So that wonderful time has come, at the end of 3 years, where it is time to get a new laptop. I have stuck with IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads for the last 15 years but here I am considering a change to a Macbook Pro 17 inch. Why am I thinking about changing? To be honest I don't think I have a compelling business reason to do so. Partly it is because I am sick of Vista however I moved to Windows 7 about a month ago and have been pleasantly surprised so that really isn't a reason to move. Partly I see it as an opportunity to present to clients how Notes is supported on the Mac as well. However most of all I think it is probably more just a desire to see what people rave about.

So I am asking those that have done it/tried it should I do it? To Mac or not to Mac? that is the question:)

I have been thru a lot of points in my consideration and nearly came across a few show stoppers. The one that nearly blew the idea all together was my Telstra NextG Wireless card. This wasn't compatible so it was a definite show stopper. However I then received a new NextG 21 USB device and it supports Mac. So we are still on.

What software do I use? Well I have a cross role between business development and technology. In my business development role I use tools like Office (although this might give me the reason to move fully to symphony, MindManager, Notes 8.5.1, our finance system (Not mac compatible so hoping to use VMFusion for this), SnagIT (No mac version unfortunately but rumours of one coming), Camtasia, Adobe CS2, and a range of other bits and pieces. I think in most use cases for business development a Mac should be fine.

In my technology role I use Domino Designer, Lotus Forms Designer, WebSphere Portlet Factory, Rational App Developer, as well as frequently running up VM images with the latest Portal, Connections, etc etc. So these products are probably the most troublesome in that they don't have Mac version. Again I am assuming they would work with VMFusion. Any comments?

So I am interested in hearing your (non-fanboy) opinions. Is Mac worth the switch? Given the above do you think it would work for me?


<edit> The last thing I forgot to mention is that I have Dual external screens. This has taken some research in how I would do this with a Macbook Pro. I understand that you can have one external and the Macbook screen at the same time however I still want to have that Dual 24 Inch external screen experience. The only way I can see to do this is the Matrox DualHeadToGo devices. These don't come cheap and considering I will need one for home and one for the office I would love to hear alternate solutions. </edit>

Take my To Mac or Not To Mac Doodle Poll (Created from the Notes 8.5.1 Doodle Sidebar!)
http://www.doodle.com/ztcmn8fw6ncktn8n