… and although the process of migration the files to my windows was a pain in the ass, I finally restored my Mac for Factory Defaults, ready for sale.
You may ask the reasons why I switched from this very sleek operation system back to my old PC ways.
Couple of reasons:
iPhoto does not give me the accessibilty to files I would like. I always had to drag the photo out of it and were then able to make further modifications with Photoshop. Maybe I just was not enough Mac-Like to figure it out. But well … they claim they are intuitive but they still fail at some points. At least if it goes to the more advanced users.
Somethings I had the feeling that that several essential features were missing without no reason – appearantly because it would be too confusing for the regular user. I know that there is Aperture and Lightroom also runs on Mac afaik, but I was not willing to pay several hundred of bucks just to find out… (Yeah, there are Demos, but it was not my main concern.)
The nice graphical features and how the apps are presented is quite nice. But that seems to be one of my main concerns. They focus too much on neat looking interfaces and (sometimes) they forget about the functionality. I know this is quite general to say, since there are some very well thought out plans.
I do not need a Mac anymore since I now work in a office with my friends and we are equipped with several iMacs there so I will still be able to do all the Mac related work there – will even give me a better way to compare both OS.
The Finder… seriously this is a disgrace. There was pathfinder which costs extra and seemed quite legit. But I am not willing to pay for an alternate solution to core system utilities.
Games. There is a change going on. More and more titles are also available on the Mac and this trend is continuing in the future with more big engines enabling this. Example: Unreal Technology is now on iOS – big step toward Mac OS X? I don’t know.
No easy way to change HDDs or any way of upgrading the system, just the RAM Ugrades have been simple enough.
Easy “Two-Systems-Setup” so you can run windows natively if you need it. For me this was a downside because when I wanted to play a game (I am a friggin Game Designer, I do this for a living!) I had to reboot that system and waiting a minute until dialogue pops up and the system is finally there is way too long on my watch.
Mac OS Extended Journal – this was the first choice my Mac gave me for formatting my external drive. Big surprise – no access on my Bootcamp. This is annoying.
You want to change to windows? Well … forget about that. iPhotos Export functions are kinda ridiculous. Really? Save all files into one folder with their file names? Seems like an awesome idea. I am still trying to figure out what I will use on my PC. Maybe Lightroom, maybe Picasa (since free).
The positives should be also on this lists:
Start it up, do your stuff, be happy. Extremely high stability (at least that is my experience) and a very quiet device itself.
Less energy – I tested this on several occasions – MAC OS X is really running on low fumes regarding to the input. If you want your workstation to run all night, this can be quite a catch.
The very well made design and the high quality of production. They just look sleek, are compact and have some essential features integrated like a Webcam, not too shabby speakers for example.
Time Capsule. I emphasize that there are even more windows clones are coming out in the near future because this is a feature I will definately miss. I will still try to figure out how to use the Time Capsule on my Windows PC.
The speed. Since I had an iMac with a 256 GB SSD that thing went like crazy. On my new system I have a 64 GB SSD which is kinda measly but since I only let the OS and core tools run on it, I will be finde. A game can load for some seconds. THAT amount of time I am willing to sacrifice. 
Essential for iOS development. No way around that. Also a lot of tracking tools are available only on Mac but for this reason I am keeping my MacBook Pro which is in my opinion the best way for traveling and getting some work done underways.
Facit:
I enjoyed my year with the iMac 27” (Damn that display was awesome!) but I am happy now I switched back to Windows afterall. If you enjoy gaming a lot on your PC, you should stay there – for the amount of money you can get a 27 inch monitor and a strong system with the future possibilty to upgrade. (No way you can do that on an iMac).
I would really like to hear your thoughs about this – I’m sure neither the negative nor the positive sides are in any form complete but if you’d like to add something. Go ahead!
