

We never captured on camera the “revolutionary change” I was asking for. Basically, the idea I came up with was to switch from asking for direct donations to going to an ad based model. Making that switch was too risky. We would have to come up with something that was so entertaining it would reach millions of people virally. We had thrown around some ideas on day one like “donate your favorite books.” However, facing the fact that it was Tuesday, I didn’t fight for a revolutionary change. I thought it would be enough to leverage Jay’s great design skills to create something that was beautiful to look at – and thus compel visitors to donate.

A couple weeks back I did a fun project for Microsoft. The goal was to show Microsoft products being used to complete a real-life project in a week. “A Startup A Week” is the brain child of Kevin Leneway, and he picked me for the pilot episode. The video of the first day is now live on VisitMix.com.

Bringing teams together for short technology projects (whether they go on to become companies or not) is popular here in Seattle. Recently there was a Startup Weekend, and another group meets once a week at Saturday House. It is a great time to be a developer because of the growing availability of Web APIs and excellent tools – you can get a lot done in a short period of time.

I didn’t know the details of this project until the first day (other than that we would use the Facebook platform and Microsoft tools). The project description was simply to raise money for the Room to Read charity on Facebook. From that starting point, we brainstormed the “Lab Builder” Facebook application. This application lets you help build a computer lab in Cambodia.
Check out Lab Builder – if you don’t have a Facebook account, let me know if you’d like me to donate on your behalf. I’m excited to make a difference for a worthy cause. Let me know what you think of the video, and how I can help your company design a Facebook or Open Social application!