Question - ANY former PC users?

[jes13]

I am wondering if there are ANY 'former' PC users and are you Happy(ier) with your Mac? (I HATE Windows anyway!) I am seriously thinking of making the 'switch', but I'd like to 'know' that I would be doing the right thing!

I KNOW - there aren't many places for 'programs' for Mac's and they are more expensive etc., but also told they DO work better!

Thank YOU

Jeanne:confused:

[Mal]

I don't if I count as a switcher, because the last time my family had a PC was about ten years ago, but compared that and my recent PC use at other places, I'd say the Mac is well worth the switch, even though it is admittedly slower sometimes.

JW

[beez7777]

I switched from a PC (a crappy PC, but a PC nonetheless) a few months ago to a 17" iMac. I have to say I couldn't be happier. Everything I did on my PC I can do on my iMac, which basically consists of AIM (iChat), word processing, internet, photoshop, listening to music, and some other stuff. It is just more enjoyable using the Mac OS. It looks nicer and is far more stable. The iApps work wonderfully. The computer itself is a work of art, and always turns heads. Then there's the community here at MacRumors. They have been great in helping me with all of my questions and problems, and a good part of my internet surfing consists of browsing the boards here at MR.
I'd recommend (if you haven't already) heading down to an Apple store or a CompUSA or any store that has Macs on display and just play around with them. Do stuff that you do with your computer and see how you like it. My cousin also switched a week ago after using my computer for a while and he is very happy with his decision as well. Only you know what the right thing will be. Hope this helps.

[mbutlerdelrio]

I recently just switched because my PC crashed and kept locking up to the point that I was tired of fixing it. My wife also got tired of always having it act up. It was stable for a 1 or so, then started acting funny this past summer to the point both hard drives failed and I lost everything. I was extremely happy with XP to. I thought it was finally a stable and well designed operating system for everything, especially multimedia.

Well I broke down, got made fun of, and bought a Dual 1 GHz with a 17 " studio display. through in 2 extra hard drives, and added an external firewire drive for backup.

So far I am very happy with the Mac as well as OS X. I am still getting used to it, but I have done more stuff (productive wise) in the last 3 weeks than I had in 2 months on my PC. And to be honest it's just easier and makes more sense in OS X. Things are just nicely laid out on the system without the clutter, and without the MS intrusion factor. I am happy as well as my wife, and now I can actully enjoy my PC experience.

[mnkeybsness]

i "switched" not really because i didn't actually OWN the PCs...my parents did...but then i bought a mac...i can't stand how overblown windows is and how much the PC will slow down after about a month of use...it's really weird how windows does that

we had a 1.6ghz athlon that ran beautifully when we first got it...then after about a month or two i noticed an incredible speed difference...for the worse

now i've had my powermac for almost 5 months and i haven't noticed any speed difference in mac os X except when it runs FASTER

[lmalave]

I switched from a Dell laptop to an iBook a couple months ago, and I've been very, very happy. I really like Mac OSX and the iApps (especially iTunes). I love how small and light my iBook is, how it doesn't overheat like my Dell, and of course how awesome it looks. Are you looking at getting a laptop or a desktop? In my opinion, you just can't beat the iBook for value in a laptop (and I looked at laptops from Sony, Dell, and Fujitsu, which cost at least $200 more than my $1300 iBook). Depending on what you're looking for in a desktop, the iMac would be a great buy, but I'll let people who own Apple desktops make the argument for Apple desktops vs. PC desktops.

[medea]

Yes I had been using a pc until I bought my first mac, the 15" iMac with superdrive, it was about two months before the 17" one was released. I'm much happier now with the mac, actually looking back I can't really say I was ever "happy" with the PC. I 've never gotten frustrated with my mac.....
The software for the macintosh is actually not any more expensive then that on the PC, in some cases it may actually be cheaper. Depending on where you live there may not be many places that sell Mac software, but you can always shop online. :D
Go for it, you won't regret it.

