Have you switched from Windows to Mac?

[Jack M]

If not, PLEASE do not post your opinions of either system. I reserve the right to actively keep the signal/noise ratio of this thread at or near 1.0.

I'm considering the switch. How did it go for you? What do you like, what do you dislike? Will your next computer remain a Mac or will you go back to Windows? What can you do on your Mac that you couldn't do on your PC?

I am tempted by the Linux (quasi-Linux?) operating system, the concept of the Mac Mini, and just a fresh approach to computing in general. Also I think Apple is further along in terms of full home entertainment integration, but perhaps Vista will leapfrog?

I have two external usb hard drives. Will they be plug 'n play, or will I have to format?

I wonder about the processor speeds, they seem slow by PC standards, are they comparable? Photography is a big hobby of mine and I shoot all in RAW format, so my computer is my digital darkroom. It's processor heavy. Would the 1.8ghz core duo Mac Mini be fast enough?

However there are two things that really tick me off about Apple - they're so g.d. arrogant (and so are their kool-ade drinkers). Microsoft should sue for the ads that are on tv right now, because none of the claims are true. But I digress. The other thing (which stems from the arrogance) is that Apples/Macs seem like "computers for dummies". It strikes me that Apple is quite confident that they are smarter than you. I got an Airport Express to use with iTunes (on my PC). The instruction manual basically said "just plug it in and it will work". That's it. Well it didn't. I had to call support to get the real instructions. That approach turns me right off. But I'm willing to accept this if the computers are really that great.

The other options I'm considering are a Shuttle, or building my own box from beefy components sourced from newegg.com.

Thoughts?

[pebu]

I don't use anything besides windows regularly, so you don't have to take alot of stock in this, but I have used alot of operating systems.

I'm going to try to keep my personal opinions from affecting my post... fat chance.:)

I find that mac is not very user friendly. It's getting alot better these days in that respect. Mac may seem slower, but you have to remember that stems from having the OS basically hardwired into the computer. the mac os takes alot less cpu power to run than windows. As does linux type operating systems.

Mac is pretty good when you have really cpu intensive programs going on. The music recording industry, solid-modeling and animation and stuff... AS for home entertainment I think that a pc can be just as good and more affordable. May I suggest checking out XLobby?

As for the usb drives... I'm not positive but you'll probably have to format. I remember when mac floppy disks wouldn't work in pcs and vice versa.

If I were you I'd look on the internet (newegg is good, there are others, tigerdirect... that's all i can think of at the moment but I know there are more...) and build your own box. It can be done on the cheap.

Another thing is upgrading... I guess I don't know if macs are hardware upgradeable at all, but I don't hear anything about it. With a pc, in five years if you want to step up it's pretty easy. IT also gives you the choice between running a linux system and a windows system.

But like I said, I don't really use mac at all anymore, so things may have changed.

Also if you ask me mac is for hippies... :p

Not that there's anything wrong with that...:)

[roscoe]

I made the switch about 4 years ago, and have never looked back.

Not to start an argument with Pebu (well, kind of) - but I have found Macs much more user friendly. It seems to me that all basic processes are much simpler, easier to find, etc.

For example, loading new software on a PC often takes a full page of steps to get the program running - on a Mac you throw the disc in and it basically installs itself.

However, if you are programming or gaming, PC is the way to go.

Any video/music editing is for Mac

Normal day-to-day work, (word processing, email, internet, etc) - I would sitl go with Mac...

They are getting faster every day, I have never had a virus on either of the laptops I've had in the last 5 years, and their customer service is superb. If you buy the applecare, any problem (and I mean ANY problem) is taken care of, usually withing 3-4 days total.

I am not positive about the USB hard drives - but that could probably be easily answered over the phone with Mac. Just thought of this - if you were going to have to format/erase the hard drive, you might be able to transfer the info from the hard drive to an ipod, and then take it off the ipod onto the mac...

I would never go back to PC, unless I needed one for programming or something, but even then I'd try to do it all on my mac until it became impossible for some reason (I dont know if it would). So there's my two cents

[tpalka]

FWIW, I switched from Windows to Linux back in 2001, went through a variety of RedHat releases. Now running CentOS 4.4 on my servers. A few (2-3) years ago I switched to Mac OS/X which is great -- great UI, I love the video/photo apps, and I do all my programming work on it. I've been very glad to make the switch, it combines a very useful UI with unix underneath.

As for the "computers for dummies" ads, I don't watch TV so I'm not sure exactly what they say, but they definitely are easy to use and seem much more intuitive. And yes, most of the time I just plug things in and they automatically work. Since you were dealing with Windows when installing Airport Express I wouldn't have expected things to work easily anyways.

