Thinking of adding a Mac to your stable of computers, or just ditching Windows entirely? Lots of people are doing it. Macs—especially the laptops—also have a lot of advantages over Windows computers for the solo practitioner.

My wife recently got a MacBook after using Windows for years, and the switch was relatively painless. But there are a few differences. For example, on a Mac, closing the window does not close the program, like it does in most Windows apps. And it can take a minute to figure out where the right mouse button is (on a laptop, just use two fingers on the touchpad while clicking).

In addition to Mossberg’s basic tips, Apple offers some “101″ guides for the new Mac user: Mac 101 and Switch 101.

Some General Tips for Switch to Mac From Windows | All Thing Digital (via BoingBoing Gadgets)

We bought my wife a Macbook a couple of weeks ago after she finally agreed that her broken-screened, dead-USB, no-battery laptop was nearly unusable. (Most of those conditions were my fault, albeit by accident.) So we picked up a $1,099 white Macbook.

My wife is not a technophobe, but she is no geek, either. She was up and running, on her own, in minutes. The Macbook is ready to go right out of the box. She especially loves the size, long battery life, and the fast recovery from suspend when you open the case—seriously valuable features for wired litigators. And OSX Leopard is just beautiful. It makes Windows look clumsy, and Ubuntu dowdy, by comparison.

Of course, it works just fine with her Outlook Web Access and file access for her work, and she has no problem opening Word and Powerpoint documents in iWork, which, at $80, is a steal when compared with Microsoft Office.

As some know, the three other attorneys and one law clerk I share office space with also use Macs. I am the lone rebel in the office, using Windows until recently, and now Ubuntu, but always a PC. Playing with my wife’s computer, I am wavering. I am definitely going to get us a Mac Mini for a living room computer—once they include a Blu-Ray player, anyway—but I may just get myself a black Macbook when it comes time to upgrade my trusty ThinkPad T43.

This summary pretty much says it all:

“When a company as tech savvy as Intel, with full source code access and having written several large chunks of the OS, says get stuffed, you know you have a problem. Well, everyone knows MS has a problem, but it is nice to see it codified in such a black and white way though. Reassuring, like a warm cup of tea, or a public kick to the corporate crown jewels.

The way I see it, you have three options: (1) stick with XP until the next version of Windows if you don’t mind using seriously old—yet still functional—technology; (2) get a Mac, and enjoy cutting-edge technology well-suited to lawyers’ needs; or (3) switch to Linux, save money, and enjoy also-cutting-edge technology on your current machine.

Intel won’t touch Vista | Inquirer (via BoingBoing Gadgets)

The internet is abuzz with news of the iPhone 3G, the most powerful feature of which seems to be a price tag that finally brings the iPhone into direct competition with other smartphones. I am not giving up my BlackBerry Pearl any time soon, though.

What I want to know is when is Apple going to update the MacBook and MacBook Pro? A 14.1″ screen option would be nice. OLED screens, maybe? Multi-touch on the MacBook?

But there are no rumors coming out. Macrumors has about thirty-five posts on the new iPhone, and seems to have forgotten about the rumors of a new MacBook pro.

Mike Kavis switched to Linux to prove that people can be productive at work without using Microsoft products. One year later, he has proved the point.

I have been Microsoft free* for a couple of months now, as well, using Ubuntu GNU/Linux as my primary operating system, with OpenOffice.org as my office suite. I have not used Microsoft Office in almost a year.

Why do I prefer Ubuntu? Primarily, because it is lighter and faster, more reliable, and more configurable. It has encouraged me to focus on open standards and programs that work equally well on Windows and Mac OSX, so that I can move my data freely between all platforms. It also saves me money, especially on upgrades, although I do believe in contributing to the software projects from which I benefit.

I actually like Windows XP just fine, and always have. But my laptop has a 60GB hard drive, so Vista’s 20+GB install size was a dealbreaker for me. I think Microsoft really went the wrong direction with Vista, but I will not rule out a return to Windows if version 7 turns out to be lighter and faster, instead of bigger and slower.

*I do run Windows XP using VirtualBox (kind of like Parallels or VMWare Fusion for a Mac) so that I can use Adobe Acrobat, since there is still not a good Linux alternative. I also prefer the Windows-only scanner utility for my Fujitsu ScanSnap, since Fujitsu still refuses to support Linux.

From PC World:

Vista, MacBook Out–Only Linux Left in Hacking Contest

. . .

The MacBook Air went first; a tiny Fujitsu laptop running Vista was hacked on the last day of the contest; but it was Linux, running on a Sony Vaio, that remained undefeated as conference organizers ended a three-way computer hacking challenge Friday at the CanSecWest conference.

More from Engadget.

I was looking at the numbers for browsers and operating systems for viewers, and thought you might want to take a peek yourselves.

Windows XP is, as expected the favorite operating system. However, you do not favorite as much as the national numbers suggest. I am pleased to see so many Linux users (11%), but a bit befuddled to see only 2% use a Mac. I suppose I do not talk much about Mac-specific technology, although I try not to focus on Windows- or Linux-specific technology, either.

As you can see, Firefox is by far the favorite browser among you, my enlightened readers. Internet Explorer versions 6 and 7 make up most of the rest, with Opera at 1% and older Mozilla and Firefox versions at 5%.

Virtual desktops are a very useful tool for organizing your virtual workspace. Windows, OSX, and Linux all have their versions. Linux has by far the most polished and natural-feeling virtual desktop setup (and with Compiz or Beryl, the sexiest, as seen above). Windows Desktop Manager is fairly clunky, but functional. There are also many third-party options for Windows. OSX introduced virtual desktops in v10.5, called “Spaces,” which works similarly to Linux’s native virtual desktop management.

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One of my officemates who uses a Mac recently showed me BK Task Timer, a lightweight but powerful task timer. To my delight, I discovered that BK Task Timer works with Windows, as well. At only $24.95 (and yes, there is a demo version), it is a fantastic alternative to spreadsheets. It does not track expenses, however, so you will have to keep your spreadsheets for that. Or just scan and file your receipts and invoices.

If you are looking for an alternative to the Outlook journal or clumsy Excel spreadsheets, give BK Task Timer a try.

Since my current obsession is the feasibility of switching over to Ubuntu Linux, I was pleased to see that the popular CrossOver software for Macs is also available for Linux. It works for Microsoft Office, and iIt also purports to work for Time Matters–version 5.0, anyway. I have high hopes it would also allow me to keep TM around without dual-booting, at least for referring to older files, if I can switch to other programs going forward.