Poll: When did you switch over to a Mac?

I have been an IT consultant for over 20 years and cut my teeth on MS DOS. I was an expert on DOS, OS/2 Windows, and NT and have the certifications to prove it. I have always been a Microsoft Premier Partner and worked closely with them. I have been to all the early adopter kool-aid sessions in Redmond and drank liberally from the Microsoft pitcher. I was a PC fanatic and like many of the posts you will read the PC vs Mac issue was a religious one for me. I was one of those Mac haters who thought that they were used by the really nerdy folks mostly for playing games and programming in Basic (after all the Apple IIe did little more than that. In the late 80s I took a look at what I think then was the Mac IIx, a big white box with a nice color monitor but still not ready for business computing (but it did have one heck of a game called Crystal Quest). Finally Windows XP and all the problems I have had, combined with the miserable Vista update, prompted me to take another look at the Mac platform. My daughter needed a laptop and she wanted a Mac so we bought a Macbook. She loves it. About 3 months later I picked up a Mac Mini off of eBay and have never looked back. I have no less than 15 windows boxes in the house and all but one are piled in a corner for the next round of donations. The one that is actually up and running is doing nothing more than network storage.

Yes indeed, PCs are half the price of a Mac but the Mac works, does not have to be re-booted once a day, and even on eBay these things hold their value! And the biggest plus is that these ARE ready for center stage in a business environment!!!

They are overpriced for the power. The ratio is about 4:1.

I can build a linux multimedia powerhouse for a fraction (1/4) the cost of a mac. There will be more power and more windows compatibility.

I would like to point out some things:

First off: Macs are not that much expensive when compared to comparable PCs. Just because Macs are more expensive than some PCs does not mean that they are "worse". Granted, Macs may be more expensive in some cases, but with AppleCare, you get what you paid for: a good machine with quality service for 3 years. If you are on a budget, and you only need a certain amount of computing performance, then go with a low-end PC with Vista Home Premium. But if you want a good machine that will last for several years, and you want an easy-to-use GUI, go to your nearest Apple Store and look at the Macs.

Second: Macs are known for their longevity. I use an iMac G4, nearing 6 years of age, and it runs Leopard, the latest version of Apple's operating system. Can your 6-year-old PC run Vista Ultimate? Most likely not. There are many, many Macs out there that are quite old, but still work for everyday use. I've seen reports of people using PowerBook G3s for their main laptops. The PowerBook G3s where sold from the late nineties through the year 2000. 8 year old Macs (or older) that run Tiger are still in use. That's quite a feat. Plus, the G3 PowerBooks supported two batteries, and the CPU could be swapped for a faster G4. Those were very upgradeable and capable machines. If you considered switching to a Mac, take this into consideration. A new Intel Mac should last well over the 3 year warranty provided by AppleCare. These new machines won't be obsolete for awhile.

Third: expandability. Unless you get a Mac Pro, then no, you won't have a lot of choices for upgrades and expansions should you buy a Mac. This isn't a bad thing though. You can go in and change out the RAM on most Macs with no problem, and you can easily replace a hard drive on the consumer MacBooks. Most Macs are not expandable, but they were not meant to be. The whole point is to plug it in, turn it on, and use it. And for most people, this is fine. Unless you use your computer for gaming, this isn't really a problem.

Fourth: compatibility. Macs are compatible with almost everything. You can run Boot Camp or virtual machines to use multiple operating systems, and many native OS X programs work well with Windows. Macs have fewer compatibility issues today partly because of Apple's switch to Intel processors. Working across multiple platforms isn't as much of a hassle as it used to be. Apple has MobileMe, and Microsoft has Exchange. Using one of these services can bridge everything together even more.

Macs are fantastic computers. Whether you are working on media projects or regular work tasks, OS X shines. But Windows is still a good operating system. Vista may not be perfect, but I have used it for a little while now, and it works well enough, so long as your hardware is current and powerful enough. I actually think Microsoft made some good improvements over XP with Vista. Some of the changes in the system mimic certain features that OS X has had. It's good to see that Microsoft is working on its own versions of these things. I approve of Vista, but it's just not the same as OS X. Vista is an acquired taste at best, but that's just for me. I am a longtime Windows user and more recently, a Mac user; opinions will vary. Just be sure that you don't go around bashing the other system. You don't have to like either one, but you should at least keep an open mind.

