I put a post in general questions about this, but thought I should put one here too 
I am considering switching from a PC to the new iMac (I think it is the G4?) in about 6 months and since I haven’t used Apples/Macs since I was in Elementary school (a REALLY long time ago) I am not too knowledgable about them…anyone want to share some advice/info/horror stories?
Thanks
I think the title of your post might be keeping people away. There’re reasons for which either platform is a better choice for some people, and it’s no longer a X is better then Y thing.
Some people prefer Macs; more power to 'em. I couldn’t function on one. But if you don’t need to do what I do, and want to do entirely different stuff, perhaps a Mac is the better choice for you.
So, how do you envision using the new computer?
Ringo is right—we don’t want this to get into a “Mac vs. PC” discussion. Because we’ve suffered through enough of those.
So, since you express an interest in getting a Mac (“switching,” in other words), I will give you my perspective as someone who “switched” several years ago.
It’s been great. I have loved it. (Bear in mind, I still have a PC, but consider my Mac my “main” computer.)
I found the transition a little strange at first. No right-click (easily fixed with getting a right-click mouse—Mac OS supports right-click menus); this whole idea of disks “mounting” on the desktop; not being able to eject a disk by just pushing the button on the CD drive.
These things took a little getting used to, but it didn’t take too long before I didn’t mind and realized that it was just the change that I minded—not that these differences were all that bad. (Except for not being able to eject a disk by pushing the button—that still irritates me.) But the rest of the differences were fine. I got used to them to the point that I now actually prefer them.
I love OS X, I find it to be stable and easy to understand. It has never crashed on me; not once.
I think that if you are not resistant to change and are willing to crack open a Mac OS X book and learn about the few major differences (they are not difficult or earth-shattering) and just give yourself a little time to adjust, you’ll be fine.
You’ll also find that the Mac community is very friendly to newbies. I joined some Mac lists when I got my first Mac and they were just wonderful in helping me troubleshoot and learn my way around my Mac.
However, if you are dependent on some PC-only software or are a really big gaming fan, maybe you should stick with the PC. Other than that, I think that if you want to get a Mac, you should. I have enjoyed my “transition” and while I still own a PC, I can go for long stretches of time without turning it on. My Mac is dandy. (I have a G4 desktop.)
Oh, another thing—while my G4 is definitely older than my PC, and definitely “slower,” it doesn’t feel that much slower. Even on things like Photoshop. Also, not having to worry about viruses and all the other concerns (like programs “installing” themselves on my computer and “adding” bookmarks to my browser) is very nice. Very peaceful. (I am not trying to slam the PC for this specifically—it’s just the price PCs pay for being in the majority. All the virus writers and creeps target PCs much more than Macs.)
Thanks for the advice! Luckily I am not into gaming, I would be using it for everyday things, like chatting with friends, sending email, surfing and occasionally word processing. Most people I talk to who have used both (only a few ) prefer the Mac, so that is why I was considering it. Sorry for scaring people off with the title of my message…I will get the hang of mb soon!
I think an iMac or a cheaper eMac would well meet your requirements. My advice would be to find a local Mac dealer or Apple store and play with one. Repeat 3-5 times over a couple of weeks and you will get the general feeling whether a Mac is for you.
On the few occasions when I manage to suppress my rabid mac-fanatic side, it breaks down like this: for everyday things, like chatting with friends, sending email, surfing, etc., it’s really about what you’re used to and prefer. Either one will do the job. There’ll be a few differences to get used to, but as yosemitebabe said, they are differences, rather than better/ worse.
For hardcore gaming, most titles will come out first for Windows, if they ever come out for the Mac, although many game developers are getting better.
For programming, you want a Unix or Linux system, because they just make programming so easy once you get used to the way they do things. Luckily, the new Mac is a Unix system, so you can have your command line and a GUI, too.
On other occasions, I’ll rant and rave about stupid MS design decisions that lead to worms and viruses and insecurity and instability, but that’s just my rabid mac-fanatic side asserting itself
Why do you want to make the change? For general usage, a PC is a better option just from the price/performance perspective. A nice low end PC will allow you to do the same things for about half the price. If you’re interested in ditching Microsoft, you may want to consider a LindowsPC from Walmart. They retail for as little as $250 (plus monitor), and use the LindowsOS Operating System instead of Windows. Now, these aren’t GREAT computers, but they are inexpensive and Microsoft-free. If you want a better system, you can get a package deal from a major manufacturer.
Just a word from someone who is about to switch back! Or kind of - I have never owned a PC; I bought an iMac about three years ago and found it great. Then before I went away on a long trip I lent it to my mother so she could email me, and now she won’t give it back!
I was going to replace it with one of the new iMacs, but they are not cheap, and for the same price I could get a pretty nifty PC. My main reasons for going over to PC is simply that there is much more software available - I got fed up with finding that such-and-such application was only available for PC, and that one of my most visited websites will not work with a Mac so I can only access it at work.
