It had to happen sooner or later.  Too many of the Lotus Community were Macphiles and constantly talked about the positive attributes of the platform.  So as a Thank You for the work I have been doing on Idea Jam, Bruce took it into his own hands to bring me into the fold. 

My initial thought was "What the hell am I going to do with an iMac?"  I mean, I have been a detractor of the platform for a long time.  I mean, if the Macs were so great and all the schools had them, how come that didn't translate into a greater piece of market share?  That being said, I decided to approach this new machine with an open mind.

• It is so very pretty.  Just looking at the 20" flat panel makes me smile.  It's clean, crisp, concise.
• Even though it wasn't pre-installed, a DVD with Leopard on it came in the box.  Of course I upgraded the OS on Day 2.
• I have no real way to compare it to my Windows machines, but it does seem pretty quick.  Of course, it does take me 5 times as long to figure out what I am supposed to be clicking or where I am supposed to be looking for something.  Hopefully, this will change with more experience.
• I still hate the Apple Might Mouse.  Bruce was kind enough to show me that it actually has 2 buttons, but I still miss having a regular mouse.  It's the click and drag that causes me the most problems.
• Along the same line, I am still not completely comfortable with the keyboard.  I think it's just the look more than anything else.  I look at it every now and then just to make sure it's as weird as I thought it was.
• Riddle me this Batman:  If the MacOS is the epitome of easy to use and the Notes Client is it's polar opposite, how come they both use triangles as their twisties?  Since all the Softies seem to believe that the plus/minus combo is more intuitive, I thoroughly expect the same thing to be used on a Mac.  Who'd a thunk that Lotus might not be completely wrong?
• I am struggling mightily with the location of the menu bar.  Instead of each active app having their own shown all the time, only the active window has theirs shown and it's always across the top, no matter where the window is.  Seems like it might be a cause for excessive mouse movement.
• iChat is pretty nice, especially the video chat and screen sharing.  Although Bruce and I had a helluva time stopping the screen sharing once it started, it worked really well and the build in camera is quite nice.
• By far, the coolest thing about the OS is Garage Band.  If I had been able to use such a program earlier in my life, there is no telling what I might have done with the musical interests I had.  Of course, I still wouldn't be able to carry a tune if it was handed to me in a bag.  Hopefully, it won't keep me from using it to create a podcast or 2.  I am thinking this might be the perfect outlet for my chatty 10 year old.

I will continue to put it through it's paces in the next couple of months.  I can't decide if I want to wait until an 8 client comes out before installing Notes.  One thing is sure, with the large hard drive on the machine, I can finally clear off my old desktop and install a Linux server on it.  In my spare time, of course.

Thank You Bruce!