What drove you to switch to iMac?

Well first of all I got really familiar with OSX from seeing it at my job(my job had all iMacs).

When I realized just how smooth and easy the OS worked, and I'll have to admit sometimes it was just plain fun to work on the machines, I had started seeing the all aluminum imacs coming out.

That was it for me, I had to get on the train. Never looked back since. Never even got the urge to take a look back.....not even a peak.

Ak907Freerider said:

So just curious what drove you to switch to a iMac. Myself was coming from windows with the old big tower and cluster of wires. Got very old and ugly and first sign of its hard drive failure I began looking into iMac. Clean desktop, one wire, and ease of use with osx.

Anyhow what made you switch?

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All that and the never ending substandard Windows versions that made my current set up obsolete everytime they introduced a new one. My iPad has remained as good as it was the day I bought it (except for the one I dropped which was replaced with the same). Even though my iPad isn't current and my iPhone isn't either both function as well, if not better than they did when I bought them. Nothing I have ever owned that is Windows based can ever say that.

Finally I can tell the scammers in India that Microsoft isn't in my house and pi$$ off.

I've been using Macbook Pros for a very long time and I felt that it was time for me to return to the iMac considering they have larger and better screens, beefier GPUs and CPUs.

I know precise post processing should be done in a controlled environment so portability isnt really an issue.

Sick of windows and it's virus issue and instability and insecurity!

I just got my first Mac today. I didn't "switch" and I dislike the over-use of the word that gets thrown around too much.

I still have a Windows 7 PC and Windows 8 on my laptop. I also dual boot Ubuntu. I didn't "switch," I just have multiple devices using different OSes, and just so happens I bought a Mac with OS X. NBD, bro.

I feel a lot of the people who "switch" still have another computer running a different OS or at the very least use other OSes on a daily basis

I first discovered Apple products with an iPhone. I just loved how clean and simple it was to use. I ordered a refurb MBP in 2009 and it has been flawless ever since (using it daily). The desktop Windows machine I had back in '09 was given to a family member. The Windows laptop I used back then is still with us, but it has not been used in years.

I will be receiving my first iMac this week, but will continue to use my MBP also. I hope to never go back to Windows machines, will install Win7 on the iMac for some work related programs and that's it.

I am not a crazy Apple fan, I just enjoy the Mac experience and it works for me

1999

Circa 1999, I was a MSFT engineer. Made a living off windows 95, 98 and their servers. Reinstalling OSs, viruses, DLL hell, and more. So grateful that people had so many problems, but at the end of the day... did I really want to come home and fix my own computer? No, I wanted to come home to a working computer and so I went the Linux route to start around 97...Linux was pretty brutal back then in terms of ease of use...but I learned to make it work. Then I read somewhere that Apple was building a new OS on top of Free BSD, which was super interesting to me. Macs were this mysterious part of my childhood and the GUI was always super attractive to me. When OSX came out, I got myself a used Mac and started to play. Within a year or so I got myself a Mac Pro (Quicksilver I think) and then in 2002ish? I got the 17 inch PowerBook because some hacker who had gotten out of jail recommended it! haha I remember it took like 4 months to get it after I ordered it. Remember, Apple used to introduce products many months before they could be gotten back in the day... well... needless to say, I never looked back and love my OSX!

The iMac was never on my list of possible computers because they were weak compared to either my Powerbooks or MacBook Pros... but with the last few releases, they have become as powerful as one would need and I was just waiting for this version with USB 3 and a real SSD solution (not that slow Toshiba in the previous model) to become my first iMac VS... building another hackintosh or going the Mac Pro route (which I did for a year, only to sell it as it was overkill for my work)

I switch to Mac in 2008 I bought the base model iMac 2008 and exchange it to a Mac Pro base model with about the same specs as the iMac due to the iMac scratching the discs and though I get the Mac Pro since is upgradable and in 2011 in August I bought the iMac 27" 2011 with Max out Specs but I only have 1GB Graphics Memory I should of put 2GB since it isn't much more., I sold it late 2012 to buy a Dell XPS L2 Laptop which I still have, and sometime in the beginning of December 2012 I order me a Late 2012 iMac 21.5" base model with 2.7Ghz 8GB Ram.