[cubist]

... I 'switched' back in the Mac OS 8 days, when the PCs were running WinNT 4. In the Mac OS 8 and 9 world, programs were hard to come by, and trying to do some things was very difficult. One of the programs I had to use all the time was 'File Typer', because Mac has these invisible 'type' and 'creator' codes that cause trouble when you get files from outside the Mac. Also, there was the mysterious 'resource fork' which would be messed up. And there was the 'driver' issue when connecting SCSI drives to the Mac.

Still, the ease of use was vastly better on the Mac than on the PC. You install a program and it just works. You connect the machine to the LAN, and it just works. Don't like a program? Trash it. Want to move it to another folder? Drag it. No invisible 'registry' to trip you up; no arcane editing of INI or BAT files. The menu bar is always in one place, not drifting around; it's easy to see what you're doing at any given time.

Mac OS X is an incredible improvement to the Mac, though. The 'type' and 'creator' nonsense is mostly gone; I haven't needed File Typer in a long time, nor have I worried about 'resource forks'. Networking is vastly improved.

There isn't anything you can do in Windows that you can't do in Mac OS X, but there's a lot of things you can do in Mac OS X that you can't do in Windows.

Here's an example. Suppose you copy some files to a Zip drive in Windows. How do you know when it's safe to take the disk out? You don't! Some people wait five minutes religiously. Others enter a command such as "chkdsk /f" in the hope that the buffers will be flushed. Even so, you're bound to get a trashed disk sooner or later. In the Mac, you tell it to eject the zip, and it makes sure everything is right before it ejects the disk.

Those commercials you see where people plug their camera into a Gateway or other Intel PC and make a movie and burn songs to disk - that doesn't happen in real life. On the PC you have to track down a variety of third-party programs and hope you can get them to work together. Some of those programs are pretty good - like Nero for burning disks - but they don't work together as seamlessly as what the commercials show. On the Mac, these things really work that way, because CD burning is built into Mac OS X, and iPhoto and iTunes come with the system.

What has Windows got that Mac doesn't? More games. Now if you're a gamer, you know that 95% of all games are junk, and there are junk PC games, and there are junk Mac games. There are good games on the Mac - I like CivIII and Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds - but I woudn't buy a Mac solely to play games.

I have -- and love -- a Mac G4 Cube these days, with 10.2.3 on it. I also still have a PC, but I use it mainly to access the office VPN, because the office uses Microsoft's proprietary PPTP protocol. I hate being locked into things like that. Virtual PC might be an option for me there.

Admittedly, a Cube is a particularly lovable machine, with its small footprint and quiet operation. But in general, Macs keep their value longer. A two-year-old PC is hand-me-down or landfill bound; a two-year-old Mac is still going strong.

[jes13]

Thank YOU ALLLLL soooo much, I know it has 'less' programming etc., but I the pros definitely outweigh the cons - and WOW it would be GREAT if (when) my HUBBY can use it too!!! Yours Jeanne :p

[rundevilrun]

I have been using pc's for around 18 years or so. I bought a powerbook 400 a year and a half ago solely for using when I travel and I was impressed by OS X enough to buy a dual 1G powermac this august. It was worth every penny. On the pc I often had to waste lots of time mucking around trying to get things working right, and for no apparent reason what worked one week wouldn't work the next. The mac just works, it's like a truck that just keeps going no matter what you load it down with.
I still have to use a pc at work, and now when I get home to use my mac it's like a relief. I don't think you can go wrong with a mac. It will require some adjustment since OS X is different than windows but I think mostly in a good way.

[iJon]

Originally posted by jes13
I am wondering if there are ANY 'former' PC users and are you Happy(ier) with your Mac? (I HATE Windows anyway!) I am seriously thinking of making the 'switch', but I'd like to 'know' that I would be doing the right thing!

I KNOW - there aren't many places for 'programs' for Mac's and they are more expensive etc., but also told they DO work better!

