Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Attention Switchers!!

A

Angelus

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 19, 2002
414
36
New Zealand
Hey,
I'm just wondering what other switchers think about their macs now that they've switched?Do you regret the change or is it the best thing you could have done?It would be nice to know how reacted to the new os and stuff.Do you prefer it to your old os and if so why?Are there any nifty little things or features that impressed you and make you prefer osx to your old os even though you can't really explain why?I'm getting alot of that lately,perhaps apple have subliminal messages hidden in the screensaver???? :)
I got my first mac,a powerbook 667, about two weeks ago and i love it.Its a beautiful machine and is superbly designed.Nothing i've seen in the pc world can match it for looks not even that porsche laptop thingy.
The os is fantastic,quick,responsive and stable too_Oh and its downright beautiful too.Everything feels so intuitive and personalised compared to the home pc which is the beige box in the corner thats devoid of personality.
Anyway i'm delighted i switched and don't see myself going back to pc's ever(except to play counter strike but even then i won't enjoy it cos the computers in the internet cafe constantly crash).
Anyway why not put your thoughts down on electronic paper and share them with us.
 
Im a switcher as of Friday, I love it. My iBook is the best laptop I have ever had. I got the airport card (no PC card sticking out the side with a big dam antenna for me, the guys at work are gonna be jealous) Its the fiirst laptop I actually use in my lap. (Im doing it as I type) OS X is awsome!! Beautiful!! I dont want to touch my Windows machines anymore. I got Mac Stumbler and drove around the neighborhood looking for other wireless points just because I could. Who said bigger is better . This 12.1 inch screen is perfect. I can actually use this without the charger. Another first for my laptops. Windows sleep mode is a freakin nightmare.Mac sleep mode is just what it should be. Open it and its up and reay to go. The little heartbeat light on the side is perffect. I want to buy more Macs!! I sure hope some other Windows people take Jag for a spin.

So much to learn ...Im in another world and I'm lovin it!!!
 
I'll be a switcher soon!! Can't wait to have a real reply to this thread...


(Powerbook Ti 500 this week)
 
I'd just like to add to this post.

To all switchers posting here. Let us know what computer model you are switching from and what you have had in the past.

Simply saying that this is the best computer you ever had doesn't help much. For all we know you just switched from 386DX66 PS2.:p :)
 
I switched before being a switcher

I switched before there was the term switcher, which is pretty cool.

I switched from a 1ghz Athlon to 500mhz iBook and just recently added a DP 867 PowerMac.

I was a quad booter on my athlon, using Debian, Mandrake, Solaris and Win2k. (Win98 shared for games, coz Win2k kept crashing.) I easily moved to my iBook with little changes to my work patterns and have enjoyed every moment. Now looking for an excuse to buy a new iBook.

I switched 2 years ago now, when the new iBook was the rage.

Would never go back, not even for games. Thats what my GameCube is for. Makes the perfect pair. A Mac and a Cube.
 
Another point I am curious about is the speed difference between your previous coputer and your Mac. Also how much speed matters to you in this day and age of lightning fast computing.

Appologies to Angelus. In a way I guess I'm hijacking your thread. I hope you approve of what I'm doing.
 
Switching from a hp 500 mhz AMD with 64mb ram to a powerbook g4 500 with a gig o' ram
 
Im an IT Manager so I have just about one of everything. :D (Not technically mine but , well you know what I mean ) I personally own a PIII 533 Mhz 512mb Win 98 and and P4 1.6 Mhz 512 mb, a P1 200 mhz , a PIII 533 mhz laptop with 128mb , a 386 laptop and a 286 laptop. Oh yea, I forgot , a TI99/4a (seriously) I switched to the iBook 700 mhz with 384 megs. Speed? I does exactly what I need it to do when I need it. Im using it right now to configure a few firewalls.
 
OS X is great, but not quite as good as Windows in some areas

I'm a wannabe switcher who is currently using an iBook on loan for a semester. I absolutely love Mac OS X, and minor quibbles aside, I also love the iBook. I like Apple because they generate excitement about computing - the tactile and graphical design of Macs is not matched anywhere. Even Best Buy's Porsche laptop has to run a wannabe OS.

