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Here is my bestblogforward entry for http://theory.isthereason.com/?p=1001:

http://www.the8thsign.com/2006/02/10/switch-windows-os-x-apps/
Not exactly sure if this is my most popular post but its my most popular since I’ve installed analytics software. My 105th was basically a list of software I was using in OS X to do my everyday computing after I switched. It was only about a week of using OS X when i created the list hoping others might benefit from my cold turkey switch.

When 2006 started, I had made a small list of things I wanted to do. Not so much of New Years resolutions, but more like geek resolutions. Things i wanted to accomplish on the tech side of my life. One of them was to switch to Mac OS X as my primary desktop. About the only thing that had stopped me was the price of Mac’s. I’ve built my own PC’s since day one and have also bought part by part. Much easier to swallow. In January, I got the chance to install a leaked version of OS X for intel hardware. I was immediately hooked. But i wanted to be sure it just wasn’t geek envy. So I did what I always do when trying to learn something new. Jump in head first. I installed OS X on a new hard drive and took out my old Win XP drive. This way i had to use OS X for everything I wanted to do. I spend the next 10 days pretty much downloading every piece of software on Macupdate and Versiontracker. At first I was simply trying to replicate my Windows setup program for program. My post then clearly shows this. As of today I’ve had about 6 months to find out what works and what doesn’t for my everyday computing. I’d say only about 50% of that list is still what I use today and honestly, in another 6 months, everything may change again.

One of the reasons I think i get so much traffic is because there are a lot of new “switchers” out there just like me. The first thing most people do is install their favorite software. When you don’t know what your favorite software is anymore, you go looking. I know I did and I found a lot of sites and people who give me some great recommendations.

Kevin over at theory.isthereason is hosting a meme contest called BestBlogForward to celebrate his 1000th post. I have contacted Kevin about sponsoring the contest and will be giving away a Flickr Pro account. Over the weekend I will go through my posts and stats and post my BestBlogForward also. Here are the instructions, Its pretty simple.

THE INSTRUCTIONS

1. Find the most popular post on your blog
You can discover this either by checking your web statistics service, most number of comments, or simply googling yourself and finding what tops the rankings. Suggestions on using blog trackers like BlogPulse and Technorati are welcomed. If all this sounds too complicated, just go wth your instinct!

2. Blog the story behind it!
Blog the story behind your most popular post by giving the permalink, what its about, how it became popular and how you came to write about it. Its a great way to see our different blogging strategies. I’ll post mine as an example soon but get started if you get the picture.

3. Tag “BestBlogForward”
Once you’re done writing, make sure to title and tag it “BestBlogForward”. Link your post back here if you wish to qualify for the contest. Everyone will also be able to see your post over at Technorati if you use the following HTML code: <a href=”http://technorati.com/tag/bestblogforward” rel=”tag”>bestblogforward</a>

THE DEADLINE
THIS CONTEST ENDS AT 11.59PM ON MEMORIAL DAY, MAY 29th 2006. After that, you can continue adding to the meme, but you won’t be getting a prize (it’s self-gratifying already right?). ‘;ll pick out the most interesting blog story and announce the winner next week.

THE PRIZE
Since I’m not exactly rich, I’m emailing the winner a $25 Amazon gift certificate. If I find more than 50 individual submissions, I’ll try to give a Flickr Pro account or an iTunes gift certificate to the runner-up. I’m currently approaching some Web 2.0 sponsors for more prizes in case this gets widespread. If anyone’s interested to sponsor, let me know and I’ll plug you. I’ll have the final say as to how things go, but rest assured, I’m hoping to make this experience as enjoyable as possible.

THE FAVOR
Before you go, help me pass the word about this meme contest by telling your friends, by submitting it to your favorite social-bookmarking service (e.g. Digg, Del.icio.us) or simply adding me to your blogroll. If you haven’t done so, you can subscribe to my blog’s RSS feed here.