The new Intel macs are very powerfull, and I've able to do a lot video encoding, DVD creation, etc much faster than in the past. Not sure what the current hardware lineup is, but if you could get the standalone Intel machine I think you'd be very happy with it.

[Derf]

I have not switched, but I was given some old G3s to play and thinker with. MacOS X is different, but when you have used several others (Windows, Unix, Linux, MacOS), it is just another OS. I can say the look is much more polished than Windows, but I can't says anything about usabilty. Like I said, for me, an OS is an OS, the usability comes down to the programs you use.

Hardware wise, they are really nice because they are tightly integrated and beautifully designed, but you are limited in upgrading and doing maintenance.

As for your USB hard drive, if they are formatted in FAT32, they will work, but they are formatted in NTFS, you will have to reformat. If you use a FAT32 drive in Mac and go back to it in Windows, you will find that Mac leaves some hidden files.

Finally, MacOS X is BSD based, a Unix like system, like Linux is a Unix-like system, but MacOS X is NOT Linux, nor Linux based, but a little like Unix. you get a good interface with a good engine underneath.

[skategoat]

I bought a MacBook Pro a few months ago. I made the switch because you can dual boot Windows/Mac with the new Intel Macs. I installed an XP partition but found that I never used it so I removed it.

There's not much I miss about Windows. The only software I really miss is Google Desktop.

What I didn't miss was having to install and maintain anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewalls and having to uninstall all the bundled crapware that comes with new PCs.

With respect to external drives, the sweetest thing about my Mac is that when I plug in a peripheral, it just works. With Windows, it's a crapshoot. Sometimes it works, sometimes you have to re-boot, sometimes you unplug it a couple times. Pain in the ass especially when you're trying to do scheduled backups.

Ease of use is not an issue for me. I don't find either Windows or Mac to be any different in that regard. What really helps with Mac is getting a good two-button mouse. Why Apple continues to hang onto the single button nonsense is beyond me. Reminds me of Burton with their three-hole system.

I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of good freeware/shareware available for the Mac. There's also an excellent support community.

I agree with you about the Mac Cult though. It turns me off every time I walk into a Mac store.

[Justin A.]

I'm considering the switch. How did it go for you?

Absolutley wonderfully. The only problems involved were with my Windows based Notebook. My whole switch was done using an external hard drive that I had been using with my windows notebook for about a month. Just plugged it in, the icon showed up on the desktop and I started copying stuff.

What do you like, what do you dislike?

I like that the entire OS is still more intuitive, easy to use, more logically laid out, etc than Windows. I like that everything just works-it's a Mac Cliche, but it's true- my windows only wireless mouse works just fine. My Cameras just plug in and work. Same with my CF and SD cards in the reader. I love the very graphics-intensive User Interface, it feels and looks alot like what Vista is trying to be-except it works without huge upgrades or anything. I like the fact that I can boot in either windows or Mac OS X without a problem. Setting the computer up was a snap, and now everything is just how I like it. I don't like that there are some things that I need to get used to, such as that no matter what you're running the file, edit, view, etc. buttons are in the same spot across the top of the screen, disembodied from the window-but I'm learning to like that ALOT. I don't like that it was freaking expensive-but it would seem that I got what I paid for.

Will your next computer remain a Mac or will you go back to Windows

What do you mean "Go back to windows" I can run windows on here just as well (better actually-newer components) as I could on my other computer.

What can you do on your Mac that you couldn't do on your PC?

#1- Run Aperture. Aperture is far and away the best Photo Processor that I have ever used. And it runs quickly and smoothly. I can edit photos, movies, whatever, and still listen to music without it skipping all over. I can surf the internet without worrying about Viruses. I have a dashboard-it pops up when I tell it to and gives me the weather, time, date, and through various downloads- pretty much anything I want it to do (there's even a Yoda translator-type in a sentance and it's rephrased as Yoda would say it :lol: ). The best thing is being able to run multiple processor heavy programs at once without any problems.

I am tempted by the Linux (quasi-Linux?) operating system, the concept of the Mac Mini, and just a fresh approach to computing in general. Also I think Apple is further along in terms of full home entertainment integration, but perhaps Vista will leapfrog?

It's not Linux, it's kinda like linux. It is a UNIX based operation, meaning that its very stable (I think-I know little about computers, but it is UNIX based). Vista attempted to leapfrog, but it's still plauged with microsoftness...I was playing with a Vista machine immediatley after they were setup in the store the night that the OS was released, and I kept getting error messages .

