Sometime in the next year, I'm going to need to buy a new computer (laptop). After doing much reading, comparing Macs and PCs, I really want a Mac. My first computer was a Mac but the business world acclimated me to a PC and I never went back. Thankfully, I'm no longer in the business world and can do what I want! But before I switch, I want to make sure I'll be able to make a smooth transition from my Windows machine to a Mac. Can you tell me what problems I might encounter with my day-to-day computer operations? Are there any difficulties that I should look out for? I'm just a normal PC user - web-based email, internet browsing, some Word documents, maybe some Excel (but something similar would work fine for me), some IM, photo editing and storage, music and video playback. The only program I must use and have it be compatible is Photoshop. Also - what about viruses? How much of a problem are they on a Mac? The same as on a PC?
I thought of some other questions: Tell me about upgrades. How often do you typically have to upgrade (operating system, applications, whatever)? What kinds of problems come with upgrading? I was reading on that article linked above that legacy applications can be a problem, but if you don't have to upgrade that often, is it really a problem? If I were to buy a top-of-the-line Apple laptop, how long can I realistically expect it to last? I've had my current Dell since 2002 and it's on it's last leg, but I've gotten plenty of use out of it. Battery life - It has always been a problem with my Dell. Even when it was ne, it never really lasted that long but it was my own fault since I kept it plugged in all the time. What are the Mac batteries like? (If it's anything like the iPod, that could be a problem!)
You shouldn't experience any day-to-day problems what so ever. I use Photoshop CS2 without a problem on my mac, as well as many other Adobe programs. There's also M$ Office X which will give you Word, Excel, etc. No, while some people may claim that the first virus for the Mac was released not one person was infected with the so called virus. Other than an anti-virus software company saying a virus for the mac has been found nobody elsle has corroborated the story. I upgrade the OS whenever needed, same goes with apps. I have yet to have a problem when I've upgraded to a new OS or new version of an app. I have a 15" Titanium PowerBook G4 that I bought in August of 2002 and had to replace the hard drive once because it died, other than that I haven't had one problem with the thing. I use it every day, multiple hours a day and it's gone everywhere with me. I can only tell you about my PB battery and it's not the greatest. Then again I always had it plugged in and never let the battery drain and recharge. After four years the battery will only give me about an hour of life, but since I always have it plugged in it doesn't matter. I've heard that the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros have a much, much better battery life.
Back in the day (1995 or so), documents created on a Mac couldn't be read on a PC. I assume that is no longer the case, right? If I create a Photoshop project, I can send the .psd file to a Windows-based user and he can read and edit it, right? Thanks for answering my other questions. I've basically already made up my mind to switch, I just wanted to allay my last few doubts.
Most certainly, you shouldn't have a problem what so ever. You can also network a Mac and a PC without a problem if ever need be. No problem, glad you're switching.
I would go for the Mac sarabella... Just purchase MS Office Suite for Mac... Adobe's Version7 Photoshop cs2 works well on Mac and has a few added features not present on PC version... Never worried about them on Apple running OS 6-9 and now Mac OS 10 - 10.3 and never had a problem with them in all this time. I use both MS Explorer or Apple Safari without a recorded virus... Welcome Aboard!!! Happy to hear you switched!
Although I didn't buy a laptop, I bought a Mac Mini as a new home desktop and so far I'm liking it. Not many problems with slowing down, crashes, virus threats like I have with a PC.
There might not be a need to buy that. I've heard a lot about Open Office. It's free and it works on Macs. MS Explorer for mac is no longer being developed according to this website. I'd go with Safari and/or Firefox.
I think I already know the answer to this, but will I be able to use a Mac with my existing Linksys wireless router? Sorry if these questions are elementary. There's always a fear of the unknown (I haven't so much as touched a Mac since 1996) and I'd hate to spend $2k only to realize there was a question I was afraid or forgot to ask.
You can. Mac's had these commericals running where two people join hands, one representing a PC and the other representing a Mac. They talk about how easy it is to share printers, files, etc. A while before the commercials started airing, I heard that it wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do, but it can be done. I'm sure mileage varies depending on the skill of the computer user. There's some files that I don't think you can share, such as .exe's or a few mac-specific files. Obviously, your chances of running Safari on a Windows box are slimmer than your chances of wearing shorts in an Alaskan winter. But once again, if you have a favorite program for PC, if it doesn't exist for Mac, there's something very, very close. Example -- Trillian is a popular program for PC that connects to any number of chat clients. I use it so that I don't have to run AIM, Yahoo, and MSN at the same time. Trillian doesn't exist on Mac, but there's programs like AdiumX that do what Trillian does. Here's something I found. Don't know how accurate it is, though. http://accurapid.com/journal/mac_pc.htm If you search for "Mac file", without quotes, you'll get a lot of stuff about filesharing. No problem. You don't want to waste your money, and it's always a good idea to go into the store armed with knowledge about the product.