-BMF

I have been using PC's since the 80's. I decided to venture into the Apple world and have been very satisfied with my decision. Really the only item I disliked about the daily use of the PC's is the antivirus software the I had to use to protect it. They are resource hogs! I could not decide between the imac 2.4 with 24" screen and the MacBook, so I bought both. I ended up liking the imac more for my use. Some items come to my attention:
1) I really like the power and ease of use of Windows Explorer and it has taken an effort to get use to Finder.
2) I used the Adobe Photoshop with Windows, very ease to use, while iPhoto is included with OS X which is a plus. I have a hardtime with having events and duplicating the photos in my photos folder. There may be a better way and may not be neccessary to have duplicates, but have not found it yet.
3) Outlook is very powerful, easy to use, and backup, still getting use to Apple mail but I like it.
4) Windows Explorer is fine; I found Safari a better browser for my use. I really like using the bookmarks and tabs.
5) There are some older PC programs I still like to use, so I purchased VMWare. VMWare really works well, no problems at all, even using one MSDOS finacial (MYM) program written in the 80's.
6) MobileME seems to a very useful tool and I use it often between my iMac, iPhone, and PC at work to sync my data and store and retrieve files.
7) Task Manager for Windows and Activity Manager for OS x are both excellent, use them often to monitor.
I could go on, but I will stop here.

To sum all, I am really happy with the iMac, the OS X operating system, VMWare, and the OS X bundled programs. I have just purchased an iPhone, it is the best!

I teach at a graphic arts / design college and we are very bullish on Mac.

I purchased my first MAC in 1985--a MAC 512 with two 800K drives. I was completing a doctorate and needed a machine that I could plug in and and immediately use. The MAC did not necessitate a course or workshop in order to navigate it and get writing. In '85, Microsoft Word 1.0 had just come out and I began the dissertation drafts on that. Since then, I have done three books--all on MAC; my wife has done seven novels--all on MAC. At one time, I was the lone MAC user in our music department, crunching words in WORD and notes in Professional Composer and since '85 have been joined by at least a dozen more who find the Windows environment cumbersome and unfriendly. The MAC is more stable, has the necessary software available, and is reliable. In over 20 years of MAC use, I have experienced trouble only twice: a lightning strike that zapped some stuff and one power supply that failed. Certainly a great machine!

For me, Mac just works. I'm a college student and use both a MacBook and iMac on a daily basis. Why did I switch to a Mac? Because my PC (HP brand, bought in March of 2007) crashed twice in three months for no reason what-so-ever. Tried calling technical support- BAD idea. They can't help you.
In college, I open and create Word documents daily. I have no compatibility issues with saving my documents for PC readers to see. I actually have an advantage over my PC classmates- I can open files my teacher incorrectly saves on Vista that my classmates cannot. They all come to me for answers.
I have had no issues with either of my computers, and absolutely love them. They work great with several running applications, they are clean and fast, and everything is so easy to do. The iMac with an all-in-one system is great. It's power packed by only one cord and takes up very little space.
Sure, it takes a little bit of getting used to the Mac OS. But, once you see how it's done it's so easy and intuitive you will wonder why PC's do it differently. One thing I really enjoyed about my computer was that when I took it out of the box and turned it on- it's ready to go. You don't have all the free trial software on your computer that you have to uninstall, or any of that junk. It's just clean and happy.
My sister was a person stuck on a PC. After using my computer a few times, she recently purchased an iMac. She was a little frustrated at first- several things are different (such as how you copy and paste, etc.) but after a few days she loves her Mac and is never going back.
I'm not saying PC's are bad, I just greatly prefer a Mac any day.
I recommend visiting a Mac store (not a Best Buy or other places that carry Mac's, the staff most likely will not know how to help you as well as people in Mac stores). They have all of their computers up for you to try, and tons of friendly and knowledgeable people ready to answer your questions and walk you through the process.
If you are looking for hundreds of software programs - especially games - get a PC.
Otherwise, a Mac is a great computer, and the support is awesome. I've never had a major problem to deal with them, but I visit the guys at the Genius Bar in the Mac store with little questions, and they always point me in the right direction.
Making the switch is not as hard as it may seem - and if you are open to a Mac, you will not regret it in the future.

Started out on Panther and now working on Tiger.

I love the work flow of a mac. I don't have to worry about folders and files losing a path. I don't spend hours on security issues. I don't have to worry about lost dlls, corrupted files, etc. etc.