That being said, there are a few things I would miss if I gave up my Windows laptop for good. For one, OS X has no built-in provision for file synchronization. Owning both a high-powered desktop PC/ file server and a laptop, and working in several different networked environments, it is vital that I'm able to maintain several gigabytes worth of school and work files in multiple locations. The built-in Windows Offline Files feature for me is honestly the best possible feature of any OS, ever. (Yes I know OS 9 has a similar ability, and yes I'm aware that you can run Virtual PC and therefore Windows Offline Files... but these are not acceptable options for me for long-term, effective use.) Right now, I'm trying to manage synchronization by hand, and it is just NOT what I want to be spending my time doing.

The minute a viable offline files solution hits the Mac OS, I'll start saving my pennies for an iBook. Oh what the hell, a PowerBook. Drooool :)
 
Powerbook 667

I just got my powerbook, and it's great. Mac OSX is a good operating system, but there's a few things that bug me. In all the different text editing applications there always seems to be a different key combination to use the home key (ctrl-left, fn-left, opt-left). The file permissions leave something to be desired...for instance...it doesn't let me write to a cd...I try to change the permissions to include me...then it gives me an error. The programming enviroment is pretty good. I like my mac, but overall it's probably just because I don't like Windows at all and Linux is still too hard to use and configure..and Aqua is about the only really-really good looking gui in existance in my opinion.
 
Re: OS X is great, but not quite as good as Windows in some areas

Originally posted by jkojima
Right now, I'm trying to manage synchronization by hand, and it is just NOT what I want to be spending my time doing.

The minute a viable offline files solution hits the Mac OS, I'll start saving my pennies for an iBook. Oh what the hell, a PowerBook. Drooool :)
Click to expand...

I am not sure what you mean by offline file synchronization, I haven't worked a PC since Win 3.1 on a regular basis.

Apple has just posted iSync, which lets you sync everything you own - PDAs, iPods, even computers. Granted, with the GB of data you talk about this might be a challenge, but a combination of an iPod with iSync, and you could sync your documents folder every time you plug in your iPod. Is this what "offline files solution" means?
 
By offline file synchronization I mean the ability to access a file on a file server, even while the laptop is not connected to the network. Picture that, on your Mac OS laptop, a mounted AppleShare server stayed mounted in the Finder and you could still access some or all of the data stored on that server, even though you are using your laptop far from any network connection to that server.

Windows allows this by discretely downloading all the files in a designated network folder so that when you are offline, you are editing a temporary copy of the file which is then re-loaded to the server when you reconnect. The key is that it's transparent, automatic, and every computer using this feature has the most up to date version of the file. It's very similar to the way iSync manages personal information between devices and computers, but iSync only works with things like calendars, phone books, etc... not actual files and folders.

So I guess what I'm saying is if Apple could make iSync work for files too, I'd be sold!
 
PowerBook 667

I'm a switcher as of last December. Used to religiously use a Gateway P3 running xp, which I thought was great -- until I got to use OS X.

No other company has drawn me into their products like Apple.

OS X is amazing. My PowerBook is amazing. Apple tech/consumer support is amazing.

The only problem I have had with Apple products was this weekend.

I bought a 20 gig iPod through the Apple Store. Got it this weekend, opened it, and plug it into my mac. Something was wrong.

Anyway, after some diagnostics and a quick chat with Apple Tech support, I brought the 20 gig to a nearby the Apple Store. The Genius replaced my dud 20 gig with a new 20 gig.

Plugged it into my Mac -- to be expected -- it worked. Like usual!

Not only does Apple make great products, but they also have great support and consumer relations. At least in my experiences...

Chad4mac
 
Here is my take on it. I own a computer consulting firm. I purchased an I-Mac a couple of years ago for Mac testing in the office. (G3 400) My laptop was starting to be to slow for me so i was ready to upgrade. (PII 366) (I consider my laptop my main computer, even though I usually have another computer on my desk.)

