Since I bought my first iPod way back in 2006, I’ve had something of an on-again-off-again affair with Apple.  I started with a fifth generation iPod, one of the video ones. Then I got an iPod Touch last year and an iPhone in September. Now I’m thinking about going the whole hog and getting a Mac.

Let me explain. I’ve been using PCs since 3.11 all the way up to Vista. I’ve also had some experience with Macs (starting with those all-in-a-box black and white ones), indeed I had to use Macs in school simply because Windows 95 continually BSoDed on me for like an entire year. Back then I never liked Macs, they were sometimes black and white and completely alien from Windows. However in recent years my Windows blinkers have come off, especially since the most recent version of the iPhone was released. That phone practically has ‘made for Lesley’ written on it, even if I’m stuck in my current contract till the new year.

I like Windows, I like the fact my favourite games are mainly Windows-based, ditto the software I use and, most importantly, I love the look of it. What I don’t love however, are the malware and Trojan attacks, the sluggishness as time goes on and the crashing. I’m also sick and tired of accessibility features – features that, as a VIP, I need just don’t work. For example, I tried to get Narrator to work a month ago as I’ve gotten to the point when I need it (I can no longer trust what my brain is telling my eyes) and while it loads, it doesn’t work. Nothing. The magnification software is basic and I tried installing a demo of Supernova only for it to crash on the login screen every single time. Indeed the tech support people at Supernova pronounced my computer was the problem after over two weeks of firing emails back and forth.

So my blindy friend Jemma starts telling me about her Mac, she even demos the speech software over Skype for me. Soon Lil Ben is showing me his set up and proffering advice (all gratefully received by me). Yesterday, it finally dawns on me. It’s not like I even have to give up my PC entirely. The problems I’m having with my PC all stem from my work as a journalist: I need to be able to zoom in properly, to be able to have text to speech software which works and doesn’t involve navigating to another window and cut and pasting. I also want something which does this right out of the box, non of this extra expenditure and software purchasing which I’m only 30% sure will work on my machine.

Coincidentally, my nearest Apple store used Cambridge or London but now one is due to open in Norwich’s Chapelfield this October, things suddenly seem a lot easier. Knowing I can easily nip into town to get things as and when I need them makes me a lot more inclined to switch.

With Windows 7 coming up, I’m just sick of having to spend so much money on an OS that doesn’t seem to have that many improvements. So, I was thinking of getting a 24″ iMac just for work. I will hitch up one of my Dell screens and the other one will stay on my PC for gaming and doing photo-manipulation/image-work in Photoshop.  I’ve been scouring the Apple pages and was amazed to see just how much thought has been put into features for disabled people. Depending on how that works out, in a year or so I might consider getting a Macbook but one computer at a time.

Oh and this keyboard skin kinda seals the deal.

I admit, part of my attraction to Apple is the club mentality. You’re a part of something special, a clique of people with a passion for the brand in all it’s forms but this is just a perk. My main motivation is getting something which lets me do my job and helps compensate for my bad eyes and straing brain. But the fact is, it also happens to work and that’s the important bit. Half of the software I have on my PC only works if you open it as an administrator or when the moon is rising in Aquarius, this really shouldn’t be the case.

The journalism industry has always been split between PC and Mac. Most of my colleagues at Massively and WoW.com seem to use Apple over Microsoft and the same can be said for other journalists I know. I know each year I get Mac Envy around the time when new Macs or iPhones are announced but I’m beyond that. I am going to switch, it’s just a matter of when.