My next PC ...a MAC?
Hi,
I am since the early days (1984) a PC guy. I am a professor in a Business School an use a lot the standard office tools, but also some Business Symulations that are written in Visual BAsic. I am quite at ease with PCs and can be considered an advanced user of Windows (not a programmer though).
To make the final decision I wonder if somebody can answer these two questions.
1) Which are the reasons
to swap from PC to MAC?
2) Which are the reasons NOT
to swap from PC to MAC?
Finally a question to the ones that have changed already. Will it take long to learn to use Leopard at an advanced level (home network management)?
Best of all,
Francesco
I am since the early days (1984) a PC guy. I am a professor in a Business School an use a lot the standard office tools, but also some Business Symulations that are written in Visual BAsic. I am quite at ease with PCs and can be considered an advanced user of Windows (not a programmer though).
To make the final decision I wonder if somebody can answer these two questions.
1) Which are the reasons
to swap from PC to MAC?2) Which are the reasons NOT
to swap from PC to MAC?Finally a question to the ones that have changed already. Will it take long to learn to use Leopard at an advanced level (home network management)?
Best of all,
Francesco
Comments
Each OS has its advantages and disadvantages but the "Core" computing skills you develop in each apply across all of the OS IMO.
My next desktop will run Leopard/Vista/Ubuntu. That's so hot (/Hilton)
I prefer Macintosh for ease of operating system and long term reliability of equipment.
Hi,
I am since the early days (1984) a PC guy. I am a professor in a Business School an use a lot the standard office tools, but also some Business Symulations that are written in Visual BAsic. I am quite at ease with PCs and can be considered an advanced user of Windows (not a programmer though).
To make the final decision I wonder if somebody can answer these two questions.
1) Which are the reasons
2) Which are the reasons NOT
Finally a question to the ones that have changed already. Will it take long to learn to use Leopard at an advanced level (home network management)?
Best of all,
Francesco
If you use Visual Basic you may have to reconsider. Microsoft is dropping support for Visual Basic on the Mac. You'd be left with using an older version of Microsoft Office apparently indefinitely.
If I'm wrong, please someone correct me, as I too use Visual Basic at work and will not be upgrading Office because of this.
Finally a question to the ones that have changed already. Will it take long to learn to use Leopard at an advanced level (home network management)?
First, look to make sure the apps you need either work in both OS's (like Word, say), have an equal or better alternative, or use Bootcamp or one of the virtualization softwares like Parallels, or VM Fusion. I like it when everything works within OSX, but I still have one program I can't get around so I use Parallels.
Second, read some of the articles scattered all over this forum and the Internet about basic differences (like cutting and pasting, dock vs. taskbar, installing apps) between the two OS's. Not big differences, but little ones that niggle at you.
The advanced level things are case-by-case. A lot of good stuff here on AI.
Then, it took me about a hands-on week to get my fingers used to the subtle differences between the two OS's. Now, I got back and forth with very little thought to it.
Since I live in my apps 90% of the time, it's no big thang for me which OS I use, but that said, I find OSX a little easier and stable than XP (which is just fine), and a lot better than Vista.
It does "just work" better than any of the Windows versions, though.
Hi,
I am since the early days (1984) a PC guy. I am a professor in a Business School an use a lot the standard office tools, but also some Business Symulations that are written in Visual BAsic. I am quite at ease with PCs and can be considered an advanced user of Windows (not a programmer though).
To make the final decision I wonder if somebody can answer these two questions.
1) Which are the reasons
2) Which are the reasons NOT
Finally a question to the ones that have changed already. Will it take long to learn to use Leopard at an advanced level (home network management)?
Best of all,
Francesco
It's Mac. Not MAC. It's not an acronym.
Hi,
I am since the early days (1984) a PC guy. I am a professor in a Business School an use a lot the standard office tools, but also some Business Symulations that are written in Visual BAsic. I am quite at ease with PCs and can be considered an advanced user of Windows (not a programmer though).
To make the final decision I wonder if somebody can answer these two questions.
1) Which are the reasons
The user environment is superior on the Macintosh. While not entirely consistent it IS better than Vista. That said, some of the UI paradigms are different and will be somewhat annoying as you acclimate.
If there is an Apple store near you it helps in transition somewhat.
Most VB business simulations will run fine in Parallels. Only if 3D models are used will you need to use bootcamp and that may change over time.
From an academic perspective, owning a Mac over a PC allows you to accept presentations and reports in Mac format as well as PC. This allows students to use Keynote instead of PowerPoint if they desire.
While typically students must conform to what professors want, there's also no need to limit them to the lowest common denominator when you don't have to.
2) Which are the reasons NOT
Cost. While the Macs are a good value to compariable PCs they are at the upper range.
Also they force you to use an Apple monitor by design (iMac) unless you get a Mac Mini or Mac Pro. For laptop its about par costwise on a feature basis.
You will need to have a copy of XP or Vista along with the applications you want to keep. This is not likely a problem in an academic environment. For example I have very low cost access to MS products because we belong to an academic consortium with a contract with MS.
It's something new. If you are already busy then adding a new user interface and transistioning to a new platform may not be a great use of your time. While not extensive, there will be some required investment in learning OSX vs windows.
