Any LONG TIME windows/microsoft users switching to Mac/Apple

touro1979 said:

Any other long time windows users out there convert to the Apple world? How was the transition for you?

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The transition is simpler than you might expect. There are some differences, but not enough to worry about.

Mac Basics
Switch Basics: On Windows, I used to...
Switch Basics: Migrate your Windows files to your Mac

I started on W3.1 as well. I've been using my Macbook for 2 months now. I really like having a computer I can use without all of the maintenance headaches of Windows. My main use is web browsing so my transition has been extremely simple. Enjoy your Mac.

Trust me when I say get the book by David Pogue called Switching to Mac: The Missing Manual, Yosemite Edition. IMHO it will be a great humorous resource reference book to ease your transformation.

touro1979 said:

Hi folks, I am new here. I have been a long time Windows/Microsoft user who just converted 100% to the apple world. My first computer from early 90s had windows 3.1 installed on it lol. I have used/owned windows 3.1, windows 95, windows xp, and windows 7. About 2 years ago my wife convinced me dump my Droid smart phone and get an iphone 4. It took a few days to get used to it but soon fell in love with my iphone. My last computer which had windows XP on it died and my wife's laptop which had windows 7 started having hardware issues so we were in market for a new laptop for family use. I was at Staples looking at windows 8 and playing around with the new laptops. Frankly, I was not impressed. I think it had a cheap look to it and it was so different from xp and 7. Despite this, I was almost ready to pull the trigger and get one and figure it out but out of the blue, I asked the salesperson at Staples if they sold mac computers. He said no. I thanked him very much, left the store and went to the Apple store to see what Apple had to offer. Within 5 minutes of playing around on the MacBook Air 13 inch model and speaking with a salesperson I was intrigued and I really liked it. It made me smile. The windows 8 machine did not. I didn't want to make such a rash decision so quickly so I decided to sleep on it and research for a few weeks since I am a lawyer and the legal field is very much a windows world. After much thought I went back to the Apple store this past weekend and came home with a new 13 inch MacBook Air and an ipad mini. I'm loving both. It is such an enjoyable experience working on my MacBook, despite having to relearn how to do common tasks and dealing with the differences. I am sold for life I think. I am now an Apple person Sorry for the long post, just wanted to join introduce myself on the forum. I'm sure I will need help with the switch at times.

Any other long time windows users out there convert to the Apple world? How was the transition for you?

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Enjoy your mac mate.

I've been a Windows user for approx 15+ years. Built them, repaired, them and everything in between.

After hell with past two windows laptops i switched to a new rMBP in December 2014. It was strange getting used to keyboard and keyboard shortcuts but soon becomes the norm after a while. I still use Windows as i got Windows 8.1 installed via bootcamp but to be honest not used it as love OS X more. Would never go back now. I was in so much doubt at the begining but was worth it in the end.

Finding apps and alternatives did my nut in but wasn't bad in the end.

Some apps i have installed you may want to take a look at:

1) AdwareMedic (free)
2) ClamXax (free)
3) AppCleaner (free)
4) BatteryHealth (free)
5) CoconutBattery (free)
6) CCleaner (free)
7) CheatSheet (free) (press and hold down cmd in a window/app and it shows all commands that can be used, it's a god send for a windows user or anyone infact, gotta be one of my favourites)
8) FlashLight (free) (improves spotlight) (another is Alfred but that's not free)
9) InsomniaX (free) (stop mac sleeping etc)
10) Lan Speed Test (free)
11) LittleSnitch (Paid/Trial) good firewall for knowing what is trying to phone home etc.
12) The Unarchiver (free)
13) Unclutter (paid) (i contacted developer and a new version coming very soon)
14) VirtualBox (free)
15) VLC (free)
16) Macs Fan Control (free)
17) Blackmagic Disk Speed Test (free)
18) FinderMinder (free)
19) gfxCardStatus (free)
20) Handbrake (free)
21) GlimmerBlocker (free)
22) Suspicious Package (free)

I got others but these were ones which were sort of replacements for my windows alternatives and my favourites. I recommend visiting macupdate.com as it's a good place to look for apps, reviews etc.

satcomer said:

Trust me when I say get the book by David Pogue called Switching to Mac: The Missing Manual, Yosemite Edition. IMHO it will be a great humorous resource reference book to ease your transformation.