Why I switch to Mac because of the iCandy look to OS X and Plus I want to check out Leopard since is a big improvement from Tiger I start learning how to use OS X Since Leopard., Since I never use a Mac before until Leopard when I first bought the 2008 iMac.., Me and my Dad went to the Apple Store to ask Questions about how it all works and browse around the Store and checking out the Macs. Didn't bought it the same day until we come up with a plan how to pay for one. Basically just getting a rough idea what the Macs are like that day.

Ak907Freerider said:

I still have to use windows at my work which is a daily reminder why I also switched. It is constantly needing a update, then when it is finally running it drops connection like it is going out of style for no reason. I have to run dual programs open at once and it can be a pain to get both open correctly will get a mind of its own and go full screen. Spent over 6 hours alone last two weeks due to windows not shutting down driving to i.t. To try and fix boiled down to giving up and yanking battery out. So yes so nice to come home to my Mac no issues it just works period.

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I actually run my entire company off Windows Servers (2008 and 2008 R2). VMs running on an ESXI server. They only need to be rebooted once every 3 or 4 months...and only because they speed up after that. Windows Server is rock solid and performs a great job.. But Windows at the desktop is not as nice to work with as OSX... even though I use Windows 7 everyday and it's pretty solid once configured correctly. Will convert my 2011 Mac Mini to a Windows 7 box and use that side by side with my new imac when it arrives

My first Mac experience was back in the 90's with of all things an Amiga 4000 computer with a Blizzard 68060 CPU card. The program was Shapeshifter, which was a Mac emulator, which at the time gave me a faster 68k Mac than what was available from apple at the time.

Years went by and I also got into PC's for gaming, but at the time of the clam iBooks, I bought my first proper Mac. Had that for a bit, still playing with my Amiga's and the PC's. Then Mac OS X got released and I got back into the Mac world with a G4 Mac Mini (which a family member still uses). After a while, Apple released the first gen intel Macbook pro's, so I bought a 17" one. in Early 2009 I bought my first iMac.

Now 3 years later, I'm buying my 2nd iMac.

That said, Mac OS X and the iMac is the closest thing to what I think the Amiga would have been if Commodore didn't go bust because of questionable management decisions they made back in the early 90's.

I still use multiple platforms though, such as Windows 7 on my PC gaming rig and I've even got a Linux box doing its thing. Even my 20 year old Amiga 4000 gets turned on every now and then for the yearly nostalgia hit.

Barclays

The microsoft tax drove me to it.

I've used Mac laptops for years. I'd been contemplating getting a Thunderbolt Display for my Air but decided I might as well get a whole computer for a few hundred more (2011 21" iMac). I thought I might be missing out not getting the 27" screen but this is still the largest screen I've worked on. I love it. I might get an external SSD to boot from but I honestly haven't minded the slower drive yet. It's a great computer.

Ak907Freerider said:

So just curious what drove you to switch to a iMac. Myself was coming from windows with the old big tower and cluster of wires. Got very old and ugly and first sign of its hard drive failure I began looking into iMac. Clean desktop, one wire, and ease of use with osx.

Anyhow what made you switch?

Click to expand...

I'm a self-employed computer technician. I find myself rolling my eyes and quietly shaking my head, many times a week as I work on Windows PC's . . . invariably thinking to myself . . . it just shouldn't be this hard. I've been eyeing the Apple ecology for quite a few years now and for the past two to three years I've been planning on switching to Apple.

I ordered a 27" iMac on November 30th, took delivery on December 12th and Microsoft is in the rear-view mirror.

I got GeekTool installed and got some time/date/weather on my desk so I won't pine for Windows 7 DeskTopGadgets . . . . very happy with my new, personal, computer. My former, primary, Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit has been demoted to my workbench.

This past week I finally used my TechNet sub and installed Windows 8 in a spare computer on a spare hdd. Wow, timing is everything. I have never been so happy to have spent $3k as I am now with my new iMac.

More importantly, I do not feel as though I am walking or running away from Windows. I am finally answering the call I've been hearing from OS X.

It is very early in the process, too early for me to articulate with proper terminology and knowledge the differences in the Operating System landscape.

I've gotten past the awkward and frustrating unfamiliarity stage and on to learning and exploring; it simply feels good and the change in the environment is refreshing.