I wonder about the processor speeds, they seem slow by PC standards, are they comparable? Photography is a big hobby of mine and I shoot all in RAW format, so my computer is my digital darkroom. It's processor heavy. Would the 1.8ghz core duo Mac Mini be fast enough?

Can't help you with the Mac Mini, but my MacBook Pro is greased lightning compared to my PC... Photography is a big hobby of mine as well, and I shoot in RAW too. The ABSOLUTE BEST THING photography wise is that you can browse through a library of RAW files and be able to open them up with Preview (Mac's version of Media Explorer) and look at them-without having to open CS2, Aperture, Nikon Capture, etc. Just double click and you're looking at it. The dual-core processor is astounding-by far the best thing to happen to computers in a long time- you can be doing photo processing, video editing, whatever; and be able to listen to skip-free music at the same time . Based on that, I would say that 1.8ghz would be fine...I was actually looking at a Mac Mini, but I ended up with the MacBook Pro for school purposes( ).

I understand the "machole" thing...but the computers really are that great, so I accepted it.

Edit: You can even keep your google homepage, just log in to google and it comes right back .

[Dan]

The other options I'm considering are a Shuttle, or building my own box from beefy components sourced from newegg.com.

Thoughts?

If you're capable of building your own, I imagine you'll have a hard time reconciling yourself to the price/performance ratio of a Shuttle. Yes, they're cool-looking and the SFF is nice, but you pay a pretty high premium for the good looks. Last year (maybe 2 years ago?) Shuttle was the PC supplier for the World Cyber Games, and they sold off the machines after the last tournament: pretty powerful boxes at a pretty steep discount. Might be worth looking into that if you're set on a Shuttle.

I found recently that Dell's low-end machines were better than anything I could put together for the same price - don't know if that holds true at the higher-performance end of the spectrum, but it might be worth checking out Dell and some of the gaming rig shops like cyberpower, ibuypower, monarchpc, etc.

As far as switching from PC to Mac, I went the other way quite awhile ago, so can't comment much. The availability of games and freeware utilities for PCs is a pretty big point for me, but maybe not for you.

[jayj]

I wonder about the processor speeds, they seem slow by PC standards, are they comparable? Photography is a big hobby of mine and I shoot all in RAW format, so my computer is my digital darkroom. It's processor heavy. Would the 1.8ghz core duo Mac Mini be fast enough?

In my experience, a MAC processor is generally equivalent to a PC processor 80-100% faster. So a 1.8ghz Mac might feel like a 3ghz+ PC. I do a lot of computer rendering at work and at home, and my powerbook (I think its a 1.8ghz) beats the pants off the 3.4ghz PC I use at work.

I've always had a PC wherever I work, and have had a Mac for home and when I was in school. Every single PC I ever used always got plagued with errors, malfunctions, viruses, spyware, and stuff I just could never figure out and had to get IT to fix. My Macs have never had any of these problems.

The only issue I have with Macs is the lack of software, but that will change once I can afford an Intel Mac.

[Derf]

In my experience, a MAC processor is generally equivalent to a PC processor 80-100% faster. So a 1.8ghz Mac might feel like a 3ghz+ PC. I do a lot of computer rendering at work and at home, and my powerbook (I think its a 1.8ghz) beats the pants off the 3.4ghz PC I use at work.

These are different generations if I am not mistaken (I don't follow hardware updates much). 1.8 GHz Mac is a Core Duo (same thing as 2 CPUs on one chip) while the 3.4 GHz is probably the generation before (less efficient) and has a single core.

[Maciek]

Yes I did. It was smooth and Mac is mature and very stable with all software available.

However, I keep my old Win2000 running in emulation just in case. I use Parallels Desktop for Mac and it makes Windows usable on cheapest Mac Mini with Intel processor.

I switched when I learned administering my wife's Mac. She is graphic designer/eitor and speicies like that almost exclusively work on Mac's. I was reluctan to mac at firstt, but argument that games do not work or hardware is more expensive are outweighted by ease of use and andministration and what comes with the package for home use.

The best part that I liked about Mac OS X is clean, very logic, consistent and intuitive interface (Windows still needs some work) that has also a few cool things. The system is multiuser while Windows is not. I shared my wife's Mac and we worked alternating accounts without logging off or closing applications between users.

I converted my e-mail easily, but I used Eudora and Thunderbird on Windows rather than Outlook. They gave option to export.

There is whole bunch of things about one vs. another, but I want to keep within limits of your expected noise ratio.