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I agree, I bought this book from Amazon UK about two weeks ago, only just started to read it and agree it's an amazing book and only just started it. Another i bought and have now read is My Macbook Yosemite Edition. I recommend them both.

TekGuy said:

2) ClamXax (free)

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Can be used for occasional scans, but not necessary, as long as a user practices safe computing.

TekGuy said:

3) AppCleaner (free)

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Unnecessary and ineffective.

TekGuy said:

6) CCleaner (free)

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Unnecessary on OS X.

I switched a year ago. Same but different.

Hates are Finder, the views can be erratic, frequently having to resize the window, and always having to resize columns. Copying to an SMB2 based hard drive is full of issues. But overall its great, my change reason was integration, I had no issues with Windows

GGJstudios said:

Can be used for occasional scans, but not necessary, as long as a user practices safe computing.

Unnecessary and ineffective.

Unnecessary on OS X.

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Each to their own, i like them and use them.

ClamXav - only 18MB and does not run/load on it's own or use system resources and it's still good, worth keeping on any OS X system in my opinion regardless of practising safe computing or not.

AppCleaner - Not caused me any problems and has helped me find other files i would not otherwise find from particular app i'm uninstalling, does not do any harm, it's a users fault if they delete a file that's not associated with a particular app that they are uninstalling, not necessary the apps fault.

CCleaner - Agree is not needed but with multiple browsers i have installed etc it safes me time, again harmless if used correctly.

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tdale said:

I switched a year ago. Same but different.

Hates are Finder, the views can be erratic, frequently having to resize the window, and always having to resize columns. Copying to an SMB2 based hard drive is full of issues. But overall its great, my change reason was integration, I had no issues with Windows

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Hi,

try that free app i suggested FinderMinder. I hate Finder window positioning etc, so strange for me.

Info from FinderMinder developer website

FinderMinder allows you to specify where (position) and what size you want newly opened Finder windows to appear. The default Finder behavior is to remember the last position and size for every window, but this can be frustrating if you already know where you want every window to appear (for example, centered at 800x600). FinderMinder must be running for window reposition and resize to take place.
FinderMinder must continue running in the background for window reposition and resize to take place, so click the "Hide" button to dismiss the preferences and keep FinderMinder running. Simply re-launch FinderMinder to access the preferences again or to quit the app.

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Another if working with Windows file system etc is NTFS for Mac (paid) (paragon) brilliant and saved me loads of hassle and headaches.

TekGuy said:

AppCleaner - Not caused me any problems and has helped me find other files i would not otherwise find from particular app i'm uninstalling, does not do any harm, it's a users fault if they delete a file that's not associated with a particular app that they are uninstalling, not necessary the apps fault.

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If you elect to use such apps, be aware that in most cases, app removal software doesn't do a thorough job of finding and removing files/folders related to deleted apps, and AppCleaner is one of the least effective of such apps. For more information, read this and this. If you just want to delete the app, drag the .app file to the trash. No other software needed. If you want to completely remove all associated files/folders, no removal apps will do the job. The most effective method for complete app removal is manual deletion:

Wellcome to the world of Mac and MacRumors.

You will get used to OS X easier and quicker as it may seem.

Some useful applications/extensions for/on Mac:

1. ZoomBySite for Safari (remembers the (zoomed) size of Safari window on sites visited).
2. AdBlock for Safari/Chrome/Firefox (blocks ads, including ones with adware, thus preventing the user from accidental clicks).
3. MS Office for Mac 2011.
4. EasyFind (helps to find any file on your Mac).
5. AdwareMedic (cleans adware, if you happen to get one).
6. DiskWave (helps to determine waht files take up extra space on your SSD).
7. PhotoScape X (photo viewer and editor).
8. The Unarchiver (to handle all types of archived files).
9. VLC (universal media player).

Enjoy your new Mac!


P.S.: If the Finder won't remember the window size you set, you can use a small application that resolves this problem: FinderMinder (http://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/labs/).

A lot of the "recommendations" make me wonder. You get your Mac completely free of any bloatware and crapware which is often bundled on those windows laptops.