Thank YOU

Jeanne:confused:
well i am a user of both macs and pc's. i have a dual ghz mdd and a 2 ghz pc that i built. i cant really compare them to speed because i do different things on them. they are both really great machines. my mac os x never crashes and my windows xp is also a great operating system. my windows xp never crashes. my mac is where i spend most of my time, talking, listening to music, browsing the web. there is just a better feeling and comfort when i am at my mac. luckily i come from a financially stable family where i can have both machines and never be limited to certian software. my pc is only for games, if i didnt play games i would have no need for a pc. although my pc is a great machine and really never crashes of freezes, i get scared s***less when i install new hardware and have to reboot. i fear that it wont come back up. i have many problem with building my first machine but that was becasue of lack of knowledge and now i have learned what i am doing. sure pcs are cheaper and they are, but i would pay the extra money. the experince and the luxury of having a mac is great, in my opinion you can do so much more on it with the ease and without the pain of things messing up. unless your a hardcore gamer go for the mac. plus your mac will last a whole lot longer than a pc. we still have customers coming wanting us to fix their lc II because their whole business runs on it and it runs like a champ since the day they bought. just listen to these people talk to you and listen to them talk about their passion for their machine and how much they love it, if you get a mac you will be the same way. any problems you have, dont call tech support, come to this were your new mac family awaits you. i cant even recall how many people on this site have helped me with personal computer problems or even a problem a customer confronted me about and i didnt know. hope i was some influenece and didnt talk to long. lol.

iJon

[jes13]

O.K. Again - - - Thank YOU, thank YOU, thank YOU ALL sooo much, but constantly getting bumped off here today too (can't be the modem not that old :-() - - - - yep decided to 'check' out the Mac's on Saturday :-) - - - I just want a computer that 'works' and You ALL say that!!! LOL.... Thou I have some friends that will kill me if I do - oooohhh well their problem not mine <g>....

Thanks AGAIN!

Jeanne

[iJon]

Originally posted by jes13
O.K. Again - - - Thank YOU, thank YOU, thank YOU ALL sooo much, but constantly getting bumped off here today too (can't be the modem not that old :-() - - - - yep decided to 'check' out the Mac's on Saturday :-) - - - I just want a computer that 'works' and You ALL say that!!! LOL.... Thou I have some friends that will kill me if I do - oooohhh well their problem not mine <g>....

Thanks AGAIN!

Jeanne
congrats my friend. your friends probably are like some of the people i know and just hate the macs for now reason. let them be that way, i really dont care. i just laugh at them when their computer stops working. remember if you have any newbie questions just drop a thread and we will right on it.

iJon

[pnz999]

Hi lmalave,

I can see that you own an iBook 800 from ur signature. Just wondering, if you would kindly x-bench your iBook and post it? BTW, are you also running 10.2.3 (lastest update) on the iBook.. how is it? (is it faster than just 10.2)

[mcrain]

I just recently switched from Dell's and Compaq's to a Powerbook 1Gig w/ superdrive, and I really, really enjoy using a computer again. I knew that osx worked well, but I didn't know that it was actually kind of fun (if you can call work fun).

[MacManiac1224]

I am still a Windows User. I am a power user, and I am waiting for the IBM 970 to debut, and then make my move, I don't see adequate power in the current models to make me switch when I can buy a comparable PC system with much more power. I think a Mac is a great system, and I recomend it to everybody I know, and I have worked with it many times before, so I think anybody wo has the money, they should buy a Mac. For me, I am going to stay on the side until I see something that Apple offers that entices me to switch, and I know many other people waiting to do the same.

[Jimong5]

I had my Parents PCs to use since 1989, i know how god aweful Windows 3.1 was. in Summer 2001 I bought a Pismo 400 off Ebay for $910. this aug i also bought a Dual 867 brand new.. I never regret going all mac.

[billiam0878]

I switched in 2000 when my mom decided to purchase a G4 Cube. As short lived as it was, we have found it to be a fantastic machine. Since 2000 are once all-pc family has purchased a couple iPods, a PowerBook (my machine) and an iBook :)

Bill

[lmalave]

Originally posted by pnz999
Hi lmalave,

I can see that you own an iBook 800 from ur signature. Just wondering, if you would kindly x-bench your iBook and post it? BTW, are you also running 10.2.3 (lastest update) on the iBook.. how is it? (is it faster than just 10.2)

Interesting, I am running 10.2.3 and it IS about 10% faster than when I XBenched it previously (under 10.2.1 or 10.2.2, I'm not sure). Originally I consistently got 57 to 59, now I get 62 to 64!! The only significant changes (up or down) were the Quartz Test score going from 58 to 74 and the User Interface Test score going from 52 to 67!! Those are DEFINITELY due to OS X improvements. Way to go, Apple!

