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Former PC users - what made you make the switch to Mac?

I was a PC user for 10 years (until 1998) when I switched to my first Mac (had heard they were great for graphics back then ...). I stayed, and loved, my macs for the next 12 years.

In the Spring of 2010, I tried Windows 7 at work and liked what I saw. I replaced my Mac's with an Alienware tower and a Dell Laptop and dropped the Mac completely. I wanted a good tower computer with a modern graphics card. I wanted something that, forgive my vanity, looked COOLER than the aluminum and glass that has become the Mac design statement. For a year I shunned all Mac's and I lived and breathed the Windows experience, such as it is.

Now it's Spring 2011 and I consider the experiment concluded ... I've dug out my last iMac (2008 core duo) and have just moved all my work files back from my i7 QuadCore.

There is nothing wrong with the hardware ... both Windows machines were, and are, well built.

Windows is fine. A very capable OS. It's even rather pretty. Graphics applications run great on it. It's stable. Windows Office is great. Corel Painter and Photoshop were very happy with it.

However ...

I miss OSX too much. My Mac is not as fast as my Windows machine, but the interface is smoother somehow. It's like Windows is trying to move things as fast as possible and as a result gives a perception of less solid interface (even though it is).

With OSX, I'm not bombarded with text and options and every window. Image thumbnails are quick and don't require extra software (psd's) to see. I've got Aperture back. The iMac is quiet and keeps to itself leaving me to focus on my work.

So, I'm happy to be back (and I'll be happy to get myself some newer hardware in a year or so when I can afford it.)
 
I'm a newbie still... just switched shy of a month ago. I made the jump because I love my Apple products and it was just the next logical step for me. I needed a new laptop as my Gateway was having electrical issues and crashed every third time I plugged/unplugged USB devices or the power cord.

Tried to convince myself that I should switch even though the price was much higher than I was comfortable with considering I'd just bought an iPad2 a few weeks earlier. Went laptop shopping with my IT guy husband and nothing out there in PC world compared to the MBP size and set up. Nothing excited me and we both decided I'd be unhappy if I stayed with PC so I bit the bullet and bought my MBP and am beyond happy I did. I don't think I'll ever buy another PC for my own use again. I love my MBP and only have to use Windows at work (via bootcamp) thank goodness. A week after I switched my college age daughter bought herself a MBP and she's just as happy now that she can take it to school and use it in class.

I've had half-dozen laptops over the last 10 years and this is the first one that has any kind of real battery life. That alone is worth the switch for me.
 
i've been an iphone user for years and always dreamt of having a pc version of ios! A genius suggested a macbookpro

I copped my 15" 2010 in dec 31st 2010 and boi was i in for a delight
zero regrets!

I was on lmy third highend laptop in a row and was sick of the constant malware, incompatibilities issues, constant crashes, and files going missing and re-organising themselves!

Macs for me summate all the things i ever want from a pc/laptop

-reliability
-style
-durability
-trustworthy and helpful company
-the manufacturer also produces the OS - no more going round in circles as i did with pc-world support

i very quickly sold my MBP and then wanted to get a MBA and a gaming PC rig - but when the MBP17 SB with TB came out - i really missed my MBP and decided not to go for a MBA and instead just to have a MBP 17" - best machine i have ever owned! "It just works" (touch wood!)
 
I will be a user of both platforms. They both have their strengths and weaknesses.... I just bought my first mac, a 15" mbp and just upgraded it to 8GB DDR and Vertex 3 SSD..... I jumped because I wanted to use Final Cut :)
 
1. No system registry
2. built in ssh
3. root access(unavailable on win7)
4. Resale value(sell a 2 year old dell, 50$ tops)
5. you dont need an application to remove an application.
6. When you open the lid, it fires up... every time.
7. built from high quality materials
8. top notch displays
9. osx major releases, $30(1 version). Windows major releases, $80-300(8ish versions).
10. Windows default color schemes look like fisher price toys.

Final thought: Anyone who tells you that osx is only more stable because it only has to work on certain hardware is full of it. A hackintosh is just as stable, reliable, and fast as an off the shelf machine.
 