Please do yourself a favour and do not install every bit of utility mentioned here. The first guideline should be the questions: Do I need this utility? What is the function I need and can't this be provided by some Mac OS X utility?


I switched to OS X around 2001, OS X 10.1.5 was the OS installed on my iBook G3 600. Which was a long time ago. Basically OS X is quite easy to learn and in fact Windows7 and OS X are not too different. Best approach is to just try to do something you want to do. If you run into problems, just try google search. Many of the usual quirks which make OS X different from Windows are explained in may articles.

The "Missing Manual" series is quite nice. It should be even enough to pick up an older version, e.g. Mavericks if you can get it for cheap. Many tricks and tips did not change much (however the GUI did, but not very essentially).

Finally, Apple has some resources, too:
https://www.apple.com/support/macbasics/pctomac/
https://support.apple.com/en-sa/HT204216
https://support.apple.com/en-sa/HT201748

tomvos said:

A lot of the "recommendations" make me wonder...

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Your "wonder" makes me wonder.

touro1979 said:

Any other long time windows users out there convert to the Apple world? How was the transition for you?

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I was a heavy windows user for over 20 years. Switched to apple/mac last spring and could't be happier. The transition wasn't bad, took about a month to get acclimated to the keyboard differences, and to fully utilize the awesome track pad apple employs. MS word and Excel are different between OS X and Windows, but as with anything you adapt. The biggest difference I found was how much simpler OS X is vs Windows. Everything is just easier to navigate and more enjoyable to work with. Out of paranoia I kept a virtual machine of my windows install, but no longer use it...my assimilation to the apple realm is now complete.

Ulenspiegel said:

Your "wonder" makes me wonder.

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Mainly, why people recommend several battery monitor tools. OS X does monitor the battery. I never really felt the need for an additional tool. Or these cleaning tools. Actually, OS X has some scripts it runs regularly to do basic system maintenance.

Then stuff like LittleSnitch or ClamXav. Sure they might help you in one case in a million. But please don't ask me how often people already did slow their systems to a crawl or did break some vital function. E.g. an application may not contact its update server, because the owner never bought the application. But since he did not get any security updates for an app, he told me, that he needed the ClamXav to keep his system secure. (Let's call this the facepalm moment. )

The problem with these apps is, that while they solve one problem, they might cause other ones. Apps which don't support App Nap and thus might drain your battery faster. Or they make problems with the next update, because perhaps they have an unsigned kernel extension (and Apple suddenly decides for you that this is a bad idea). The point is: The more tools you have which monitor your system, the more likely you will run into some strange problem.


I agree, that some tools help to mitigate one or the other shortcoming.
"The Unarchiver" is like the swiss army knife to extract file formats not natively supported by the finder.
"VLC" is an obvious choice to play all kinds of video.

But as I said, why not try the internal OS X tools first. Preview is quite OK for simple cropping and image correction. Most likely, the Mac came with iWork. Why not just try these and have a look how far you can go with them?

tomvos said:

Mainly, why people recommend several battery monitor tools. OS X does monitor the battery. I never really felt the need for an additional tool. Or these cleaning tools. Actually, OS X has some scripts it runs regularly to do basic system maintenance.

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Well some of us that is like to see more details on our battery, again each to their own, they are very small and provide very useful information. Your point is invalid. Cleaning tools, again each to their own, use them with common sense and your fine, i use them without problems. Yes i know OS X does automated maintenance but so what.

tomvos said:

Then stuff like LittleSnitch or ClamXav. Sure they might help you in one case in a million. But please don't ask me how often people already did slow their systems to a crawl or did break some vital function. E.g. an application may not contact its update server, because the owner never bought the application. But since he did not get any security updates for an app, he told me, that he needed the ClamXav to keep his system secure. (Let's call this the facepalm moment. )

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LittleSnitch, nothing wrong with knowing whats phoning home, again learn how to use LittleSnitch and you won't have any problems you mention. You can be a non pirate and use LittleSnitch you know, It works flawlessly well for me and is a good security measure as anything phoning home doesn't mean it's to check for latest update, example some apps want to connect to servers like google for analytics, stats etc. So it works wonders infact. ClamXav so small, does not use system resources so again point invalid. Worth having to do scans every now and then, nothing wrong with it, does not screw anything up.

tomvos said:

The problem with these apps is, that while they solve one problem, they might cause other ones. Apps which don't support App Nap and thus might drain your battery faster. Or they make problems with the next update, because perhaps they have an unsigned kernel extension (and Apple suddenly decides for you that this is a bad idea). The point is: The more tools you have which monitor your system, the more likely you will run into some strange problem.

