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

Dalton63841 said:
Love this! I mean, I understand what you mean, but on first read, it made me lol.
Click to expand...
I agree my previous post was kind of funny. I got introduced to Macs when in 1999 I had to write a program for mac and I was given the iMac G2 (or G3 - I don't remember). After a month everyone in the family was using the Mac and the PC was collecting dust. The project failed and I had to return the iMac.

Last Christmas a colleague of mine decided to get a 13" MBA and I was amazed at its looks (of course the C2D inside was a let down but nevertheless the design was heart-stopping) and this urged me to check out the today's iMacs.

I don't own other iDevices and don't intend to.
 
I like reading threads like this, I haven't switched yet but I'm considering it.
My 7 year old Thinkpad notebook really needs a replacement, and I should empasize that I've never had any issues with the machine or windows xp. The reasons why I would switch to a Mac are almost identical to why I would buy a new Thinkpad (reliability, durabilty, etc.). I don't NEED Mac OS, but I like how it works, although I've never used it extensively. The fact that I'm almost certain I need Windows is the main reason I'm holding back, for now.
But it's nice to read the reasons why people switched and how the switch worked out for them.
 
I have Win 7 partioned on my Mac Pro for gaming but everything else I use the Mac for. I certainly did not switch because of the snobbish attitudes of people of many Mac users who look down on PC users, I consider those people losers. I also have an iMac 27" that I use for my photography and love that thing. Apple is a good product and has it's pros but PC also have their pros and both have cons.
 
I got sick of windows (xp). I was setting up a dual boot (linux/xp) system, the XP re-install took hours and hours, including having to start again as while I was running windows update and installing anti virus software (form a CD) I managed to get a virus, plus having to phone MS to reactivate my serial number, XP rewriting the MBR to try and stop me dual booting. Took hours like I said.
In comparison setting up Linux took 20 mins from putting the disc in to being on a fully updated desktop and online. I switched to Linux.

I switched to Mac a few years later when I decided I was fed up of all the tinkering Linux requires (my wife was sharing the computer with me and while she was using it, if anything went wrong, I needed to intervene), my hardware was seriously outdated and updating the PC would have required new everything from the motherboard up, so as I was buying a whole new PC anyway, I decided to try a mac, knowing I could stick linux on it if I really didn't like it. It was a G4 mac mini running 10.4.x

TLDR? Windows was too sucky and linux was too needy.
 
Unlike some I did not switch for neither OSX nor the trendy looks of MBPs.
When I wanted a new notebook I was simply looking for the best I could get that fit my needs.
I wanted at least 14", good battery life, a decent enough GPU for occasional gaming and screen with some contrast (and matte).
Dell Latitude and Lenovo Thinkpads offered most but the screen was generally bad and the OpenGL GPUs I didn't really need. Acer Timeline had bad screens and not really the quality I wanted. Dell Studio XPS and stuff had bad battery life.
It was simply the MBP that fit myself the best. Great battery life, slim, great matte screen and the rest is good enough. The only thing I was missing was eSATA and/or some docking option.
I didn't shy away from OSX as I always wanted to switch to Linux but never did because of its terrible battery life. OSX is unix and as such close enough it is also nice that you need less to almost no extra software to get a powerful Mulittasking UI like you need in Windows.
I never regretted switching. Only use Windows 7 for games and sometimes work if OSX gives me too much trouble with some software. The touchpad is also something that is a great quite unexpected feature.
 
lythium said:
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.
Click to expand...

While hakintoshes appear to be a relatively low cost entry to OSX; I question your <I>just as stable, reliable, </I> given issues with audio, BT, MB compatibility, issues with updates, etc. While they may be a good choice for someone who wants to play around with plists, bootstrapping the initial OS load, search for compatible MBs and components; I'd say stability and reliability aren't near what you get with real hardware.
 
Coming from 20+ years of Windows, for me the form factor did it.

In terms of stability: I really don't notice any difference between Win7 and MacOS... Both are fine OS's.

The design of MacOS is by favorite: clear and crips windows. For instance: in Windows you gat a window borde rof about 5 pixels, in MacOS everything is clean and crisp.
 
I switched like 2003. I had used Windows since 3.1 prior. What made me switch initially was a combination of trying out a friends Mac and owning an iPod.
 