Well, r_k brings up an important point. If something you really want to use (whether it be software or a web site or whatever) only works on the PC, then that might be the deal breaker. Something definitely to consider.
Alereon, I can’t speak for the OP but I’m guessing that they know how much the iMacs cost. They don’t use a wide variety of software (just chatting, email, surfing, word processing), all which can be done quite nicely on the Mac. If they are interested in a Mac, there’s really no reason not to get one, as long as none of the “deal breakers” are in place (software that they must use that is not available for Mac, etc).
Frankly, (and I’m not trying to single you out, Alereon) I do weary a little bit of the cost being brought up when it comes to Macs. Because that was the first thing I thought of when I decided I wanted to get one. My gosh, how could it not be? Unless you are a millionaire, you’re going to wonder whether or not you can afford it, and whether it will be “worth it” to you.
So I’m assuming that the OP has figured the cost. If they haven’t checked prices yet, they’ll find that an eMac or iMac are really not that expensive. Or perhaps they’ll decide they’d rather get a cheap PC instead. Whatever. (But speaking for myself, I’ve tried a “cheaper” PC, and boy did I regret it. Windows XP was always freaking out on it, blah blah blah. Cheap motherboard, apparently. So I wouldn’t recommend that route to anyone.) Of course, there’s nothing that wrong with getting a PC (if that’s what a person truly wants), but it gets frustrating (speaking from personal experience here) to have a desire for something “different,” only to have everyone tell you why you shouldn’t do it. Not because it’s a bad and horrible thing, but, because, well, you shouldn’t do it, that’s all. (That’s basically what it comes down to with some people, I swear!) 
If the OP wants to switch to a Mac and indicates that their software requirements are not PC-only, and (once again) they want to switch, and they can afford to switch, well I see no compelling reason why they shouldn’t.
Oh, and a word about software: sure, there is less software for that Mac, but it isn’t that terrible. At least not in my opinion (and I started out on the PC). OS X is now doing OK as far as software goes. So I get to choose between a few good FTP programs instead of several. So what. I only want to use one FTP program anyway. So there aren’t as many MP3 players for Mac. So what—iTunes is where it’s at, baby, why would I use anything else? The main apps that I use (Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Word) are all available for Mac. I’m not suffering.
When I “switched,” I certainly got a lot of people saying (with confused dumbfounded tones), “But it costs more!” Yeah, I knew that. I wanted it. I felt it was worth it. I still do. “But it costs more!” Uh huh. Yep. Know that. It’s my money and I know what I want and I am getting it. “But it costs more!”
And on and on and on. Yeesh.
I’ll contribute. I’ve been a Mac user since 1988, and a computer user since 1978, and a Windows user since 3.1 in 1994. I have perspective to share.
Price: Sure, a Ford Taurus costs more than a Ford Focus, but there are a lot more Taurus models on the road than Focus models (dang, coincidentally I don’t know how to pluralize either of those!). Price should always be the least of your concerns when it comes to identifying wants and requirements. That said, my Mac desktop was top of the line, my PowerBook was top of the line, and my current PC was home-built with generic parts for $350 (plus my already existing monitor/keyboard/mouse). The PC runs Suse 8.2 and XP Pro (dual boot) with absolutely no stability problems (yeah, even XP; not bad for a Windows variant). Hmmm… I also used to have a Bonneville and a Ranger at the same time. I guess it goes to show that when you want quality, it’s okay to spend more, while having something crappy and cheap just to have it at the same time works, too.
Differences: basic use is pretty much the same. The desktop metaphors are a bit different, but nothing you won’t be able to handle. The Mac is much more visually stunning, if that matters to you. It hurts my eyes less, too, but that could be differences in my monitors showing up.
Applications: the vast majority of the “big name” stuff is available for the Mac. Witness Adobe, MS-Office, Macromedia, Intuit. I have no problems in this regard. There’s nothing that my XP box can do that my Mac can’t do. Sure, if you look at Tucows there may be 500 ftp programs versus 100 for the Mac, but do you really, really want to wade through 500 ftp programs to see what you want? And remember that Visual Basic kiddies can throw any crap together and call it an application. Even though this is starting to take place with Real Basic on the Mac, the majority of the available, non-“big name” stuff is probably a little higher-quality than on Windows. Additionally, you have virtually complete source-code compatibility with Linux/Unix software. And a significant portion of it’s already compiled into binary form for the Mac. There’s more Unix software in the world than anything else (maybe I’m exaggerating; I don’t know; don’t call me out on it).