[abakker]

i'm not a switcher, i have always used macs. but that being said, i think that in terms of photo/video/music editing macs are superior. definitely cast my vote in with them. i also use my mac to program c++ and the app that apple supplies is excellent.

for what its worth, i can help with most any mac questions you have if you do indeed switch. as for the usb harddrives, they will plug and play, however it will in the long run be in your best interest to move the files off the drives from one to the other or to your internal HD and once empty to reformat the drive to run in mac os x extended(journaled). once they are in the mac format, they will be failsafe and will also index more accurately so that the standard apple search function in the apple os will work better.

Alex

[Jack M]

There is whole bunch of things about one vs. another, but I want to keep within limits of your expected noise ratio.

Fire away - I just didn't want people posting strong opinions who are not experienced with both systems. You are, so let's hear it.

btw, Windows XP is multi-user.

[C5 Golfer]

Fire away - I just didn't want people posting strong opinions who are not experienced with both systems. You are, so let's hear it.

btw, Windows XP is multi-user.

I still have one computer I use now and then and it is DOS. ( for you youngins that was before MS Windows crap) I know not within your noise ratio, Sorry Jack

[Sinecure]

I made the switch 3 years ago. It went very smoothly. There's only one program from PC days that I miss. I used to use ACT for contact management and it doesn't exist on the Mac. However, for all but salespeople, Entourage (that's what Microsoft calls Outlook on the Mac) works great. In fact, Entourage has some cool project management features that Outlook doesn't have.

The conversion of Outlook Express email took a little work, but once I figured out how to do it, it was a breeze. Turbotax works on both and the mac version can read the old PC files.

Your hard drives should be plug and play. iTunes should be easy and the Airport express should work better (FWIW, mine was as easy as plug it in - it works).

My business partner has a new MacBook pro and loves it. It is much better at running PC programs than mine (I have Virtual PC but hate using it). The other thing we need a PC for is billing Microsoft (surprise - you must run ActiveX in order to interface with their billing application). With his new Macbook, he ran IE in something called Crossover and it worked perfectly. Very cool.

I'm jealous and can't wait to get a new Macbook. My Powerbook G4 is nearly 3 years old. It survived crashing on the back of my motorcycle (slightly dented, has always continued to work perfectly) and lots of travel. The battery is finally showing its age and only lasts about 45 minutes on a charge these day. Before this, I'd had PC laptops since 1991 (first one was a 386sx w/ 40MB HD and 2 or 4 MB RAM). I've never had a PC laptop last more than 2 years, with 18 months being typical. The fact that this Powerbook is still going strong after almost 3 years is amazing. It will become my daughter's machine when I'm done with it.

I don't miss the PC at all. My ex-wife recently bought a new PC for my son. I was reminded of what a PITA they are when I went over to put a wireless card in it.

My sister recently swtiched to Mac also. She's loving it. It took her a couple weeks to get used to some stuff. One funny thing was she found it hard to get used to not having to think so hard about stuff. She'd struggle with trying to figure out how to do something, then smack herself in the head when she realized how easy it was. For instance she was trying to install a piece of software. She couldn't find the Install.exe application and didn't know what to do. She finally realized she just needed to drag it into the Applications folder and that was it! Same with installing things onto the dock - just drag them. Remove them? Drag them off and poof! they're gone.

Oh, and I love how Skype knows to pause your iTunes music when a call comes in.

Only thing you might have trouble with is some videos on the web. I have trouble with wmv video files and Real video sometimes. Obviously Quicktime is no problem.

Do it Jack, you won't be sorry.

[bschurman]

Only thing you might have trouble with is some videos on the web. I have trouble with wmv video files and Real video sometimes. Obviously Quicktime is no problem.

Do it Jack, you won't be sorry.

Check out the Flip4Mac WMV components for Quicktime. You'll be fine with web video from now on.

http://www.flip4mac.com/wmv.htm

->Ben

[Maciek]

Check out the Flip4Mac WMV components for Quicktime. You'll be fine with web video from now on.

http://www.flip4mac.com/wmv.htm

->Ben

Of course Flip4Mac. I do not know why people using Mac still do not know about this plugin that is now owned by Microsoft. :D

[Maciek]

I still have one computer I use now and then and it is DOS. ( for you youngins that was before MS Windows crap) I know not within your noise ratio, Sorry Jack

MS Windows was based on that system. I used to develope internals for DOS. We improved the system shell and wrote some stuff user does not know.

Originally MS-Windows was overlay on MS-DOS

Have you known that modern DOS - Russian PTS-DOS is way more efficiently written than Microsoft original or IBM DOS and it was used on one of Russian sattelites?

We used that system on one of medical/chemical analyzing devices (Densitometry of proteins) that I was co-designer and co-creator years ago back in Europe.

