The Dark Side!
As some may know, I do work with Apple Mac stuff. Some may call it the Dark Side of the force, especially as some of their clients will be asking about the shiny new iPhone and linking it to Exchange!
I am not going to get into a Mac vs Windows discussion, each have their place and I try to specialise in having both work nicely together in a network situation. They are just tools really after all.
BUT…when setting up my girlfriends new 24″ iMac the other day, I just had to be reminded of how simple and dare I say it, enjoyable it was. Now this is not integrated into any Active Directory structure yet, it is hanging off a Netgear ADSL Firewall device for Internet access.
30 minutes was really all it took including taking out the Apple installed 2 x 1GB memory sticks and replacing with 2 x 2GB’s. The iMac has two slots and it is cheaper to buy memory yourself, keep the factory installed parts as spares and upgrade to the maximum 4GB, than to get apple to supply the machine with it!
The fun will be connecting it to my SBS 2008 Beta network, though I think I will have to bite the bullet and get a Mac Mini for testing. The new iMac is for her indoors work so I better not tinker too much 
On that note, if anyone wants to get down and dirty with the Dark Side and who has never touched a Mac ever or not for many years, the Mac Mini is the ideal companion. I reckon there is a model refresh/update about to hit as all the other Mac computers have been done. Newer Intel chips and better graphics (Intel GMA X3100) are the order of the day even in the laptop range, so a new Mini must be coming soon. Watch this space as I think days or weeks rather than months and the tight lipped Cupertino will announce a new Mini. Rumours are abound about it being very small at half the size of the existing model as they will do away with any optical drive.
I have been accused of now liking the Mac by the missus as oppossed to seeing it as a necessary but attractive tool. Time will tell….I have spent most of the last few days in front of the iMac instead of any PC. Haven’t done that since I worked in the printing trade 