Finally a question to the ones that have changed already. Will it take long to learn to use Leopard at an advanced level (home network management)?
Not long. Home network management is not really an advanced level in OSX.
Best of all,
Francesco
Good luck.
Not long. Home network management is not really an advanced level in OSX.
I think that this needs clarification. Home network management does not require an advance user. OSX gives simple easily accessed tools for the average user to manage their home network.
If you use Visual Basic you may have to reconsider. Microsoft is dropping support for Visual Basic on the Mac. You'd be left with using an older version of Microsoft Office apparently indefinitely.
If I'm wrong, please someone correct me, as I too use Visual Basic at work and will not be upgrading Office because of this.
This should not be a problem because the Mac OS is capable of Windows virtualization via 3rd party applications at native speeds which runs the windows OS at the same time as the Mac OS, and also comes with boot-camp for booting directly into windows if you need to do so.
It's Mac. Not MAC. It's not an acronym.
Phew I was getting worried that no one mentioned that!
And its Mac for Macintosh!!
Not MAC = Media Access Control
Cost. While the Macs are a good value to compariable PCs they are at the upper range.
Also they force you to use an Apple monitor by design (iMac) unless you get a Mac Mini or Mac Pro. For laptop its about par costwise on a feature basis.
Just to clarify vinea's excellent post.
That doesn't mean there is some proprietary monitor connector that will only work with Apple monitors. (Thankfully those days are long gone.) Instead he is saying that the mid-level desktop line is the iMac which, like any all-in-one computer, comes with the monitor built-in. Either 20" or 24". And of course you can add a second monitor to an iMac if you'd like. I know a guy who with a 20" second monitor pivoted vertically for his 20" iMac that use uses for documents and web browsing.
But, yes, for the mid-level desktop iMac you are paying for the monitor in the price. If that's not what you wanted in a desktop computer, your options are to go to the very low end (price- and spec-wise) with the Mac Mini or to the very high end with the Mac Pro.
Also my University has an agreement with Microsoft so to have both platforms (XP/Vista and OSX) is not a problem.
I think I will go for the Mac , a Mac Book Pro will be my next PC. Time is my scarce resource but being able to boot as Windows I will always have a the chance to work in a much better known OS if I need to.
To have a dual boot system, I whish to create two different disk partitions, can I access files in one or the other without problems? Is the Mac file system visible from Windows and viceversa?
Best,
Francesco
Thanks to all for the very helpful comments.
Also my University has an agreement with Microsoft so to have both platforms (XP/Vista and OSX) is not a problem.
I think I will go for the Mac , a Mac Book Pro will be my next PC. Time is my scarce resource but being able to boot as Windows I will always have a the chance to work in a much better known OS if I need to.
To have a dual boot system, I whish to create two different disk partitions, can I access files in one or the other without problems? Is the Mac file system visible from Windows and viceversa?
Best,
Francesco
Unless you want to run 3d intensive games I would highly advise you not to use bootcamp but go with parallels. It runs as fast as any recent pc and is way easier because you run both OS's at the same time with pretty seemless integration built-in, such as back-and-forth disk/file sharing. All this is much more cumbersome with bootcamp, and in this way windows will NOT be able to access the Mac file system.
This should not be a problem because the Mac OS is capable of Windows virtualization via 3rd party applications at native speeds which runs the windows OS at the same time as the Mac OS, and also comes with boot-camp for booting directly into windows if you need to do so.
Thank you, as I neglected to mention Bootcamp or Parallels. So yes if doge1555 must use Visual Basic then just stick with the Windows version and run in under Bootcamp or Paralles whichever works best. This also has the ability to run Access databases if needed.
opps forgot about VMWare.
[snip...]
Not MAC = Media Access Control
Or MAC = Mandatory Access Control
Or MAC = Message Authentication Code
Or infact any number of other definitions, its all about the context so in the PC or MAC the context is clear.
Just one small issue, given PC = Personal Computer, then PC == Mac
If you use Visual Basic you may have to reconsider. Microsoft is dropping support for Visual Basic on the Mac. You'd be left with using an older version of Microsoft Office apparently indefinitely.
If I'm wrong, please someone correct me, as I too use Visual Basic at work and will not be upgrading Office because of this.
Correct Microsoft is dropping VBA from Office 2008, but there is a solution. Mactech has put together a primer explaining how to move from VBA to AppleScript.
http://www.mactech.com/articles/mact...-Synopsis.html
Hi,
I am since the early days (1984) a PC guy. I am a professor in a Business School an use a lot the standard office tools, but also some Business Symulations that are written in Visual BAsic. I am quite at ease with PCs and can be considered an advanced user of Windows (not a programmer though). ...
Best of all,
Francesco
Just get a pile of RAM and run Parallels. I would recommend using the Mac side to do as much as you can, since the file-search on the Mac is so advanced. On my work-issue PC I would be in trouble without Google Desktop, but the built-in mac file search is 10 times better, not to mention less irritating to use. Really, I think the data searching features of the Mac -- even just searching for text in a document on web page -- make it a vastly superior tool for doing text-heavy tasks. Most business that I'm aware of tends to be text-heavy.
Pro Mac: OS X and quality
Contra Mac: Price and Game availability
I can't wait for the updated MBP so I can run Leopard and XP...