I bought my first mac in 2006, when the intel imac came out. What made me switch was, Norton Security Suite had bogged my computer down to the point that I couldn't use it (a top of the line dell when new), and I was looking at having to wipe the hard drive and reinstall windows xp for the umpteenth time (this happened at least once per year). Norton is practically impossible to uninstall.

So I was starting to think about other options. Windows Vista was going to be out soon, and from the reviews there was no possible way that I was going to deal with Vista. There was no way I was even going there!

So the only options left really were Linux and Mac. I'm not really a tinkerer, so Mac was the better option for me.
 
I was sick of having my Thinkpad tablet fixed, so I looked into getting a new computer; a lot of my friends had a Mac. Got to the store and picked up the Mac. I've been with them ever since (though I did eventually get another Thinkpad and experience has been good).
 
Vista Reinstall

I had purchased License of Ultimate Vista 64 bit that I was not able to reinstall after a hard drive failure. I called Micro$oft and they wanted to charge me $50.00/hr to talk to tech support after they told me that my copy was still registered to myself, legit, and they knew of the problem. If they already knew of the problem: When I went use the key Windows Authentication would state "license in USE". I have never had so many problems with their new intrusive DRM for Windows. Thus I bought my first Mac Minis, then Mac Pro, Macbook Air, and NOW 2011 17" Macbook Pro. I will not be going back to windows as my main system in the foreseeable future. I would like to see Apple License Mac OS X to allow more custom systems.
Later,
NM:apple:
 
I needed a proper computer that would not make me want to throw it out the window every other second...
 
Dalton63841 said:
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.
Click to expand...

Ok, I see.

The difference is kind of pointless given that Windows MIC functions using inherited permissions and UAC defines those permissions. A low integrity process is able to write to high integrity items when UAC is disabled in an admin account. In an admin account with UAC disabled, processes do not need to be running with elevated privileges to modify any part of the system. So, essentially, in terms of write privileges, there is no difference between the "Administrator" and a normal admin account with UAC disabled.
 
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For me it was the experience I had on a Hackintosh. Essentially I had been a vehemently anti-mac advocate of Windows. So much so I thought all mac users were hippies and vegetarians and own a Wii.

Then I tried the real thing. And hated it because it was too easy, everything works, with no fuss. No drivers to configure, nothing to right-click emulate and run as Administrator via icon type scenario. Not really needing an anti-virus or have to constantly tell the damn thing YES i really want to do this or that, or nothing that keeps popping up in bottom right reminding me I am not allowing it to warn me.

So I went down to my local store and tried all the ones they hand on hand. I really like the backlit keyboard as well as the tactile response they have. I just basically like having something I do not have to continuously keep an eye on for once. Period.

Damn Hippies🙂
 
I was a linux guy for a long time, it was a natural progression because I got to stick with some of my roots while gaining a lot of user friendliness and quality hardware both design and aesthetic wise.

Being lumped in as the stereotypical Mac user is fairly frustrating, but I get that with my car brand of choice and motorcycle type already.
 
Switcher

beyondthesmile said:
Former PC users - what made you make the switch to Mac?
Click to expand...

I'm a keyboard shortcut guy. When Office 2007 came out, quite a few of the keyboard shortcuts were changed or eliminated.

About the same time, Vista and Win 7 were ramping up, and there were quite a few changes to get used to there.

So...I thought I've always wanted to check out the new Intel macs, since they can run Parallels, I won't be without my business apps in the same session.

So if I have to learn a new business environment and Operating system with the changes in Windows and Office, why jump to Mac and check it out.

So, I bought a cheap mini, upgraded the ram, and was immediately impressed by fewer crashes, ease of use, lower maintenance, and the thought put into the design.

Time machine sealed it.
 
I was sick of fixing the Windows PC due to BSOD and DLL errors. So looked at alternatives and spent time in a Apple Store and was taken through the system and was rather impressed! I skipped Tiger and went straight to Leopard.

I have been a happy Mac user since 2007! 🙂
 
I've been wanting to try out a Mac for a while (got to admit, the unibody MacBook Pro is sexy as all) but for me mostly money was preventing me from making the jump.

