BrianJarrett.com

When I decided to switch to the Mac one of the first things I did was create an application to application comparison matrix in order to ensure I could find an comparable Mac replacement for all my important Windows applications.  I found some great articles written by others who’d made the switch and that really helped in that process.  Now that I’ve had my Mac for a year and a half or so I’ve found replacements for virtually everything I had on Windows.  In order to help others who are making the switch to a Mac or maybe just looking for a Mac replacement for a Windows application they can’t seem to shake, I thought I’d put my cross-reference list here, albeit it in a very informal, unstructured manner (trying to avoid a boring list).  I’ve included links where possible.

My hope was that most of the apps I used on Windows would have a Mac port.  That way I wouldn’t have to learn something new and the learning curve would be shortened.  I’m not opposed to learning something new but switching everything over at once and having to relearn everything is a tall order and I wanted to be productive as quickly as possible.  Luckily many of the apps I used on Windows had Mac ports.  Firefox, for instance, is available for both.  I used Safari for a while but at the end of the day I’m just more comfortable with Firefox.  Plus there are several addons I use on Firefox that I have a tough time giving up (Delicious bookmarks, for example).  Unfortunately the default theme for Mac Firefox sucks; it’s so ugly.  I’ve been using the Silvermel theme and it’s just great.  There’s also Opera, Camino, Chrome, and a slew of others to choose from. Read more…

Popularity: 3%

Orson drew a picture for me today.  He calls it “St. Louis” because his house in the picture.  Behold…

"St. Louis" by Orson

Popularity: 5%

I’ve been a Quicken user for a little more than ten years, since 1999 to be exact.  In the summer of 2008 I made the switch from Windows to a Mac but I had to hang onto Windows XP for a couple applications for which I just couldn’t find Mac equivalents.  One of these two applications was Beyond Compare for which I finally found a suitable replacement.  The other was Quicken.  Quicken for Mac does exist but every review I’ve ever read about it is completely unfavorable.  I’ve never seen a product more universally panned.  It hasn’t been updated since version 2007 and the first proposed update since (Quicken Financial Life) had a fraction of the features of its Windows counterpart.  That initiative was scrapped by Intuit (apparently because it sucked) and has since been tasked to a company Intuit recent purchased called Mint.com.  That product is now called Quicken Essentials for Mac (the title really a euphemism meaning fewer features).  It’s still pretty lame in comparison to its Windows counterpart, so much that I’m not willing to spend $60 on it only to likely have to request a refund (since I can’t get a trial version).

So after having the Mac for about a year and a half I went on the search once again for a suitable Quicken replacement for the Mac.  There were more players than I had originally thought but most of them did not have a comparable feature set to Quicken.  After doing some research I ended up settling on four possible replacements; iBank, GnuCash, Moneywell, and Moneydance.  What I found is that I experienced such poor performance on many of the replacement solutions I was unable to test most of these “feature by feature”.  All of the other applications had problems of varying degree importing my Quicken data as well.  Instead this is more of a review of Moneydance than anything else. Read more…

Popularity: 38%

I just finished Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.

Wow.

I’ve never been this moved by a written work.  It’s brilliant.

This isn’t a review.  This isn’t a critique.  I’m not a critic; I’m just compelled to write about how it made me feel.

I just finished it last night.  I started it two days ago.  It’s a quick read but it’s a tough read as well.  While not reading it I found myself at work thinking about it; wondering what will happen to these two nameless people, genuinely concerned for their welfare.

Click to read the synopsis (warning: spoilers inside)

I was both incredibly inspired by this story and yet emotionally destroyed by it.  I’ve never read anything like it.  McCarthy is able to paint the most vivid landscape I’ve ever not seen with only a few, well-crafted sentences.  The desolation of the world, the direness of their situation, I was there.  I swear I was right there with them.  I’ve never read a book that created mood like this.  I worried the whole time for their safety and these aren’t even real people. Read more…

Popularity: 9%

DeltaWalker Folder Comparison Window

Before I switched from Windows to a Mac I did a lot of research.  One of the things I spent a considerable amount of time on was software.  Could I find Mac equivalents for most, if not all, of my Windows software?  I found that I could find a Mac equivalent for almost everything, save for a couple programs.  One of those programs was a little file/folder comparison and sync utility called Beyond Compare.  Believe it or not, this was almost a show-stopper for me because I literally use this program every day.  I bought it back in 2005 for $30 and have been using it constantly ever since.  I had been certain that a comparable program for the Mac would be easy to find but it just wasn’t.  (I’ll refrain from using a bad “it must really be Beyond Compare” pun.)

So I compromised with a workaround; run Beyond Compare in a virtual machine and set all non-Windows local directories up as network shares.  This works, but it means that I’m still dependent on opening Windows XP every time I need to sync directories.  Every three months or so I’d check back again to see if Beyond Compare had been ported to the Mac or if a comparable competing product had been released.  After a year and a half, I finally found that product. Read more…

Popularity: 13%

The Family - January, 2010

Popularity: 12%

In the spririt of Baby Traci thinking of Baby Orson, here’s the Trent version.

Popularity: 14%

I had to put a rappin’ reindeer out of its misery this Christmas.  The sad reality of life and death…

Popularity: 14%

So 2009 came and went and 2010 is here.  Overall 2009 was a positive year for me.  Thanks to Traci’s decision last year to push herself to try new things I’ve now been exposed to some new people as well.  It’s been nice connecting with people of a similar nature with similar interests again.

Personally I’ve grown quite a bit in 2009.  I learned how to deal with an incredibly difficult person at work and how to better handle stressful situations there.   I was also able to use what I learned and apply it to my personal life as well, reducing my overall frustration level.  This person has now been effectively neutralized and poses very little actual threat anymore.  I also came off a successful project right at the end of 2009 that, combined with my improved skillset, will help to solidify my role and hopefully ensure my longevity.

2009 ended with me in a very different place at work and in my career.  My confidence level has increased dramatically and I’ve produced some work I’m very proud of.  I’m also steadily moving back toward the type of role I’d played at CPI before I left.  I’ve been at my new job for two years now and it pleases me to say that it’s feeling more and more like home.  My career is back on track again and I feel like I can grow where I am.  I’d love to be able to spend some time here; five or six years (or more) would be great. Read more…

Popularity: 17%

Traci and Orson in 2005 and 2009.  Sometimes the reality of it just blows my mind.

Traci and Orson, March 2005

Traci and Orson, May 2009

Popularity: 28%