After 28 years using a PC, I have finally gone Apple!

[Risco]

Well I finally did it, I have been Macverted lol. I chose the 15 inch with standard config which is more than ample for my needs. I have always been put off by the price, not because I could not afford it, more than I felt it was overpriced, and well it still is to an extends in terms of hardware. What really sold it was the ecosystem. Once I was in the shop and found out how good ICloud was for integration I was convinced. I have an iPhone and having it all sync up beautifully without hassle is something I am looking for forward to.

Of course there are other good points such as the battery life and screen quality. My only concern is to how hot it may or may not get and how the fan performs. Another thing is that I am giving up an entire library of games and apps as if I am going to go Apple then it has to be all in without messing with bootcamp etc.

So for an OSX noob, what is the best tip you can give me? Are there certain must have apps? I saw word running on it and was concerned how slow it was, is there a suitable replacement as I was not convinced of the benefits of Pages.

Oh and how do I partition this thing? I usually keep my music etc on a separate partition?

 

[nuckinfutz]

There's some some great threads regarding "must have" apps. Find a couple of those and you'll have a great list of apps to check out.

Another site I like is http://www.macosxhints.com for info on little tweaks you can do to extend the OS a bit more than stock.

 

[GGJstudios]

Well I finally did it, I have been Macverted lol.

Congratulations!

So for an OSX noob, what is the best tip you can give me? Are there certain must have apps?

Helpful Information for Any Mac User
Portables Fast Start: The New User's Guide to Apple Notebooks

Oh and how do I partition this thing? I usually keep my music etc on a separate partition?

You don't need a separate partition for music or other files. People create a partition if they use Boot Camp to run Windows on their Mac, but not so much for separating user files.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

Once you go Mac, you never go back...

 

[daleski75]

Congrats man on your purchase and may you also convert everyone you know to mac's as well!

 

[heisenberg123]

here are some good tutorials on moving from windows to mac

http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/

they helped me

as said above there are several threads on there where people list their favorite or must have apps

 

[einmusiker]

Once you go Mac, you never go back...

you know you talkin' bout Shaft

 

[Risco]

Thanks guys, just done a quick google and it seems time machine will suit my needs for backup? I can just format it for OSX and it will backup all my files so I can access them like windows system restore? How much space does it need, the drive is a 1tb USB 3.0 Western Digital?

 

[GGJstudios]

Thanks guys, just done a quick google and it seems time machine will suit my needs for backup? I can just format it for OSX and it will backup all my files so I can access them like windows system restore? How much space does it need, the drive is a 1tb USB 3.0 Western Digital?

Yes, TM will handle backups quite well. It needs at least as much space as the drive you're backing up. Another backup option is Carbon Copy Cloner, which can make a bootable clone of your drive, so if your drive ever failed, you can simply boot from the clone.

 

[Dragoro]

Thanks guys, just done a quick google and it seems time machine will suit my needs for backup? I can just format it for OSX and it will backup all my files so I can access them like windows system restore? How much space does it need, the drive is a 1tb USB 3.0 Western Digital?

Thats more than enough. Time machine will deleted the oldest back ups and replace em with the newest when the external fills up.

 

[Newfiebill]

Congrats!

Well done, couple of things, I find that Pages is just as good or better then MS Word, go with Pages, Keynote and Numbers and forget the MS Office Stuff. No need to partition your hard drive for your Media, keep it all togeather and it will get backed up using Time Machine works better with icloud/iTunes as well. Check the Apple Site for Videos about Mac OS and also YouTube is excellent in learning how to do things MAC. I switched about a two years ago, I use Boot Camp partition for Windows 7 to run my AutoCAD and a few games I like. Set up Boot Camp, no need to be afarid of it. I recommend you get WinClone from TwoCanoes best 20 bucks I've spent! You can clone your Boot Camp partition and restore it to another computer or to a new Hard Drive. Enjoy the World of Mac!

 

[Lvivske]

Once you go Mac, you never go back...

...or you run windows as a virtual machine

 

[Rocky244]

Well I finally did it, I have been Macverted lol. I chose the 15 inch with standard config which is more than ample for my needs. I have always been put off by the price, not because I could not afford it, more than I felt it was overpriced, and well it still is to an extends in terms of hardware. What really sold it was the ecosystem. Once I was in the shop and found out how good ICloud was for integration I was convinced. I have an iPhone and having it all sync up beautifully without hassle is something I am looking for forward to.

Of course there are other good points such as the battery life and screen quality. My only concern is to how hot it may or may not get and how the fan performs. Another thing is that I am giving up an entire library of games and apps as if I am going to go Apple then it has to be all in without messing with bootcamp etc.

So for an OSX noob, what is the best tip you can give me? Are there certain must have apps? I saw word running on it and was concerned how slow it was, is there a suitable replacement as I was not convinced of the benefits of Pages.

Oh and how do I partition this thing? I usually keep my music etc on a separate partition?

Here's a good Mac tip... don't avoid Windows just because you own a Mac. It'd be silly to give up all your games just because you now own a Mac. BootCamp is simple to set up and easy to use, and free if you already have a copy of the OS.

Also, it's something that a large quantity of Mac users use, and we do so proudly. One of the great benefits of owning a Mac is the ability to run both operating systems (relatively) seamlessly. So if you don't want to give up that library of games, then just run BootCamp for that... Unless just thinking of Windows makes you vomit or something... then I wouldn't blame you I guess.