Recently my Dell laptops battery died. The laptop is almost 3 years old, still does what I want it to do. I also got a little bonus money from work. First thing my wife said to me was "are you going to get a Mac?" I was able to also get a discount from work, and next thing I know I have a brand new 13" 2011 MBP. I really like it. I set up a Windows 7 BC partition for when I need to use windows, but mostly I use OSX. I really like that I was able to get my mail, contacts and calendar (all hosted via Google) set up in a snap using the builtin mail/contacts/calendar. For what I do, it's a great product.
 
TrollToddington said:
1. Macs are expensive. I am not rich enough to buy cheap things.

2. With PC I had:
-1 power cable for monitor,
-1 power cable for computer,
-1 power cable for speakers
-1 data cable connecting monitor with computer
-1 keyboard USB cable
-1 mouse USB cable
-4 wires for creative speakers + their "remote" control (2.1)

With iMac I have only one power cable.

3. Style.
4. The device is generally less obtrusive
5. I like the white colour. Even the shell of my backup disk is white/silver
Click to expand...

Regarding Point Number 2.

That has more to do with it being an all-in-one computer than it being a windows pc or a mackintosh.
 
Mt dual Xeon Quadra graphics beast with SCSI 320 Raid 0 drives was needing replacing.
It had AGP graphics haha, it was about 4 years ago now and I think PCI Express had been out for one or two years so it was getting on a bit. I had dual 17" LCD's too.

But I never used it for much, I built it cause I was in IT at the time and it was a bit of a dream machine with the parts heavily discounted, anyway my sister had a Mac and my brother in law kept going on about them. So I test drove the beta Vista and whilst it was ok, I was worried with all the horror story's.

So I thought Mac, I also thought Mac Pro, then came to my senses, haha, realising I would just be willy waving as I would NEVER use it's power, and then I saw the MacBook Pro and fell in love 🙂 So I got one, and got use to OSX and haven't looked back, Macs have got stronger and stronger, I have Windows 7 installed as well for some games and the only drivers you need to worry about are the graphics ones and that's if you want.

So far I had the old style MB Pro but I utterly HATED the keyboard.
Got the first gen unibody to resolve that.
Got last years Corei7 cause of the performance bump for games.
Now plan to get this years mode, because I didn't expect a 50 to 100% performance boost over last years model 😱 and ATI graphics 😀 plus I have some shares that hopefully will be awarding me some cash.

Anyway, OSX is bomb proof nearly, and Macs are VERY well built. It's the swiss watch of laptops.

Now I WAS thinking of an Alienware Aurora, not sure why? I think for games, but the MB Pro is just far too sexy and lush not to have, plus I can take it anywhere I please and play Portal 2 or Windows games. Macs just rule really... it's also pretty ironic that my laptop's of choice are more powerful now then the desktop they have replaced!
 
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This thread is great!

I am a long time Windows/PC user. In fact, I designed and wrote the training course to teach the very first Windows course to my company's employees. Over the years, my favorite PC was a Sony Vaio because the screen was gorgeous.

I purchased an iPhone when they first came out and I have never looked back.

From there, I purchased an iPad. I wasn't sure if I was going to keep the iPad but after using it - I was hooked.

I was still using my Sony PC but I really wanted a Mac. With my current job, I was given a Dell PC and a BlackBerry. Heh, after using the iPhone - I HATED the BlackBerry. It took me twenty minutes to type a single sentence using those tiny keys. I sent the BlackBerry back and added my Exchange email to my iPhone.

Finally, on the day the new 2011 computers came out, I bought a 15 inch Macbook Pro and I love it. (I didn't even know they were brand new.)

First, there was absolutely NO CRAPWARE to get rid of!

  • Many of the admin tasks required in Windows are gone.
  • I like Smart folders - I don't have copies of things all over the computer
  • I like the structure of Time Capsule - it makes sense to me.
  • I love GarageBand! I struggled for several years trying to figure out how to plug a microphone into a PC and use audio software to record my own singing. With GarageBand, I bought a USB mic, watched a few tutorials and I was on my way. Awesome!
  • iPhoto is great too!

I still use a PC for my work stuff but I love my Macbook Pro.

Plus, I kinda like being a smart-ass, hippie, apple person....😛
 
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