Anyone make the switch from PC to MAC?

[Scooby]

I'm considering it, I use both at work.

 

I like the Apple product and I am sort of fed-up with Windows.

 

I am so close to the switch, I just haven't unpacked my iMac. My one concern is transferring everything over. Mainly image files so it shouldn't be a problem.

[Rick in Maine]

Welcome to the Apple. I'm a dedicated Mac user for many, many years. There are a ton web sites that can help you with transferring files. Also Help on the computer. Apple is almost legendary for great product support. Call them. Also a ton of good info on apple.com.

Please note I am praising the Apple product while not putting down the PC. No point in that. You've made your choice by using both.

Rick in Maine

[Darren Roberts]

My school district switched out our desktop PC's for Mac Air's. I grumbled and struggled at first. Now, I love the Mac Air. I have a hard time working a PC now.

[Ken Cartwright]

I'm not a Mac fan, but one of the nice things about them is that you can run MacOS and Windows on the same machine if you want, which of course you can't do on a regular PC (without a little work and violating the EULA).  That also might make the transition a little easier, still being able to run programs you can't easily find for the Mac, and/or converting files as needed.

 

[Kurt H.]

I started using a mac as my everyday computer about 13 years ago. I have also used one for work since 2012.  In all this time, the only problem I had was for things that required Internet Explorer (dell DRAC and HP ILo) and the fact microsoft does not make Visio for the Mac. I do not know if it is as much of a gotcha these days, but back in the 2000s sometimes I would run into a printer that did not have an OSX driver. 

 

I guess the things to consider are whether you have any special applications which you need to do your work, or what ever you need to accomplish with your computer and verify there is a Mac version.  I have been very happy with apple computers.

 

 

 

 

[MHaz]

Having been a Mac user since they first came out, I can tell you that in my experience, if the program you need/want isn't available in a Mac version, then there's probably a different, equivalent, Mac program that'll read/write your files just fine. Since Macs are now Intel-based, there's several options for when you absolutely must run Windows or a Windows program. My preference is to use VMWare fusion to run Windows as a virtual machine, in "Unity" mode. This basically hides the windows desktop, and allows you to launch Windows applications from the dock, just like you would a Mac, and most keyboard shortcuts work exactly the same as they would in either environment. Other options include Boot Camp, which is rebooting your computer to run Windows instead of MacOS, and WINE, which is an open-source solution that was originally intended for linux/unix users to use to run their Windows applications. WINE has matured quite a bit, and works with MacOS (since it's underlying architecture is Unix-based) very well. I'm in the process of testing it in lieu of VMWare on my laptop for my needs.

[bikerider]

I switched about a year ago.... no regrets. I had been a PC user for years, but still had an i-phone. Between the phone, the Mac and my wife's iPad, we now have a seamless transfer and sharing of our files, mostly thousands of pictures and music files.

At work we are on PC, but I can edit Word, Excel or other Office files seamlessly using Office for Mac. 

I find the quality of the screen on the Macbook far far superior to any PC laptop I ever tried, and that was a major motivator for the switch - much easier for me to edit photos, and even normal things like editing documents or reading websites is much easier on the Mac screen.

[Murph]

Yep, did it several years ago.  I don't think it's any more user friendly than a PC, but it's much quicker, and there are fewer viruses targeted at Macs.  

 

Regards,

Murph

[Scooby]

5 hours ago, MHaz said:

Having been a Mac user since they first came out, I can tell you that in my experience, if the program you need/want isn't available in a Mac version, then there's probably a different, equivalent, Mac program that'll read/write your files just fine. Since Macs are now Intel-based, there's several options for when you absolutely must run Windows or a Windows program. My preference is to use VMWare fusion to run Windows as a virtual machine, in "Unity" mode. This basically hides the windows desktop, and allows you to launch Windows applications from the dock, just like you would a Mac, and most keyboard shortcuts work exactly the same as they would in either environment. Other options include Boot Camp, which is rebooting your computer to run Windows instead of MacOS, and WINE, which is an open-source solution that was originally intended for linux/unix users to use to run their Windows applications. WINE has matured quite a bit, and works with MacOS (since it's underlying architecture is Unix-based) very well. I'm in the process of testing it in lieu of VMWare on my laptop for my needs.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies.

 

There is a lot of great information in this reply, I'll need to read up more on this info.

[toadwbg]

I've gone from PC to Mac back to PC and back to Windows again.   Other than being an Apple stockholder I do not have one preference performance wise.

 

I built a PC for my current computer just because I could do it cheaper and thought it was fun.  Can't build a mac :(

 

 

[ElectroSoldier]

Surprising switch these days given the companies switch from the "pro" market to the "pro sumer" market.

All you see these days is people moaning about how their Mac what ever it is Pro is no longer the pro model it once was.

 

As a group of products that all mesh together they are fine, You cant knock the fact that an iPod always works with the Mac that you plug it into. But then you can get the same with a PC. Windows 10 works very well, just as well as a Mac in this regard it just depends on the products you use.

 

The Mac crowd is a strange breed though. A friend of mine is a dedicated Mac user, a while back he got a MacPro desktop computer, "the trash can" model, it was quite new at the time and he used to rave about how good it was, which I cant deny as it was rather nippy at all the things it did...
It was at about the same time I got my new workstation, an HP Z820 which cost more than his Mac and it was faster than his Mac at similar tasks, it was more exclusive than his Mac as nobody had even head of it let alone thought about buying one, he didnt seem to care about any of the advantages my workstation had over his Mac at all, he focused on the negatives, like it being larger, it not running the same software, it having Windows 7 etc.

 

I used to love to hate Mac because of all the negatives about them, these days I really couldnt care less. I run what I run because I do what I think is best. If you think you will be better off with a Mac then I would say go for it as it probably will be the best for you. But dont expect a Mac to be problem free, none of them are, it just depends on whether or not you can live it with.

[82Whitey51]

Not a techie by any means here...but I do know I bought a MacBook Pro (13") back in 2010...have yet to have a single issue at all with it. Wife and daughter have both gone through two PC laptops since.

[ElectroSoldier]

3 hours ago, 82Whitey51 said:

Not a techie by any means here...but I do know I bought a MacBook Pro (13") back in 2010...have yet to have a single issue at all with it. Wife and daughter have both gone through two PC laptops since.

And on the flip side of that coin I still have a HP Pavilion DV3-2230eA that I was using to play an old PC game only last night.

I got it just after it was released back in 2009. never a single minutes problem... Ive also got a Sony VAIO PCG-NV170 that I bought when it was new and that is still serving me well and dates back to 2003.

 

So yeah in my mind my experience shows that PCs can soldier on as well as any Mac.

 

"I run what I run because I do what I think is best."

[Rick in Maine]

Ya know...you are going to keep getting different opinions 'til the cows come home. If you are ready to buy ($$$) just do it.

We Mac folks will suggest you get a Mac for a lot of reasons. The same is true of the PC side. Each have their benefits.

I'm not telling you to stop now if you are not ready. The reasons on both sides are just going to keep growing and changing as the latest models comes out.

I've always based my final decision on what seems to be the best for me and what I feel the most comfy with. Sort of like my favorite teddy bear! Or F-4 model. Or Sherman model.

Cheers

Rick in Maine

Edited May 3, 2017 by Rick in Maine
Delete "I am a spammer..." sentence

[Mr Matt Foley]

You'll pay more for a MacBook, but they are amazing. For decades, I used to build my PC's, which was fun and all but there is nothing like a computer that will last years longer than any PC and where spyware, viruses and other crap does not clog it to a slow crawl. I will never go back to a PC. Never.