Considering the switch from PC to Apple
Hey everyone my name is Jeremy and this is my first post to the boards and look forward to your help.
Ok, so here is my delema, with the release of Microsofts new OS I no longer want to support Gates and his greedyness and controlling systems that you dont "technically" own. I've tried linux and aint quite impressed though i know that Linux is geared for main stream systems.
But my question is what does Apple have to offer? I think i am afraid of change between the OS layout, i've worked with Windows all my life. But quite frankly i am tired of the constant unstability. Given the price is kinda high i dont want to make this purchase without doing research first. But what reasons would make one switch to an Apple. I've noticed they have less programs supported for them. This is going to be a school pc, so how do they work with MS word or programs of that sort. For those of you who reply to this I thank you for your help.
Ok, so here is my delema, with the release of Microsofts new OS I no longer want to support Gates and his greedyness and controlling systems that you dont "technically" own. I've tried linux and aint quite impressed though i know that Linux is geared for main stream systems.
But my question is what does Apple have to offer? I think i am afraid of change between the OS layout, i've worked with Windows all my life. But quite frankly i am tired of the constant unstability. Given the price is kinda high i dont want to make this purchase without doing research first. But what reasons would make one switch to an Apple. I've noticed they have less programs supported for them. This is going to be a school pc, so how do they work with MS word or programs of that sort. For those of you who reply to this I thank you for your help.
Comments
Personal story time ---> My brother was a full-bore Linux and Windows user (programmer) and made the switch about 6 months ago. He loves it, despite some of the differences with Windows but says he will never go back now. He runs Windows in Parallels but is getting sick of it and wants to work exclusively in OSX... I'm so proud.
If you continually worry about the 'price' differences, you will never satisfactorily make the step up to Apple. Get a side job to pay for what you need, because if you wimp out and only get the Mac mini, you'll be dissatisfied.
Remember, Macs are built to do work, and although you can dual boot, you'll discover Windows is slow and stupid soon enough.
If you are a serious computer user, it will definitely not be a paper weight.
Go into an Apple Store and use it firsthand. Tell them what you do and see what they recommend.
See, well thats kind of a problem, i do everything on my PC, i program, make videos, editing software, but i also use alot of third party software that doesnt have support for Macs. Is there some sort of windows emulator that you can get on them, i do not want to set up a dual boot. Nor do i want to cart 2 laptops around.
If you're unsure of switching, stick with Windows... and good luck. You'll continue to need it.
Hey everyone my name is Jeremy and this is my first post to the boards and look forward to your help.
Ok, so here is my delema, with the release of Microsofts new OS I no longer want to support Gates and his greedyness and controlling systems that you dont "technically" own. I've tried linux and aint quite impressed though i know that Linux is geared for main stream systems.
But my question is what does Apple have to offer? I think i am afraid of change between the OS layout, i've worked with Windows all my life. But quite frankly i am tired of the constant unstability. Given the price is kinda high i dont want to make this purchase without doing research first. But what reasons would make one switch to an Apple. I've noticed they have less programs supported for them. This is going to be a school pc, so how do they work with MS word or programs of that sort. For those of you who reply to this I thank you for your help.
Hello Jeremy, You've come to the right place with your very fair questions.
Let's start off with price. Here is a great website which will allow you to compare side by side, feature for feature various Macs vs Windows PCs
http://www.systemshootouts.org/
At the top of the home page screen you'll see buttons for computers in variuos categories like laptop, desktop, etc,. Click a button and you;ll be presented with several price ranges. You'll see the feature set of a Mac in a given price range compared to a Dell with omaprable functionality.For example, if you choose the green button labeled laptop shootouts, youl get a drop down menu allowing you to choose a price , e.g. $1100. Check out all the categories you're interested in.