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Again common sense and you won't have problems. My rMBP does not leave my home so battery drainage is not a problem for me. Also not all apps are cause problems.

tomvos said:

But as I said, why not try the internal OS X tools first. Preview is quite OK for simple cropping and image correction. Most likely, the Mac came with iWork. Why not just try these and have a look how far you can go with them?

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OS X does not have everything, nothing wrong with exploring new apps and trying new tools as long as common sense and caution is used, dependant on what app it is. Also if using TimeMachine, one can revert back.

The way you talk and go on you might aswell not install anything, some people are just so over the top.

touro1979 said:

My first computer from early 90s had windows 3.1 installed on it lol.

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Windows 3.1? Kids these days! Real PCs came with MSDOS that you ran from a 5.25" floppy disc and thought was better than CP/M because the "copy" command was actually called "copy" and not "pip". Then came Windows 1 or 2, which you tried once or twice and said "Hmm... that's interesting" then deleted to recover the disc space and went back to DOS.

since I am a lawyer and the legal field is very much a windows world.

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Fortunately, Parallels, VMWare Fusion or VirtualBox allow you to run Windows on a Mac pretty well, so you have a fallback position. The first two of those have a good college try at integrating Windows applications into the Mac desktop so it doesn't feel like you're running a separate machine in a window. The belated advice is to go for at least 8MB RAM/256GB SSD if you think you're likely to need that.

Personally, I've always dabbled with Macs to support other Mac users but I'd always used other machines (Acorn, PC, VAX, Unix) for day-to-day work - I couldn't stand Mac OS 6 through 9, too "black box" for me. I settled on PC ~1996 when Acorn lost their mojo. The key for switching to Mac was OS X "maturing" and the switch to Intel (and hence Windows or Linux virtual machines when needed).

Killer feature for me - since a lot of the technical work I do is website stuff aimed at Linux servers - OS X is a Unix system, with a better GUI than anything on Linux/Unix, that can also run MS Office and Adobe apps when unavoidable.

This brought back some memories...

Started with Logo programming language, forget on what computer that would've been at school – trying to push a little tortoise/turtle around a screen.

Atari, Commodore 64 as well, before MS-Dos with floppies (and good old PC Tools that included PC Shell) on my first IBM XT machine, and then all the iterations of Windows with stiffy-disks (eventually), through to Windows 7, where I jumped ship in the middle of 2012...

My mid-2012 cMBP was easily the most expensive laptop I had bought for personal use, so was determined to get the most out of it... And boy, am I glad I made the switch!

1.) Trackpad interoperability with the OS [swipe/flick/rotate/exposé etc.] = yes please.
2.) Desktop spaces = yes please.
3.) Consistency across apps, i.e. the file–menu of the active app – always knowing where to find things within apps (as opposed to the Windows world, where individual software products often have central aspects of their programmes hidden away in a myriad of places) = yes please.
4.) Being able to rename a pdf filename whilst still scrolling through it in Preview = yes please.
5.) Being able to drop the file icon onto apps in the Dock/Finder toolbar, to action it = yes please.
6.) Services context menu = yes please.
7.) AppleScript being far simpler to learn, and having access to far more resources on the web, of people willing to help you out in learning AppleScript, than VBAs/Macros in Excel etc. = yes please.
8.) Being able to construct workflows across multiple apps in order to increase productivity, using brilliant applications like Textexpander; Keyboard Maestro; Alfred; Shortcat App; Actions for iPad; Popclip; SnappyApp; Yoink; Hazel 3.0 and Automator = yes please!

The latter is possibly the biggest benefit to me, and what is so-often disregarded by non-OSX users, who simply do not appreciate how much can potentially be done. Its certainly possible to be (more) productive on a Windows machine, but it's sure as heck far easier to become wayyyyyy more productive on a Mac.