When my father in law brought home his first PC (IBM 486SX 25Mhz) he managed to erase Windows 3.1 within 24 hours. Although he eventually got it back I always felt that PC's were something to be cautious around. News of virus's, worms, wiped hard drives kept me away from wanting to get a computer. It wasn't until I was watching the news about the upcoming "end of the world" Y2K issue that I heard that the Macintosh wasn't going to be affected by this problem. At that point I decided the first computer I would buy would be a Mac.
 
After persevering with my Dell Dimension 2400 desktop for nearly eight years, I'm very psyched to (finally) be acquiring an Apple Macbook Pro 15.4" i7quadcore 2.0gHz this weekend! :apple: :cool: :apple:

- No virus headaches
- Ease of use; sleek design/interface
- Better for music production (which is what I will primarily use it for, plus DJing)
- new Sandy Bridge processors
- greater longevity, plus piece of mind (firm believer that the high upfront cost will greatly pay itself off in the long run)
 
I had been a PC user all my life. Some time in '08, I walked into an Apple store (I had never been to one), and from then on, I knew I had to buy one. The main reason was because I was amazed at how "nice" the Macs were, especially the iMac. I had never seen a keyboard that clean and nice (back then it was the wired keyboard with numeric keypad). The screen of the iMac was amazing too (24"). In late '09 I bought a 27" iMac.

I guess the main reason I bought a Mac was the amazing design and look of it.
 
In short, the user experience.

I've been using PCs since 1993. A couple of years ago I was still running the PC I had built myself, but I also had an iPhone and a girlfriend who has a Macbook. Compared to the Windows Mobile based phones, the iPhone was perfect. I didn't have to reboot it twice a day, it was very slick in user experience, and was a neat toy unlike anything I'd every imagined from a phone.

Also, the PC was already old, so I had replacement on my mind. Well, something happened with my PC and Windows got fubar'd. I was done with peering into the internals to see what needed to be replaced or price shopping for upgrades. I was also sick and tired of Windows issues, installing software requiring reboots, and updates requiring reboots.

Faced with having to reinstall Windows XP once again, I just installed Linux Ubuntu on it until I made a decision on what to do. I decided I wanted to go with a laptop and after talking to my girlfriend about her Mac, I realized that if she thought it were simple, then it must be really easy to use. So, I pulled the trigger and bought a Macbook.

Ever since then I've saved myself countless hours of not having to reinstall the OS or having to reboot with every little program. Yeah, yeah, Windows 7 is great, but it wasn't out yet when I made my choice and it's still Windows. I'm still more happy with my Mac than I ever was with a PC and finding more uses for it every week.
 
I've wanted a Mac FOREVER!! :D When I was in elementary school I was in a computer magnet program and we wrote BASIC on both Apple computers and IBM computers. I always thought the Apples were easier to deal with (even though everyone else told me I was full of it). When hubby and I got our first PC in 1996, it was built by some local guy and I had nothing but trouble with it- the Windows went away, hard drive went, then the mother board went. It was awful. Our next few PCs were Dells (we always had great successs with Dell desktops)- we only went through 3 Dell desktops in the next 10 years, and they all had very heavy use. But I always wanted a Mac- but couldn't afford one.

7 yrs ago I decided I needed a lap top for work stuff and photo editing, because all the photos were bogging down our desktop and by then the kids were all getting on the computer as well. So I got a 17" HP Pavillion entertainment series- I had it for a week and the screen wouldn't wake up. Sent it in, they said it was the graphics card, but they couldn't just replace it because they no longer had that particular card, and that they would build me a new computer- which they did, and tried to charge us almost $200 more. Hubby fought and fought with them, and we did not get charged any more $$.
I bought the extra large battery and used that thing TO DEATH. That lap top cost me *almost* $850 and I used it for 6 years, with no issues until that last 6 months- the battery would no longer hold a charge (I had to be plugged in all the time), and it would fall off. The thing slowed wayyyyy down, wouldn't open certain programs anymore, and the screen developed a bubble at the bottom. The charging cord broke.

I was very happy with that HP, and convinced my MIL to buy one last summer! But when i went to build one for what everyone was telling I would need spec wise to run Photoshop comfortable, it was over $1000- so I waited. FINALLY this year in January I got a Mac- just a base 13" MBP, which everyone assured me would run photoshop just peachy, and I LOVE it. I cannot believe how much clearer and brighter the screen is for one thing. And the track pad is fantastic. And the battery life!!! I don't have this huge battery sticking off the bottom of the computer yet the battery life is 3x what it was on the HP. I was a little afraid to get the smaller screen, but the difference in the clarity makes the Mac screen so much better- eventhough it's smaller, I don't have near the eye strain. The OS is so nice- it doesn't have a bunch of extra crap, files don't end up in mysterious places. The machine itself is light weight.