Anyway, I installed jaguar on my I-Mac to keep abreast for my few Mac clients. I was pretty impressed at the speed improvements over 10.1. Then my new laptop (Toshiba PIII 1.5Ghz) had a hardware failure. While it was being repaired I started using my I-Mac exclusively. I love it! It is a bit slow at time (like a minute ago when I had 10 apps at once open), but overall it gets the job done.

I will count myself a switcher when Nov. 5th comes and I purchase a TIBook. I have already E-bayed my Toshiba laptop, (for a $1000 loss) in preparation. 10.2 took care of all my compatibility problems. (I like the 10.2 network connecting to PC's better than 10.1, the 10.1 way was clunky at best)

Anyway, I will tell you the speed interpertation when I get the TIBook. Currently I would have to say that my I-Mac is slower than my Dell PII-366 running windows 2000. However I get more done on the I-Mac because I don't have to reboot as often, and everyting just works. If you add repar time to the time it takes a PC to run an app, you would have all Mac's faster than PC's hands down.:D
 
I'm a switcher

I have switched at home and at work:

Home computer was:

a P3 733MHZ

Now G4 Quicksilver 800

Work computer was:

Dell Pentium 3 933mhz

now its

an eMac 700mhz

I have been pleased overall. There are some things that I wish Mac OS X had (eg Access, Outlook, ColdFusion, Native-Pagemaker) but I have been really happy with my switch. I haven't had this much fun using computers since I first started using computers. It's wierd, I have been more productive and I am having more fun doing it.

I do have to say the stability of OS X is impressive. Aside from some beta programs crashing (Chimera - although still the best browser IMO) OS X really impresses me and I am actally starting to convince other people here at work to switch.

I will never go back to using windows.
 
Re: OS X is great, but not quite as good as Windows in some areas

Originally posted by jkojima
I'm a wannabe switcher who is currently using an iBook on loan for a semester. I absolutely love Mac OS X, and minor quibbles aside, I also love the iBook. I like Apple because they generate excitement about computing - the tactile and graphical design of Macs is not matched anywhere. Even Best Buy's Porsche laptop has to run a wannabe OS.

That being said, there are a few things I would miss if I gave up my Windows laptop for good. For one, OS X has no built-in provision for file synchronization. Owning both a high-powered desktop PC/ file server and a laptop, and working in several different networked environments, it is vital that I'm able to maintain several gigabytes worth of school and work files in multiple locations. The built-in Windows Offline Files feature for me is honestly the best possible feature of any OS, ever. (Yes I know OS 9 has a similar ability, and yes I'm aware that you can run Virtual PC and therefore Windows Offline Files... but these are not acceptable options for me for long-term, effective use.) Right now, I'm trying to manage synchronization by hand, and it is just NOT what I want to be spending my time doing.

The minute a viable offline files solution hits the Mac OS, I'll start saving my pennies for an iBook. Oh what the hell, a PowerBook. Drooool :)
Click to expand...


There is a method or progam that will allow you to back up your files automatically on command with another computer or drive. I am currently searching for the information on this. I can't seem to find it but I know the site I read about it on so I'm waiting for an email back from them. I'll let you know as soon as I have the info.
 
I switched almost 2 months ago from a Dell 1.5GHZ P4 to a 700MHz iBook. Love it and wouldn't dream of switching back. Only problem I've had is converting Quicken data, but that's not Apple's fault, that's Intuit's fault, and I'm running my old data in Virtual PC anyway, so no biggie. My only regret: that I didn't get a 20GB iPod instead of a 10GB :p
 
I'm not a "switcher", as I still use my PC daily, but I just bought a 700MHz 12.1" iBook w/ 384MB RAM and I love it.

It's definately slow compared to my Athlon XP 1800+ w/ 1GB RAM & IBM ultrastar HD, but that's ok, it's still the best designed & best functioning laptop I've ever owned. At this point, I would never buy another PC laptop.

OS X is fabulous! Beautiful, intuitive, & stable. I wish it were faster though. If Apple ever catches up on the hardware performance end of things, they will be unbeatable.

