Thinking of switching to a MAC, anything I should know first?

Question

I'm old school, and scared to change, but love gadgets, and want the best PC available. Are they really that much better? What are some things I should keep in mind?

EDIT: Well, what led to all this is my brother has been using Mac's for years. He's been teasing me for being so outdated! He swears by them. But, he is in the motion picture industry doing graphics, editing, and compositing. So....that may be good for him, but I am just a 'regular' user. I don't game, but I do like to watch movies etc.......

Answer 1

Okay, the people who only make statements like "Don't do it! They suck!!" don't know what the hell they're talking about.

As for the comment about Apple not appreciating their loyal customers in regards to the iPhone... early adopters got $100 of store credit, I don't know a single person who was upset by this because come October 26th they were going to go drop over $100 for a copy of Leopard. And in regards to people who bought the Macs in the summer or September not getting free upgrades to Leopard, dude, you gotta draw the line somewhere. I think giving anyone who purchased in October the new system for $10 to cover shipping was extremely generous... you didn't see me out picketing because they wouldn't give me a free copy because I bought mine in January of '01.... geez.

They do appreciate their loyal customers, that's why they keep making products that meet and exceed expectations.

Sorry, people that make idiotic comments upset me. Anyways. On to the good stuff!!! :)

Yes, Macs are 100% better than PCs. As for the price differential, let's put this in perspective... I used to build my PCs. I'd build and rebuild maybe twice a year so my system would be able to run all the latest and greatest applications, games, whatever. I'd roughly spend $1,000 each time. I bought my first Mac in '01... yes it was considerably more expensive than a PC, but guess what. That same 7 year old system still runs all the latest and greatest applications as fast if not faster than it did on day 1 because Apple actually writes their software to optimize system resources and not be a bloated turd. So yes, it cost me more money on the front end, but I've literally saved THOUSANDS by switching.

Also, Macs have a higher resale value. Just a little nugget for ya. I've been offered over $1,000 several times for my 7 year old PowerMac in the past 6 months.

Another thing that Apple has going for them, the most stable operating system available to average consumers. In the past 7 years I have not had one single system crash, not one single virus, and not one single piece of malware.... and never had any extraneous software installed to protect me from it. A PCs security is compromised within 10 minutes of being connected to the internet.

My 7 year old PC runs better and faster than my wife's one year old Dell.

And just because most people who have used Macs in the past have been creatives, don't let that sway your decision. The reason that they've been the choice system to be used by anyone with a major deadline is because they're no-nonsense. When you're up against a deadline you can't afford to have a system failure and be down for God knows how long. The same software has always been available for PCs as well, but no one would migrate over to it because they couldn't afford to be down any length of time because it would cost them money.

Also, now, more and more software (there's already a lot) is becoming available on Mac. MS Office has been on it for years... and oh yeah... that runs better on my 7 year old system then it does on my wife's one year old Dell (catch the point i'm making here?). Oh, but if you don't want to shell out extra cash for a copy of MS Office you can download Open Office or Neo Office for free and both are 100% compatible with MS Office, or for a fraction of the cost of MS Office you can purchase Apple's iWork which is so so SO much cooler and it's actually FUN to use.

Apple is all about the user experience. It's a beautiful system that is extremely intuitive and the most user friendly thing that's out there. There's a bit of a learning curve but I'm sure your brother could help you out with that, or you might be able to figure it out on your own because the "Help" in OSX.... is actually helpful.

I sold all of my PCs the day after I got my first Mac and there's no way I would ever consider buying anything but, and I am a person fully capable of building my own computers. But why would I? Sure it's the cheapest route to take, but when I'm done... where's my tech support? Oh, wait, that's me. When there's a hardware problem, there's no one to diagnose it but me. In the last 7 years there has only been once that my PowerMac has had a problem and it was in its 6th year.. 3 years after the extended warranty expired. But I took it to my local Apple store, and they fixed it for me.... FOR FREE. You don't get their level of customer service post purchase ANYWHERE.... and I've worked for one of the major PC manufacturers before. I know. The question I had to ask myself when making the decision to purchase an Apple was how much is my time worth. Certainly was worth the extra money since I haven't had to spend one single hour trying to troubleshoot some completely random problem.

Also, a close uncle of mine is one of the higher ups at a major player in the PC manufacturing game... guess what he just did. Sold all of his systems from his own company and replaced it with a Mac Pro and replaced his wife's with an iMac, and then went and bought their daughter and her husband who live cross state an iMac as well because he was tired of constantly fixing computer problems at his house and theirs. Now all that time he spent fixing problems has been replaced with family time. Also doesn't say much when his salary is made from a product that he doesn't even believe in enough to have it in his own home.

And yes, you can right click with an Apple Mouse, they released that years ago because they realized that the majority of people converting weren't capable of holding the control key down while clicking. And no, you don't have to go hog-wild and get 8gb or RAM like mentioned above. That guy was a fool for one for having it installed by Apple, any manufacturer is going to charge a premium for that. He should have bought it after the purchase and saved him a lot of green by installing it himself for a fraction of the cost.

Bottom line, talk with your brother. If you can trust anyone, it'll be him and not a bunch of strangers on the internet. :)

Answer 2

Well here's a little info for ya....