Next, you'll want to get a good starte with an easy Wiki overview article of Mac OS X.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X
Here's an article entitled "5 Years of Mac OS X" by John Siracusa, a well known Mac author and expert on the Mac OS X
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/os/osx-fiveyears.ars
Here's one by Amit Singh, one of Mac's finest writer/developers entitlted "Conclusion: Why Mac OS?"
http://kernelthread.com/mac/osx/conclusion.html
If you take the time to read all of the above, you'll see that the Mac is comaprably priced to the PC and you'll have a better understanding of the Mac OS X. You'll also have the links required to pursue further specialized questions about the Mac. You should also be able to see that the myth of too little software for the Mac is just that, a myth. Many of the programs used on a pc have the same counterparts on the mac and the Mac has many programs that are equal to or better than those found on the pc, e.g., iLife,iDVD, Keynote, Pages,and many others,
I work on Macs and Pcs every day (not by choice). Once you give the Mac a fair try, you'll never look back and you'll enjoy the rest of your computing life.
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Saturday Morning addendum
To further give you a feel for switching to the Mac, here's the start of a 3 part article by Scot Finnie. a well known and respected Windows hardware and software columnist/expert with about 20 years of mainly windows experience who decided to give the Mac a bona fide 3 moth trial. As a writer with demanding deadlines and "picky" software needs, his story is complicated by the tribulations of finding just the right Mac software. He hasn't looked back and the Mac is now his main machine.
http://www.scotsnewsletter.com/86.htm#mactest
See, well thats kind of a problem, i do everything on my PC, i program, make videos, editing software, but i also use alot of third party software that doesnt have support for Macs. Is there some sort of windows emulator that you can get on them, i do not want to set up a dual boot. Nor do i want to cart 2 laptops around.
What software do you intend to use? Name them here and we will see if there are suitable Mac alternatives... Hint: some of them come free with the MacBookPro and OSX 10.4
As for "emulator", no need to "emulate", you can run stuff side by side now:
http://www.parallels.com
Go for the 2.33ghz, 2GB RAM, 256mb VRAM 15" MacBookPro, will be nice for you. You can run XP side by side the Mac OS X at a generally decent speed (not really games and high-refresh-rate graphics though) without needing to reboot.
For video and editing and skool work you should do all that on the Mac OS X apps.
I've been doing research for the past few months, on various Apple-related forums.
I've been concerned, for decades that Microsoft can not create a Windows operating system that protects their users from harm.
Why should we need to buy all these firewalls, antivirus programs, spybot destroyers?
Why should we put up with all the computer crashes, whatever?
During my weaker moments I'd almost convinced myself to stick with the PC World and get Windows Vista.
Oh, but wait, they're already talking about Vista vulnerabilites.
Oh, and they have some crazy Digital Rights Management thing that could literally disable my computer hardware.
And then, the other day I scanned my computer, and found a boatload of Spyware and crap on it. Then my web site was attacked by virus-ridden spam.
The two problems are not really related, but they helped make up my mind.
It's Macintosh for me.
I'm a PC user, ready to make the move to Macintosh in the next few weeks.
I've been doing research for the past few months, on various Apple-related forums.
I've been concerned, for decades that Microsoft can not create a Windows operating system that protects their users from harm.
Why should we need to buy all these firewalls, antivirus programs, spybot destroyers?
Why should we put up with all the computer crashes, whatever?
During my weaker moments I'd almost convinced myself to stick with the PC World and get Windows Vista.
Oh, but wait, they're already talking about Vista vulnerabilites.
Oh, and they have some crazy Digital Rights Management thing that could literally disable my computer hardware.
And then, the other day I scanned my computer, and found a boatload of Spyware and crap on it. Then my web site was attacked by virus-ridden spam.
The two problems are not really related, but they helped make up my mind.
It's Macintosh for me.
Congratulations for arriving at the logical conclusion. And of course, if you miss the viruses (or, for you sticklers, virii), you can always boot into Windows.
I'm a PC user, ready to make the move to Macintosh in the next few weeks.
I've been doing research for the past few months, on various Apple-related forums.
I've been concerned, for decades that Microsoft can not create a Windows operating system that protects their users from harm.
Why should we need to buy all these firewalls, antivirus programs, spybot destroyers?
Why should we put up with all the computer crashes, whatever?
During my weaker moments I'd almost convinced myself to stick with the PC World and get Windows Vista.
Oh, but wait, they're already talking about Vista vulnerabilites.
Oh, and they have some crazy Digital Rights Management thing that could literally disable my computer hardware.