/sorry for the book

A Windows man since 3.1, my head was turned by buying an iPad - it just worked, an instantly. My wife got a 21" iMac 2 years ago and I was similarly impressed.

So when my 6-year old XP and then Vista powered Dell came up from replacement, iMac seem the obvious way to go...

Got an iPad, then I got an iPhone and then I thought it would be cool to make th switch complete so everything syncs perfectly. And iTunes is total crap on Windows driving me crazy with its poor performance and constant lags when scrolling through the music list.
Plus: silence of the iMac, no tower, superb screen.

And seeing Windows 8 in action I'm happy to work with the original.

Still I have to get used to the new workflow and I still miss something like a total commander for copying files comfortably, although I know that exactly this is not wanted on OSX (system does everything for you, you don't have to think about it - but I still do )
But despite that I love my iMac and I am happy with the decision to do the switch

MS-Dos 6.0

Ak907Freerider said:

So just curious what drove you to switch to a iMac. Myself was coming from windows with the old big tower and cluster of wires. Got very old and ugly and first sign of its hard drive failure I began looking into iMac. Clean desktop, one wire, and ease of use with osx.

Anyhow what made you switch?

Click to expand...

That is the exact reason I switched.

KrasHr said:

My first Mac experience was back in the 90's with of all things an Amiga 4000 computer with a Blizzard 68060 CPU card. The program was Shapeshifter, which was a Mac emulator, which at the time gave me a faster 68k Mac than what was available from apple at the time.

Years went by and I also got into PC's for gaming, but at the time of the clam iBooks, I bought my first proper Mac. Had that for a bit, still playing with my Amiga's and the PC's. Then Mac OS X got released and I got back into the Mac world with a G4 Mac Mini (which a family member still uses). After a while, Apple released the first gen intel Macbook pro's, so I bought a 17" one. in Early 2009 I bought my first iMac.

Now 3 years later, I'm buying my 2nd iMac.

That said, Mac OS X and the iMac is the closest thing to what I think the Amiga would have been if Commodore didn't go bust because of questionable management decisions they made back in the early 90's.

I still use multiple platforms though, such as Windows 7 on my PC gaming rig and I've even got a Linux box doing its thing. Even my 20 year old Amiga 4000 gets turned on every now and then for the yearly nostalgia hit.

Click to expand...

I always wanted A1200. It was 1995 and I had 386SX PC at that time. Amiga was so much nicer...

Simple really - I do a fair bit of music and my old Windows platform was due a replacement.The combination of the arrival of Win 8 and the low cost of Logic meant that I could finally justify moving my platform to Apple.
Something I've wanted to do for a few years so fingers crossed all works out well

OS stability and total cost of ownership. OS Stability: no freezes, no blue screens of death, no nothing. Rock solid. Total cost of ownership: while it's true that PC hardware is less expensive, it seems like the hardware is so obsolete as to be unusable within 18 -24 months. I'm at year 5 with my early 2008 iMac and it's still going strong.

I ran Windows from the 3.1 days when you had to buy Trumpet Winsock to get TCP/IP and ran it all the way to Vista. I got into making home movie DVDs, using Pinnacle Studio but hating it because it crashed so often. Then I used a trial of Sony Vegas, and it was rock solid, but it wouldn't recognize my video recorder. There was some other program I also bought, but it had some issue or other; it's been too long now to remember. In any case, I'd read that Macs came with a very good home-use video editor, so when did put together a PC I specifically chose parts that were recommended for a Hackintosh build, and then downloaded a Mac OS image. iMovie and iDVD worked better than the Windows programs I'd spent hundreds of dollars on, and I was amazed that it came with the base OS. I then got tired of having to be careful of what I upgraded on the Hackintosh and bought a 27" iMac. With Parallels I can use the (now very small) number of Windows programs I still have and use, and it sits off on the attached 24" monitor.

It might not happen very often, but the creation and use of a Hackintosh convinced me to make the switch after I'd experienced the stability and generally easier to use programs that the Mac has to offer. I now have a Mac Book Pro, Mac Mini, two Apple TVs and two iPads -- all purchased in the last 3 years or so after never having owned an Apple product (not even an iPod) before that. Mac OS on the Hackintosh was the gateway drug for me