I started with an iPod nano 5th gen, then an iPod Touch 4th gen, then this MBP, and now an iPhone.

Love love love!
 
I've always had PC's and used them for various thing . For Macs , at one point , I hated them, not for their designs, but for the stuck up users that thought they were the *****. Eventually after having various MP3's from various venders that all sucked, I decided to buy an iPod Nano 3rd Gen.

I got it and loved it , it worked well with my windows machine, but I knew if the iPod was that good, I would eventually have to try out Mac OSX. I eventually went to an Apple Store, and fell in love.

Since then, I've purchased a Mac Pro that I use daily, and a Macbook Pro on it's way this summer...


:apple:
 
Dalton63841 said:
First off, more true would be to enable the Administrators account in Local Security Policy. Second, this isn't even remotely close to Unix root.
Click to expand...

Yes, some functions of Unix root are allocated to local system in Windows NT. In relation to modification of security sensitive areas of the system level of the OS by malware such as rootkits, there is no difference.

How is that "Administrator" account different than a Windows 7 admin account with UAC disabled? I bet if you looked at the UAC settings for that account they would be disabled by default. Does that account have access to local system?
 
I made the switch in 2006 I think it was. The same year Mac's started using the Intel processors. I bought several iMac's and a Macbook during that time. Then about 2 years ago I decided I was tired of rebooting for bootcamp, and switched back...I purchased an i7 Quad Core Dell computer. Its still going strong, but I'm currently in the market for Macbook Pro. My Windows machine is still fast enough for what I do on it, but I really want a Macbook Pro and to be portable *thanks to my iPad, I hate being stuck at my desk now. My hubby got my old Macbook, one iMac was sold, and the last one was taken over by my son. So I'm stuck on a Windows machine atm.

I made the switch at first simply because I was bored and tired of all the Windows hassles. While Win 7 is really nice and a great improvement over their previous operating systems, some things are just a lost simpler and easier on the Mac. Hopefully I'll get to pick up my Macbook Pro this weekend.
 
munkery said:
Yes, some functions of Unix root are allocated to local system in Windows NT. In relation to modification of security sensitive areas of the system level of the OS by malware such as rootkits, there is no difference.

How is that "Administrator" account different than a Windows 7 admin account with UAC disabled? I bet if you looked at the UAC settings for that account they would be disabled by default. Does that account have access to local system?
Click to expand...

Granted the two are virtually identical. One caveat however. A normal admin account still runs executables with standard privileges unless you right-click and use "Run as Administrator"(roughly the same as using sudo on linux). Using the built in Administrator account, EVERYTHING is done with full admin privileges.
 
Four words .......



DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY !!!



I have a background in electronics manufacturing to some of the highest specifications around, as well as IT background ( Microsoft MCSE and Novell CNE ), after getting out of the IT field I went searching for a new notebook for myself. I know I looked at every notebook offered through any retail channel and was disappointed until I was shown an all aluminum Apple G4 Powerbook. It had superior, fit and finish and the thing did not twist/flex like all the WIndows notebook offerings. Yeah I literally put them in my hands and TWISTED them to see how well they were built. I actually broke two, but the store clerk told me I could test them out as I wanted.


mrsir2009 said:
Lots of people switch to Mac after they love their iDevices.

Not me though, I've never owned a non-Mac computer or an iDevice!
Click to expand...

My Apple history goes like this ....


G4 Powerbook
G5 Powermac
13" G4 iBook ( did not like this one all that much but my son wanted it )
20" G5 iMac
17" G4 Powerbook
20" Intel iMac
15" Macbook Pro
24" Intel iMac


If it had not been for the fantastic experience in owning the above I would have never bought an iPhone.

I must say the iPhone has not disappointed me one bit.

I am not totally enamored by Apple though, I cannot stand those white plastic iBook/Macbook because of how they hold up. Scratch easily and after a year can really look terrible ... HOWEVER .... they still function as new!
 
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