Apple out, Dell in

Reluctantly, I've gone back to my comapny-issued Dell D600 for work. I'd much prefer to be using OS X, but I decided that I didn't want to continue putting the wear and tear on my iBook. Also, I couldn't put my iBook on the main company network, so I had no way to print from it, which was a royal PITA. So, yesterday I moved all the work-related files on the Apple back over to the Dell.

The main applications I'm running are:

• Mozilla Firefox
• MS Outlook 2002 for work email and calendaring (we have an Exchange server, unfortunately)
• MS Word 2002
• MS Excel 2002
• Trillian for AIM and Yahoo Messenger
• MS Wordpad for small word processing docs
• Google Desktop for local search and the Todo plugin
• Irfanview

Some other apps I have include:

• MS Visio 2003 for diagramming
• Cygwin
• Mozilla Suite
• MS PowerPoint 2002 for the presentations which are an inevitable part of corporate life.

The Dell does have a larger screen that runs at higher resolution (144x1050) than the iBook's 12" 1024x768 screen, plus it allows me to run a second 1024x768 display. I have the second monitor placed to the right of the laptop with Outlook and Trillian on it. I keep the other apps on the main screen where the higher resolution is handy. I've found that this setup allows me to be more productive than I'd be with only the single screen.

My Apple won't be neglected. It'll remain my primary computer at home and when I do my independent consulting. By not schlepping to and from work and using it there, though, I hope to extend its lifespan.