Time has come to buy a new computer for the home. I have been seriously thinking of buying a Macintosh to replace my Windows machine. I have had a couple of Macs in the past (late 80’s early 90’s) but have been using Windows exclusively for the last 12-13 years.
I would like some input from people who have switched from the Windows environment to the Mac OS recently. How much of a hassle is it? I know most of my peripherals (printer, LCD monitor, scanner, etc) and software programs are compatible with the Mac OS but what problems will I possibly encounter if I switch?
Also, a question for the long time Mac users out there. How much difference in the OS since I last used a Mac over a dozen years ago?
I made the switch about a year and a half ago. I’ll add the caveat that I have a Windows machine available to me if things don’t work out on the Mac - for instance, my grad school program mandated that all materials be cross-platform, but once or twice there were things for courses that didn’t work on the Mac. That’s the only time I’ve had trouble, though.
I love it. I’m a true convert. Anything you’ve got that’s newish and USB shouldn’t be a problem for the Mac, although it’s nice to see the “OSX” or “Mac” symbol on packaging to reassure you. I use Office for Mac, it runs everything just fine that needs Office on Windows. Some people use OpenOffice, I have no experience with it.
IE for Mac is a dead letter; it probably comes on the new machines (it did on mine, a bit ago) but it’s not being updated or anything. Safari is a great browser, I love it to death. Of course, some web pages don’t work in anything but IE. I’ve never really had a problem with it that couldn’t be worked around, but be aware that it’s occaisionally a problem. Other popular browsers are, of course, available for Mac also.
It’s a bit of an adjustment, I admit. Tiger is coming out soon; I’ll upgrade for it but I didn’t for the last one, so I can’t really tell you about it. (I’m on Jaguar, I think? If the current one is Panther? I forget these things.) Anyway, I’ve had to deal with knowing a hell of a lot less about the computer than I used to know about my Windows box. The good thing is, I don’t have to - the reason I needed to know so much about hte PC is that I had to fix the bastard all the time, and the Mac really does Just Work, generally speaking. It’s pleasing to me. It’s friendly. It’s intutive - sometimes too intuitive. If you’re not a hardcore gamer, I think you’ll really enjoy a Mac, and switching is easy unless you have, say, some important application that dosen’t exist on the Mac. (I know nothing about emulation.) Anyway, as a non-expert user, I can tell you that switching was very easy for me and I’m still glad I did it.
You will really enjoy the look of OSX! You have to navigate just a little differently than the old OS, but it still works like a Mac. I have an eMac I bought almost 2 years ago that replaced my old Performa. You still have the old OS on the new machine (called Classic Environment) that will basically run just about any programs written for the old OS. I also recommend a .Mac account. It keeps everything updated automatically, and all of your bookmarks and your address book are available through any machine with internet access.