It does not change fact that the system is archaic and very obsolete... not even remotly capable of what most modern users need.

Anyway I lowered Jack's noise ratio with this post. We can open historic "janitorials" somewhere else.

[bschurman]

Of course Flip4Mac. I do not know why people using Mac still do not know about this plugin that is now owned by Microsoft. :D

And why does this matter?

[Guest shrederjen]

I, too, switched to Mac for my own PC, 1 1/2 years ago.

Will never go back.

One thing, no one has mentioned, the Mac rarely needs a reboot.

I never turn it off. I just have an Ibook G4, but I can run photoshop,

dreamweaver, 4 different Safari screens, Word, etc..... All at once!

I will never go back. :)

[Guest The Cheef]

Mac's are rad. OSX is so user friendly. Plus now with the intel processors, you can still use your favorite programs from your PC! The new macs are the best of both worlds. You get the smooth clean look and feel of OSX + if you want to, you can put XP or Vista on it as well! If you are a hardcore gamer, then i'd say save the time and just buy a PC so you wouldn't have to fuss with putting the Other OS on yer new mac. But all in all, I've worked with both mac's and PC's and truthfully, a mac is nicer to look at, and way easier to use.

Heres a link on "why you'll love a mac", click through the different links on the right and you'll see why... (the link below is the one that focus's on multiple OS's)

http://www.apple.com/getamac/everything-ready.html

Hope i Helped,

Sean

[Maciek]

Mac's are rad. OSX is so user friendly. Plus now with the intel processors, you can still use your favorite programs from your PC! The new macs are the best of both worlds. You get the smooth clean look and feel of OSX + if you want to, you can put XP or Vista on it as well! If you are a hardcore gamer, then i'd say save the time and just buy a PC so you wouldn't have to fuss with putting the Other OS on yer new mac. But all in all, I've worked with both mac's and PC's and truthfully, a mac is nicer to look at, and way easier to use.

Heres a link on "why you'll love a mac", click through the different links on the right and you'll see why... (the link below is the one that focus's on multiple OS's)

http://www.apple.com/getamac/everything-ready.html

Hope i Helped,

Sean

If you one is a gamer then perhaps he should consider gaming console like XBox360, Nintendo, Wii...

Games are not neccessairyly main reasone we have personal computers home. Someon has suggested to me that he would buy XBox360 and have cheapest PC with very fast hardware. Perhaps so, but it is not really PC that is capable for example high quality graphics (I mean gaming graphics is fast, but not highest quality) or convenient to use.

The bottom line that gaming console is the best way to go games and a computer for general use. Hence, picking solution is not much dependent on what games can be run on a personal computer... well... at least for me. My favorite racing simulator (to really learn driving on real tracks) is available on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.

[Maciek]

And why does this matter?

Yes. You do not have that - you cannot play a lot of windows media files on Mac OSX. Guess how many files are WMV on Internet. No, Quicktime without this plugin will not play many compressed files with Windows media specific compressors.

[Guest The Cheef]

If you one is a gamer then perhaps he should consider gaming console like XBox360, Nintendo, Wii...

Games are not neccessairyly main reasone we have personal computers home. Someon has suggested to me that he would buy XBox360 and have cheapest PC with very fast hardware. Perhaps so, but it is not really PC that is capable for example high quality graphics (I mean gaming graphics is fast, but not highest quality) or convenient to use.

The bottom line that gaming console is the best way to go games and a computer for general use. Hence, picking solution is not much dependent on what games can be run on a personal computer... well... at least for me. My favorite racing simulator (to really learn driving on real tracks) is available on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.

Absolutely true... But for people who are into the Half Life series and the Counter Strike games, Gaming PC's are delicious... Since we were on the topic of computers i just thought id mention PC's as a gaming device. But i absolutely agree with what you said on console systems... All in all, id say if you are a gamer, Get a mac and buy yerself a PS3, Xbox360, or Nintendo Wii (depending on seriousness of gaming you are looking for, The Wii is lots of fun but serious gamers can get bored pretty quick with it)

Sean

Sean

[boarderboy]

If you make the Mini switch, please post your thoughts after a few days' use.

My only Mac experience was many years ago. The innards were used as a "controller" in a proprietary non-linear video editor. (Today, a run of the mill Apple could easily outdo that early, very expensive video cutter.)

Owned a Shuttle some time, ago and it didin't last more than a few months. Only major problem I've ever had with a computer.

Today, I still do a fair amount of video and audio work. Am much tempted to buy a maxed out Mini for a stand-alone work station.

Good luck and thanks