To answer your question, though, I was thrilled with my iBook from the beginning and always thought it was quite snappy running Jaguar. I'm actually surprised at the much improved XBench scores. If you are thinking about getting an iBook, then definitely go for it.

Here are the full XBench results:


Results 63.78
System Info
Xbench Version 1.0b2
System Version 10.2.3
Physical RAM 384 MB
Processor PowerPC,750@0 [800 MHz]
CPU Test 94.74
GCD Recursion 74.00 2.89 Mops/sec
Floating Point Basic 88.83 76.87 Mflop/sec
Floating Point Library 121.41 5.45 Mops/sec
Thread Test 52.51
Computation 51.06 411.36 Kops/sec, 4 threads
Memory Contention 27.60 87.29 MB/sec, 2 threads
Lock Contention 78.88 990.30 Klocks/sec, 4 threads
Memory Test 48.99
System 62.44
Allocate 151.50 79.69 Kalloc/sec
Fill 24.19 138.72 MB/sec
Copy 11.62 69.74 MB/sec
Stream 35.55
Copy 35.13 140.50 MB/sec
Scale 35.12 140.48 MB/sec
Add 36.02 144.08 MB/sec
Triad 35.92 143.68 MB/sec
Quartz Graphics Test 74.36
Line 81.11 2.06 Klines/sec [50% alpha]
Rectangle 69.84 4.91 Krects/sec [50% alpha]
Circle 65.45 1.51 Kcircles/sec [50% alpha]
Bezier 77.85 845.88 beziers/sec [50% alpha]
Text 77.56 1.31 Kchars/sec
User Interface Test 67.37
Elements 67.37 21.56 refresh/sec
Disk Test 44.67
Sequential 40.87
Uncached Sequential Write 39.02 17.29 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Sequential Read 42.72 18.45 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 48.48
Uncached Random Write 43.66 10.26 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Random Read 53.29 10.71 MB/sec [256K blocks]

[iJon]

Originally posted by lmalave


Interesting, I am running 10.2.3 and it IS about 10% faster than when I XBenched it previously (under 10.2.1 or 10.2.2, I'm not sure). Originally I consistently got 57 to 59, now I get 62 to 64!! The only significant changes (up or down) were the Quartz Test score going from 58 to 74 and the User Interface Test score going from 52 to 67!! Those are DEFINITELY due to OS X improvements. Way to go, Apple!

To answer your question, though, I was thrilled with my iBook from the beginning and always thought it was quite snappy running Jaguar. I'm actually surprised at the much improved XBench scores. If you are thinking about getting an iBook, then definitely go for it.

Here are the full XBench results:


Results 63.78
System Info
Xbench Version 1.0b2
System Version 10.2.3
Physical RAM 384 MB
Processor PowerPC,750@0 [800 MHz]
CPU Test 94.74
GCD Recursion 74.00 2.89 Mops/sec
Floating Point Basic 88.83 76.87 Mflop/sec
Floating Point Library 121.41 5.45 Mops/sec
Thread Test 52.51
Computation 51.06 411.36 Kops/sec, 4 threads
Memory Contention 27.60 87.29 MB/sec, 2 threads
Lock Contention 78.88 990.30 Klocks/sec, 4 threads
Memory Test 48.99
System 62.44
Allocate 151.50 79.69 Kalloc/sec
Fill 24.19 138.72 MB/sec
Copy 11.62 69.74 MB/sec
Stream 35.55
Copy 35.13 140.50 MB/sec
Scale 35.12 140.48 MB/sec
Add 36.02 144.08 MB/sec
Triad 35.92 143.68 MB/sec
Quartz Graphics Test 74.36
Line 81.11 2.06 Klines/sec [50% alpha]
Rectangle 69.84 4.91 Krects/sec [50% alpha]
Circle 65.45 1.51 Kcircles/sec [50% alpha]
Bezier 77.85 845.88 beziers/sec [50% alpha]
Text 77.56 1.31 Kchars/sec
User Interface Test 67.37
Elements 67.37 21.56 refresh/sec
Disk Test 44.67
Sequential 40.87
Uncached Sequential Write 39.02 17.29 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Sequential Read 42.72 18.45 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 48.48
Uncached Random Write 43.66 10.26 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Random Read 53.29 10.71 MB/sec [256K blocks]

go get xbench beta 3 and see what you get.