And then, the other day I scanned my computer, and found a boatload of Spyware and crap on it. Then my web site was attacked by virus-ridden spam.
The two problems are not really related, but they helped make up my mind.
It's Macintosh for me.
Ah, Soulman, you will indeed survive.
Visual Studios
Eclispe
MS Publisher
Adobe Photoshop
DVD Editing software
WR54G -Linksys Router(can i use this?)
HP Deskjet - didnt come with Mac Software but havent checked online yet
IBM iSeries Access 5250(one of my main programs only for windows i dont know if there are alternatives)
Webspere
If there are alterns that would be fantastic, and that would make my switch a def, but running a parrelle windows would require me to purchase a new os disk. And i dont really want to do that. I have read that Mac sales have increased about 30% over the past year whichs leads me to think they are doing something good. Another things, should i waite to make the purchase(if i decide to) for when the new OS launches in Oct. Oh one other thing i dont know if anyone is familiar with linux or not, but is installing stuff such a pain like in linux. Thanks
Ok well here is a list of the most common programs that i use on my PC
Visual Studios
Eclispe
MS Publisher
Adobe Photoshop
DVD Editing software
WR54G -Linksys Router(can i use this?)
HP Deskjet - didnt come with Mac Software but havent checked online yet
IBM iSeries Access 5250(one of my main programs only for windows i dont know if there are alternatives)
Webspere
If there are alterns that would be fantastic, and that would make my switch a def, but running a parrelle windows would require me to purchase a new os disk. And i dont really want to do that. I have read that Mac sales have increased about 30% over the past year whichs leads me to think they are doing something good. Another things, should i waite to make the purchase(if i decide to) for when tireger launches in Oct. Thanks everyone
Photoshop CS3 will be faster on Mac than PC.
Adobe InDesign is much better than Microsoft Publisher.
DVD Studio Pro is a great DVD editing solution for macs
1.) Poser (Mac, Universal Binary version available).
2.) DAZ|Studio (free, PC & Mac versions)
3.) Carrara (free upgrade to Mac)
4.) Hexagon (same)
I will soon have the ability to probably buy the Adobe CS3 suite... the apps I'm most interested in are PhotoShop & Dreamweaver.
I don't need a fancy office program. NeoOffice will do.
Beyond that I want to spend some time looking at the Apple-included software... I seem to remember a comic program?
My main applications are:
1.) Poser (Mac, Universal Binary version available).
2.) DAZ|Studio (free, PC & Mac versions)
3.) Carrara (free upgrade to Mac)
4.) Hexagon (same)
I will soon have the ability to probably buy the Adobe CS3 suite... the apps I'm most interested in are PhotoShop & Dreamweaver.
I don't need a fancy office program. NeoOffice will do.
Beyond that I want to spend some time looking at the Apple-included software... I seem to remember a comic program?
w00t!... I will be going to Adobe CS3 "Technical Briefing" on the 19th (Thursday) and official launch in my country on the 23rd (Monday)...
Today I touched an AppleTV box. Wooo.......
Oh and Comic Life is free with MacBook
http://plasq.com/
I'm a PC user, ready to make the move to Macintosh in the next few weeks.
I've been doing research for the past few months, on various Apple-related forums.
I've been concerned, for decades that Microsoft can not create a Windows operating system that protects their users from harm.
Why should we need to buy all these firewalls, antivirus programs, spybot destroyers?
Why should we put up with all the computer crashes, whatever?
During my weaker moments I'd almost convinced myself to stick with the PC World and get Windows Vista.
Oh, but wait, they're already talking about Vista vulnerabilites.
Oh, and they have some crazy Digital Rights Management thing that could literally disable my computer hardware.
And then, the other day I scanned my computer, and found a boatload of Spyware and crap on it. Then my web site was attacked by virus-ridden spam.
The two problems are not really related, but they helped make up my mind.
It's Macintosh for me.
Congratulations for arriving at the logical conclusion. And of course, if you miss the viruses (or, for you sticklers, virii), you can always boot into Windows.
Ah, Soulman, you will indeed survive.
Well come... Muah ahah aha ha a ha ha
You can check out anytime, but you can never leave..........
Photoshop CS3 will be faster on Mac than PC.
