Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Long time PC user thinking of switching to Mac

Jul 13, 2006 11:22PM PDT

I have been using a PC ever since I started using computers (~15 years). After countless viruses, freeze ups and blue screens of death I am seriously thinking about a Mac. The advent of Boot Camp certainly helped but my main hang up is getting 'used to' OS X. I understand that it is supposed to be more intuitive than Windows but playing around on a friend's Powerbook just confused me. I couldn't understand where programs went, how to do certain things, etc.

Any advice? Any books or articles that could help? Would ProCare be valuable for me? Thanks in advance for any help on this issue...

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Do it, man!!
Jul 26, 2006 12:29PM PDT

My suggestion is this: get to an Apple store or order your new mac online AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I, like most of the other users replying, am a long time PC user, and I'm completely new to the mac interface. Its been 2 weeks since I bought my new Macbook Pro and I love it and am completely comfortable with OSX. Not once have I had a program crash, or have to update the antivirus, or anything like that. Sure, its a little different getting around, but its quite easy to learn how things work, and its quite user-friendly. I'm totally satisfied with my purchase and am now recommending everyone I know in college that is thinking about getting a new computer to go mac!

On the issue with putting windows on a mac, yes, its quite tempting. The only downside is that when you run windows on a mac, you have to put everything on there that you would a PC, i.e. antivirus, spam-blocker, 3rd party firewall, etc. I thought about it, but why would I want those headaches again?

- Collapse -
My 2 cents worth
Jul 26, 2006 12:47PM PDT

I've always had to use pc at work but like my Macs at home. Sure, unfamiliarity may quickly make one uneasy. Find a way to get more Mac exposure. I've often been a dummy about some Mac issue for some time as I've no Mac guru around, but then it usually dawns on me. By the way, I was at ease with their OS like 15 years ago, generally hated most all the intermediate steps and only now with 10.4 am I happily at ease again. Open minds are always a good idea.

- Collapse -
Open minds are always a good idea.
Jul 27, 2006 3:23PM PDT

Do you have all the OSX4 updates? If not, just go for the updates now.
OS10.4.7.
"I've no Mac guru around."
You are in the right place for answers here. Have fun!

I figured it was New Mexico Bill. I could almost view the prickly cactus stuck in your butt. :

- Collapse -
Yes Taboma...
Aug 4, 2006 3:54AM PDT

NM_Bill lives with brown scrub or enchantment however one sees it. By the way, in a minor, amateur way I do share a passion for hemerocallis. I'm only here 3 years retired and I do plant daylillies in amongst the desert flora.
Even the relatively modest amount of posting I do reminds me of my relative lack of a real life. But I'm working on it with volunteer work where I do meet a diverse group of mostly retirees with a broad range of career talents. Kind of an informal gray power thing.

- Collapse -
Hemerocallis
Aug 4, 2006 2:13PM PDT

NM Bill, Hemerocallis grow just about everywhere. Glad to see your interest in them. Go to daylily.com.
Bobby Baxter runs the site and his wife is part of the org. also. She is the regestra for new introductions.

Any expertise with prickly cactus? Make Jam?
Send me email and list your email address. I will let you know more info about joining the American Hemerocallis Society.

Here is one of my introductions:

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/2726/hellsgatesmallfile9me.jpg
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/7610/hellsgateart2cr.jpg
http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/8290/hellsgatetwirl6py.jpg

-Kevin

- Collapse -
My experience..I switched and no regrets. Love Macs!
Feb 19, 2007 10:23AM PST

My experience:

(I'm a Windows user converted for good! Why didn't anyone tell me!? The Windows/PC VS Mac debate only exists coz most people have not used Macs otherwise there would be no debate)

Now I know why Apple users defend them with so much passion. I'm in love with my Imac. Its 20inch, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB Ram, 250Gb Hdisk, Wireless Kboard, Wireless Mighty mouse, built in Webcam, Infra Red, Remote, WiFi, Bluetooth, DVD super drive? All this within the size of an LCD monitor! And no System Unit (CPU)..its just too sexy?

You are right, it picked up the wireless network in my apartment in seconds with no configuration required. It updated all software from the Apple site in seconds thanks to my broadband connection. Setup was too simple to believe, you just plug it in and switch it on. I have compared the best Intel Core 2 Duo PC's (just sold mine on EBay) and they don't come close to a normal Mac. The boot up time alone on Mac OS X is like a tenth of the fastest PC's. I can't get used to how stable Mac OS X (Tiger) is. It's way better than Windows Vista (tested RC2 on a friend's new PC and he had to switch off Aero to get any performance) so cant wait for new Leopard OS to come.

Windows needs a huge amount of processing power just to run! So imagine what it will use when running applications. Many users will stay on Windows XP with SP2 for a long time coz of this. Macs are way more stable, much much faster and feel amazing when you use them. The OS is way ahead yet very simple to setup and operate. The feel good factor and build quality alone are enough to woo me. Most will feel crap going back to a PC after using an Apple for a few days.

Features like Spotlight(equivalent to MSN Desktop Search) and Dashboard(equivalent to Yahoo/Google widgets) are all extra downloads and only few Windows users know about them and use them after looking on the net. Backup and Sync on the Mac are way ahead compared to Vista's which are not intuitive and need workarounds. (I loved the free SMS widget and Flight tracker widget that let me track Bansi's flights and mapped them on the globe). After you install widgets the PC slows down a heck of a lot chewing resources esp RAM and extending the long boot up time so then you uninstall em lol.

PC's need defragmenting every week just to keep the speed up. Tweaking Windows registry, fonts, startup, freeing RAM, defragmenting registry, optimizing folders etc are all tricks most users wont do but I found very necessary to get normal performance from XP. So much time wasted on maintenance instead of normal use. Macs do it automatically in the background without the user knowing (though this can be configured)!

In the long run cheap is way more expensive. BUT who said Macs are expensive? The Imac starts at just 679 GB Pounds or 999 US dollars (1500 AU Dollars) inc VAT/GST and is way better looking, performing, sounding, lasting than a PC twice that price. The number of windows viruses, malware, trojans, spware, adware out there are so sophisticated now that Norton, McAfee, Trend etc are losing the battle and most windows systems are guaranteed infected one way or the other as the protection offered does'nt cover the whole spectrum effectively. Due to this Microsoft has locked access to the Vista kernel in some versions of Windows Vista to stop this but with over 1000 new viruses a week something has to give. See http://daringfireball.net/2004/06/broken_windows.

Many corporates are now looking at Windows alternatives and the number of people switching to Mac or Linux e.g. Ubuntu is staggering. That's why Mac's new ads are causing such a furore. Check http://www.apple.com/getamac/. This is the time to switch for too many unhappy Windows users and I was unhappy.

(This link shows how to adapt to Mac OS X for Windows users. http//www.apple.com/support/switch101/). I'm just too amazed by how ahead of their time Macs are! People in the PC world are talking about these 'new' features that have been on OSX for years...no wonder they call OS X the world's most advanced OS. If Windows users still prefer Windows but want the great Apple hardware then Bootcamp / Parallel allows them to run Windows on their Mac and they can switch to OS X when they like.

I'd advise anyone looking for a new PC to seriously consider a Mac.

P.S. Some quotes for the blind Wink

- Prejudices are what fools use for reason. - Voltaire.

- "Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack." - Harry Emerson Fosdick

- It is a puzzling thing. The truth knocks on the door and you say, "Go away, I'm looking for the truth," and so it goes away. Puzzling. - Robert M.
______________________________________

Useful links by Apple for those who switched to Mac...

http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/ - Get Started

http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/ - Migrate from Windows