(As a side note, OS 9 is utter crap! How did you people live with that? The first thing I did was get rid of it!)
 
Hey,
Theres no problem macbandit.Its actually a good question.My home pc was Pentium 166 with 128MBSDRAM,2 GB hard drive,CD-ROM and windows 95 Plus.Two weeks ago i got a Powerbook 667 with 30GB hard drive and 512MB RAM.I love this computer!!!
with regard to your question about the importance of speed.At one time i was obsessed with speed,i was only concerned with the latest and greatest.The only problem with that was that i was afraid to commit to any computer cos there would always be something better down the line.
Anyway,i finally realised that all computers fade with time so just buy what you can afford and more importantly suits your needs to the full .My 667MHZ G4 isn't a 2.5GHZ pentium or athlon or whatever but it runs jaguar and all the apps i use perfectly well.Big numbers are all well and good but can become pointless once they reach the stage where they don't matter any more.So now that the speed was taken care of,the next concern is the os and the portability the powerbook offers.OSX is a fantastic os and i love it to bits and i can take my powerbook all over the house not to mention college and the battery life is about 3 hours during normal use.
So anyway,long live macs because they are the bomb in my opinion.
 
I switched about a month ago... Figured I'd start the whole Mac program on the right foot, so I got a new Dual-gig Powermac. What can I say? It's awesome. I had been flirting with the idea of getting a Mac, mainly just cause I can't stand M$, but one day, I walked into my college library and saw the rows and rows of black, boring Dells with equally boring people staring blankly at them, and it reminded me of that scene in The Matrix where all the humans are shown to be power sources for the robots, all plugged in and only useful for feeding the Machine... That's a weird comparison, I know, but that's really how it seems if you think about it.
Anyway, to answer the question, I can never go back to a PC after being spoiled by the Mac. There was no learning curve switching over to OS X, and it's amazing how many elements of the Mac OS have been ripped-off... er, I mean, implemented... by MS. Sure, I've taken my fair share of crap from some of my PC friends, but I think they're just jealous cause I have such a kick-ass computer now. Oh well, you can't win 'em all.

Have a good one.

bm
 
pc2mac=good

I became interested in Mac when I saw all the digital media programs they had for the Mac and I was sold on the digital vision that Apple was promoting + when you sit down with a TiBook you would never want a PC laptop. So I decided to become a "bicompuser" - my term for someone who uses PC's and Macs regularly - someone please think of something better.

So...the stats

PC- 900mhz AMD Compaq - Windows ME (Yuck!)

MAC - 550 mhz TIBook - OS 10.1.5

I find that the only thing I use my PC for is to play counterstrike or battlefield 1942 or sometimes to surf the net because IE is definitely faster in Windows than OSX.

Now I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to get a powermac and 19" cinema display, and all the sweet adobe and macromedia programs without bankrupting my family budget. If you'd like to help please e-mail me.:D

fuge:D
 
I switched from an AMD Athlon 1700+ to my iBook 500. Sure, the Athlon seems faster, but the work I lose when it crashes makes it slower.

Right now, I only use the machine for network storage, Counter-Strike, and (sometimes) the internet.
 
I'm a switcher since this past January (eBay'ed my Dell laptop to buy a 550 TiBook). With the stability of OS X and its developer-friendly tools (not to mention overall compatability with the Windows world), I have few regrets about my decision.

That said, I am still not convinced that I'll be buying another Mac the next time I upgrade to a new computer. Why? I'll be frank: speed. OS X is very slow compared to a comparable PC. Yes, Jaguar has improved the situation for me, but I still find my TiBook's response to be more sluggish compared to the PC I use at work (250 PIII running Windows NT). I just simply cannot justify dropping another +$2,600 for a laptop that lags so much in sheer speed. Yes, yes, I know: there are other areas where the Mac excel and I can see that, but I can also see with my eyes that I can do many tasks faster on a PC than on my Mac.

I'll give Apple another 2 years or so to win my future laptop money. With so much rumors flying around, I think the chances of my next laptop being a Mac are fairly good.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back