Yes, in many many cases it's just plug and play. I have a Netgear wireless router at home and it took all over 2 minutes to set up.
I switched semi-recently and it's like becoming a vegetarian. You didn't realize how disgusting the whole thing was until you quit (I'm a meat eater.)
Macs are fine machines, but don't let the hype about them being "virusproof" fool you. http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/04/30/apple.security.ap/ http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2006/02/macosxleap.html
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Glad to hear you are switching. I used various Mac laptops as my primary computer from 1996-2005 and I was extremely happy in that time. A few words of warning - as you probably know, Apple is switching to Intel chips, and it's old PowerPC applications are taking a bit of a performance hit on the new architecture, but mostly running fine. Adobe has gone on record as saying that an Intel version of photoshop for Macs will not be out until 2007. They will be releasing a completely new version, and will not update the old version to run natively on Intel Macs. That being said, the PowerPC version of photoshop will run, but may be a bit slow. As for OpenOffice, don't bother. It is far too much trouble for a casual user to install - I would stick to MS Office, which has great compatibility with Windows Office. So long as you stick to photoshop and Office, you should have zero compatibility problems. You might want to think about a regular MacBook instead of a MacBook Pro. MacBook is less than 60% of the price, and almost as good. Plus the aluminum shell of the MacBook Pro is more prone to damage than the plastic one of the MacBook - you really need to baby it. I had a 12" aluminum powerbook, and it showed considerable wear after 3 years. I would only get the MacBook Pro if you simply must have every last drop of power available - but also know that you will pay dearly for a realitively small increase in power. At least for now. Check the MacRumors Buyer's Guide for times when future updates to products might be. If you are willing to be patient for a new release, it will keep you from being frustrated when a new product is released. Regarding updates, Microsoft and Adobe don't release that many. Apple has been notorious for an operating system update every year and a half. They have publicly stated that pace will slow down, but expectations are for an upgrade in 2007. OS upgrades are generally $129, and have all been worth it. Being that you are just getting into Mac now, you shouldn't have any legacy problems for 5 years at least. Problems - if this is your personal computer, I can't think of any. Virus are not really a problem, and Apple does a very good job of fixing exploits as they are discovered. The basic foundation of the operating system is much more secure than Windows will likely ever be. Check out the link in Phat Hat's post. Plus, the iLife suite of itunes, iphoto, garage band, imovie, and idvd are a joy to use. Macintosh is a really great platform - I can't say enough good things about it. I think you will be happy.
I got my first Mac laptop around August of last year and I couldn't be happier. None of the spyware, virus problems I had with a PC. It includes some great software. Garageband is amazing and for simple editing iMovie works great.
Never said I weren't, but I think Buddha said you don't have to be smart to become enlightened which is why I'm a mac user. I really haven't noticed aluminum being so prone to wear and tear, but I mainly keep it on my couch. I thought heat might be a problem, but I think it is cooler than my girlfriend's Vaio. And boy is it cool looking in aluminum - it's no accident that every computer on tv is a Powerbook. I have tiger or panther - the one right before widgets - is it worth it to pay for the upgrade? Why?
I've got the TiPowerBook, since 2002, and don't have one scratch on it. Then again when I use it at home I've got it hooked up like a desktop so it doesn't go anywhere.
I had been debating between the two, thinking that I could get away with the smaller one since I'm not a heavy applications user. Of course, as a typical high-end Windows user, I have been trained to buy the biggest and the best or it will be obsolete in a couple of years (like my Dell, which wasn't the biggest or the best at the time). Is that true of Apple? (I'm guessing no, since Dante has had his Mac for the same time I have had my Dell and his is still running strong.) Obviously, hard drive space is the most important factor for me, since I store a lot of photos and video. Other than that, I'm pretty flexible in my needs and expectations. Great info in your post - thanks!
Spyware was another thing I forgot to ask about, but I guess that's answered now. I spend so much of my time battling this shit that I've just had it. I figured it would still be an issue since spyware is obtained through internet browsing (usually). Is it just that the spyware programs aren't written for Macs?
If there is I haven't come across any. I've been using OS X on my iMac since it came out and have had no virus, spyware, or adware problems.
not only mac comes with full of viruses, compared to the pc counterparts it's damn expensive! if you have $500 to spare for mac mini, reconsider it. you would have much more powerful system with the best operating system in the world, a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. none of these would come with a little shit called mac moni
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