Compatibility: Okay; I overlooked something above: there’s no really good home-design/architecture stuff for Mac OS X yet. Yeah, VectorWorks is awesome, but a little high end for fooling around with home plans. I still run Punch! Pro on my XP box or in VirtualPC. Similarly now that I’m looking for it, there’s no travel mapping software that I’ve found for Mac OS X. My AAA Map ‘n’ Go works fine under VirtualPC. So, what’s VirtualPC? A solution for emulating a “virtual” Intel-based PC on your Mac. So in a Pinch, I can fire up my copy of Windows 2000 on my Mac. Of course if anyone can tell me about these two programs for Mac OS X (not Classic, yeah, they exist there already), I could be 100% complete.
Networking: works great between my Windows/Linux/Mac computers with no problems.
Boils down to: personal preference. If it’s not obvious, and despite years of using Windows and Macs, the Mac is my preference. With XP I’m not even really a “Windows sucks” guy anymore (well, f’ing wizards suck; where the heck are my network preferences?), but I’m a “there’s no reason you need Windows” guy.
The statement is not “But it costs more” yosemite babe (hello btw ), but “Why pay more for less?”, and with less I’m talking performance here.
Now, seeing how the OP only want to surf the web and chat it up on AIM, a performance PC (or mac) is not what he is looking for, so ultimately I will agree with you and say that if you want to switch to a mac, go for it.
But make sure you try one first. you may not like it, or it may fascinate you. No way of knowing until you try it for yourself.
ccrerar, have you considered renting a Mac for a couple months to see how you like it?
Even if you ultimately decide to stick with PCs, you’ll benefit from getting a taste of how the other folks compute!
I’ll add to the voices saying Macs can do anything.
Kinthalis:
Not according toPC Magazine.
I always recommend a Mac for folks who don’t want to spend their time tinkering with their systems, because the Mac will run longer and with fewer glitches, and is easier for a non-techie to maintain. Windows is fine if you’re a die-hard gamer or you like dinking with stuff, but if you just want to get stuff done with a minimum of fuss, the Mac is the clear choice.
IMO, it’s like the difference between someone who enjoys spending weekends fine-tuning their cars, and someone who just wants to fill it up with gas and have it serviced when needed.
Thanks for the awesome advice everyone! Ahunter3 - I am going to check out the local places to see if I can rent one to try it out for a bit!
One of the reasons I was considering the switch was because I was having “technical difficulties” with my pc and was getting frustrated! Plus I think my techie friends were getting tired of me calling for advice. The PC is working now, but I am moving next year and the PC won’t be coming with me, so I know I will have to buy something!
rjung - I am definitely one of those people who just likes to fill up the tank and get the car serviced when necessary
ccrerar: The reality is that a PC with Windows XP and adequate hardware is going to be as low maintenance as they come. If you want a Mac because you enjoy the user interface or for similar reasons, fine, that’s a perfectly good choice. However, if you expect them to be problem-free, you will be disappointed.
I completely agree with rjung’s assessment.
(It’s actually what I popped in to say…too slow on the draw yet again.)
Alereon: I can only speak from personal experience, but my new Windows XP machine has good parts and is put together well, but it is not as “problem-free” as my older G4 running OS X. I certainly won’t say that I dislike XP, (because I prefer it over previous Windows OSes). But I sure wouldn’t say that it is more “stable” than OS X. OS X has never crashed on me. My PC has. And there are other irritating quirks too. Not that I am trashing XP necessarily—it’s OK. But in my personal experience, OS X is more stable and I prefer it.
It’s sometimes the little things that get you. I think that ccrerar sounds like a pretty good candidate for a Mac. And if they want a Mac, and are willing to pay for one, then I think they should get one.
But, the usual disclaimers in place: if you check out both systems and prefer the PC, go for the PC, obviously. If you are freaked out by “change” and don’t want to learn anything new (even though the Mac is far from difficult to learn), then don’t change systems. If you need some specific PC-only software or are into games—yadda yadda.
Alereon: I can only speak from personal experience, but my new Windows XP machine has good parts and is put together well, but it is not as “problem-free” as my older G4 running OS X. I certainly won’t say that I dislike XP, (because I prefer it over previous Windows OSes). But I sure wouldn’t say that it is more “stable” than OS X. OS X has never crashed on me. My PC has. And there are other irritating quirks too. Not that I am trashing XP necessarily—it’s OK. But in my personal experience, OS X is more stable and I prefer it.
It’s sometimes the little things that get you. I think that ccrerar sounds like a pretty good candidate for a Mac. And if they want a Mac, and are willing to pay for one, then I think they should get one.
But, the usual disclaimers in place: if you check out both systems and prefer the PC, go for the PC, obviously. If you are freaked out by “change” and don’t want to learn anything new (even though the Mac is far from difficult to learn), then don’t change systems. If you need some specific PC-only software or are into games—yadda yadda.
Well, that often is interpreted as, “Why pay less for something you don’t really want and don’t prefer?”