iJon

[Giaguara]

i used pcs for over 10 years. the last years were with linux, i just hated windows so much.

now i'm peeceeless and microsoftless (apart having to test web pages in internet exploiter to be sure they work) so macs only. and didn't have this much fun with computers before, not even with my 286 .. uh .. :D

[vniow]

Originally posted by jes13
Thank YOU ALLLLL soooo much, I know it has 'less' programming etc., but I the pros definitely outweigh the cons - and WOW it would be GREAT if (when) my HUBBY can use it too!!! Yours Jeanne :p

Uh oh, somebody's copying my posting style.....http://img.ranchoweb.com/images/veronica/rolleyes.gifhttp://img.ranchoweb.com/images/veronica/grinning.gif

But in response to your question, I'm not exatly a former PC user since I still own one and it's my main machine (although I don't boot into Windows very often, hee hee hee http://img.ranchoweb.com/images/veronica/ppphhht.gif ) and I also own a 300Mhz Blueberry iBook that's actually quite a bit slower than my PC, but guess which one I use more (or would if I could hook it up to my 17" monitor...)
I can definately tell you that OSX is a gorgeous and intuitive OS that's much more enjoyable to use even if you do sacrafice some speed for it.

As for programs for Macs, search www.versiontracker.com or ask here if you're looking for something a little more specific.http://img.ranchoweb.com/images/veronica/smiley.gif

[lmalave]

Originally posted by iJon

go get xbench beta 3 and see what you get.

iJon

Ok, ran the new Xbench and still get a 63, in line with my previous results, despite the fact that I only scored a 54 in the new OpenGL test. I would've thought the ATI Radeon 7500 would've performed better at OpenGL than the GeForce2 MX in the baseline system, but I guess the faster CPU, bus, etc. makes a big difference in OpenGL.

Here's the full results:


Results 63.07
System Info
Xbench Version 1.0b3
System Version 10.2.3
Physical RAM 384 MB
Processor PowerPC,750@0 [800 MHz]
L1 Cache 32K (instruction), 32K (data)
Bus Frequency 100 MHz
CPU Test 91.35
GCD Recursion 70.05 2.74 Mops/sec
Floating Point Basic 76.58 258.13 Mflop/sec
Floating Point Library 127.41 5.72 Mops/sec
Thread Test 52.00
Computation 51.03 411.09 Kops/sec, 4 threads
Memory Contention 25.89 81.90 MB/sec, 2 threads
Lock Contention 79.09 992.83 Klocks/sec, 4 threads
Memory Test 50.26
System 63.99
Allocate 155.01 81.54 Kalloc/sec
Fill 25.84 148.19 MB/sec
Copy 11.11 66.68 MB/sec
Stream 36.54
Copy 36.24 144.97 MB/sec
Scale 36.23 144.93 MB/sec
Add 36.79 147.17 MB/sec
Triad 36.88 147.52 MB/sec
Quartz Graphics Test 77.67
Line 83.58 2.13 Klines/sec [50% alpha]
Rectangle 70.88 4.99 Krects/sec [50% alpha]
Circle 66.07 1.52 Kcircles/sec [50% alpha]
Bezier 87.10 946.46 beziers/sec [50% alpha]
Text 80.70 1.36 Kchars/sec
OpenGL Graphics Test 54.19
Spinning Squares 54.19 37.92 frames/sec
User Interface Test 66.30
Elements 66.30 21.22 refresh/sec
Disk Test 49.74
Sequential 56.35
Uncached Write 50.64 18.85 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 52.12 18.26 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 73.80 10.91 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 48.86 18.32 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 43.12
Uncached Write 31.16 0.52 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 47.89 9.95 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 39.62 0.43 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 53.80 10.36 MB/sec [256K blocks]