Adobe InDesign is much better than Microsoft Publisher.
DVD Studio Pro is a great DVD editing solution for macs
Ok well here is a list of the most common programs that i use on my PC
Visual Studios
Eclispe
MS Publisher
Adobe Photoshop
DVD Editing software
WR54G -Linksys Router(can i use this?)
HP Deskjet - didnt come with Mac Software but havent checked online yet
IBM iSeries Access 5250(one of my main programs only for windows i dont know if there are alternatives)
Webspere
If there are alterns that would be fantastic, and that would make my switch a def, but running a parrelle windows would require me to purchase a new os disk. And i dont really want to do that. I have read that Mac sales have increased about 30% over the past year whichs leads me to think they are doing something good. Another things, should i waite to make the purchase(if i decide to) for when the new OS launches in Oct. Oh one other thing i dont know if anyone is familiar with linux or not, but is installing stuff such a pain like in linux. Thanks
Visual Studios -- have to run in XP2Pro on Parallels (XP2Pro recommended OS in my opinion)
Eclispe -- should be cross platform (http://www.eclipse.org)
MS Publisher -- shite, use Adobe Ilustrator or InDesign CS3 Mac (not CS2)
Adobe Photoshop -- use Adobe Photoshop CS3 Mac (not CS2)
DVD Editing software -- iMovie, iDVD, DVDStudioPro
WR54G -Linksys Router(can i use this?) -- can you ever!! w00t!
HP Deskjet - didnt come with Mac Software but havent checked online yet
--very likely to have mac drivers
IBM iSeries Access 5250(one of my main programs only for windows i dont know if there are alternatives) --
Websphere -- Parallels
I don't think you should wait until October, Tiger 10.4 is a pretty solid OS right now, you would have to run Parallels. Installing in Mac OSX is as easy as dragging an icon into another icon (Applications folder).
I think you're on a right track, you would be looking at a 2GB RAM config to give 1GB to WinXP2Pro on Parallels. You have some specific programming/IDE stuff that is very exclusively PC-only, so you would have to check if that runs well in Parallels, and consider if you would have to dual-boot.
My 2 cents.
I bought the 1st gen Imac G5 and never looked back. I and my friends were amazed when you could have 5 music videos playing simultaneously whilst listening to itunes with the visualiser on, printing a word document and surfing the web...without any loss in performance..try doing that on a pc. At first i worried about software availability, but soon realised everything you need is available.
Once you get used to the subtle differences between windows and OS X, you will never look back. The stress I used to have has gone and I use my mac for everything. I do all my advertising on illustrator, my website is done on iweb including video blogs etc. Home movies are produced with imovie up to HD standard and burned onto dvd with idvd software or compressed and sent to my website. All really quick and easy. All the family use the mac and love it (that never happened with the pc).
I now have a Macbook and the family use the G5. I thought the Macbook may be slower but I was wrong it is faster, the screen is fantastic and it's a quality machine. When I see a Dell now I just want to vomit. In fact I am officially allergic to windows..I cant use it without feeling ill.
So, no more virus problems, no need to defrag or run large pc tuneup software once a day. Stability is out of this world. It's like walking out of the darkness into the light. Just take a leap of faith and buy one, you will not regret it.
Sorry for the ramble but I just love my Mac
I have decided to make the switch, Getting a MacBook Pro with the 2.33 Ghz Core 2 Duo, 2 gigs ram and the ATI Radeon X1600. But i have one quick question about parrallels, is there any drive partitioning needed, or does it install XP ontop of OS/x. Thanks again for all of your help. I hope i am making the right choise, but reading all the replies it seems that the people who do switch dont regret it, so i am going for it.
Thank you everyone for all of your help.
I have decided to make the switch, Getting a MacBook Pro with the 2.33 Ghz Core 2 Duo, 2 gigs ram and the ATI Radeon X1600. But i have one quick question about parrallels, is there any drive partitioning needed, or does it install XP ontop of OS/x. Thanks again for all of your help. I hope i am making the right choise, but reading all the replies it seems that the people who do switch dont regret it, so i am going for it.
High five! I'm not positive, but I don't think parallels requires an additional partition like Boot Camp does.
You won't regret your decision at all.