How difficult is the transition...

[pwayne66]

...I am sure that you get a ton of questions about this, but I posted my scenario on another board and they suggested I bring it here:

I am currently working in technical support and am only weeks away from taking my A+ certification tests (a PC tech repair cert). The place I work at is crawling with all sorts of PC gurus and I have very little chance of moving up.

But today, things got interesting... We learned that we would be incorporating several Macs into our buildings and needed to train or hire somebody with some Mac knowledge. Having ZERO previous exposure to Macs, I confidently volunteered to train and acquire whatever mac certifications they required (provided they pay for them)

Can a life long PC user who has never even booted (do mac users even use that word!?!?) learn all they need to in a short amount of time?

How different can they be? Right?

So am I in for a rude awakening? I know to expect changes with the OS and software in general, but do I have to relearn my understanding of hardware as well, or are the differences subtle?

thanks

 

[SthrnCmfrtr]

It's easy. The two approaches are very similar (*cough*). I'd suggest familiarizing yourself with the Finder and its differences from Windows Explorer. That's the biggest change, really.

 

[edesignuk]

Do you have access to a Mac running OS 10.5 (Leopard)? The best way is just to get stuck in.

 

[pwayne66]

Do you have access to a Mac running OS 10.5 (Leopard)? The best way is just to get stuck in.

I don't. But I imagine that getting my hands on one is the best first step...

 

[tersono]

I admin a mixed Windows/Mac network and would say that if you can get your head around Windows, you won't have any real problems with Macs. There are different things to learn - notably you need to get familiar with the Unix command line (which might look like a DOS prompt, but ISN'T a DOS prompt), and get your head around the fact that *nix does not use a central registry to store preferences, but keeps them all in separate user and system-level config files (which makes life a WHOLE lot easier, let me tell you) but most of the same basic principles apply.

 

[emptyCup]

Can a life long PC user who has never even booted (do mac users even use that word!?!?) learn all they need to in a short amount of time?

First, if you've never used a Mac, get a copy of David Pogue's Switching to the Mac. You can't help anyone if you know less than they do. Then you might want to look at the Apple Training books. Become familiar with sites such as Mac Fixit. Finally, Apple offers certification training. Best wishes.

 

[pwayne66]

Appreciate all the help guys... I have been eyeballing the ACHDS and am considering recommending they have me certified in that. I will look into some study materials for it. I also found out that we do already have a mac in the building so I should have a chance to play around with it sometime.

Thanks again

 

[student_trap]

lol, sorry guys but i've just been reading a sexuality and gender module for my degree and the title of this thread totally made me laugh!

to the op, the transition is very easy, but if you have any problems, just pick up an osx for dummies book and you'll be set

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

From a recent switcher, I've been using windows for ~10yrs, Mac OS X and just the computer itself is awesome and very easy to use. Go play around with an apple in a local store and you'll begin to see just how similar they are laid out.

Sure there are things here and there, but from never using a mac...I had no problems and if I did, I'd ask it on here.

I ended up getting a MBP because my old Dell laptop crapped out and I needed a new one for college...I figured I only live once and always wanted to try out a mac. So I figured it was the best time to try one out and if I seriously couldn't handle it than I'd just install windows xp.

 

[thesdx]

I don't. But I imagine that getting my hands on one is the best first step...

Just take a trip to the Apple store, and you'll get hooked. There are a few things to get used to, like the Finder and Menu Bar. Overall, the system is very self explanatory. You'll have it down in no time.

 

[Quillz]

Just take a trip to the Apple store, and you'll get hooked. There are a few things to get used to, like the Finder and Menu Bar. Overall, the system is very self explanatory. You'll have it down in no time.

The menu bar isn't any different from the menu bar in Windows, except you have just one instead of multiple bars...

Finder, however, is quite a downgrade from Windows Explorer, in my opinion. Something along the lines of ForkLift or Path Finder is much more equivalent to Explorer.

 

[heatmiser]

Finder and multiple window manipulation are the two biggest hurdles to overcome. The alternative to the status bar is a combination of the dock and Exposé. You get those down, and it's basically normal from there.