I do miss some programs that don't have mac versions so I keep a windows tower around just in case.

I do resent apple refusing to put out a user upgradable tower version of the iMac.

The first computer ever to walk into the front door of my house was an Apple not a Mac and it was before the pull down window option ever existed. My son was about in 7th grade at the U of C Lab Schools and the school had just gotten some Apple computers. He is now 42 years old and we are all still die hard Apple/Mac fans.

PC, NEVER!

My first computer was an Apple and I'm still an Apple user. My first Apple computer was one of the first Powerbooks. The people who said they will never switch to a Mac need to be more open if they have never tried one. All Windows (including Vista) is just a very poor copy of Apple's software. But also PCs are more expensive. The PC equivalents of my $1400 iMac cost between $2000 and $2700.

I started with a Mac (liked it--loved Pagemaker.)

Used Macs and PCs at work.

Now use only PCs - love them AND Vista!

I doubt I will ever switch back to Apple/Macs.

Morisot

I'm a PC user, still have an Acer Aspire running Windows XP. It's my office laptop. I bought a Macbook a couple of years ago for personal use. Works fantastic. No blue screens like on my current Acer of the same age. Windows is probably telling me to re-format the thing to fix the thigs that cause the problems i guess. But that's the hassle right there. For normal everyday stuff like surfing, emails and Office functions, how can you go wrong with the Mac? It's not that expensive either, contrary to what some people say. Compare it to a top of the line brand like Toshiba or Lenovo or maybe even HP and Compaq and you will see that the Macbook is quite affordable given the security, ease of use and worry free everything, for me it's hard to beat.

On my office PC laptop, i always update my anti-virus and then scan at least once a week and check my anti-spy to FEEL safe. Then there's the slowdowns and hangs that will eventually make you restart the freaking thing, not to mention defragmenting the ****** to keep it running or rather walking consistently. That's such a chore! Nothing like that on a Mac.

Actually, you don't even need to shut down or restart the Mac. My Macbook has only been shut down maybe twice this year. Twice this year. Can't think of doing that on a PC 'coz every now and then it slows down or something that you need to at least restart it. Pain in the a$$. Really. Comparing it to a worry free Mac. I even leave the Macbook running weeks on end downloading P2P stuff (pardon me), without ever shutting down or restarting. No errors, nothing. You can even do several things in the background and it's still fine. No glitch. Pretty darn good.

For more complex PC type of requirement, OBVIOUSLY you need a PC..... then again, you can run Windows on an Intel Mac and you'd have any Windows OS running better than it would on a PC. That's what you call having the best of both worlds. If you have to do PC-only programs then push a button and you switch to Windows XP or Vista just like that. After the PC-only application and you would want to switch to a more secure environment and just surf and chat, or download stuff, push a button and in seconds you are back on a Mac OS X environment. How easy is that? Very. That's my opinion, ok? I'm a person who uses both a PC and a Mac and i really believe that for regular stuff that i mentioned above that the Mac wins by a mile.

When the new Macbooks come out, we're ditching the office Acers and will upgrade to a Mac, buy MS Office for the Mac, install it and work in peace. At the end of the day we want something very reliable, dependable, worry free, hang-free and virus free. A PC can't give me that....a Mac can.

Peace out!

Never owned a mac and never plan on doing so.

The first computers that I used were macs, but that was so long ago. I grew up on PC's and just became accustomed to it.

My girlfriend has a MacBook, which I use from time to time, and I honestly can't see myself owning one. It gives me so many headaches just from daily use. The one biggest peeve of mine about macs are their keyboards. I seriously dislike the individual spaced out keys because I always seem to hit between the keys and miss the stroke.

I have to give credit to macs for their awesome media software though. I find that I can do a lot of things with a PC just as easily though with enough effort; so I still wouldn't bother with a mac.

I currently own a thinkpad and absolutely love it btw. I especially love the keyboard.

Call me a hater, but I think macbooks and most Apple products are over-hyped with a pretty exterior. Apple products are pretty pricey for what they offer. Just my opinion though.

Why would I want to buy a toaster from a company that specifies what color my toaster would be, what kind of bread I had to buy, how dark I could toast it, what kind of spread I had to put on it, and whether I had to eat the crust? And then The company also tells me that the appearance of the toaster was more important than how the toaster worked. Then the company tells me I had to pay more than $200 for the two-slice toaster? That is the business model that Apple offers with its products. I am supposedto feel the pleasure for that?