I just quoted a 17" wide-screen laptop for a friend. I did all sorts of research and looked at almost all the brands out there.

Here's the primary things I spec'd for his laptop.

17" wide-screen non-glare monitor
2.4 GHz Intel Core2duo Processor
2G RAM
160 GB Hard Drive
CD/DVD +/- drive
Built in WiFi
Vista Home Premium

Guess what I decided was the best buy for the money???

A Dell Inspiron 1720. It was $1807 with $264 instant savings for a net price of $1603.

After I had done all this work, I checked the Consumer Reports website and reviewed their ratings of 17" laptops.

The Mac for $2799 was first and scored 76 and was rated first.

The Dell 1720 for approx. $1800 was rated 2nd and scored 73.

My point is do you really think the Mac is worth another $1000 in purchase price just to see the apple logo on the cover?

That's my 2 cents. I hope this helps a little.

Answer 3

It's all marketing. You're paying for the name. Performance wise there is no difference.. The only thing apple has going for it is the operating system and some OS X Exclusive applications. Besides those facts it's a waste of money...My brother spent 6 grand a Mac Pro with 8 gigs of ram...Keep in mind this is just for the tower. It was a dual socket 771 system with two dual core xeon's at 2.66 ghz each. Overall though, You can run OSX on a pc with a little work...But with nehalem at the end of 2008..Should be able to run it efficiently without any sort of modifications.

For that price I could still build a Dual socket 771 pc platform with the same specs..All quality parts (most with lifetime warranties). I can also get a high end professional monitor, lots of hard drive space with some raptors, 8 gigs of ram, new keyboard, mouse..the works..literally...Much cheaper

With apple you pay for the name. Heck..If I downgraded to just a p35 based motherboard with a socket 775 core 2 quad..I can go literally overkill on everything else. With two raptors and four 1 tb hard drives, dual or tri SLI...apples are just overpriced and really not worth it imo...but to each his own.

Save yourself the money and just get a pc....For those that swear by apple apple and only purchase apples..They are just lackeys...The fact is..The new apples are all using intel processors now...If you want to be overcharged for the same hardware you can get on a PC at the fraction of the cost. Choice is yours. Keep in mind you can buy quality pc parts that would end up being cheaper with a lifetime warranty as well at no extra cost. For me, I'll always be a PC user even though I've used/experienced both.

Answer 4

I switched to the Mac about 5 years ago and haven't regretted it for a minute. One of the best things I ever did. It just keeps getting better and better

They aren't hard to pick up at all, just keep an open mind and know things will work a little differently

I'm a power user, but I was up to speed in about 2 or 3 days. Now I'm much faster then I ever was in Windows

Answer 5

I didn't switch, just started using a Mac year and a half ago. I don't game, I just surf, e-mail, listen to music, occasionally watch movies, create movies with iMovie and iDVD, take and store photos with iPhoto that I edit with GIMP (can't afford PS CS3). Most software that you run on a PC aren't made for Macs but if you look around there are comparable software that will more or less do the same. You don't really need to install AV or Anti-spyware, unless you install Windows, because there aren't any in the wild that will affect the Mac.
http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/
http://thexlab.com/faqs/faqs.html
Go use your brother's Mac to see if a Mac is for you.

Answer 6

If you want to game, macs are not for you. They may have some edges over pc's but in the end it is nothing to go overboard and switch to simply because you hear its "better". its mostly personal opinion, and rumors such as "macs are invulnerable to viruses", are crap. Dont listen to marketing. Also, apple doesnt appreciate its loyal customers, so i wouldnt want to become one. For example, the iphone, and now recently the new mac leapord operating system, where loyal customers who bought new macs in the summer and even september dont get a free or even discounted upgrade, while those who waited late to buy the macs, do.

Answer 7

it extremely is not long to get used to a MAC, they're actual easier to apply. yet there is no way a mabook is speedier in any way in assessment to comparable laptop, additionally the "virus" argument isn't a solid one in my view. This became a fact made by using MAC some years back and it extremely is not probably real. you spot, there are extra viruses on laptop because of the fact there are much extra laptop in use contained in the worldwide on the instant. yet as a client, you have exceptionally much as lots possibilities to have a pandemic on a MAC than on a pc. The utilization will dictate that possibility. in case you employ your laptop for college and artwork, and in case you refrain from downloading tunes and video games illegally, you will desire to on no account have any issues (oh and don't open attachment from unknown contacts or acquire "loose stuff" including loose emoticons!! ) the fee on my own isn't nicely worth it. in case you % a MAC because of the fact they're cool, pass forward, it has grow to be the main significant reason in any case! yet technically conversing, MAC and laptop are a similar, they simply have a distinctive OS and one is made for serious artwork, the different is aimed in the direction of ease of use...in case you detect it basic to artwork with a pc, why substitute and pay extra?

Answer 8

I was a big advocate against Macs. Macintosh new Linux based OS is very stable (designed by HP) and with windows getting more and more paranoid about illegal software it's kinda turning me off. plus all the spyware on pcs very annoying, plus you can run windows in mac. and its more stable I heard.

I personally have a pc bu I think I will buy a mac for my next computer.

Answer 9

NOO DONT DO IT! Macs absolutely completely SUCK! Go with WINDOWS, for sure!

Answer 10

The mouse. Can't right click to do thing.