 

[Dangerous Theory]

Once you go Mac, you never go back...

This is very true (except when forced to bootcamp some things). I find Windows repulsive in so many ways. I had a hard time convincing a friend to buy a Mac and now they realise where it's really at. Still know people who will flat out refuse to do it with the good old "Waste of money.", "What does it do better than windows?" (They're never interested when I answer this question anyway), "I bought an Acer laptop for £600, it's way better" >>1 year later>> "God I need a new laptop, this thing is useless. Falling apart and all sorts"

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Welcome!

 

[Pipper99]

Well I finally did it, I have been Macverted lol.

Congratulations! It's always nice to see someone come over from the Windows world.

 

[MCAsan]

Be glad you moved before Win 8!

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

This is very true (except when forced to bootcamp some things). I find Windows repulsive in so many ways. I had a hard time convincing a friend to buy a Mac and now they realise where it's really at. Still know people who will flat out refuse to do it with the good old "Waste of money.", "What does it do better than windows?" (They're never interested when I answer this question anyway), "I bought an Acer laptop for £600, it's way better" >>1 year later>> "God I need a new laptop, this thing is useless. Falling apart and all sorts"

My business partner (sorry Daniella) is a perfect example. So listen to this... I have been teasing her for the better part of the last four years to get a Mac. She lugs around this Dell laptop that looks like it might have fallen out of the back of Doc Brown's Delorean. This was when we were setting up a small office for our real estate team and one assistant. I wanted an all Mac office, which was vetoed due to cost. So I am the only one with a Mac at work.

I can't tell you how many times over the last four years my partner has spent countless hours backing up her machine, scanning for viruses, removing spyware and malware, defragging her drive, and trying to figure out crazy issues like why her LAN connection worked at the office but not at home, then it would switch, etc. Last week she came to the office showing off her beautiful new Gucci laptop bag. What did she pull out of that bag? Yep, her 50 year old Dell. I held up my RMBP to her Dell and I could stack three of my RMBP's on top of each other and still not achieve the full thickness of her machine.

I think I almost have her convinced, especially on those inevitable days when she is troubleshooting something on her Windows while I am busy working and getting things done. Classic.

 

[illini71]

You don't need a separate partition for music or other files. People create a partition if they use Boot Camp to run Windows on their Mac, but not so much for separating user files.

Speak for yourself!

I always make partition for stuff that i keep.

 

[GGJstudios]

Speak for yourself!

I always make partition for stuff that i keep.

As I said:

You don't need a separate partition for music or other files.

 

[iMacFarlane]

you know you talkin' bout Shaft

Yeah . . . he's one BAD mother

Watch yo mouth!


To the OP:

Congrats, welcome to the better side! I was PC since 1991, went Mac in 2009, never regretted it. As far as the 'all in' thing, you don't have to get rid of all your Windows software. Check out VirtualBox, VMWare or Parallels desktop if you have a copy of Windows. I avoid bootcamp and it's hassles as well, but still use plenty of windows software on my Macs. WINE and Wineskin are great solutions too, for a program per program basis without the need for a Windows license.

 

[Risco]

Well I have come to my first problem, wireless is dead slow? I have just been reading about it and it appears you cannot choose 300mbps on 2.4ghz? Not only that but I have a 100mbps connection and it struggles to get 40mbps?

This is using a Virgin Media Superhub configured to 300mbps.

 

[Dangerous Theory]

My business partner (sorry Daniella) is a perfect example. So listen to this... I have been teasing her for the better part of the last four years to get a Mac. She lugs around this Dell laptop that looks like it might have fallen out of the back of Doc Brown's Delorean. This was when we were setting up a small office for our real estate team and one assistant. I wanted an all Mac office, which was vetoed due to cost. So I am the only one with a Mac at work.

I can't tell you how many times over the last four years my partner has spent countless hours backing up her machine, scanning for viruses, removing spyware and malware, defragging her drive, and trying to figure out crazy issues like why her LAN connection worked at the office but not at home, then it would switch, etc. Last week she came to the office showing off her beautiful new Gucci laptop bag. What did she pull out of that bag? Yep, her 50 year old Dell. I held up my RMBP to her Dell and I could stack three of my RMBP's on top of each other and still not achieve the full thickness of her machine.

I think I almost have her convinced, especially on those inevitable days when she is troubleshooting something on her Windows while I am busy working and getting things done. Classic.

gucci bag? jeez. Women are often no good at choosing function over fashion.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

gucci bag? jeez. Women are often no good at choosing function over fashion.

LOL... imagine a horrible 4" thick Dell coming out of that bag. What a let down!

 

[ZipZap]

Well done, couple of things, I find that Pages is just as good or better then MS Word, go with Pages, Keynote and Numbers and forget the MS Office Stuff. No need to partition your hard drive for your Media, keep it all togeather and it will get backed up using Time Machine works better with icloud/iTunes as well. Check the Apple Site for Videos about Mac OS and also YouTube is excellent in learning how to do things MAC. I switched about a two years ago, I use Boot Camp partition for Windows 7 to run my AutoCAD and a few games I like. Set up Boot Camp, no need to be afarid of it. I recommend you get WinClone from TwoCanoes best 20 bucks I've spent! You can clone your Boot Camp partition and restore it to another computer or to a new Hard Drive. Enjoy the World of Mac!

Ahhh nope....stay with Office Mac 2011