I hadn't even heard of "workflow", until I came over to Mac.

In Windows, where you can learn to become more productive, is mostly WITHIN a particular app. You can learn keyboard shortcuts, easier ways to do things etc., but mostly inside that one app, exclusively. Examples might be QuickSteps in Outlook, Styles in Word etc etc.

But on a Mac, I can set system wide shortcuts, and use a combination of applications listed in 8.) above, to get processes passed between different applications, and have automated actions take place, mostly with the press of a few keys... That is something I still cannot manage to do on a Window's PC...

Granted, much of that might have to do with my own mindset, in terms of what I have come to expect as being possible on a Windows machine. I have probably been straight-jacketed by years of use, in my simply not exploring the Win world, because I have simply accepted certain things as not being possible.

And granted further, much of that might change in Win 10 – but I still maintain it is far easier to get more productive on a Mac...

Certainly made it the most cost-saving step I ever did in terms of my work, and makes any price premium on Mac products pay itself back many times over...

My 2 cents!

I use middle finger-ring finger for 2 finger tap. I have the index finger hovering over pad for tap and those fingers hovering for double tap.

touro1979 said:

Glad to c im not alone. I love this thing, far superior to any windows computer I have ever had. The only thing that I am having a little trouble with is trying to right click. ....

One question I do have, how do u click on a misspelled word that is highlighted as misspelled to correct it?

Edit, never mind, I figured it out. I changed setting of secondary click from two finger tap to bottom right click so it is like right click for me. Two finger tap wasn't working for me. must be spastic lol

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I haven't used a usb-mini-laptop-mouse since moving over to my MBP – and had exactly the same experience as you... Had someone told me that the Mac's trackpad was so good, I wouldn't ever need to use a mouse again, I would've thought they were mad, plain and simple. How wrong was I!

Whilst the newest Dell XPS machines apparently come close to matching the Mac trackpad, I'm still gobsmacked at how no Window's manufacturer has ever come even close to the trackpad experience. It's ridiculous, really.

That all being said – check out the free BetterTouchTool applet. Many people swear by it – and it allows for some pretty awesome customization of the trackpad, to suit your particular needs.

Hi there! For the longest time detested Macs, I mean I thought they were junk and was very biased towards Windows, until just a few years ago when I received a MacBook Pro as a Father's Day gift.

I could not have been more wrong, I am a amazed at how everything just works, i mean the first time, every time, and no hassles with codecs, winsocks, dll's etc to worry about, honestly the transition for me took about maybe 3 to 7 days tops.

I have not looked back since, my daughter entered high school and wanted a laptop for schoolwork etc, so I did what any dad would do, I gave her my Mac, she has never owned a Windows pc (although we do have several in the house) but as a personal machine even she raves at the differences in ease of use.

Having missed my mac A LOT i just recently snagged a mac mini for myself, yes it quite old and such BUT its a mac and all mine and that old feeling of familiarity is coming back once again (it arrived yesterday).

All in all, i would not hesitate to recommend a mac to anyone, especially a Windows user.

Like the OP - I have been using PCs at home since the early 90's with Windows 3.1 - I was loyal to Compaq for 2 computers, then switched to Dell for 3 computers, then the last few years I have a customised PC.

2 weeks ago though I bought an iMac. I had an iPhone (jumped from android) and iPad 2 so I thought I'd give it a go - for the whole synced up approach. I was also sick of the bloat / crap you get with Windows, and was no longer that bothered about gaming.

I've hardly had a chance to use the mac yet (my baby / daughter has put paid to that!) but I'm loving it so far - no regrets at all. I got a 256 SSD installed in her - lightning quick and the OS is a dream to navigate (as I start to learn it anyway!) so yep very happy

Although I'm sat here typing this on my work PC

As a very experienced Windows user I switched 6 or 7 years ago and found the David Pogue book mentioned in one of the earlier threads very helpful.
Make sure to get the Yosemite version since there are versions for each Mac OS and slight changes between them.

touro1979 said:

Any other long time windows users out there convert to the Apple world? How was the transition for you?

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I use both, I'm experienced in windows and OS X. I find the transition between the platforms to be simple for me.

I use Windows at work, and OS X at home. Don't have any problems swapping between platforms.