Finally made the switch...
 

I finally ordered my first Mac yesterday. I've been a PC user since 1994, but since purchasing an iPhone a couple of years ago, I've been considering making the change over to a Mac.

As they are kind of expensive compared to PCs, I guess I was just waiting for the right deal. Yesterday I ordered a brand new 1st Generation Macbook Air which I found on clearance for only $1099. So it's in the mail now and I should have it by tomorrow.

I am aware that the 1st Gen Air had a few overheating problems and something called "core shutdown", but from reading the message forums, it seems that the problems have been somewhat smoothed over with some software updates from Apple, and I'm not really a hard core user, so I think I should be fine. By getting the 1st Gen instead of the current model, I saved $700.

Any advise from Mac users on the forum? Is there anything I should know in advance? I have read in the past that there is no need for any security/virus/spyware software. Is that still the case?

If I remember correctly, you could get the 2nd generation Macbook air for $1,149 for the regular and $1,300 for the SSD.
What are your specs?
I was a Sony fanboy, but I bought my first apple ipod, Macbook pro, and iMac together 2 years ago just beacuase they looked nice. After use, I am never going back. I do have the latest Sony laptop because you end up needing a full windows laptop sometimes, but I have windows on all my Mac's as well.

Fellow Mac user.
Last 2 years:
1st Gen Macbook Pro x 2, 2nd Gen Macbook Pro, 1st Gen Macbook Air, 2nd Gen Macbook, 1st Gen iMac (home), 2nd Gen iMac (office), many ipod's and many iphones.

......seduced by the dark side. ;)

You feared the PC..... (Yoda voice) “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

:rofl:

And from my experience, you don't get any viruses and don't need any antivirus.

That pretty well sums up the appeal of Apple products.

I had never even tried a Mac system. I didn't even go to an apple store and try it before buying. I just ordered it online hoping for the best.

That is actually the 1st gen you are thinking of. I did some searches online before ordering, and here is what I found:

From the Apple Refurbished Store, they are selling the 1st gen with the 1.6 GHz with 80 GB HDD for $999, and the 1.8 GHz with 64 GB SSD for $1299. But those are refurbished.

MacMall.com has brand new 1.6 GHz with 80 GB HDD for $1149, and the 1.8 GHz with 64 GB SSD for $1399.

I ended up getting the 1.6 GHz with 80 GB HDD for $1099 from Small Dog Electronics (smalldog.com). This is a brand new computer on clearance. I also had them throw in iWork '09 for $49 ($79 - $30 rebate), and apparently I can order the iLife '09 upgrade from Apple for only $10.

I did debate spending $1399 to get the SSD version, but decided to save the $300. I'm coming from a 4 year old Dell Insperon 6000, so I'm sure this will be plenty fast for me.

My bad, your right. I was referring to the 1st generation and not the 2nd.

And then you find out that they work as good as they look, increase your productivity by doing things in minutes or hours that take hours or days on a PC :D, so then you order more koolaid in different flavors :nanana: .

Welcome to the BRIGHT side Eric :thumbup: :thumbup:

Expect a learning curve. There's a lot of new (& different) things going on that you'll have to be aware of when migrating across system platforms. Mac's are great machines. Superbly simple to operate and use, powerful (thank Intel), and did I mention simple. Expect to find yourself 'all thumbs' for at least the first week before you start cruising through it like a pro.

If you haven't noticed, Microsoft is inching towards a more user-friendly (not to mention stable and virus-proof) operating system that Mac users have enjoyed for years. I use PCs exclusively at work and home, but I don't hesitate to recommend Macs to folks who think about buying computers and ask me "Which one should I get?" Most of the time they're not even considering Macs and end up being very happy because, well, they just "work".